The Legend Desmond De Silva is honoured on the King & I Casey Radio 97.7 FM
Corinne & Ian hosts of the “King & I” Program on Casey Radio 97.7FM paid tribute to Desmond De Silva to mark 3 months passing of Sri Lanka’s popular & Iconic Legend. The tribute was on their show on Friday 22nd April. A link to the Tribute is Corinne & Ian are consummate professionals who love their service to the community through their 2 hour program every Friday night between 8- 10 pm. ‘What inspired them to host this program’ I asked of Corinne and here is their story.
Since Corinne was eight years old she has been writing under the close guidance of her late Dad, Douglas Noel Pereira (D.N.P.) who was a teacher of English and the Classics at St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia in Sri Lanka.
As a child Corinne had success with her numerous articles that she submitted to the Wendy Hutt Children’s page in the Sunday papers that were published by Lakehouse Colombo.
At the age of eighteen Corinne tuned in to a 6.30pm program being streamed “live” from Radio Ceylon by a lady named Christine who invited all her listeners to write to her if they had heard her first program. Corinne did so promptly and what ensued after was like a ‘fairy story’ she says.
Consequently, Christine requested Corinne to attend Radio Ceylon the following Friday and she was immediately invited to be her ‘guest’ at Radio Ceylon. This was a big achievement in those days and it subsequently lead to being invited by Christine to take on the position of President of the Radio Quiz Club of Radio Ceylon. Corinne held this position until her parents and her migrated to Australia in the early 1970’s.
Corinne met Ian at her place of work. Ian himself a migrant from the UK had also arrived in Melbourne from Abingdon-on-Thames in the County of Berkshire now known as Oxfordshire. Their courtship blossomed and they married and became proud parents to their daughter and only child Karen Lisa. Karen is a gifted singer and has performed as a member of the Australian Girls Choir and in the early 1990’ she was fortunate to sing with Judith Durham of the Seekers.
As an only child Corinne was prime carer for her ailing parents until their passing.
A Chance meeting with an associate she had known during her time at Radio Ceylon led him to invite Ian & Corinne to attend his radio sessions on Casey Radio. They did and shared his one hour session until the Management of Casey Radio invited them to host their own program. They readily agreed and when requested to give their program a name, Corinne came up with the name “The King & I”. The Management loved the name. From a 9 – 10 pm time slot two years later they were offered a 2 hour time slot of 8-10 pm every Friday night.
Corinne & Ian are dedicated in their service to the Community and the choice of material they utilize which is of interest to their audience and they stay clear of political, religious and sporting material which can bring disharmony amongst their loyal listeners.
Being ardent fans of Desmond De Silva Corinne & Ian attended the functions that Desmond was the guest artiste and they said that Desmond never failed to deliver fantastic entertainment to his audience. They were devastated as all his fans around the world were, when they heard of his passing. Having made contact with Desmond’s wife Phyllis, Corinne requested Phyllis to send her a CD of Desmond’s which she would cherish and listen to with Ian. They received two CDs and they listened, reminiscing on memories of Desmond. It was Ian who chose the two songs which he featured on the Tribute to Desmond De Silva …A remarkable Legend!
This tribute can be accessed on www.caseyradio.com.au under the King & I program on Friday nights. You will hear it in the first hour of the program. The past 4 programs can be accessed via podcasts at the bottom of the King & I web page.
Ian & Corinne King
