On 12 July 2024, our music scene lost one its pioneering mavericks and staunchest advocates, Michael Cheah. Sadly, the beloved publisher passed away due to heart complications at the age of 68.
As one of the co-founders of Singapore's first independent rock magazine BigO, alongside his brother Philip Cheah and Stephen Tan, Michael was was a seminal figure in the local music industry.
Beginning in 1985 as a black-and-white zine, before evolving into a full-fledged magazine, and eventually a website - the publication was an unwavering champion for homegrown indie and alternative music until its closure last year. BigO (an acronym for Before I Get Old) also organised gigs, published books and released cassette/CD compilations.
Michael Cheah's influential DIY institution wasn't just important to the underground muscians of Generation X, it would also prove to be the inspiration for generations of local indie publications and creatives to come.
We spoke to some of Singapore's music scene veterans to get their thoughts on Michael Cheah's impact and legacy.
Patrick Chng
Frontman of The Oddfellows, member of The Fast Colors and TypeWriter
"The legacy of Michael is tied closely to BigO, which started out as a photocopied fanzine in 1985. The birth of BigO itself is an inspiration for the DIY music scene. Three journalists from the Singapore Monitor newspaper decided to start a fanzine to continue to write about what they loved when the paper closed down. Michael, his younger brother Philip and Stephen Tan got their friends, including Chris Ho, to write about indie, alternative music, films and comics.
The fanzine released the cassette compilation Nothing On The Radio in 1986 featuring unsigned local artists. BigO organized the No Surrender concert at Anywhere lounge featuring alternative acts like Opposition Party, Corporate Toil, The Nonames, and Zircon Lounge amongst others. In 1988, BigO collaborated with the Singapore Arts Festival to organized Alternative Pop at the Botanic Gardens.
Michael was very much in the background making contacts and networking with brands and companies to organise gigs and put together CD compilations, such as the New School Rock and the BigO Singles Club series. It was Michael who persuaded BMG label to take a chance with my band The Oddfellows, which led to them distributing our debut album Teenage Head in 1991. He was a genuine nice guy who made things happen and didn’t care for the limelight. I am forever grateful to Michael for not just believing in me, but for believing that we should nurture our own voices and talents."
Suhaimi Subandie
Guitarist of Stompin' Ground, founder of Circus Of Mutants skate crew
"Michael was one of the few who believed in us DIY bands back then. The late 1980s and 1990s indie/alternative scene wouldn't be as vibrant and happening without Michael and the BigO team exposing and promoting us bands. Me personally, made alot of good life long friends from those bands and the journalists for the zine. I'm forever grateful for that!"
Joe Ng
Singer-songwriter of The Padres, composer and sound designer (Eating Air, The Maid, Unlucky Plaza)
"Michael with Philip Cheah and Stephen Tan started BigO magazine with a common conviction that rock ’n’ roll and popular culture is vital and not just some disposable consumerist commodity. Michael heads it by being the publisher and during the decades, had to fearlessly fight for their publishing license to be renewed by the authorities who had less than kind opinions on what BigO was championing. Year in year out, he has to face not only the wrath of officials, but fans who bicker, readers’ criticisms and cynicism. Michael took it all in his stride. It’s always easy to start something, but doing it for decades shows what a giant of a character Michael was."
Ginette Chittick
Bassist/vocalist of Astreal and Psycho Sonique, DJ, fashion designer, subculture researcher and educator
"Michael's contribution to the underground music scene cannot be emphasised enough. By establishing BigO in 1985, the magazine cemented its place in the annals of local underground music history as Singapore’s first full-fledged independent rock music magazine. Its saliency lay in the fact that it was the only pop culture and music magazine that covered the local music scene, thereby adding legitimacy to the music scene and its ancillary activities and laying the groundwork for a frame of reference with which the scene operated. It helped delineate the boundaries of this new space where previously there were none, thus marking a significant cultural shift for the nascent music scene."
Robin Chua
DJ for EATMEPOPTART, drummer of Livonia, Shelves and TypeWriter
"I think many can agree that he’s the straight-talking, no-nonsense guy. Together with his brother Philip and brother-in-law, Stephan Tan, they made BigO a great platform for local music to be seen, heard, and read. There’s no denying the impact it had on the scene. If BigO didn’t happen, I really don't know what SG music will be like now. Gotta give props to them for starting BigO."
