HE has been a full-fledged Australian since 1990, but Malaysia is very much in his heart.
Veteran singer, musician and composer Royston Sta Maria visits his home country from time to time, and always keeps abreast of its latest musical developments.
Best of all, he is always willing to extend a helping hand to musicians facing difficulties, especially those who were badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last couple of years.
MUSICIANS FOR MUSICIANS
The 72-year-old, Melaka-born artiste, who is best known as one half of early 1980s pop duo Roy & Fran, is one of the guest artistes at the Musicians For Musicians concert, which will take place at Barrister's Hall, Menara BAC, Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya at 3pm on Sunday.
The concert featuring a mix of old and new artistes, such as the Alleycats, Sons Of Adam, The Strollers, Heavy Machine, Dasha Logan, Datuk Leonard Tan and Michael Veerapen, aims to raise funds for musicians in need who were affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) from 2020 to 2021.
Some 2,000 guests are expected at the concert from 3pm to midnight, where Royston, or Roy, will serenade fans with "golden oldies", both his compositions and cover versions of hits from the 1980s and 1990s.
"Each artiste will have 20 to 30 minutes and I will be singing duets with some of them," said Roy, who arrived in Malaysia last Monday and is spending two weeks here.
NEW SINGLE
And specially for the musicians in need, Roy has come up with a new single 'Pesona Harapan', which he composed during the MCO. The lyrics are by Mukhlis Nor of Datuk Zainalabidin's 'Hijau' fame.
"It is my labour of love for all Malaysians, especially music lovers of today.
"It is a song of hope, my first in two years, and I've got a star-studded line-up who made it happen," he said.
'Pesona Harapan' has acclaimed music director Mac Chew on keyboards, Simon Leo of Carefree on guitar, Ann Hussin of Singaporean pop group Gingerbread on vocal arrangements, and veteran composer Fauzi Marzuki on mixing and mastering.
"The song also features singers Pak Sheikh Arab, Vijay David, Sarah Dickman and Leaism as vocalists.
"It reflects the true spirit of Bangsa Malaysia, beautifully displayed when Malaysians helped each other during the MCO," said Roy, who was moved by the plight of his fellow musicians who had been left jobless at the time.
"It was a painful time. Many of us suffered, and some of us even had to sell our musical equipment to make ends meet.
"All of us thought that the coronavirus would be over in a short time, but we were sadly wrong."
LONG OVERDUE
Musicians For Musicians was supposed to have taken place in 2020 as a fundraiser for artistes in need, but the MCO had forced the concert to be postponed indefinitely.
"Thank God, things have returned to normal, and the concert can truly begin," said Roy, who last composed two songs for veteran singer Fauziah Latiff two years ago.
"Back then, I came up with 'Tanpa Noktah' and 'Suka-Suka' for Fauziah. 'Tanpa Noktah' had lyrics by Datuk Habsah Hassan and 'Suka-Suka' by Roslen Fadzil."
Roy and Fauziah go back a long way; he produced her debut album Digamit Memori in 1987.
She was then 17, and he also composed one of the songs, 'Segalanya Berakhir Di Sini', for that album.
STILL GOOD FRIENDS
Asked about meeting up with his old singing partner, Datuk Francissca Peter, who formed the other half of Roy & Fran, he said they had remained good friends over the years.
"I won't be meeting her this time, but we keep in contact regularly via social media.
"We reunited for a Christmas show on Radio Televisyen Malaysia three years ago, and we also performed at a concert for my alma mater St Francis Institution, Melaka, in 2017."
Roy, the third of 10 siblings, began his musical career at the age of 19.
He joined his late father Cyril's band as a bass guitarist and subsequently went to Kuala Lumpur to pursue a course in hotel management (which he did not complete).
"I also worked as a waiter in a restaurant at the then Fitzpatrick's Supermarket in Jalan Raja Chulan.
"Around the same time, I joined Discovery, a 1970s band which also had Fauzi as its member."
MALAYSIA'S OSMONDS
Roy and Francissca met in 1979, and formed Roy & Fran the same year.
The duo, dubbed as Malaysia's Donny And Marie Osmond, released two albums before parting ways in 1983.
Their best-known number is 'Siapa Dia Sebelum Daku', which they performed at Konsert Keunggulan 33 Tahun Francissca Peter at Istana Budaya in 2011.
After Roy & Fran, Roy went on to have a successful solo career and released two albums -- Berakhir Kemarau Nan Panjang and Perkenalan Pertama.
His best-known composition to date is 'Mulanya Di Sini', a moving anthem of national unity which became a monster hit for 1980s pop band Freedom.
The song with its catchy chorus "Sama-sama, gunung didaki" (Together we climb mountains) won second prize at the Asean Song Festival 1986.
It was also featured in a record 11 television advertisements, beginning with Malaysia Airlines in 1987.
