But watching Sherbet on stage at Bangkok's Royal Paragon Hall last week, I found myself wondering what had entranced that generation. The rocking but viscous rhythms or the powerful but drawled vocals?

"Daryl [Braithwaite] was almost unintelligible," complained one disappointed audience member. "What you do expect, he's old," added his friend, apparently siding with the singer.

The band, who are in their mid- to late-50s, aren't old, though they did seem to suffer from memory loss, or perhaps it was the lack of rehearsals. Several members forgot the notes and Braithwaite wasn't able to remember any lyrics, staring resolutely at the music sheets on the floor throughout each number.

Ironically, the most obvious inconsistencies were in their biggest hit in Thailand, the ballad "Still in Love with You". A quick glance around the hall revealed several disappointed faces.

Braithwaite did his best to roar through "High Rolling" and "Magazine Madonna", but lacked the vocal power to pull it off.  Lead guitarist Harvey James compensated, delivering solid melodies and almost succeeding in drowning out the vocalist's frequent coughs.

Dressed in sedate black suits, the band opened with "Rock Me Gently", a number that drew no reaction from the audience. They had some success with "Another Night on the Road" and "You Got the Gun", even drawing a few whistles.

Halfway through the set, Braithwaite invited the audience to dance in front of the stage. They moved up but didn't dance, although a few swung along to the viscous rhythms.

Braithwaite tried to play with the crowd, asking them to put their hands up and clap, which they did, and to sing along, which they didn't. His raspy voice had many worried that he was drawing his last breath, but he got through "You Got the Gun" and "If You Walked Away" without incident.

Sherbet seemed determined to show their legendary spirit, finishing their show with two encores, the first a medley of "Still in Love with You", "You're My World" and "Howzat", the second "Summer Love". I thought the audience was giving the band a standing ovation after "You're My World", but it turned out that Braithwaite had asked them to rock to "Howzat".

And so, for the first time that night, the crowd - many of them the same age as the band - happily sang along.

Funny things, memories.

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation