Nimal Mendis
| Nimal Mendis (නිමල් මෙන්ඩිස්) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1934 |
| Origin | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 16 April 2015 (aged 81) |
| Genres | Rock, pop, piano rock, Sri Lankan music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals Piano Keyboards Guitar |
| Years active | 1958–2015 |
| Labels | Decca, Colombia Records, Fontana, Metronome, Kandyan Records |
| Associated acts | Mary Marshall sang 'Kiss Kiss Kiss' on Columbia Records in 1958, Singing 'Feel Like A Clown' – Ranee & Raj – with Sandra Edema on BBC TV'S 'Top of the Pops' programme in 1968 |
Nimal Mendis (1934-2015) was a Sri Lankan singer and songwriter, and was one of a handful of Sri Lankan musicians to appear on the BBC television programme Top of the Pops (1968). Mendis was a longstanding member of the Performing Rights Society and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society of Great Britain.
Mendis was discovered in the late 1950s by Radio Ceylon, which dominated the airwaves in South Asia in the era. The station backed Mendis' songs from the outset, including "Kandyan Express", turning them into hits in South Asia: so much so that listeners from all over the Indian sub-continent wrote in to Radio Ceylon requesting his songs.
Mendis had been involved with music from his early childhood, and has lived for many years in London travelling often to Sri Lanka. He has also lived at Le Paradis in the Charente, the South West of France, for five years with his wife Ranjani. Mendis was married to Ranjani for 33 years until her death in 2010, and has one son, Paulmarie, with whom Mendis ran Mediaeye Productions.
The devastation of the 2004 tsunami moved Mendis, leading him to compose a song to aid the victims. This was recorded in Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, and was commended by the British Parliament in early day motion 638, sponsored by MP Linda Perham.
Mendis has 22 songs published in Britain and has written music for films in Sri Lanka. "Kiss Kiss Kiss" was Mendis's first song that was recorded in Britain and sung by Mary Marshall on the Columbia label. "Kandyan Express", "Cherry Blossom Tree", "Oh My Lover", "Butterfly in the Rain", "Champagne Blues", and "Goodnight Kisses "' were number-one hits in Sri Lanka in the late fifties.
"Kandyan Dance", an instrumental, was his second piece in the West. Recorded by Friedel Berlipp and his Orchestra in Germany it went on to be number two on Radio Luxembourg. It was also released in the United States. Black Pearls & Green Diamonds has eight of Mendis's songs on an LP for Decca by One Two and Three, a folk group in Britain. This album is now a collectors item.
Mendis appeared on the popular BBC television music programme Top of the Pops with his singing partner Sandra Edema in 1968 as guest artists with his song "Feel like a Clown". The B-side of the record "Rainbow Land" was the A-side in the States and today (2013), it has become a collector's item in the Psychedelic Rock community in the west. They were also featured with the song on Beat Club in Germany that year. Eugene Wright, bass player with the original Dave Brubeck Quartet, arranged and recorded five of Mendis's songs with only him playing bass. He also arranged and produced one other song, "Singing Fish", with electric guitar, bass, and piano. They were sung by Sandra Edema.
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