A golden anniversary of song

By Mahes Perera

Desmond de Silva has plenty of reason to feel good about his career. Those who know his singing styles realise he's a winning singer no matter the style of the music. The year 2013 saw the commencement of his 50 years in music. The celebration entitled 'The Journey' was launched in Sydney on July 20, 2013 and the Roadshow in Sri Lanka commenced in his home town Matara with a packed open air concert on July 26, 2013 followed in Colombo with a concert at the Museaus College Hall on December 28.

Question: Fifty years as a singer is no easy task, how do you attribute your success to date?

Answer: I have been blessed to carry on so far for 50 years and my success I place it squarely on the fans who make people like us keep on going, because they appreciate my music.

That is great and I'm humbly grateful that I have been able to keep on singing for the 50 years in my career. The Journey will be going to different parts of the world. We've finished the London leg, we've finished Sri Lanka and next I will be going to North America, that is Canada, then to the States - East Coast and West Coast, to Europe to take in Italy and France, then we move over to Dubai and Bahrein and I'll complete my Journey in Sydney, Australia.

Q:Have you released a CD to mark your 50 years in the industry?

A:Yes, we have already released a two CD pack with 50 hits entitled Dance Along with Desmond, backed by Rajiv and The Clan. The CDs contain the Theme Song - the Journey (Ran Kiri Katagewe), the Eddie Jayamanne Medley, the Wally Bastian Medley, the Desmond de Silva Medley and Padura Saajje.

I've also released the 'Sentimental Me' CD with English songs which contains two songs somewhere Over the Rainbow and What Wonderful World dedicated to the memory of the late Raddy Ferreira.

The theme song was composed by Rajiv Sebastian and the lyrics were by Vernon Perera.

Some of the Sinhala songs are the older songs associated with me.

Q: In hindsight you started off with the Fireflies, then moved over to the Spitfires, the Jetliners and Desmond and the Clan, what was the group with which you had a lot of success?

A: Musically it was Desmond and the Clan. We were recognised well enough to be given a contract to Norway and Denmark.

We had five years of music in that part of the world which was mainly Scandinavia. Those were good years in my career, we were extremely appreciated.

Q: Do you then miss performing in Sri Lanka?

A: Of course I love to perform to the Sri Lankan audience when I do come over here. At that time we had come to a point where we needed to leave the shores of Sri Lanka because we felt we needed to expand our horizons. So that pushed me to look for work outside the country.

I think the music scene in Sri Lanka is good and it has improved tremendously from the time we were young and struggling musicians. The technical equipment is excellent, the recording facilities are brilliant it has lept to be better for the present day musicians.

Q: Now it seems you are synonymous with Sinhala songs. You are termed the King of Baila. Where did baila come in and was your first CD a baila one?

A: My first CD was with the Spitfires in which I recorded "My Girl" and 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'. It was later on by coincidence that I started to record Sinhala songs. The baila came in as a request by a producer who met me and asked me to record the song Chuda Manike. We didn't know who had composed it.

Everyone was singing it. So that was how I started singing Sinhala songs. I was an English music singer from the days I started with the Fireflies. We were always English mainstream. Even now I'm not Sinhala mainstream. It just that it so happened from that record which became a success there were more requests for some more songs to be sung and now the rest is history.

I have recorded more than 850 songs in Sinhala. As for the term King of Baila, the majority of the people enjoy this type of music, which has made them give me that particular title King of Baila. I didn't ask for it. It's just the way they look upon it.

Q: So do you like it or don't you like it?

A: I'm split that way. It's an honour in a way from the majority of Sri Lankans abroad and even at home. I'm glad they give me a boost, in the sense that most of my work outside the country, outside where I'm living is based on the fact that the baila is popular. Not that I sing only baila. I always sing English songs and then mix the baila when I'm booked to perform in different parts of the world.

Q: When you left Sri Lanka and went over to the States in 1983 were you performing regularly with bands?

A: I was there for a year and I did a few performances during the period I was there.

Then I came back formed another band with some of the older members of my band and off we went to England to work some gigs.

The boys came back and I stayed and worked with a Sri Lankan band Foreign Affair. I was a guest artiste with them. As a team we were pretty good. Then I went to Australia four years ago and I have my own band in Sydney. It's a seven piece band Desmond and the Impressions.

There's Nimal Punchihewa - drums/vocals, Pius Miranda - bass/vocals, Terrence Fernando-guitar, Anil Liyanage-keyboards and Dominic McKinnon - keyboards/trumpet. Our repetoire is middle of the road music and we've performed in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Wellington for dances.

Q: Since you are a personality in the music scene are you aware of other singers, especially Sri Lankans who emulate your style of singing?

A: At one time there were a few of them which was a great honour. There's Dezmond Rodrigo, he is in New York, we did a concert together and he's quite a showman.

Q: Fifty years of singing, surely there must be highlights in your career which you will not want to forget?

A: Yes. Representing Sri Lanka at the 5th Olympiad of Songs in Athens, Greece in 1974, where I sang Obe Nissa composed by Mignonne Fernando and then again in 1975 at the Yamaha Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan at which Mignonne, myself and Joey Lewis participated.

On the lighter side, the other story that keeps springing up in mind always is the incident when I was billed to sing at the Excise Dance which was held at the then Lanka Oberoi.

There I was backstage, waiting to go on, all togged up in my entertainment suit in a velvet jacket with gold braiding and little mirrors, when an Excise official, in high spirits, came backstage, looked me in the eye and said "I say! Tell Desmond to get ready man, we're waiting for him. Tell him not to delay. I smiled and very condescendingly said "Alright Sir, I'll do that!