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THE words on his shirt scream: All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.
It is a quote by the French philosopher and novelist, Albert Camus, who lived from 1913 to 1960.Camus is thought to be the founder of absurdism, a branch of philosophy related to existentialism.
Absurdism contends that human beings are basically irrational and human suffering is the result of vain attempts by individuals to find reason or meaning in the absurd abyss of existence.
"Football is for me a very philosophical game, it's like life, there are lot of realities in it,'' explains Kelvin Tan. Kelvin's a singer, songwriter, musician, playwright and novelist, but most of all, Kelvin considers himself an artist.
Between 1998 and last year, Kelvin has released 16 solo albums. In an absurd demonstration of his artistic prolificness, he released four albums at a go in 2002.
The following year, he released three, also at one go. And last year, he released another quartet of albums. His work is not at all commercial, and his prodigious output is governed not by the laws of demand and supply but by his need to express himself in his art.
The material in Kelvin's albums are written, performed and produced by himself, and just reading out his body of works could leave one breathless.
Yet the former Oddfellows guitarist doesn't appear at all like he's anywhere near burnout from his artistic endeavours.
"Football mirrors life and reality: Truth, lies, there are rules in the game and you see how people observe or break them,'' he expounds.
"For instance, when Rivaldo had the ball kicked at his leg, he faked injury and got away with it. The other player was given a red card,'' he elaborates, referring to the incident in World Cup 2002. Officials examining video footage later saw the Barcelona player falling to the ground and clutching his face after being struck on the knee by a ball kicked by Hakan Unsal.
"Football is also a game of illusion as much as it is a game of real talent. It reveals certain things about life to me. But there is also ugliness, and ugliness is part and parcel of life. Which makes football, like life, so beautiful and so exhilarating. It is like being in a relationship: There's the good and the bad, the business aspects of the game, the agents, the fouls and the cheats.
"Sometimes, we miss the point that football really is a metaphor for life,'' adds Kelvin.Kelvin, who turned 41 on Monday, became interested in football in the early '70s.
"The main reason why I became a football fan was my older brother Kenneth, who's till this day a devout Derby County fan. It was in the early '70s when Derby was victorious under Brian Clough and he somehow spread the love of the game to me, listening to BBC commentaries, and watching Star Soccer two weeks after the games were played,'' says Kelvin.
But it was the great Newcastle player Malcolm MacDonald who captured his imagination, and until now Kelvin remains a firm supporter of the Magpies.
"Sometimes I feel that the kind of person you are is reflected in the club you support. There are people who switch from one club to another. I know it may sound controversial, but it reflects on the personality, and it says something about how loyal you can be,'' says Kelvin.
"It is to do with something that is existential, about a sense of who you are and knowing your roots. As an artist I have to deal with that.
"There's too much of this 'American Idol' thing going on where 'artists' have no idea about their roots.
"As an artist, I make an effort to go back and find out what a particular type of music is about, how it started, and its history. By going back to the roots it helps me understand what it is all about and so helps me as an artist,'' he says.
Kelvin liked the football of the '70s and '80s best because "back then, it wasn't so much about agents or money''.
"It is a catch-22 thing,'' he adds. "Without the money, football wouldn't be so exciting and popular.''Loyalty is something which concerns Kelvin deeply.
"There was a time where being at one club was important, and in the case of Newcastle, when a player left for another club for a better career, somehow he would always be welcomed back with applause when he showed up to play against Newcastle,'' says Kelvin.
"Of course, this loyalty exists today, but there is so much less than it used to be.
"Which is why I admire Andy Johnson, who decided to stay at Crystal Palace even after they were relegated to the Championship, and knowing that it'll affect his chances of playing for England in June next year. That is also why I have so much admiration for Newcastle's striker Alan Shearer. Shearer reminds me of that day and age when players had a strong sense of loyalty to their club."
Shearer, seriously, could have gone and played for any of the bigger teams in Europe or any part of the world but he chose to play for Newcastle.
"I hope he breaks Jackie Milburn's record of 200 goals for Newcastle,'' he says with heaps of passion.Kelvin, who has formed two other bands apart from the Oddfellows, teaches media arts and fine arts in LaSalle. He is coming out with another wave of new albums this year.He has so far sold only several hundred albums altogether but that to him is immaterial so long as he gets his art out.
"I'm an idealist,'' explains the artist, who will have a solo performance at the Esplanade next year.He also is a partner in a cake shop called Room for Dessert, which is at Waterloo Centre. It serves western-style carrot cakes.
"This business that I do is so that I can have the means to do my art without compromise,'' explains Kelvin, who is already doing his art without compromise, carrot cake or no.
A parting thought from this erudite carrot-cake shop partner and Newcastle fan: "If people were to look at football, like art, from an idealistic point of view instead of a commercial one, the world will be a better place.''
posted by IVAN LIM at 9:55 PM
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