Rocker Duki Sadikin proves age no reason to stop singing

JAKARTA (JP): How old is Mick Jagger? Fiftythree. And he still sings.

This is what Duki Sadikin, singer and leader of the Seven Oz rock band, says every time people urge him to stop singing.

Duki is 48 years old now, and has two children.

He looks younger on stage at the Classic Rock pub, wearing black denim and boots, making gestures typical of rock singers while singing songs from such groups as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Rolling Stones.

And no-one would believe that he is a middle-ranking official at Jakarta's Treasury Office.

His uncle, Ali Sadikin, Jakarta's former governor, always scolds him "It's a disgrace for a man of your age to sing rock songs".

"Mick Jagger is older than me and he still sings," Duki answers.

Ali usually counters: "Don't compare yourself to Mick Jagger. He is a singer, you are a governmental official."

So the show must go on. Duki and his group perform every Monday. His family has no problem with his hobby, but are not interested in watching his gigs either.

His colleagues and superiors also know about his musical activities but they don't object since he always comes to the office on time.

"I sing for fun," he smiles.

For Duki, rock music is a passion.

When Elvis Presley and the Beatles came to shock the world with their music in the 50's and 60's, Duki and his peers, like all young people, all over the world, were hooked.

As for Duki and his friends, they thought they had to be handsome like the Beatles to be rock singers.

"Fortunately, Mick Jagger with his Rolling Stones saved us. We thought: 'Ugly people can also sing rock songs'.

Duki and some high-school friends formed "Jack Celene" in Bandung when famous singer-composer Deddy Dores and renowned drummer Jelly Tobing were just starting their musical careers there.

But Duki's paradise did not last long. In the middle of the 1960s, Sukarno banned all rock music, dismissing it as poison.

They still played it, but were often caught by the military.

"I was once sent to prison with a shaved head," Duki recalls.

After Sukarno's regime collapsed, the ban on rock songs was lifted and Duki and friends could sing again. But he dropped out of Padjadjaran University in Bandung before getting a job at the Jakarta's treasury office.

"Now I sing rock again. Rock music makes you young, you know. Thank God, my career hasn't gone very well. If I were a boss now, I would have no time to sing," he sniggers.

Seven Oz aren't famous. They haven't produced an album yet and only get Rp 100,000 (US$44.5) each per show.

Except for the singer, Deddy Stanzah, a former member of the legendary rock group Rollies, the band doesn't have any big names in Indonesian music.

On guitar is Donny Suhendra, one of the three guitarist in the country who signed contracts to use Fender products; there is a bassist, and a keyboard player, Iwan Gajah. The youngest is Salesadon, 28, who has a voice like Rod Stewart's and is often hired by local studios to fake Stewart's voice on "own-brand" recordings.

Although they have yet to make a name for themselves, they are happy, particularly Duki. (jsk)