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Sunil Perera

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Sunil Perera
සුනිල් පෙරේරා
Born
Ivor Sylvester Sunil Perera

(1952-09-14)14 September 1952
Narahenpita, Ceylon
Died6 September 2021(2021-09-06) (aged 68)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
EducationSt. Sebastian's College
St. Peter's College
Occupation(s)Vocalist, Songwriter, Composer
SpouseGeetha Kulatunga (m. 1981)
Children4
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Vocals, Bass guitar
Years active1969–2021
LabelsGypsy Enterprises, Torana

Ivor Sylvester Sunil Perera (Sinhala:සුනිල් පෙරේරා; 14 September 1952 – 6 September 2021), popularly known as Sunil Perera, was a Sri Lankan vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and composer. Described as one of the most famous singers in the country,[1] Perera was the leader and the lead vocalist of The Gypsies.[2][3][4] He was associated with Sri Lanka's baila genre, and gained the nickname "Baila Chakravarthy".[5][6][7]

Personal life

Perera was born on 14 September 1952 in a family with ten siblings. His father, Anton Perera, was in the military before becoming a musician and forming the original Gypsies band. Anton was a clerk at the government Postal Department.[8] His mother was Dorine Perera. He started his education at St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa until grade four and then till finishing school in the St Peter's College, Colombo.[9] He was a member of the school band.[10]

Perera was married to Geetha Kulatunga (born 18 March 1967),[6] whom he met while she was studying for her O/L classes.[6] Kulatunga's father, Mahinda, is a sub-inspector with the Sri Lanka Police. On 25 October 1981, Perera was arrested by police in Homagama following reports from Kulatunga's parents that he had abducted her; the case was later dropped. When Kulatunga was aged 16, she and Perera got engaged.[6][11]

With Kulatunga, Perera had two sons (Sajith and Gayan) and two daughters (Rehana and Manisha).[10] Gayan is a musician with the band Daddy.[12] Perera's nephew, Lanthra, is a founder-member of the band Doctor.[13][14]

In August 2021, Perera tested positive for COVID-19 and rumours of his death started circulating on social media.[15] In spite of treatment, on 5 September, he was re-admitted to hospital due to pneumonia and died in the early hours of 6 September 2021.[16][17][18]

Career

At the age of 11, he started to play guitar.[8] His father initially expected him to pursue his higher studies and then to make him a professional doctor. However, he was not able to pursue his higher education due to inadequate results in GCE O/L examinations. His father made arrangements for Sunil to do GCE O/L examination privately but Sunil again could not produce expected results in order to further continue his studies.[19] Sunil later conveyed his interest on music to his father. In 1969 at the age of 15 as soon as he left school, Sunil joined the band The Gypsies created by his father, Anton Perera along with his brothers – Nihal, Lal, Nimal, Piyal and uncle's son, grandpa's son and daughter, there were all seven of the crew.[20] He learned guitar under Vincent Jayawardane and George Ferdinando and had voice training under Loren Abeysekara, Lily Godridge and Maryanne David.[21]

Sunil was the main vocalist of the band along with his brother Piyal Perera.[22] Their first hit Linda Langa Sangamaya was released in 1972/1973 along with Amma Amma Me Mata.[23] In mid 1970s, his other brothers left the band and got involved in business activities.[20] In 1980, Gypsies released the first cassette with the song Kurumitto.[24][25] Other tracks sung by Gypsies include, Kadapathakin, None Mage Sudu None (1977), Lunu Dehi (1987), Uncle Johnson (1987), Oye Ojaye (1989),[3] Piti Kotapan None and Signore (1997).[8][26]

Sunil's recent works such as I don't know Why address mere sociopolitical issues through humor. However, several of his songs have been banned by the state media due to criticizing the government.[3] In 2017, he released the song Koththamalli. He also sang and released Buongiorno in 2018 which was the first hit song to be released under Gypsies label after a gap of four years.[27] In 2019, he sang the song Diyawannawe Inna for the film Jaya Sri Amathithuma.[28]

The band The Gypsies celebrated the Golden Jubilee in 2021 by arranging concert via virtual platforms.[29][30]

Ideology

Sunil Perera recently came up with his own ideology about the sociopolitical situation in the country.[31] He was highly critical of Sri Lankan society and politics.[3] He openly talked about sensitive topics such as sex which are often deemed as taboo subjects in conservative Sri Lanka.[32] He was also a vocal critic of the administration of Gotabaya Rajapakse and Mahinda Rajapakse over the years. In 2015, revealed that he was feared of being a target of Rajapaksa family when Mahinda Rajapakse lost the election during the 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election.[31]

In January 2017, Sunil went to the Department of Inland Revenue and insisted that he should pay income tax. Earlier, he had been paying tax for his income as a member of the music group only.[33]

References

  1. ^ ravana (2008-04-22). "Interview with Sunil Perera: the Gypsies King on Sex, Religion and Politics". ravana.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  2. ^ "Direct talk with Sunil Perera". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 31, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Sunil Aiya turns sixty | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  5. ^ "Dance to the tune of Gypsies at Austasia | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  6. ^ a b c d "'I tolerate my husband's crazy ways'". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Tributes flow for the legendary Sunil Perera". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  8. ^ a b c "Sunil Perera speaks about his life". gossiplankanews. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Life of a music legend". The Morning. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b "The Gypsies". www.gypsies.lk. Retrieved 2021-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "My marriage is a minor crime - Sunil Perera". infosrilankanews. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  12. ^ "From Jada to Daddy". Daily News. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Bringing the Groove with Lanthra Perera". Daily News. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Lanthra Perera speaks". Lankadeepa. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Popular Singer Sunil Perera recovering from COVID-19 - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  16. ^ "Sunil Perera readmitted to hospital". NewsWire. 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  17. ^ "Music Legend Sunil Perera passed away". NewsWire. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  18. ^ "Popular singer Sunil Perera passes away". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  19. ^ "'Everything about music is fun-oriented': Sunil Perera of The Gypsies on celebrating 50 years of music". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2021-02-13. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  20. ^ a b "Baila Beats". Daily News. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  21. ^ Geetha (20 July 2008). "'I tolerate my husband's crazy ways'". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Sri Lanka's favourite bromances". roar.media. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  23. ^ "Happy Birthday Sunil Perera: Take A Walk Down Memory Lane". Asian Mirror. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  24. ^ "Dad's melody was Sunil's start - Sunil Perera". Aruna. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  25. ^ Nanayakkara, Anushka. "INSPIRE YOUR LIFE WITH PEACE, LOVE, GIVING AND EQUALITY WITH ALL COMMUNITIES – GYPSIES BAND". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  26. ^ Jayawardane, Ishara. "Baila beats!". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  27. ^ "'Buongiorno Singnore…. Buonasera Signoreena'". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  28. ^ "Songs sung by Sunil Perera to Jaya Sri Amathithuma". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  29. ^ "Gypsies go virtual for jubilee celebration". Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  30. ^ Weerasooriya, Sahan. "Doing it for 50 years…". Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  31. ^ a b "Gypsies Sunil Fears Mahinda Will Kill Him If Elected". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Sunil Perera: Sri Lanka's larger than life music legend dies at 68". BBC News. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  33. ^ "Gypsies' Sunil insists on paying income tax!". Sri Lanka Mirror. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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