SINGAPORE — In 1963, a Singaporean singing group called The Crescendos released their debut single, Mr Twister. It went to the top of the charts here and opened the floodgates for other homegrown bands to enter the scene.

So it seems only appropriate that on the 50th anniversary of that occasion, many of Singapore’s pop groups from the scene’s “golden era” are taking to the stage again. Singapore’s premiere pop group, The Quests, for example, played two shows in September.

And this weekend, several musicians from the ’60s and ’70s will share the spotlight in Yesterday Once More II, a concert showcase under the Esplanade’s annual A Date With Friends series.

As the name implies, it’s a sequel to last year’s show and it will be more expansive, said Jerry Fernandez, who will host the show.

“It was quite a tall order coming into it, but I had already (produced) the show last year, and the Esplanade makes it very easy to get things done. I enjoy working with them,” he said.

Fernandez also had help from one of Singapore’s veteran musicians and country king, Matthew Tan, who is this year’s musical director. His band, The Mandarins, is the house band.

“Matthew suggested some of the artistes and we worked very closely together,” said Fernandez.

This year’s show will feature performances by Jimmy Chan, Gina Vadham, Henry Suriya, Hillary Francis, Mel and Joe, and Frank and Robyn.

According to Tan, getting Chan to agree was a real coup. The prolific keyboardist previously played with top bands such as The Trailers, The Quests and The Flamingos, but has turned down such gigs, preferring instead to simply ply his trade at a hotel lounge.

“We’ve known Jimmy for a long time,” said Tan. “And he played the keyboards on all of my recordings, except one or two songs. And I miss listening to him. So I said, ‘We must have him’, because Jimmy doesn’t do much of this stuff.”

“No, never,” confirmed Chan. “Only when I was with The Quests did I do such concerts. I’m very low-profile — I never like doing such shows. So when Matthew asked me, I asked him, ‘Am I playing alone?’ He said, ‘No, you’re playing with us’. So I said, ‘Okay’.”

Tan also played a part in convincing Vadham, aka Singapore’s Patsy Cline, to join the show.

“As you know, singing is a part of my life,” she said. “And so is country music. And knowing that Matthew would be playing, I jumped on the bandwagon. I said, ‘Let’s go’. It’s unfortunate we’re not singing a duet, but that’s okay — there’ll be other times.”

For Suriya, who was in one of Singapore’s top vocal groups, Naomi And The Boys, this concert is a way to please the baby boomers. “It’s a meeting of old friends and it’s good that we bring back the past and the brand of music and the musicians from the ’60s,” he said. “People of our age group might love to hear the old chaps again.”

Tan said the rehearsals have been going swimmingly. “These are songs we grew up on, but we just need to polish up a little bit, hence the rehearsals. We cannot play based on memory, any more,” he joked. The show, said Vadham, will bring back the good ol’ memories. “The older generation actually wants to hear people like Matthew and so if they know that we’re playing, hopefully they’ll come out. And I hope they won’t forget us!”

“And maybe the audience will enjoy themselves too,” quipped Chan.

If nothing else, then perhaps the reason that there might not be another chance to see them doing their thing again, said Francis, who used to be in The Sand Boys and later, The Blackjacks.

He quipped: “When we gotta go, we gotta go!”

What: Yesterday Once More II

When: Nov 8, 7.30pm

Where: Esplanade Concert Hall

Tickets: S$28 and S$38 from Sistic/Esplanade box office.