Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo. Screenshot from Jim Paredes’ Instagram page
50 nA PO sila!
Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo of Apo Hiking Society are set to celebrate their 50 years in the entertainment industry with a two-day concert next month.
The golden anniversary celebration set for July 15 and 16 will be held where it all began for Paredes, Garrovillo and the late APO member Danny Javier — at the Ateneo de Manila University, specifically at the Hyundai Hall, Areté.
In his Instagram post, Paredes gave their fans an idea of what they can expect from the show, promising “surprise and delight and originality with musical memories, spiels, show stopping numbers and new cool stuff.”
The singer-songwriter behind some of the group’s hits such as “When I Met You,” also recalled the time when the group, then with four members—Lito de Joya—were supposed to conclude their group’s musical aspirations.
“We actually started even earlier. But we decided to count our years from 1973 when we as a very little known group held a farewell concert to end the group after college,” explained Paredes who shared that at the time, he was leaving for Turkey for an AISEC job and “wander around the world after.” The three others also had their own plans after the farewell concert.
The TV host-actor also shared how the then-quartet, “despite the raging storm…had two full nights at Meralco Theater” and received standing ovations for both dates.
Paredes also wrote in his caption how “[a] lot happened after we quit,” and true enough, the group, through the years, achieved and maintained their iconic and legendary status in the Philippine music industry.
“Paradoxically, the end of the group actually became the start of our 50-year journey that is still going on,” Paredes shared.
By then, De Joya would eventually leave the group, as the trio began to make a name for themselves with hits such as “Panalangin,” “Batang-Batang Ka Pa,” “Ewan,” and “Di Na Natuto,” which have transcended generations.
APO was reduced to a duo when Javier, at the age of 75, died October last year from “complications due to his prolonged illnesses,” just less than a year shy of their golden year milestone. EDV