Gwailo were an Anglo-American band living in Singapore in the mid-90s. Their name, which is a racist Cantonese term meaning white trash, caused a bit of a stir within their record label, Pony Canyon, until they realised that all the band members were actually white. They could have been huge but an unfortunate event led to them missing their big break. After releasing their debut album Gecko Sushi, which completely sold out, they were due to appear on MTV Asia. However, the night before the performance, they turned on the TV to discover that a drug smuggling scandal had been uncovered within Pony Canyon's management. The performance was cancelled and Pony Canyon hastily withdrew from Singapore, taking all rights to the album with them. The band were left with nothing and returned to their home countries within a year. All they have to show for it today are a few copies of the album. The identity of the band members was kept secret. It is possible that they wanted to become recognised for their music first. Many of the tracks on Gecko Sushi feature the voice of Phoenix J. She has since collaborated with other bands and released a couple of solo albums.
