Subang Merlin's Rampaisari Ballroom was turned into the biggest "pub" in the world last Saturday night. And the crowd... it was unbelievable. There must have been at least a thousand people or more at the Carlsberg/MUM Top of the Pubs '88 finals.
The ballroom was cramped with an enthusiastic crowd, many were willing to stand just to be part of the fun. They clapped, cheered, danced and sang along with the contestants.
In fact, the response was so good that Carlsberg has agreed to sponsor next year's Top of the Pubs contest as well.
All 11 finalists who took part in the contest gave their best. The numbers sung ranged from old favourites like Don't Cry for the Argentina to the energetic Miami Sound Machine hit Conga - although the latter was given a Malaysian touch with the first verse sung in Malay.
The first prize of $5,000 went to Alex Peters who gave a brilliant performance of Herbie Hancock's Rock It and Timbuk 3's The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades).
Alex, who began his singing carrier in 1979 with a disco band, was clearly the star of the show; even before emcee Patrick Teoh introduced him as the last contestant, half the audience went wild.
His supporters even wore shades when he sang The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades) while waving a banner with the words "Souled Out on Alex Peters".
Contestants were judged on their creativity, presentation and technical skills.
The panel of judges for the night were Chairman of MUM (Musicians' Union of Malaysia) Freddie Fernandez, Adnan Abu Hassan, Fauzi Marzuki, Goh Boon Hoe, Mike Bernie, Yasmin Yusoff, Michael Veerapen, Jerry Ventura and William de Cruz.
New Straits Times (Malaysia), July 12, 1988
