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| Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
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In the show biz scene many music enthusiasts attribute a good part of the success of Mignonne and The Jetliners to their inspired, dedicated and excellent manager Tony Fernando. His was a name synonymous with the Music Recording and Sound Industry in Sri Lanka, - now a loss as all hi-fi enthusiasts will endorse... A spool back on Tony's life reveals that he inherited his love for music from his parents especially his mother Frieda who in the early years presented a Concert series by the legendary Indian dancer Ram Gopal. So it was no wonder that Tony, their only son would inherit their passion for music. However, in his teenage years it was the enthusiasm to capture the talent of Artistes by efficient Recording Technique in the Studio, or the skilful Direction of Sound for stage performances that became his goal. A student of the Radio and Electronics Laboratory of St. Joseph's College, Colombo, he was one of the most promising proteges of Rev. Father Ignatius Perera. In a sense when he introduced the series "Dance to Decca" at Otters Aquatic Club, he could well have been the first DJ to spin records in this manner in Sri Lanka. "Tony's Record Shop" where he had the best of all the International record labels covering Classical to popular music, became a household name to the record buying public. In the early '60s, Tony merged with Lewis Brown & Co. Ltd., where along with the record store he introduced a Recording Studio, and it could well be said that many reputed singers, composers and instrumentalists of Sri Lanka today have 'cut' their first disc under his direction. The first 45 rpm record produced in Sri Lanka titled "Kandyan Express" by Nimal Mendis and "Cherry Blossom" by the Jay Bros was on 'Tony's Label, and is still being aired on SLBC. Tony's expertise on Sound system for Stage performances was recognized by the impresario the late Donovan Andree, who selected Tony as Sound Engineer for Concert Artistes who toured Sri Lanka such as the Jazz great Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - and later for the respected Master of Sitar-Ravi Shankar. Sir Joseph Lockwood Chairman of EMI was so impressed with Tony's ability to achieve and demonstrate 'stereo' as it should be heard that he gave him the right to record Sri Lankan talent on the EMI Label subject to the artiste being approved by their management. In his time, the enthusiasm to manage a pop group led Tony to promote the musical group "The Jetliners" and under his expert management, The Jetliners specialized in the music of The Shadows - The British Guitar group of the Sixties. And into this scenario came Mignonne, still in her teens, an excellent keyboardist at the time having won many talent contests on Radio and Stage. Tony was looking for an artiste with immense potential, one he could feature with the group and who could also impart musical knowledge to The Jetliners. Mignonne turned out to be Tony's best move. With Mignonne, The Jetliners with Ishan Bahar and later Sohan Pieris enjoyed tremendous success both in Sri Lanka and abroad. Mignonne & The Jetliners became the first Sri Lankan popular music group to be signed up on the EMI Record Label. Soon after Tony married Mignonne in 1965, and along with daughter, Suyin, they have two sons, Michael and Robert. Ishan, Loretta, Sohan, Des, Alston and Conrad were the vocalists signed to perform with Mignonne and The Jetliners, over the years. The bandperformed at the 'Blow-up' and 'Rendezvous' in the Taj Mahal Hotel Bombay, the 'Rouge et Noir' at the Equatorial Hotel Singapore. Over the years, the original members changed and new talent such as Dylan Lye, Aruna Siriwardhena, Cathy McLeod , Hassen Musafer, Bubu Wijesinghe to name a few, joined the group. Mignonne and The Jetliners performed at the Talk of the Town, Excelsior Hong Kong, at The Hula Hut in Waikiki, Honolulu; and at The Regent of Hong Kong - a World's Best Hotel Award winner, where they were so popular that they were promoted to the position of Resident Band for a veritable record breaking consecutive 16 years, largely due to the sound expertise of Tony who always ensured that the band never faulted in its sound technique. |
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