Vinyl reissues bring back memories of Bagets Raymond Lauchengco

All of a sudden it seemed like it was the ‘80s again. That was how Raymond Lauchengco felt when he got hold of the vinyl reissues of his hit albums. Those were the soundtracks of the movies Bagets and Hotshots and his solo debut titled Raymond, all of them pressed in the U.S. of A., made new again and available in stores.

It has been ages since Raymond last signed long-play copies. You know those 12-inch discs that are played on turntables with display worthy photos on the cover. Those went out of fashion with the arrival of cassette tapes and later the CDs. But they are back and now here are those vinyls, technologically improved versions of the LPs. And just like he used to do nearly 40 years ago, he was putting his autograph on the covers for the buyers.

It was the Megastar Sharon Cuneta who discovered Raymond and who got him into films and recording. Sharon was then the most exciting young singer and actress. She and Raymond were schoolmates at the International School and Sharon decided to bring Raymond to Viva, where she was under contract after she heard him sing.

All it took for Raymond was one audition for the Viva bosses and he was signed to contracts with Vicor for recording and Viva for films. He did not really need any training. He was after all already a seasoned performer at the theater. He started as the boy Louis in The King and I when he was 12 years old. Besides, he had good looks and a great singing voice.

The singing and the acting started off on the same trajectory that took Raymond to stardom in less than a year. After a featured appearance in Cross My Heart with Sharon and Rowell Santiago, he was playing leading man to Maricel Soriano in the tear-jerker Saan Darating ang Umaga. And then, there came Bagets.

The word Bagets came from the somewhat unsavory gay term, “batang pa-gets” but it later came to mean simply young and hip. In 1984, Bagets became the title of a motion picture directed by the late Maryo J. de los Reyes. The coming-of-age tale featured a powerhouse cast and starred five young actors in the title role. William Martinez, JC Bonin, Herbert Bautista, Aga Muhlach and Raymond. It became a cultural phenomenon that still holds fans enthralled. Most especially with the music.

Raymond was one lucky newcomer. He was given the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the music industry for his self-titled debut album. Aside from producer Spanky Rigor of the group VST&Co., there were songwriters like the great George Canseco for the theme song of Saan Darating ang Umaga, Cecile Azarcon of Lift Up Your Hands fame for the romantic ballad So It’s You and the then fast-rising singer and songwriter Odette Quesada, who did Don’t Know What to Do, Don’t Know What to Say, for the heartbreak ballad, I Need You Back.

So It’s You and I Need You Back, which were already big hits by that time, were both included in the Bagets soundtrack. Then Quesada was asked to come up with more originals. She did two. One was Growing Up, recorded by Gary Valenciano and which became the definitive Bagets theme song.

The other one was composed for the graduation scene that ends the picture. That song was the now iconic Farewell and it was recorded by Raymond. It became so successful that to this day, a lot of high school graduation ceremonies are almost always capped with a rendition of Farewell.

Hotshots starred Aga Muhlach, Herbert Bautista, Gary Valenciano and Raymond. Aside from his Shadow of Time, composed by Louie Ocampo and Martin Nievera, the Hotshots soundtrack included Reaching Out by Gary, Special Memory by Iwi LaureI and others.

With successes like those, it was no wonder that Raymond did a lot of album signings during that time. He has since then matured into one incredible artist. Singer, performer, actor, photographer and lately, creator of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces that are drawing so much praise. The Bagets days are over but it is so easy to bring the memories back. A vinyl usually does the trick.

By the way, in true hit fashion, the first batch of Bagets vinyl sold out in record time, but the new pressings from abroad have arrived and you can now get your copies.