From the Philippines with Love

[RalphDennis]

A Great day to all!

I can’t exactly remember when I started listening to my idol, the Great Matt Monro. It must have been back in the mid-70s when I was still a young child (I was born 1967). Yes, even as a child I have learned to listen and love his songs. And up to now, my day is not complete without listening to his songs. Some of his songs even move me to tears, not just the ballads but would you believe the song, We’re Gonna Change the World also. I just can’t explain why. Probably because of its hopeful message of changing and rearranging the world… that everything will be alright at the end. Among his other songs, I love the most is “Time After Time”. To date I have 160 songs by him.

You see I came from the land which most of you have not heard of. I’m from Manila, the Philippines - a third world. We have only two kinds of weather here, HOT and HOTTER. We Filipinos are also music lovers. And many of us here love Matt Monro and his songs. Matt’s voice had an extraordinary mellow quality. His talent was wonderful, and his baritone voice had a richness that will always be popular. His voice is one of the most imitated in the Philippines. Certainly, you can hear “Born Free” every day in endless karaoke bars and nightclubs throughout the country. Yet few Filipinos know much about the legendary crooner, Matt Monro. It’s great to have this forum, to know more about him and to celebrate our love for Matt.

Is it true that Matt really had a concert here in our country? Not really sure about it. My uncle, who is a diehard fan as well, once told me that Matt did. Not quite sure what year that was but he said the Araneta Coliseum’s 20,000 seats were jam-packed. That one time concert made him even more popular to us (even until now). So popular that his song, Wednesday Child was made theme song to one of our favorite TV mini-series, Flor de Luna back in the late 70’s. I guess Matt reciprocated his love for us Filipinos by singing “Be My lady” (originally sang by balladeer, Martin Nievera), composed by one of our great composers, Vehnee Saturno.

We dearly miss Matt. Just recently Paul Anka visited us again here (tickets sold out for 2 nights). The more I missed Matt. How I wish I could have seen him live and alive. I wish that he was still alive and performing here again. *sigh* I wish ... I just hope that when Matt Jnr kicks off with his world tour he won’t forget to perform here in the Philippines. Definitely, we Filipinos will welcome him gladly with open arms.

Good luck with your Fan Club Meet. How I wish I can be with you all in that memorable event. But I can only wish.

Regards to all and God bless!

From the Philippines with Love,

RalphDennis

[Terence Lee]

Hi Ralph

I am in Malaysia, not really far from the Philippines. Here, we love Matt Monro too ever since "From Russia With Love" hit the airwaves. He has never been forgotten but most people only know the hits like Born Free, Walk Away, The Music Played and the Bond song. These are staples on the radio and often sung in karaoke clubs.

The Filipinos are wellknown for their music talent and lovely music. Almost everyone in your country can sing like an angel. Your love song DAHIL SA IYO is so famous here. Your celebrities have made it big in Asia like Teresa Carpio, Lea Salonga, Regine & the latest one making it big in Hong Kong, Jheena Lodwick.

[ROBERT M.]

Hello Terence and Ralph. Welcome to the MM Fan Club Ralph with your first lengthy post. In the Matt Monro biography it mention's that Matt was massive in the Philippines. There is a photograph in the Matt biography that look's as though it could have been taken while Matt was performing in the Philippines. In the photograph Matt is wearing a white jacket. The audience look's to be full to the rafter's (very full). There is also a picture of Matt arriving in your country, after leaving the aeroplane and kneeling down on a "welcome mat", very apt indeed.
You say that the weather in the Philippines is hot or hotter. In this country the weather seem's to get cold or colder. Summer is nearly upon us, but you wouldn't know it.
I have over 200 Matt song's in my collection, but I am quite a long way short of achieving maximum Matt song's. The forthcoming "Rare Monro" will help a little bit.
Carry on with your post's Ralph in the future won't you, it's good to talk about Matt Monro, even from a third world country?? on the other side of the world. But - From The Philippines With Love - doesn't have the same ring to it that "From Russia With Love Has"

[mariana44]

Hi Terence and Ralph, although you are both so far away, it is great to be able to "talk" to you , via this wonderful web-site dedicated to our "Star" Matt. Luckily we are able to discuss our other favourite stars too. I note that Terence briefly mentioned Lea Salonga--I think she is wonderful--I saw her in "Miss Saigon " twice, and managed to track down the making of Miss Saigon video. Sadly there is not much of her work available over here, although she did sing a wonderful song called "The Journey" that got a lot of airtime. However, thanks to the wonder of the Internet, I have imported many of her cd's , plus some dvd's . She is at her best I think singing the songs from Broadway, and it is so good to see her working with her brother Gerard. She also made a lovely Christmas album a couple of years back. Do you know much about her Ralph, I would love to know.

Marian

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Hi Ralph ,Terence and Robert. We both enjoyed and were touched by your posting Ralph and you say that you come from a land that most of us have not heard of. Not so Ralph !! our neighbour, a lovely Philippino lady married our English neighbour and has lived next door to us for Twenty Two years and we join each other for various family celebrations. She has just returned home after a month with her family in the Philippines.
Terence and Robert as always have confirmed this too, with nice comments.
As far as the weather, we were teased with a bit of sunshine two or three weeks ago but that has all changed.
We all have one thing the same though and that is our love for Matt and his fantastic music. and how we all miss him.
Thank you for your good wishes for our fan club meet and wish you could join us Ralph.

[mariana44]

Hi again Ralph,and all--I have just reread your posting Ralph, and I note that your favourite song of Matt's is "Time after Time"---it is also one of my favourites--definately in my top 5---I have just one tiny criticism--he misses out the beginning verse that goes--

"What good are words I say to you?
They can't convey to you what's in my heart
If you could hear instead
The things I've left unsaid"

Apart from that, I would say it was perfect.

Marian

[paul jh]

I often play the piano for sing-along parties. The Filipino guests always know more American songs (standards and show tunes) than anyone else. And they have excellent voices.

One of the thrills of going on a Holland America Line cruise is to attend the Filipino crew show and hear some of the crew sing songs and do their special dances. It's always a highlight of the cruise.

I love Dahil Sa Iyo and play it on the piano. Another one of my favorites is Anak.

I believe that Matt Monro's music is also popular in Indonesia. About 14 years ago, I was in Bali on holiday. I had lunch at a lovely outdoor restaurant. The manager was a kind young man from Java. We started talking about music. He said he loves to sing and that Matt Monro is his favourite singer. I said he is my favourite also. The young man then sang for us; he had a lovely voice. I will never forget that moment.

[Michele Monro]

Great posting Ralph and welcome aboard. I have to tell you Manila is widely known in this family as dad performed there every 18 months or so. He was very priveledged to have been booked at The Araneta Coliseum for one night. He was slightly uncomfortable about it as it held just over 20,000 people and he didn't know how he was going to fill it. 3 days before the concery date, a telegram arrived from the Coliseum - extend for 5 nights please. dad could not believe it and played to over 100,000 fans that week. Robert is quite right that the photo is from the Araneta and the airport picture was a true capture of what happened when dad arrived. It was Beatlemania before the advent of The Beatles. Thousands of people with their traditional lais lined the outer runway and the "Welocme Matt" had been placed at the bottom of the aircraft steps.
It was one of the best moments of his life.
The Philippines is filled with the most warm hearted loyal people and I can recommend a visit based on my father's wonderful stories. He certainly had a soft spot for that part of the world

[RalphDennis]

Hi Terence, Robert, Marian, Paul, Lena & Harry and Michele – thanks for the warm welcome. I deeply apologize for not immediately replying to your posts. I hope you all forgive me. Actually, I’ve been reading your post for the past few days now and I still cannot believe that replies kept coming in from my post. Especially from the lovely daughter of my idol, Michele, that really shook my world. Wow, it feels great, really great. Fantastic! I’m in awe! I’ve been telling my family and friends about it and they’re ecstatic as well. The feeling is so intense that I don’t how to start my reply. Not until now. Well, here it goes…(I’m currently playing on loop Matt’s If She Should Come To You while writing this post – another favorite song of mine, melody and lyrics very romantic, rendition… oh so perfect!)

It’s nice to know that all of you are familiar with the Philippines. It’s also great to know that people Around the World appreciate Filipino’s love for music and our love for our “Star”, Matt(quoting Marian). Indeed, Matt has his way of bringing people close together from all over the world even though he’s not with us anymore. Thank God for his songs, the internet and this wonderful site.

Terence and Paul, I really appreciate that both of you love our folksong, Dahil Sa’yo. All I can say is that you have a good taste in music. Lena & Harry, it’s great to know that a Filipina lives next door. I can say that you’re in a good neighborhood. Marian, we maybe far away from each other but our hearts joined together through our love for Matt’s music. And yes, we Filipinos are proud of Lea Salonga as an international theater singer-actress. By the way, Lea just gave birth to a healthy baby girl last May 16. Robert, my heart rejoices when you confirmed that MM is massive in our country and thank you for telling me where I can see Matt’s pictures in Manila. The more you made me miss him so much. And Michele, thank you for bringing back the memories of your Dad here in Manila. I can just imagine what happened during that time. The applause, the sounds, the music, Matt’s voice… It must have been magic! By the way, would you happen to know the exact dates? I’d like to know where I was during those times. By the way, was the concert ever recorded in video or audio?

Michele said on her Dad’s presence in Manila, “It was one of the best moments of his life.” For All We Know, it must have been the Filipinos best moments ever. Matt’s music will forever be with us and it will never die. The pleasure and honor will always be ours. Love live Matt’s Music!

Just in case you guys happen to visit the Philippines, I’ll be very happy to tour you. Who wants to go diving with the whale shark? Just let me know in advance so I can prepare.

I hope Matt Jnr performs here soon. We are all looking forward to that concert here. I know it will be a sold out similar to his Dad’s.

Regards to all fellow Matt Monronians and God bless!

From the Philippines with Love,

RD

[Gray]

I know I may be labouring the point, but I have to say what a wonderful string of posts, really lovely.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is a pleasure and an honour to be part of this community.
Please could anyone help me with a query...I love Nature Boy by Nat King Cole, for me, it's a fantatstic song. Can anyone advise if Matt Monro ever sang it and on which album would I find it?

Many thanks in advance,

Gray

[mariana44]

Hi Gray--according to the discography on the site, Matt did not record Nature Boy---but you never know what will turn up on the Rare Monro!

Marian

[ROBERT M.]

Hello Ralph and everyone. What another great, long but informative and interesting post from you Ralph. Can I just say to you, that the biographies that I mentioned above are not proper biographies as such to buy or borrow from library's etc.. but the two "Biographies" I am talking about come with MM merchandise.
The first one was available with the 4 box edition of the CD "The Singer's Singer". The second was available with the limited edition of the DVD "An Evening with Matt Monro". Both biographies are excellent though. The second one is an updated version of the first one. I hope that clarifies thing's for you Ralph.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Hi Ralph and everyone, we can only echo what has already been said here. What heart warming stories, and Robert's mention of the two amazing biography's accompanying "An Evening With Matt Monro" ( the sensational lost performance) and "The Singers Singer" are a must for fans.
Matt's contemporaries were aware of his unequalled talent at that time and many of them have paid such marvellous tributes to him. They are a joy to read.

[RalphDennis]

Hi everyone, thanks for the info. I would love to have a copy of the titles that you mentioned but I'm afraid we don't have the CD and DVD in our local record stores yet and ordering them through the internet would be very expensive for me. Probably I'll just wait for it to be available here. However, I love the pictures posted at the gallery section at the MM website. It shows the picture of Matt performing at the Araneta Coliseum and his picture together with Asia's Queen of Songs, our very own Pilita Corrales. I would really love to know when that momentous event took place. Would anybody had an idea when? Many thanks again.

[usafret]

HELLO RALPH, I SAW MATT , 1965 WHEN HE MADE A SIDE TRIP TO CLARK FIELD FROM MANILA, TO ENTERTAIN THE TROOPS AND I CAN TELL YOU FIRST HAND BOTH THE NCO AND OFICER CLUBS WERE PACKED
HE WAS A BIG FAVORITE WITHE THE USAF PEOPLE AND HE HAD SEVERAL SESSIONS WITHE THE OFFICAL USAF BAND CALLED ,"AIRMAN OF NOTE".
YOU ARE IN ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD TO GET MATT MONTO RECORDING.
I HAVE A FRIEND IN LONDON THAT GETS A LOT OF CDS FROM THERE AND A LOT OF RARE MUSIC BY MATT.
YOU HAVE A GOOD START ON YOUR COLLECTION.
I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A "NEW" SONG BY MATT AND AT LAST COUNT HAD OVER 330 SONGS, AND THERE ARE A LOT MORE COMING OUT.
YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR MARKETS THERE, I'M SURE SURE YOU'LL FIND SOME GREAT STUFF BY MATT.
BEST OF LUCK.
ED H
.