A Tribute to Cheryl Menezes: October 24, 1952 – November 15, 2022 – By Lawrence Machado
Cheryl Menezes made her own unforgettable mark
in Sri Lanka & Sydney’s musical world
‘I will always love you, Luvy’
By Lawrence Machado
Sydney is mourning the loss of one of Sri Lanka’s top female singers, Cheryl Menezes nee Bartholomeusz, who passed away on Tuesday, November 15.
Cheryl was married to another famous Sri Lankan musician, Roger, with both having performed with the legendary Mignonne and The Jetliners, and several other top bands before they migrated to Australia in the early 70s.
Actually, it was while she was filling in for a few months for Mignonne that Cheryl and Roger first met and fell in love. A love that lasted for several decades.
Cheryl landed the coveted job with The Jetliners after her powerful renditioning of Shirley Bassey’s version of Something. Bassey was one of her favourite all time singers, along with Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Carole King and Nancy Wilson.
Roger always referred lovingly to her as Miss Pitch Perfect, because of her incredible singing ability. Like her equally humble husband, Cheryl could play several musical instruments, including guitar, bass guitar and keyboards.
Cheryl and Roger were a very popular couple in Sydney, and were married for 49 years. Roger continues to perform either solo or in bands around Sydney where his amazing range of music and ability to play many musical instruments, wins him new fans where ever he plays.
Cheryl and Roger started their own band Eastern Spice in 1974, becoming the first Sri Lankan group in Australia. They later performed together under the name of Stay Tuned, before she became the booking agent for them and other groups.
Cheryl had an amazing skill in securing plum gigs for her husband and his band, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also got them the big contract to perform for the New Year’s Eve at Sydney’s iconic Centrepoint Tower for five-years-in-a-row starting with the year 2000.
A lesser known fact is that she proudly sang the national anthem on Australia Day at Picton, NSW, for successive years. Cheryl, who worked at Grace Brothers and National Bank Travels in between her singing engagements, was also the booking agent for other bands in Sydney, always able to get them top contracts.
Cheryl loved tap and oriental dancing in addition to ballet, and came from a very musically-gifted family. Her Mum Therese was a well-known opera singer while her Dad Ronald was a Hawaiian guitarist who had his own band, the Sun Valley Serenders.
Cheryl showed her musical talents an at early age, winning the Maliban Talent Quest competition at just 15 years, with her amazing version of This Is My Song, wowing the audience and the judges.
Her siblings, including Aloma, Raymond, Melanie, Marina and Joseph, are also blessed with the musical talents.
Cheryl studied elocution and voice training under the one and only Estelle de Niese and was very involved in the youth group and choir at St Joseph’s Parish in Nugegoda.
In a published article, Cheryl spoke of her great love for music. “Music is an international language that makes people happy,” she said. “We got the music in us. So, let’s share it and make this world a better place.
“Afterall, it is a wonderful world, so let’s keep it that way.”
Cheryl was closely involved with the 2000 Sydney Olympics where Stay Tuned performed at many prestigious events and she stayed close to top jazz musicians like James Morrison, John Morrison and Marie Wilson.
Roger said: “Cheryl was a People’s person and spoke from her heart, and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
“She was a booking agent for our band Stay Tuned and other bands. She loved this job because she had a chance to communicate with people.
“This was her forte, this is what she wanted to do. That’s my Cheryl (Luvy).
“For 50 years we never called each other by our name, it was always Luvy to each other.
“Her singing was from the soul and my name for her was Miss Pitch Perfect.
“She will be sadly missed but never forgotten as a beautiful human being who put everybody first before herself.
“God Bless Her and may she rest in peace. Someone who called me to sympathise said she was almost a saint.
“For me, she will always be in my heart. I thank God for lots of fond memories and good times with Cheryl.
“I will always love you, Luvy.”
