Annesley Malewana - Definition and Overview

Annesley Malewana (b. ?19??, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka -) Popular Sri Lankan musician.

Malewana was born in Ratnapura in Sri Lanka and attended St. Joseph’s College in Colombo, also in Sri Lanka. After leaving school, he teamed up with Clarence Wijewardene and formed the famous group "Moonstones". "The Moonstones" went on to became a household name in Sri Lanka and their first hit song "Mango Nenda" composed by Wijewardene and sung by Malewana became the first Sinhala song to hit the top of both Sinhala and English hit charts. The group later disbanded, during the late 1960's.

Malewana teamed up with Wijewardene again in the 1970's and formed the "Super Golden Chimes". The group's hits include "Udarata Niliya", "Sihina Pathum", "Wana Bambaro", and "Satuta Senasuma". The group disbanded in 1978, when Malewana married. He didn't return to the music scene again until 1988, when he was persuaded by Wijewardene to return.

Malewana started his solo career then and went on to release many successful cassettes and cds. He has since performed in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, and New Zealand, and in countries of the Middle East.

External links

• Vernon Corea The Golden Voice of Radio Ceylon  (http://www.vernoncorea.info)- Listen to Annesley Malawana on the 'Vernon Presents' page. Vernon Corea had an influential role in promoting The Moonstones in the 1960s in Ceylon.