Arts
Together they will rock you
One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal’ sang the legendary Freddie Mercury on Queen’s hit single ‘A Kind of Magic’ and true to these words the old boys and young guns of S. Thomas’ College (STC), Mount Lavinia have come together with one goal. This is to raise funds to rebuild the school’s Rifle Range which collapsed last year (2019).
Young Thomian talent: Mercury and (below) Essentials. Pix by M.A. Pushp Kumara
‘‘We Will Rock You’, is a concert put together for this cause. The brainchild of Warden Rev. Marc Billimoria, it will feature present Thomian talent; The Essentials, Mercury and Shaun Z as well as alumni, Wagon Park and Stigmata, and will be held in the quadrangle of S.Thomas’ College on Friday, February 7 from 6 p.m. onwards.
Organised together with the school’s United Nations Club, Interact Club and a special Event Committee, the concert takes its theme from the song of the same title by Queen.
It was a different world back when Suresh De Silva and Tennyson Napoleon of Stigmata were teenagers at STC. At the time, original heavy metal was unheard of and there was no appreciation of it either. But it was at STC that the band and its initial members forged their friendships, which led to the birth of Stigmata.
On February 2000 to be precise, nearly 20 years ago Stigmata played their first show at STC. Since then, the band has gone on to achieve greatness in the industry and two decades later, they are happy to return to where they began – at the STC quadrangle.
Though they faced many obstacles along the way, it was at STC that Stigmata got the chance to share their talents and songwriting capabilities to “tough crowds who sometimes judged you before they even heard you.” Suresh firmly believes that their courage, creativity and confidence were all nurtured at College where the band learned to work as a team.
Just like ‘Stigmata’, ‘Mercury’ also owes a debt of gratitude to their alma mater. “There won’t be a Mercury without STC,” says the band’s lead guitarist Dominic Fernando.
Since their early days, the support of their school has kept Mercury going. And taking part in ‘We Will Rock You’ was a no brainer for them, given that the band is also inspired by ‘Queen’.
Echoing these sentiments is ‘Essentials’, a band that came together in 2018 to take part in Euphoria, a competition organised by Ladies’ College.
After emerging second runners-up, they were inspired to keep going despite their different schedules, purely because of the support given by their school.
Shaun Coorey
Invited by the Warden to perform at the school assembly, they made a name for themselves amongst their peers. Since then, Essentials has frequently taken part in school events, and are proud to represent STC that has given them such a valuable platform. The chance to perform on the same stage as Stigmata and Wagon Park is a big deal for the band, and they are excited to work towards a common goal with their idols.
Just like his peers Shaun Coorey feels honoured to be a part of the show with his fellow Thomian musicians. “There is a lot to learn from them about performing and the genre of hard rock and metal. I feel blessed to be performing alongside them,” he says.
Shaun first performed on stage as a solo artist in 2017 at a school competition and recalls his Lower School teachers identifying his talent and encouraging him to start voice training.
Following a string of successful performances around Sri Lanka in the last couple of months, Wagon Park returns to their roots at STC.
“College means a lot to all old Thomians so when this opportunity came around there was no way we were saying ‘no’!” says lead guitarist Milinda Batuvanthudave (Milo). Lead singer and fellow Thomian Buddhi De Mel who lives in the US even extended his stay in Sri Lanka so as not to miss the gig.
For Milo personally, the reason he plays the guitar is because he was drawn to it after watching a performance at Current Affairs (a programme conducted by the school). “So without that maybe I wouldn’t have picked up the guitar,” he tells us.
Wagon Park: Excited to share the stage with Stigmata
Wagon Park looks to bring good old fashioned Rock ’n Roll to the stage, and the majority of their set will be original music. “We really appreciate the fact that our Warden Rev. Marc Billimoria is promoting local originality and talent at a time that it is being stifled by most others,” Milo says.
As the performers point out, ‘We Will Rock You’ celebrates the power and timelessness of music. The show promises a “rocking time” but above all, it will also showcase the loyalty shared by Thomians, past and present, rallying around the College flag. And for bands like Stigmata and Wagon Park, they cannot wait to come home once more.
Tickets priced at Rs.1000 are available at the STC Old Boys’ Association website and portal and the OBA office.
Stigmata: Going back home