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  The old-timers of the "Old Friends" band are willing to set aside their work for their love of music, proving that where music is concerned, age and occupation hardly matter.

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  The "Old Friends" band mostly plays English and Chinese numbers from the 60's, and are frequently invited to play at weddings, birthday parties and other social functions.

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  Li Yinian: The "Old Friends" band has been together for 41 years because we've had a lot of support from music lovers.

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  Chen Rishu: The "Old Friends" band was formed in 1965, and started getting invitations to perform at various functions in the 70s.

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KUALA LUMPUR: "Old Friends" is a band whose members come from all walks of life, brought together by a shared love of music.

Its members include a teacher, a lawyer, a postman, some businessmen, and even a former departmental assistant for the Philippine Consulate.

Every Saturday night they gather at a member's spectacle shop after closing hours to practise. They're often asked to perform at weddings, birthday parties and other functions.

They mostly play Chinese and English songs from the 60's. Even though they're not famous, the band is happy to just be able to get on stage to perform.

The band leader (and lead guitarist) Li Yinian, 60, said when he was young, he took RM70 his mother had given him and bought himself a second-hand guitar from a pawn shop along Ipoh Road. That was when he started to learn music. Later, he met a fellow music lover Chen Rishu, and the two of them started a band in 1965.

Li said in the 70s, the band started to get invitations to perform at various functions. However, he had to leave the country not long after that in order to continue his legal studies. As a result, the band broke up.

Weekly Practice Every Saturday

Chen Rishu said after the band broke up, he joined other bands, but he couldn't forget about "Old Friends" and kept waiting for Yinian to return. It wasn't until 1997 that Yinian finally contacted him about re-establishing the band.

"At this moment, the band has 12 members, male and female. Some are retired, while others have yet to start working. Every Saturday night, we gather at Yinian's spectacle shop after closing hours to practise from 8 pm to 12 am."

They usually play songs by Elvis, Cliff Richard, the Bee Gees, Papa and Mama, Teresa Teng, Samuel Hui as well as other old Chinese and Western singers and bands.

Over the years, members have quit the band for various reasons, and new faces keep coming in. Despite that, the old-timers are determined to keep the band alive and are ceaselessly searching for new members.

Kuo Shixing, 65, one of the band's singers, said he loves to sing Karaoke, however there's no applause when he sings in a Karaoke lounge, so he joined the band to bask in the applause of the audience.

Xie Yueying, 52, another singer for the band, said, "Every time I show up for practice, it's like a friendly get-together among old friends. It's a great feeling."

The members of "Old Friends" are:

Li Yinian (60), lawyer--Band leader and lead guitarist
Chen Ri Shu (60), Pos Malaysia delivery department manager (retired)--Guitarist and singer
Zhong Guoqiang (58), postman (retired)--Guitarist
Liu Tiancheng (55), music instrument salesperson--Guitarist
Ye Ximen (44), second-hand car dealer--Bassist
He Zhennan (53), executive director--Percussionist
Luo Qibiao (61), businessman--Singer, percussionist/keyboardist, guitarist
Liao Yuzuan (57), businessman--Singer
Kuo Shixing (65), ex-director of a plastic manufacturing plant (retired)--Singer
Xie Yueying (52), mental arithmetic teacher--Singer
Guo Fengping (54), clothing merchant--Singer and drummer
Zu Er (40), ex-Philippine Consulate department assistant--Percussionist