New spin on popular band

Spin’s lead singer Achik may have passed on but his musical legacy continues with his younger brothers, writes Dennis Chua

MENTION the name Achik and fans automatically associate the man with his hit songs such as

and his famous duet with singer Siti Nordiana.

Throughout his 11 years in showbusiness, he was the face of pop group Spin, which he co-founded in 1998 with guitarist Aidel Ahmad, bassist Azren Kamil and drummer Ali.

Sadly, Achik, or Abdillah Murad Shari, died in a car accident while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to his hometown of Seremban on April 17, 2010. He was only 27.

While Achik’s loss was widely mourned by fans, Spin did not disband. Instead, it recruited two family members to continue his musical legacy.

SPINNING TOGETHER

Interestingly, two Spins emerged, namely Spin and Real Spin.

The first group comprises Spin’s newer members, who joined Achik in 2001 when their second album was made — guitarist Ayie (recently replaced by Jojo), drummer Talhar (recently replaced by Afiz) and bassist Raymie.

They chose Achik’s younger brother Arwis Shari, or Awis, 31, as lead singer in 2016, six years after his death.

The second group, which goes by the name Real Spin, comprises Spin’s original members Aidel and Azren and Aiman Ramli, who recently replaced original drummer Ali.

They chose another of Achik’s younger brothers, Khalis Shari, 29, as lead singer early this year.

In a recent interview, Khalis, a father of two and the eighth of 10 siblings, said: “While there are two groups called Spin today, we complement rather than compete with each other.

“We may sing the same songs, and new ones which we may come up with separately, but both bands pay tribute to Achik, who is synonymous with our beginning as bands.” ALL IN THE FAMILY

Khalis was offered the role of Real Spin’s lead singer by Azren and Aidel.

“They felt that to recapture the magic of the original Spin team, it was best to invite a sibling of their first lead singer on board, and hence I came in.”

Real Spin came up with its first single,

written by Atan Alfian and composed by Cuna Alfian in January, and its second single,

written by Azren and composed by Cuna, was launched in June.

Besides singing in Real Spin, Khalis plans to record his own solo numbers, as Achik did.

“Our band is also involved in business, selling herbal health and beauty products. In this, too, we are following my late brother’s footsteps as he planned to sell them.

“Better still, we’ve got his widow Tasha Maarof as our product spokeswoman.”

FAN ACCEPTANCE

Meanwhile, Awis said he had to audition to become the new lead singer of his band.

“I feel honoured to step into my late brother’s shoes, and while I had to prove myself as a capable vocalist via auditions, it’s only fair to give everybody a chance.”

He said he could work well with his bandmates because Achik had introduced them to his family and they regularly had meetings in his house.

“I admit I am not Achik, and thus I cannot sing as he did. Nevertheless, my bandmates and Spin fans have given us the thumbs-up after hearing me deliver Spin songs my way, and that’s what matters most.”

Awis’ first single with Spin was

in 2016, written and composed by Aiman a.k.a. Zul Majid of the group 2 By 2.

Spin had four albums to its credit during Achik’s lifetime. They were

(1999), (2001),

(2002) and (2003).