ඇනස්ලි මාලේවන
25 songs performed
Annesley Malawana (also spelled Annesley Malewana, ඇනස්ලි මාලේවන) is a Sri Lankan singer widely regarded as the voice of the country’s first wave of Sinhala pop. As lead vocalist of The Moonstones and later the Super Golden Chimes, he carried the songs of composer Clarence Wijewardena onto Radio Ceylon and into a generation’s memory, earning the nickname “the Prince of Sinhala Pop.”
Born 13 June 1947 in Ratnapura, Malawana met Clarence Wijewardena while both were young musicians, and in 1966 the two formed The Moonstones. Wijewardena wrote and composed; Malawana sang. The pairing reshaped popular Sinhala music by setting everyday, often playful local lyrics to a guitar-driven beat, a sound that felt new on the radio of the late 1960s.
The band’s breakout came with the cheeky “Mango Nanda,” and their catalogue quickly filled with the kind of songs ordinary listeners could hum. Several of those endure on this site, including Wanabambaro (වනබඹරෝ) and the village-life portraits Kalu Mame and Goyam Kapanawa Manike.
When the original group ran its course, Malawana and Clarence Wijewardena regrouped in the 1970s as the Super Golden Chimes, which kept the hits coming for the better part of a decade. His clear, unforced delivery suited both the gentle numbers and the up-tempo baila material the band became known for.
Malawana married in 1978 and stepped away from music, only to return in 1988 as a solo performer. In 2005 he assembled a new outfit, Annesley & The Super Chimes, and continued recording for releases issued in Sri Lanka. For diaspora listeners and older fans alike, the spelling Annesley Malewana still pulls up the same body of work: songs that defined an era when Sinhala pop first found its own confident sound.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Annesley Malawana.