Siva Choy The life of a Singaporean Legend
| ISBN | 979-8312633801 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Independently published |
| FormatType | Paperback |
| Publication Date | 2025 |
Description
est known as the writer and performer of the smash-hit comedy album ‘Why U So like dat?’, Siva Choy was a multi-talented musician, journalist, stand-up comedian, movie actor and teacher. From schoolboy pop music sensation to down-to-earth movie star this intimate and revealing book paints an affectionate portrait of Siva throughout the course of a life filled with pioneering artistic endeavour.
Drawing on personal archives, interviews and over forty years of his private letters and audio recordings, (exclusively reproduced here for the first time), Siva will frequently speak for himself as he describes in his own words an astonishingly eventful life of creative achievement, travel and adventure. By turns warm, wise, moving and often very funny, his letters bring to light the kind and thoughtful man who was sometimes hidden behind the public performer.
Combining extensively researched biography with deeply personal memoir, the book charts in intimate detail Siva’s formative young life in Singapore, his school days, teenage pop music career, university years and early forays into journalism. His life-changing decision to head for Europe as a young man and his five years in London and the Netherlands are explored in depth. It is while living in Amsterdam that Siva conceives of an audacious plan to cycle back to Singapore, a journey of over 25,000 km. This mad-cap bicycle escapade, undertaken with Siva’s typical last-minute do-or-die enthusiasm and filled with narrow escapes, comedy and high drama, is described here in detail by the author, who accompanied Siva on that perilous year-long overland adventure.
At its heart, this is the story of one man’s remarkable journey through an event-filled life, one which embodies the enduring power of friendship across many decades of triumphs and moments of tragedy. Told with affection, honesty and candour, it traces Siva’s surprising road from the shy school boy who became a chart-topping pop star, to his years of travel and the struggle to forge his own inimitable path to stardom. Discover the writer and performer behind one of the most successful and ground-breaking Singlish comedy albums of all time, the man who was also the creator of the classic ‘Kitchi Boy’ stories, as well as a down-to-earth blues legend and inspiring English teacher.
An illuminating read for anyone wanting to know more about the fascinating inside story behind one of Singapore’s most influential and sadly missed cultural icons.
Contains twenty rarely or never before seen photographs.