SOME people call him "Mr Rockin' Angels", some call him ?the gentleman of Rock? but mostly people know him simply as Patrick.

In the last five years Patrick Chua and his wife Tikki have turned Rockin? Angels Jammin? Cafe in Phuket Town into an essential venue, if you are a musician or just a lover of live music.

The success of the bar comes not just from the d?cor or the quality of the instruments available, it?s due to the warm welcome that Patrick bestows on everyone that comes by.
You will never be alone in Rockin? Angels.

Ever ?Mr Cool?, Patrick has an easy manner and posesses a humour that is contagious.
Patrick grew up in Singapore and has done most things. But he has always been a muso.
?I was quite active as a youngster but I kept breaking my glasses doing sports, so my mother said I had to do something less destructive,? he said. ?I was transferred from sports into the brass band and I ended up playing bugle, cornet and later
the trombone.

?Deep down though, I always wanted to be a guitar player?





Patrick became a musician back in the mid 70?s, then went into acting and performing arts, became a fashion designer and then the captain of his own charter boat called Rockin? Angels Sportfishing Adventure Charter.

The slump following the 9/11 attack on New York made him realise that being in business in Singapore was not where he wanted to be. ?I really wanted to play music so I moved to southern Thailand,? he said. ?I opened a music bar and, for a while, it was doing well.
Then the terrorists started playing games down there and it was becoming unnerving, so I came to Phuket.?

Patrick moved his bar up to Phuket and Rockin? Angels is almost a mirror image of that original bar. The walls are adorned with framed vinyl albums and tasteful posters. The lighting is subtle and atmospheric. Equipment is carefully stacked up and placed around the small stage at the far end from where Patrick controls proceedings.

?It immediately felt like the right place to be,? he said. ?Now anyone who wants to perform can come along and play. I have everything here, so they can just turn up?.
On quiet nights, Patrick will play solo and try out new numbers or arrangements. On Thursdays and Fridays, the place can be absolutely thumping from the late afternoon until the early hours.

These are the designated Jam Nights, although people turn up almost every night of the week to play along with Patrick.

Patrick has no ego or pretentions. He enjoys the company of musicians and he encourages everybody, whatever their ability, to join in and make music.?Being able to play a musical instrument in front of others is a wonderful feeling and it should not be solely for the virtuoso.

?Everyone should experience that feeling whatever their level. People should not be frightened to come along and play.?

Although Patrick plays predominantly the Blues, he will play whatever his audience want him to sing. His repertoire is large and his ability without question. He played recently in the Phuket International Blues Festival and his band was received with great enthusiasm.

If you thought that Rockin? Angels was a small and insignificant bar in Phuket Town, you would be very wrong. The Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts, and other equally famous musical luminaries have all passed through the doors and have joined the queue to play along with everyone else stopping, perhaps, only to autograph posters.

Patrick and Rockin? Angels Jammin? Cafe can be found at 54 Yaowarat Road, Phuket Town. For further information, call Patrick on 081 9654 9654.