Groove to the tunes of The Beatles

1 October 2014 04:07 pm

By Shabnam Farook

Fans of The Beatles are in for an amazing musical treat this November as talented singer and song writer Dr. Manela Joseph gears up to put on a fabulously fun and groovy show to celebrate the musical genius of the Fab Four from Liverpool.

Ahistopathologist by profession Dr. Joseph had a long standing love affair with music, and has always found time in her busy life to enjoy and embrace the warmth of tuneful melodies. After conquering the stage at a young age, while being the leader of the popular 70’s family band ‘Winslow Six’, she once again returned to the music scene in 1985 with her sister Eromi singing her original creations. Dr. Joseph later continued her musical journey as a solo artiste and released the CD ‘60 Years Young’ a few years ago, which comprised of 10 songs, written and composed by her. Dr. Manela Joseph gives us details about her upcoming concert. We are all ears.

Q: Dr. Joseph what prompted you to get back on to the stage at this particular juncture?

“I am not a musician by profession but there is so much musical energy suppressed within me. At my present stage in life I am able to release this pent up energy as I am relatively free of personal responsibilities. So I want to use this God given talent to help needy projects.”

Q: We’d love to know more about your concert that is scheduled to get underway in November.

“As you know I have always been performing my original songs on stage. This is the first time I am doing covers. This concert is a Celebration of The Beatles. I have picked some of the popular songs of The Beatles. The Beatles are the greatest composers and lyric writers in the pop music scene and they revolutionized the music in the 60s. Most of their songs are evergreens and classics now. It is quite a challenge for me to do their stuff and some of them I have rearranged to suit my style while retaining the basic melody.” “As done before, this concert too is in aid of a worthy cause. All proceeds would be channeled to the kidney protection fund at Anuradhapura General Hospital. As many are aware, there is a high prevalence of chronic kidney decease in the North- Central Province and more than 60% of the patients who seek medical assistance in that area are below the poverty line. “The band, the singers and I have put in a lot of our time any energy into making this show a success. Hence, I would like to make use of this show for any other fund raising projects in the future as there would be many more Beatles fans all over the country.”

Q: Do give us a sneak peak into the lineup of guest artistes performing at the concert.

“There is a trio of young doctors, Gananath, Suran, and Heshan doing a superb folk style rendition of Norwegian Wood and My sweet Lord. Some of the guest artistes at the concert are Dillain and Dillai- my two daughters who are undoubtedly the ‘Corrs’ or the ‘Cranberries’ of Sri Lanka and Isha and Chanuka, two inspiring solo artistes who have their own unique styles. The band’s composed of all veterans in the local music scene, Tilak Dias on base, Rohan Francis on lead guitar, Suresh De Silva on keyboards, harmonica and mandolin and Lal Weliwita on drums.”

Q: How long has it been since you had your last concert? What was the reception from the audience like?

“My last concert was in April 2013. I did some of my originals, songs of Tony Brent and Winslow Six originals. The show was a great success and I had a tremendous response from the audience. There was an excellent review in the print media including comments from the likes of Mr. Vijaya Corea, and Jimmy Dean of Real Radio.” Dr. Manela Joseph’s concert in celebration of The Beatles is scheduled to get underway at the British School Auditorium on the 2nd of November 2014 at 7.00pm. Do log on to www.lw.lk for more details. Tickets are priced at Rs 2,000, 1,500, 1,000 and a few balcony tickets at Rs 500. Tickets can be madeavailable at the gate by prior reservation. Call 0777188028 for details.