ජිප්සීස්
66 songs performed
The Gypsies (ජිප්සීස්, also written Gipsies) are a Sri Lankan baila band whose Sinhala and English songs have entertained audiences at home and across the diaspora since the early 1970s. Built around the Perera family and fronted for five decades by lead singer Sunil Perera, the group turned baila, the island’s Afro-Portuguese dance music, into mainstream pop and is credited with recording the first baila non-stop medley.
The band was founded around 1969 to 1970 by Anton Perera, who assembled the group from his sons, among them Sunil, Piyal, Nimal, Lal and Nihal. Sunil Perera, born in 1952 and schooled at St. Sebastian’s College and St. Peter’s College, joined as a guitarist and vocalist on leaving school, and he became the public face and voice of the Gypsies. Their first hit, “Linda Langa Sangamaya”, arrived around 1973, alongside Amma Amma Me Mata, and the band went on to release a string of LPs through the 1970s.
Working in baila’s lilting 6/8 rhythm with banjo, mandolin, violin and conga, the Gypsies built a catalogue that ranged from cheeky social comedy to tender love songs. Their best-known recordings include None Mage Sudu None, Oye Ojaye, Piti Kotapan None, Lunu Dehi and Singnore. Many carried pointed lyrics about everyday Sri Lankan life, which earned Sunil Perera a reputation as a social commentator as much as an entertainer.
The Gypsies also became fixtures of cricket season, with anthems such as Sri Lanka Kollo Wasai rallying fans, and they continued releasing new material into recent years, including Buongiorno and the dance reworking Kurumitto.
For Sri Lankans abroad, the Gipsies remain a sound of home, and their catalogue is among the most requested at weddings, parties and overseas concerts in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Sunil Perera died in 2021, after which his brother Piyal Perera, the surviving original member, has carried the band forward with a younger lineup.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Gypsies.