Desmond Kelly- by Daya Silva (Melbourne)
Dear Neil, I am attaching a couple of photos on the memory lane with my condolences.
The recent news of the passing of my dear friend Des Kelly brought me a heavy heart, the feeling of loss which put my mind on memory lane.
My friendship with Des Kelly started in 1986. I was busy organizing my first concert in Melbourne with Indrani Perera, to be held at Bullen Town Hall. Des Kelly came to know about the show and contacted me. He was keen on contributing a song written by him about Sri Lanka. I had no hesitation in including his piece, which was named “Back on my lovely Island Home”. This was sung by him and Indrani to the tune of Dilhani twice on that night by popular demand. Our friendship began and we two were bonded as ‘music buddies’ in no time. Our friendship grew faster. He gave me a couple of songs for me to sing. Eventually, I ended up producing a CD with four originals written by Des and four cover songs.” Sweeter than Springtime” became number one on the Sri Lankan Originals Hit Parade in 1998.
When the 2004 Boxing day Tsunami destroyed coastal Sri Lanka, he joined me with Des White, Garry Elise, and Robin Foenando to release a CD in Aid of Tsunami victims. We collected over $5000.00 dollars and donated to SCATS Organisation in Melbourne, to provide necessary things for the children’s project of the Tsunami victims.
The last conversation I had with him was just before Christmas last year. Even then we were “music buddies’ mostly discussing music. He was a great fan of Volley Bastian. Des the singer-songwriter, my respected friend and music buddy will always live in my heart forever.
Rest in Peace, my friend
Daya Silva
