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“We did it, our way”, says Esric Jackson BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE
Its the end of an era as Replay 6 calls it a day after 51 memorable years in the music scene in Australia.
Esric Jackson says it’s unfortunate, but the time to move on has arrived, despite perhaps a little hint of regret.
” Regrets I have a few, but then again, too few to mention. We did what we had to do, and did it our way….” he cheerfully recounted with the revised lyrics of the song made popular worldwide by legendary Frank Sinatra.
“The band has certainly gone above and beyond commanding the stage and outlived their popularity, so the timing could not be more perfect than to usher in a new direction with the future generation in mind to continue its legacy and success under a new brand”, says Esric.
They ruled the popular Sri Lankan expatriate dinner dance scene for 51 years without missing a beat, (pun intended), but as the old cliche sums it up, “all good things must eventually come to an end”.
The popular musical setup will disband after a colourful gala event planned for November 28 at the Grand on Cathies Lane in Wantirna which will feature several top class expatriate musicians from Australia and Sri Lanka.
“We plan to make this night one to remember for many years to come”, promised Esric.
The line-up for the night includes 20 guest artistes including popular Sri Lankan dance band Mirage led by Donald Pieries,
Marlon Amarasekera leader of another top band, Omega, will also make his appearance. A host of other Melbourne musicians including favourite Country band No Limit that will complete a night of fabulous music to the event.
Esric Jackson has left no stone unturned to make it a night to remember and a capacity crowd is anticipated to turn up and give these talented musicians a fitting send off.
“Staying connected and much in demand over five decades have given me and my family immense satisfaction and a sense of pride about our longevity. The only missing link is my dearly departed wife Sandra, who would have not only have endorsed the decision to move on, but looked back with pride at what we have achieved over this memorable time.” Esric reflected on a more sombre note.
” It’s been a wild and wonderful ride over the past five decades, and it sure leaves lifelong memories to cherish over the journey ” says Esric.
They have travelled around Australia and overseas to show off their musical expertise, and Esric singled out the tour of Sri Lanka in 2012, where there’s no shortage of talented musicians as a definite highlight, thanks to the faith and following of General Manager of the Galadari Hotel in Colombo, Sampath Siriwardene. They performed alongside resident band Mirage at the Main Ballroom of Galadari Hotel at the new year celebrations.
Led by evergreen Esric and his late wife Sandra Jackson, the band soared to great heights throughout the extraordinary journey that began in the early 70s and were undoubtedly one of the best during an era that challenged many others for longevity. Replay 6 retained their popularity while others fell by the wayside through lack of continuity, in an endorsement of their immense talent and close-knit knit staying power.
The initial line-up changed several times throughout the journey but the quality of music was never compromised under the watchful eyes of Sandra and Esric.
The original line-up of Grant Smith, Michael Nix, Neil Bolitho, Sandra and Esric Jackson set the stage for a surge in the band’s image, Esric recalled.
They grew in popularity very quickly and soon found themselves thrown in the mix with some with the world’s best musicians albeit, on the undercard, which gave them much needed attention and exposure.
Contracted by two of the leading entertainment venues in Melbourne at the time, The Ming Horse and the Swagman restaurants in Ferntree Gully gave the band the confidence to know they could rub shoulders with the best, Esric fondly recalls.
While contracted to play at the Ming Horse and Swagman, Replay 6 were on the undercard of world class performers such as Dr. Hook, Smokey, Al Martino, Ossibissa, Gloria Loring, The Village People, Frank Ifield and Kamahl. “We certainly matured as a band playing alongside them”, Esric said.
Top local artistes Marcia Hines, Allison Durban, Sri Lanka’s very own Desmond Kelly, Cliff Foenander and his nephew Rob Foenander also featured at these popular venues.
As time progressed, they moved more locally and landed a contract with the Workers Club in Dandenong which has been ongoing for 28 years. This, apart from regular gigs at dinner dances and restaurant appearances in Melbourne.
They have also been a popular choice by almost all school OBA’s and OGA’s from Sri Lanka schools represented in Australia.
Singling out Esric and Sandra might sound unfair in an exceptionally talented set-up. But their influence and leadership played a major part in the band’s ability to stay connected. They were the glue that kept the band going for as long as they did.
Both were exceptional vocalists in their own right covering several genres, but Sandra soon found herself tagged as a ‘rock chick’ and Australia’s version of legendary Tina Turner for her power packed version of “Simply the best”.
Esric has a wide repertoire too but soon established himself as one of the best Country voices in Melbourne.
Sandra’s unfortunate passing about eight years ago saw a dramatic change in the band’s chemistry. But they soldiered on under Esric’s guidance and expert communication skills to remain the much sought after setup that endured the passing of time.The later core group of highly talented Esric and Sandra Jackson, Jesse Jansz, Arnold Joseph, David Trower, Lindsay Guillerman, Cameron Colombege, Chris Mant, Ben Nathanielsz and Carl Jayasinghe, Verna McLeod and later Alex Sonnny Cajalli, Fernand Poupinel De Valencé, and Darrel Jansz bonded wonderfully to maintain the lofty standards of a band that not only excelled with their own ability but were one of the few bands that could expertly back visiting artistes from Sri Lanka without too much effort.
Iconic stars such as Alston Koch, the late Desmond de Silva, Dalreen Suby, Corrine Almeida, Mignonne Fernando, the late Desmond Kelly, Noeline Honter, Eddie James, Dallas Achilles, Derek Stewart, Sohan Weerasinghe, Rob Foenander, Malcolm de Kauwe, Conrad de Silva, Andrea Marr, Marlon Amarasekera, Melantha Perera, Manilal Perera, Suzi Flückiger, Geoffrey and Russell Fernando, Donald Pieries from Mirage and Benjy Ranabahu, among many others who bear testimony to the joy and confidence they got from the backing of this talented set-up.
Esric say he also appreciates the tireless sound engineers Mark Jackson and the late Jehan Jayasinghe and Nimal Alwis of Channel 31 in Melbourne.
(Apologies for names I may have missed).
Legendary Frank Ifield, John St. Peters and TV personality Donny Sutherland were among Australian and international celebrities who appreciated the music of Replay 6, particularly Sandra Jackson’s vocal performance. They were guests at music icon Alston Koch’s celebration of 50 years in music.
The beginnings of the band dates back to the mid 70’s when new migrants to Australia Sandra and Esric took on a complete leap of faith and decided to continue their musical careers that began in Sri Lanka with a popular band named Pioneers, led by Raj Dassanayake.It was the beginning that led to a romantic relationship between the two that fittingly culminated in their marriage in Australia.
Mixing time between jobs and music in a new country was challenging enough, but the balancing act got harder with the arrival of daughters Candice and Tatum.
They negotiated the course quite successfully proving that determination and minute time management is never beyond achieving desired goals.
Melbourne’s dance goers will certainly miss these wonderfully talented musicans as a group. But their talents will be spread around other bands in the dance mad circuit.
In his vote of thanks to all who stood steadfast and supported the band unconditionally through the journey, Esric thanks all the fund raising associations and schools that picked the band as their preferred choice.
He picked out Bertie and Frank Ekanaike, Jude De Silva, (former owner of Grand Receptions and the Lincoln of Toorak), Jerome Ephraums and Colombo Cricket Club, Binare who heads the CDF fundraiser, Jetha Devapura from CCC, Romayne Ferdinands from Jet Travel and Cruise, Shehan Wijewardena and Nash Samarakoon of the Walawwa, Trevine Rodrigo for his journalistic coverage of events related to the band, Johann Jayasinha for his Photography, and all the fans that followed the band religiously over the journey.
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eLanka team
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