Singapore Bands in Wartime Vietnam

In the 1960s and ‘70s, lured by adventure and money, Singaporean musicians went to South Vietnam to perform for American troops during the war. They were met with cheers, bullets and assault. Boon Lai is an author, an illustrator and a filmmaker based in Singapore. Inspired by the true accounts of the rockers who toured the Vietnam War, he created the three-book graphic novel series, The Once & Marvellous DKD. What Boon Lai Talked About02:01 – How Boon Lai came to know of local musicians who went to Vietnam during the 1960s and ’70s05:33 – When these musicians went to Vietnam08:47 – Why these musicians decided to perform in the war zone11:30 – How these musicians were recruited15:56 – How much they were paid16:44 – Nightly curfews18:35 – Daily schedules of musicians20:50 – Close call with bullets21:53 – Musician Veronica Young’s experience in Vietnam as a woman24:53 – How long Impian Bateks and other musicians played in Saigon27:12 – Boon Lai’s three-year research process28:58 –Boon Lai’s DKD sequel29:44 – Hardest thing about creating a historical graphic novelTranscript and ResourcesRead the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/podcast-singapore-bands-wartime-vietnam/Read the BiblioAsia article: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/vol-20-issue-1-apr-jun-2024-singapore-bands-vietnam-war/Subscribe to BiblioAsia for more stories about Singapore.This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by One Dash. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Boon Lai for coming on the show.The BiblioAsia Podcast by the National Library Singapore tells stories about Singapore history.