පෝල් ප්රනාන්දු
12 songs performed
Paul Fernando (පෝල් ප්රනාන්දු), born Madawela Hewage Paul Fernando, was a Sri Lankan singer remembered for a string of romantic pop and baila hits that ran from the early 1970s through the 2010s. Widely called the “Prince of Baila”, he paired a smooth pop-calypso delivery with Sinhala love lyrics, and songs such as Sanda Pana Vage and Golu Hadawatha remain staples of Sri Lankan oldies playlists.
Fernando was born on 24 November 1951 in Moratuwa, the coastal town long associated with Sri Lanka’s baila and Western-style music traditions. He sang from his school days, and his breakthrough came when he won the Talent Sixty Nine singing competition. Around that time he met the lyricist Priya Peiris, whose words gave shape to several of his early recordings.
His first album arrived in 1970, and the song “Sandapana Wage Obe Ruwa Dilisila” helped establish him with audiences. Over the following decades he recorded across pop, calypso-flavoured baila, and R&B, building a catalogue of well over a hundred songs. He worked with composer Melroy Dharmaratne, among others, and was known on stage for a restless, rhythmic presence.
Several of his best-loved recordings are hosted on Lyrics-lk with Sinhala lyrics and English translation, including the wistful Golu Hadawatha (ගොළු හදවත) and Supun Sandak.
Paul Fernando died on 16 November 2020 in Sri Lanka, days before his 69th birthday. His recordings, blending gentle pop melodies with Sinhala romantic verse, continue to circulate among Sri Lankan listeners at home and across the diaspora, and titles like Awe Wana Bambarek are still requested decades after their release.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Paul Fernando.