ඩෙස්මන් ද සිල්වා
21 songs performed
Desmond de Silva (ඩෙස්මන් ද සිල්වා), born Desmond Anaclitus Rajiva de Silva, was a Sri Lankan singer and entertainer widely regarded as the “King of Baila”. Across nearly five decades on stage he carried Sinhala baila and party music to audiences in Colombo and across the diaspora, and his youthful, instantly recognisable voice became a fixture at weddings, dances, and big-match seasons. He is remembered for hits such as Pol Katu Hande, Yaman Bando, and Sumihiri Pane.
Desmond de Silva was born on 13 July 1944 in Matara, in what was then British Ceylon, the eldest child in his family. He launched his career in popular music in 1963 as lead vocalist of the band The Fire-Flies. From there he sang with several of the leading Sri Lankan pop outfits of the era, including the Spitfires, Gabo and the Breakaways, and The Jetliners.
In 1976 de Silva formed his own band, Desmond and the Clan, which toured across Southeast Asia and beyond. He represented Sri Lanka at the 5th Olympiad of Songs in Athens in 1979 and took honours at the Yamaha Festival of Song in Tokyo, and he later performed for Sri Lankan communities in cities from London and New York to Dubai, Auckland, and Melbourne.
It was in baila, the up-tempo Sinhala dance music with Portuguese-Ceylonese roots, that he made his lasting mark. His repertoire ran from cheeky crowd-pleasers to the romantic, and several of those recordings are hosted here, including Chuda Manike Balala, Mamma No Pappa No, and the laid-back Sarama. He also lent his voice to cricket-season anthems such as Lokema Cricket Gahana and Pana Dagena (Big Match Eka).
Desmond de Silva died on 9 January 2022 in Melbourne, Australia, aged 77. His voice was often described as changing little over forty years of performing, and his baila standards remain staples whenever Sri Lankans gather to dance. For a generation of listeners both on the island and abroad, the name Desmond de Silva is shorthand for the sound of a celebration.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Desmond De Silva.