Blowing out 60 years of candles

When the Carpenters, Donny Osmond and other 70s icons were dishing out hits, they were probably getting most of their air play over Rediffusion, which like the singing stars has been overtaken by time and technology. The end of April is also the end of the road for the brown box of entertainment, the only cable radio service that falls silent after more than six decades on air. News of the closure of Rediffusion, that broadcasts not only in English and Mandarin but in also in Chinese dialects, came as a shock not just to their loyal fans, but also the station's management and resident DJs. "The announcement was very sudden," said Noelle Fong, the Station Director of RediGold, Rediffusion's Mandarin channel, who was informed about the impending closure by the broadcaster's Chief Executive Leon Kwok Seng on April 5. "Everyone was not prepared for the announcement and our DJs have cried for a couple of days," said Fong. It was not just the closure news that brought tears to the Rediffusion DJs' eyes; it was the sudden interest and hype about Rediffusion only after making the announcement about their closure that broke their hearts. Redigold's DJ Zhou Hai Ling sobbed during her morning show a few days after the public announcement, "Mainstream media had neglected Rediffusion all these while and it is only now when Rediffusion is closing that people are giving us some attention". "No words can explain my sadness," added a disappointed Zhou. The typically cheery Zhou sobbing over the air left Maureen Ow, an ardent listener of Rediffusion's morning and weekend shows, in shock. "It was very upsetting, but what she said is a fact," said the 26-year-old who grew up listening to Rediffusion. Ow is among the rare young listeners of the radio service which is closing with barely more than 3,000 subscribers today, a far cry from the more than 100,000 in its heyday. It was best loved for its Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien and Hakka dialect shows that made household names of dialect storytellers such as Lee Dai Soh and Ong Toh and Ng Chia Keng. Some have become audio books that Rediffusion now sells to those who want to remember the past. Others like 81-year-old retiree Aw Beng Poh, who only speaks the Hokkien dialect and Cantonese-speaking plant engineer Kok Kwok Kong, who is a need only tune in to their memories. Tuning in to Rediffusion everyday for dialect news and music has been the "only source of entertainment while at home," said Aw who now "feels like a part of me is missing". "It would be quite a pity to not hear any festive dialect songs playing on the air waves in Singapore," lamented the 57-year-old Kok. Singapore should protect the station and its history added Kok as he reminisced over his some 40- years of memories with Rediffusion. "Rediffusion DJs are like our companions because they can relate to many of us who call in. We are like a big family," said Kok's wife, Lee Lian who has also been a long-time listener to the radio station. "Just like how youngsters these days can't live without their MP3s, the senior citizens also feel the same way towards Rediffusion," chipped in Kok. Since it's advertisement in 1949 of "Being A Candle", Rediffusion has kept to the motto, lighting up the lives of listeners. But like all candles, this candle has come to its end.