Sing with Annesley

by Mahes PERERA

An ardent fan of Clarence Wijewardena and his memorable pastoral songs, Annesley Malawana has throughout his career kept alive the musical gems of Clarence which have now moved into posterity. Many lovers who enjoyed Clarence's songs and the hits of the Moonstones and the Super Golden Chimes will be happy to learn that Annesley Malawana has commenced a series of Sing-a-longs for fans to enjoy.

Meeting up with Annesley to find out more about his Sing-a-long which is scheduled for February 28 at the Palm Beach Hotel it was interesting to learn why he struck on the idea of a Sinhala Sing-a-long. "In our music scene there was actually no such thing. Sam the Man started the Sing-a-long in English and it became popular.

I thought I should do a Sinhala sing-a-long with the hits of the 60's and the 70's. Last year I staged one at the Old Thomian's Club and it was quite a success. I tried it out subsequently for the Lions Club and at the Kurunegala Y's Men's Club and it went down well. The audience participated with enthusiasm when I went from table to table singing and they told me after each event that this was something they missed and were happy I started the series, commented Annesley.

The event hosted by the Palm Beach Hotel will be held at the poolside and is for the entire family, where parents could bring their children along and enjoy the entertainment and at the same time widen the interest of the teenagers to appreciate the songs of yesteryear.

What about the repetoire for the evening, will it be only the songs of Moonstones and the Super Golden Chimes?

"I will be singing the songs of the Moonstones and the Super Golden Chimes but my band boys of Super Chimes will be singing the songs of Sunil Santha, Jothipala and Milton Mallawarachchi and more. In fact they will be singing English hit songs as well where the entire audience can join in.

My band Super Chimes comprises Channa Athalagay - lead guitar, Prasad Fernando - bass, Dilip Fernando - keyboards and Asha Fernando - drums. Entrance is moderately priced and the event will include a hawker street atmosphere with a variety of Asian and Western food and special fun filled games for the children."

In a career that saw the release of fifteen EP's ten cassettes and ten CD's, Annesley is proud of the fact that he started off the `Stars of 70's' concert series which gained momentum since its inauguration in 1977.

Apart from performing at home Annesley is a popular figure on concert stages in Australia, London, USA, Canada and the Middle East and will be off to Australia for a concert performance after the dawn of the Sinhala New Year.

But before that catch Annesley and the Super Chimes at the Sing-a-long on February 28.