Pause rewinds
The remaining members of the much-loved '90s outfit pay tribute to their departed colleague at an intimate gig
THE CAREER OF popular ’90s pop rock band Pause was put on permanent hold back in 2002 following the death of its singer, Amarin “Joe” Luangboriboon. Earlier this month, Pause was briefly revived for an exclusive concert, titled “Pause Play Again” at Est 33 at The Nine on Rama IX Road, much to the delight of more than 100 loyal fans who turned out for the event.
The concert was organised by ME Records in cooperation with KKBox, a Taiwan-based company that offers streaming music services in Asia, and follows on from the release of the band’s last ever song “Rak Yoo Rob Kai” in February to mark the 14th anniversary of Joe’s death. Within just two days, the music video had been watched a million times on YouTube. Today it’s at 9 million and counting.
Joe had already recorded part of the vocals – the lyrics were still incomplete at the time – with keyboardist Pitru Polchana. Pause’s remaining members, bassist Norathep “Nor” Masaeng, guitarist Polkrit “A” Viriyanuphap, and drummer Niruj “Boss” Daetboon, rearranged the number and incorporated additional lyrics penned by Pativate "Fongbeer" Utaichalurm.
The audience at the gig was delighted to hear the band’s songs played once again, as Nor, A and Boss along with vocalists Mariem Gray and Kemawat “Keng” Rerngtham, along with “Rak Yoo Rob Kai” contest winners Kowit “Jew” Tangyothin, Praphap “Faint” Tancharoen and Pravej “Meeyok” Jindadamrongvej served up a comprehensive set of past hits.
Former Clash guitarist Kachapak "Phol" Poltanachot served as emcee for the night and warmed up the audience with a quiz. Pause then performed “Thi Ther Fao Ror” before inviting Mariem Gray to sing Pause’s timeless hits including “Kwam Lub”, “Chuay Bok Dai Mai”, “Bang Sing” and “Dao”.
Crescendo’s vocalist Kemawat “Keng” Rerngtham was next up on stage to help the band as they played their repertoire. He was followed by the three contestants, Jew, Faint, and Meeyok with “Rak Yoo Rob Kai”.
“We are like the postman. The postman delivers letters, and we send messages. As long as fans receive our message, we continue to serve them. Thanks to you all for turning out tonight. We are proud that we have remained in fans’ minds,” Nor told the crowd.
The concert came to an end with “Thi Wang”, the song that shot Pause into the music stratosphere and which Joe always introduced with the words: “the wind will blow us together”.
For updates on Pause’s movement, visit Facebook.com/pausepage/, Facebook.com/MeRecordsLabel or go to the record company’s YouTube Channel
