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Among the movers and shakers in the local Singapore dance music scene, very few held as formidable a position as the club manager of recently forced into closure Ministry of Sound.

In 1991, 16 year old Eric had only an 'O' level qualification but successfully applied for La Salle and NAFA during this time. Eric was working for Emerald Hill as a waiter in a cocktail bar and came under the tutelage of two men that would affect his life greatly: Vincent Leong and Tanan Tay.

"They taught me a lot of things." Said Eric, "What I am today, I owe a lot of it to them." Rather surprisingly, Eric didn't follow through with the acceptance into either institution but worked in Emerald hill for a few more years and even after National Service. At this stage, Eric took on the role as senior waiter after an offer by Emerald Hill.

Eric's mother, Annie Lan, was also involved in the Emerald Hill group, having more than 30 years experience in the industry, but is presently retired. "I want to make a name for myself," Eric remarked when I asked about his family, "but not living in her shadow."

Eric's father was the owner of a chinese coffeeshop and bumped into his mother when she was 16 and working at Ming Court (now known as the Orchard Parade Hotel) - evidently hospitality and business is in the family.

"My parents, especially my mother, have always been very supportive about my choice in work." Said Eric, "She has affected me greatly and it's very encouraging to have a parent like that."

In 1998, Eric was offered a job at Brewerkz microbrewery as the first bar supervisor. Then, Brewerkz was opening shop for the first time and it wasn't too long that Eric was headhunted to be a supervisor for the opening of O bar as well. He was tasked to be part of the setup team for Dbl O too.

"I love setting up," Eric commented, "It's the challenging part of any hospitality business." ...However, the intrepid Eric did have a moment of weakness during this period. "In my early 20s I wasted a lot of opportunities," he confessed.

"I didn't work hard enough, I had no commitment and did not concentrate. When I saw my friends get promoted up to the position of AM (Assistant Manager) I got really depressed. It was Tanan who woke me up to my ambition. He asked me, 'Do you want to work?' and suddenly, everything became clear."

Shortly after, Eric and a few other colleagues were selected for the prestigious John White Course in hospitality and completed it with flying colours.

Eric left to join the Tung Lok Group in 2003 to work in "My Humble House" at the Esplanade, where he met Sam Leong and assumed the mantle of Assistant Restaurant Manager.

He was then promoted to the post of group beverage manager in 2004, controlling the beverage sales of 4 outlets while retaining an AM position at Heeren. 2005, Eric was offered a job to setup Onyx (now Babyface) in Esplanade and met Vikki Huang and Irene Tan.

"I built really close bonds with them," said Eric, "It is an important thing to have a close team as it is difficult to find someone that can work well together with you."

True enough, when Ministry of Sound opened its doors last year, Vikki was offered to join Ministry of Sound as the senior assistant manager and provided recommendation for Irene who came in as the Public Relations Manager. Eric was roped in shortly and after that, as they say, the rest is history.

Eric functions in a "purely operational role" at Ministry of Sound, joining weekly meetings which are "suggestion based", he pointed out: "It's a huge team. We employ about 100 staff a day inclusive of all operation personnel.

MAN OF THE PEOPLE LEFT, left to right: Calvin Sio, Marketing Manager, MOS, Eric Lee and Leslie Leong, Consultant, MOS, RIGHT, left to right: Melvin Oh, Security, Kenneth Yap, Security, Eric Lee and Georgia Oi, Public Relations.

So how fast does an idea in the meetings become reality?

Eric clarified: "this depends on the size of the event. Usually we take one or two weeks to plan it about two months before the projected date. We can't, however, do it in that time for something on the scale of Tiesto... that took six months!"

And how does Ministry of Sound treat their customers?

"We take public opinion very seriously. We reply to feedback very often. I want to get people to come back not just because Ministry of Sound is a big name, but for friendly staff, nice drinks and good music."

What about relations with other clubs?

"In this industry there is a lot of competition. Its not about being enemies, its just business. We often visit each others clubs and talk."

What do you think about Boat Quay and Mohd Sultan? Allegedly these areas lost sales because of Ministry's presence.

"Yes, that might be true, but people just need a change of environment. Originally people used to flood Boat Quay, then Mohammed Sultan and then Club Street. Clarke Quay used to be a restaurant place but look at it now: big clubs like Attica and Indochine."

Aha! Do you think that the Indochine chain is on par with MOS?

"Micheal Ma's franchise? I've been serving him drinks since I was 16! (laughs). That place has a different concept with the aquariums and artifacts. Forbidden City looks great from the outside."

How about Ministry implementing some changes? You can have aquariums and Artifacts too!

"Oh no, we cannot make major changes easily because we have to consult the UK head office. And furthermore we shouldn't follow other people's footsteps, we want to be a leader."

So what are your bosses like?

"The bosses are nice, they look after staff welfare a lot and always listen to your suggestions. As for me, I think my bosses have given me a great opportunity."

How about you being a boss?

"I make it point to not be harsh, but strict. Work is work even though I may be friends with some of my subordinates. I also like to work with my team... to show them that I am hands on. You got to make them believe in you for it to function."

Do you think choosing this line of work was a good idea?

"If you have no papers it's better to stick to your job. Find a trade you think you can excel in and keep at it. Some jobs need experience... not only paper, like this one."

What about the future?

"I won't say I'm contented to be what I am. If I had no ambition, that's the end of my life."

Any things that you would like to say to your employees, if they are reading this?

"I hope everyone does well and gets promoted. As long as you have passion, that's the most important thing of all."