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| Sunday, 09 March 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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By Karel Roberts Ratnaweera It was a night the stars themselves will never forget - the Sunday Observer Golden Clef 2002 Awards Night on Thursday the 06th at the BMICH.
In a block-buster extravaganza of a musical entertainment that could have matched any show of its kind in the world, the brightest stars in the firmament of Sri Lanka's Western Music (perhaps I should say popular as against classical) shone and sparkled against a backdrop of flashing lights and glittering stage effects, colour, fusion and glamour. Taking Colombo by storm after seven years, the Golden Clef got off the ground after months of hard organisational work which included innumerable meetings with ANCL Management, editors, journalists directly engaged in the organisation of this show of shows, and with the stars themselves,and sometimes everyone combined - the mind-boggling, nitty-gritty of organising to perfection a show of such proportions involving the biggest stars on the local scene. Hundreds of details had to be worked out, down to a new design for the Golden Clef itself which finally came from Singapore, the winning design incorporating a smaller golden clef embedded into a stunning crystal clef which caught all the colour lights on stage. When professional comperes for the evening Kumar de Silva and Neidra Williams came on stage fittingly formally dressed, there was thunderous applause from the full house in anticipation of what was to come. Dominating the stage was a large replica of the golden clef which caught the lights as it revolved. As Colombo glitterati, ANCL Management VIPs, judges and others filled the auditorium,excitement began to mount, culminating in the new Oriental version of the National Anthem. After the lighting of oil lamps came the Golden Clef Theme, All Night Long with Ricky Bahar, son of the famous Ishan Bahar of Jetliners fame, with the wildly exotic dancers doing "Ketchup." Bathiya and Santhush brought the house down even before they could start their "Special" (Unplugged). The precision organising was reflected in the slick timing and smoothness with which the card of entertainment was worked off - awards for various categories,the latest hits mixed in with well-known ones of yesteryear - but not too many of them. A slick act was Just A Gigolo performed by Geoffrey Fernando, Don Sherman and Sohan and Manilal. A show-stopper was the Rock'N Roll Special with Rodney, Clifford, Dilup
and Janaka which had some people dancing in the balcony .
Awards of Lifetime Contribution to the Western Music Industry were presented by Desmond de Silva, Augie Ranaweera, ANCL Director Editorial Bandula Padmakumara and Chairman of Lake House Nalin Ladduwahetty. Popular 'golden oldies' such as Bandleader Harold Seneviratne and Sam the Man who were invited on stage to make their presentations were nostalgic moments which were acknowledged by the audience. In the midst of the glamour, the glitter and the euphoria were some poignant moments such as when Derek of 'Wildfire'fame invited Damien Wikramatilleke who was once with the band, to come onto the stage, and later when Geoffrey Fernando similarly invited two former members of the now defunct 'Purple Rain' to join him on stage. There was lots of kissing and hugging as old memories were rekindled and new friends made. Another item that brought on the applause was Song of the Year presented by the inimitable Sunil Perera of 'Gypsy' fame. But it was Abba's unforgettable composition 'Thank You For the Music' from the late seventies/early eighties presented by a group of famous artistes that brought back the nostalgia again of the years when Abba ruled the world of pop music with its new dimension of 'classical' sounds as in their instrumental accompaniments,inspired by their country's traditional musical sounds. The curtain came down after prolonged vocal extensions - and wild audience applause - with Mignonne Fernando's 'Proud To be Sri Lankan' no doubt bringing to the surface tides of patriotic fervour. |
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