Remembering a great artiste

Source:Island

on his 25th anniversary

The late, and great Clarence Wijewardene is one artiste who will never ever be forgotten – when it comes to music.

It was Clarence who revolutionised the Sinhala music scene, and it was his creations that brought into the limelight, what is now referred to as ‘Sinhala pops.’

His very first band, the Moonstones, electrified the scene with their special brand of Sinhala pops and, from that point onwards, hits after hits followed.

Before long, several others decided to follow in the footsteps of Clarence and the local scene began to reverberate to his music…and style.

Clarence and the Moonstones became an integral part of the local music scene and were seen, on stage, at practically every big concert that was held here…and abroad, as well.

Then came the Golden Chimes, and the Super Golden Chimes, with Clarence at the helm, again.

Later, Clarence had short stints with the bands Universe and Madara.

Twenty-five year ago, Clarence’s era, in the music scene, came to an end, and his 25th death anniversary is being celebrated, in a very special way, at the Nelum Pokuna theatre, in Colombo.

Initially, arrangements were made to celebrate this nostalgic occasion with a live concert, with audience participation, but the pandemic and the new variant, Omicron, has relegated this tribute concert to an online event.

The venue remains the same, but with no live audience participation.

‘Tribute to Clarence’ will be live streamed, to the world, and it’s all happening on December 12th, 2021, from 7.00 pm onwards.

The commemorative concert will feature 25 living legends, who originally sang Clarence’s creations.

Billed to appear are Annesley Malawana, Indrani Perera, Anil Bharethi, Shyami Fonseka, Sanath Nandasiri, Malkanthi Nandasiri, Lilanthi Karunanayake, Priyankara Perera, Rohana Siriwardana, Lankika Perera, Chandani Hettiarachchi, Menik Chandrika, Lalith Ponnamperuma, Tyrone Mihindukula, Rohana Siriwardana, Dezmond Rodrigo, Vernon Perera, Dhammika Bandara, Saman de Silva, Athula Adikari, Walter Fernando, Ranil Mallawarachchi, T. M. Jayaratna, Thisara Fernando and Rajiv Sebastian, with Rajiv’s band, The Clan, also providing the accompaniment.

According to Rajiv, most of the artistes will perform in medley form in order to accommodate as much as 50 songs for the music loving public to reminiscence the days of Clarence Wijewardene.

The evening’s proceedings will be handled by emcees Vijaya Corea and Ariyasiri Withanage who will unfold the hidden facts of Sinhala Pop.

To be a part of the action, you need to purchase your ticket from lk.bookmyshow.com – priced at Rs. 2,000 – and the concert could be viewed from any part of the world.