The music, the adventure; nothing has dimmed
Faithful fans of the Jetliners have not forgotten him though it’s been close to 40 years since leading guitarist Indra Raj left the island’s shores in search of exciting new horizons. He had a thirst for adventure, he tells the Sunday Times in an email interview, prior to arriving in Sri Lanka and that has little dimmed, just like his love for music.
Next weekend Indra Raj and his band “Move It’ will demonstrate that undimmed unbounded passion for music when they perform on August 17 and 18 at the Bishop’s College auditorium at 7 p.m. The show is organised by DK Promotions who were behind the sellout Jetliners farewell concert in March.
Those were the days: A poster from the past announcing the Jetliners tour of India. Indra Raj is at far right
Coming back to Sri Lanka is always a little nostalgic and for Indra Raj, the memories are never far away. “What made me really leave Sri Lanka, still Ceylon at that time? Looking back, I guess it was a thirst for adventure and adventure it was, but that’s another story. On top of it – remember, it was the early 70’s, there was curfew on in Sri Lanka and it was a very hard time for bands,” he says.
He first came to Europe with his band ‘The Graduates’, living and performing in North Germany. A visit to his brother and sister in Geneva resulted in a fateful meeting with his wife-to-be Eva. He’s lived in Switzerland ever since.
The Jetliners’ farewell concert this March was memorable, not just for fans but for the performers too – a return to the music of their golden years. “I thoroughly enjoyed our recent concert in Colombo, sadly it was also our farewell concert, but one never can tell, right? It felt great performing again together with Anton, Felix and Harris. And having Conrad and Mignonne with us on stage was a big pleasure. Mignonne is a great performer and Conrad really rocked.” Mignonne incidentally is hosting his show.
“I have only fond recollections of those early days with the ‘Jets’,” he says. “I can remember, very often, after rehearsals at Lewis Brown studios, Tony Fernando – our manager – used to take us out for dinner or a movie. We were like a big family. I loved playing at the Coconut Grove, I loved the stage shows. We had a fantastic time in Bombay, performing in one of the great hotels of the world – the Taj Mahal Hotel – where we got to meet George Harrison. Singapore was a special experience as well (the first time we saw a television – remember it was 1969). We met the Shadows there while we were recording at the EMI studios.”
All followers of Indra Raj’s music will know of his affinity with the Shadows and he acknowledges the huge influence on his music. “I’ve been fascinated by the Shadows since I first saw them in the movie ‘The Young Ones’ with Cliff Richard. I love Hank Marvin’s style, so melodic and yet so powerful when you listen to his lead guitar work on early Cliff’s rock ‘n roll numbers. They were Britain’s first real rock’n roll band. Pre-Beatles. Many world famous guitar players cite Hank as a major influence on their early playing career. Mark Knopfler (who did a duet with Hank on a single), Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple (who did a tribute to Hank), Brian May of Queen (he dueted with Hank Marvin too), Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Neil Young just to name a few!!
Not everyone knows that Indra Raj has been playing often in England, at the invitation of none other than Bruce Welch of the Shadows. “He has invited me to play many times at his annual “Shadowmania-event” and in countries like Italy, Holland, Germany and Denmark where there is a huge fan base for instrumental rock. One gig we played I shall never forget. It was in Italy in a place called Senigallia, which is south of Rimini. An annual rockabilly event called Summer Jamboree takes place there; you can relive the 40’s and 50’s with matching fashions, cars and music. This event lasts ten days and attracts a crowd of about 120,000 visitors each year. We played on a Wednesday evening on the beach in front of an audience of about 4000 to 5000 ravers. Fabulous !”
On this tour Indra Raj will be accompanied by British singer David Roberts. Fans will recall him from the Jetliners concert in March. Always in great demand in England – he missed out performing only one Saturday in 30 years – and this due to a flu, Indra Raj says. On drums will be Junior Weerasinghe (he was his drummer when Indra Raj formed ‘The Graduates’ in 1970 –“we left Sri Lanka together for Europe in 1971”). “He’s one of the best drummers I have played with,” he says promising that Junior will unleash some great drum solos.
On rhythm-guitar is Roland Heimsch from Switzerland and on bass, Stefan Gut, both old friends and erstwhile band members. “On keyboards I am happy to have Maxie Fernando, an old friend of mine who used to play in my band Serendib in the 80’s in Switzerland. For certain tunes we will be joined on stage by male and female backing vocalists from Sri Lanka to recreate the sound of “The Jordaniers”, the backing vocalists for Elvis and Ricky Nelson,” he says.
So what can fans look forward to at this show? An entertaining and exciting evening, he says. “Lots of big hits of the early 60’s as well as lesser known but nevertheless great B-sides of artists like Cliff, Ricky Nelson, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, The Shadows, The Ventures etc.”
Prepare to go down memory lane.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus