“DREAMWORLD REVISITED” By Des Kelly

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It was during the halcyon era of the 1950’s, Lorenz Road, Bambalapitiya, on the “Land-side” of one of the Country’s main highways, “Galle-Road”, practically in the centre of what was termed “Colombo 4”, smack dab opposite a mansion-like house on the “Sea-side”, the owner being retired Judge St.Clair Swan, who boasted six beautiful daughters and only one son (David), Lorenz Road consisted of a row of humble tenement houses, a few of which are included in my story, especially for the members/readers of eLanka, in Sydney, Australia, “The Lanka Times”, in Melbourne, very special friends like Neil Jayasekera, Michael Fernandez, Maureen Hingert, in California, Jude Goonewardane, in London, my own family, in Melbourne & Sydney, James Alagaratnam & my “extended” family in Canada,+ all of my genuine friends & fans in Melbourne, & around the World. To all these people, I say a humble “Thank you.

It is almost impossible to remember the exact dates when this amazing “Love-Story” began. My readers must remember that it was indeed a very long 68 years ago. My own family, Dad, Mum, Ian, Rogan & Romaine Kelly “shifted” residences from Kirillapona, a little Suburb situated on the “High-level Road” which led to the “big town” of Nugegoda, to Number 38, Lorenz Road Bambalapitiya, mainly because it was rather too far for brother Ian & myself to walk all the way to “St.Peter’s College” in Bambalapitiya, where we “studied”, but mainly “played the fool”. We were given bus-fare by dad, but used this to buy our share of “Veralu-achaaru” from the little old lady at the College-gate, at “interval”. Memories flood back, and I am sure that brother Ian will remember songs like “Lonely River” by Gene Autry, blaring away on the “Redifusion Wireless sets” at almost all “boutiques” in the area, as we walked back home from College, each afternoon.

Anyway, like a bolt from the blue, we had a visit from my mum’s eldest sister, Iris Demmer, who informed us that Uncle Hugh, her “better half” had been promoted to the post of “ticket inspector” in the Ceylon Government Railway, and, as such, they were allocated a home in Mount Mary, a little Suburban Town in Colombo, where many families of the C.G.R. lived, at the time, and, as such, we could now move into their old home at No.38, Lorenz Road, in “Bamba”.

It was a good “move” for us, as St.Peter’s College was now just a stone’s throw away & Ian & I would not have to waste any more shoe leather walking all the way from Kirillapona.

If I remember correctly, we moved into number 38, Lorenz Road, very early in 1950. By this time, the additions to my family were another brother, Rogan & our first sister, Romaine. I had just entered the “Prelim” at College, now played the Ukelele, Junior Guitar, (by ear), & sang, to anyone who would listen to me. I also kept up with the “baila” verses taught to me, by the original “King of Baila”, in Ceylon, a Policeman by the name of Walter (Wally) Bastienz

My two main loves at the time were music & reading. I had already fallen in love with “Country Music”, after listening to Gene Autry so often, and did read anything I could lay my hands on, sometimes speed-reading two complete books in a day. I have to say that whatever education I can boast of, came primarily from reading.

Anyway, back to Lorenz Road, and the very first love of my young life. Her name was Neliya Hingert, who lived with her parents at No.10, A typical “Lorenz Road Love story”, (I do suppose there were quite a few others as well), but I was nearly 14 years old, the hormones were just starting to take effect, an extremely pretty young girl, almost within arm’s reach, & although I didn’t have much, I was “gone” for all money.. Her parents were very strict with her, but Neliya now had someone she could “talk-to”, trust, & she did.

Instead of “jumping into bed” as they now do, at 11 & 12 years of age, before the taste of “mothers’ milk” has disappeared, Neliya & I used to sit for hours, each weekend, on the edge of this huge concrete “drain” that ran along the entire length of our tenement homes, and she would tell me of her dreams for the future, how she has just had an argument with her mum, how she loved dancing, especially Oriental-style, who her favourite actors & actresses were & what had happened at School, during the week.

She attended the “Holy Family Convent”, while I used to often “cut-school” in the afternoons to simply meet my girl-friend there and carry her school-books & accompany her, along the beach as far as Kinross Avenue, where we would covertly walk up to “Galle Road”, cross over and just a short distance away was the Alerick’s, ice-cream parlour, into which we would go, quite often to “sample” some of the best ice-cream & milk-shakes, available in this part of Bambalapitiya, anyway. We shared these simple things, Neliya & I, just happy to be with each other.

Her older brother Reginald (R.I.P.), at the time, was something else, altogether. He said to me, “Desmond, if you want to come home to see Neliya, you will have to fight me first. What made him think that he “owned” his sister, I really don’t know, however, I accepted his challenge & one bright day, on a bit of grassland at the bottom end of Lorenz Road, we squared off. He presented me with a nasty black-eye, and, not to be outdone I managed to give him an earache which was just as nasty. After that, we became friends and I was able to visit her (officially) at number 10. Neliya’s dad Lionel was a “civilian-clerk” with the Ceylon Army, while my dad was then a clerk at the Mercantile Bank of India, at Fort.

Her mum, Lorna & mine, were friends and used to go together to the 3 Clubs, run by Donovan Andree to play a few games of “bingo” which was very popular at the time.

Both her mum & dad “put-up” with me. While I was able to, I was determined to see Neliya as much as possible.

“Time passes, quality remains”, was an old radio-ad for a “watch” which had a quaint-sounding name “Paba-looba”, I think, it was. Anyway, what wasn’t so strange, was that, one night, I had this beautiful dream about this lovely girl I was mad about, got up, just after midnight, sat down at our little dining table, and wrote a song for her. The “title” of the song came to me in a flash of inspiration. “Dreamworld”.

Because I hadn’t a clue about the theory of Music, I remember writing the lyrics of my song first, then taking my little junior-guitar out into a warm night, so I wouldn’t wake anybody else at home, I strummed the simple chords that fitted my lyrics & ” Dreamworld’ was written in slightly less than an hour. I then realized that although I didn’t have much money, THIS was something I could do, and Neliya loved the song. So, Dreamworld was dedicated to Neliya Hingert, sung to her personally, sung by me, many times, on the Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon, simply backing myself on an old accoustic guitar, sung very often, whenever I got the chance to sing it, and Dreamworld began to get very popular in Colombo. At the time, I did not even dream of “recording” this song. As usual, money was the big problem. I never did have much, and nothing has changed. Still, this has made me realize that money isn’t everything in life. In my book, you make money to LIVE, you shouldn’t LIVE to make money.

Anyway, things were happening so very fast, in our lives, Neliya & I could not possibly keep up with the pace. I remember thus guy named Chris Greet who was an announcer on Radio Ceylon, plus an extremely talented Compere, also loved my song and suggested that we should “record” it. In the meantime, I was “working” part-time for Donavan Andree, even as I attended College, did not earn much, of course, but still enjoying life, serenading many other young girls who HAD to be extra-pretty, if they wanted a song written for them. Neliya was also now busy with “dancing classes” & although we both felt the same way about each other, we did not share each others company that often. She was becoming an excellent dancer and I was “running away” from College & home, to join an English Circus Troupe, who began to “tour” the Island with a 2 hour variety show called “Continental Non-Stop Revue”.

Came back, to Colombo after about 5 months of touring every nook & corner of Ceylon, doing 3 shows, every day, 7 days a week, learning to play the Spanish guitar much better in accompanying the “hula-girls” on stage, for the show, and starting to earn much more money in my chosen profession of “Showbiz”.

When the tour ended, my “Circus family” wanted to adopt me and take me away with them to England, but mum refused to sign any “adoption papers”, letting me go, and so I ended up, once again, in Colombo with no job, excepting the Donavan Andree part-time work that still came my way.

Then, I joined the Royal Ceylon Navy, but still carried on with my music career as well, recorded Dreamworld with my 3 piece singing group, the “Semitones”, produced by Chris Greet and backed by Gerry Crake & his “Combo” & the rest is history. Maureen Neliya Hingert, in the meanwhile, won the title of “Miss Ceylon” & then went over to America to become the 2nd runner-up in the “Miss Universe” contest over there, putting her Country, Ceylon, “on the map”& unfortunately, I completely lost touch with her for many years. She married Mario Zamparelli and bore him 3 daughters. I married another very pretty gal by the name of Cynthia Georgesz, who presented me with a fine family of 3 boys & one girl, all of whom I am very proud of, and although Cynthia did “claim” Dreamworld” as her own, it was “Cha cha baby” on the flip side of Dreamworld that she was constantly teased about.

To finish my story on this song, in brief, “Dreamworld” was the very first Ceylonese “English Original Composition”

to be accepted by the giant “Philips” recording Company in Holland, of that era.

Even before the little 45rpm vinyl disc arrived in Ceylon, after being produced in Holland, it presold thousands of copies. Lewis Browns were the “Agents” in Ceylon.

Dreamworld entered the Radio Ceylon Hit Parade, just weeks after it was first “aired”, climbed to the “top” of that hit parade, in “record” time & “stayed” at the top for about 2 months, leaving Elvis Presley’s “Don’t be cruel” in the second spot, for that period.

After three or four months on our hit parade, Dreamworld then “arrived” in India & climbed to the top of the Binaca Hit Parade over there, as well. Although my title for the song was simply ” Dreamworld”, many thousands of music-fans can sing the entire song which, to them, is, “I’m living in a Dreamworld”. It was a simple, yet very Commercial Song.

I sent a copy of the disc to President-elect John F.Kennedy, much later being given to understand that IT was one of Jacqueline Kennedy’s favourite songs.(R.I.P., both of you).

“Dreamworld” has become a “Perennial Favourite”, still being regularly requested and aired over the S.L.B.C. English programmes, fifty six years AFTER I left the Island to migrate to Australia.

Neliya comes into this story once again, after about 63 long years. She has just “lost” her eldest daughter Gina, (see my article-tribute “Goodbye, Gina” in eLanka, and I was determined to contact her mother in order to convey the sympathies of myself and everybody who remembers Neliya, as the first “Beauty Queen” to reach the standard that SHE did. According to the judges of “Miss Universe”,

Maureen Neliya Hingert was the most outstanding Oriental Beauty they had ever seen. I am pleased & proud to say that I am “in-touch” with Neliya again, after all these years. It feels good to reminisce about the good old days & to celebrate this, I have decided to, once again, with Neil Jayasekera of eLanka & Jude Goonewardane, in London,

publicise “Dreamworld”, only, because of Neliya & my dedication to her, rename the “title” “Dreamworld-(revisited)

“Thank you” to all my readers who did not know the whole true story, and perhaps read some of the silly blurb written by “bloggers” who think they know everything, but know nothing. “Dreamworld” (revisited), is a refurbished version of the same song, recorded in the 1950’s, re-dedicated to the same girl I wrote it for, so many years ago.