DK hits the high note

Showbiz is not a new thing to Sri Lanka. In the past, a number of showbiz personalities have come up and various events were organized.

Concerts of world famous names came into reality during the past three decades due to the hard work of these organizers. Osibisa, Boney M, Three Degrees, Brotherhood of Man, George Baker Selection, Cool and The Gang, Earth, Wing and Fire and top singers like Trini Lopez, Latoya Jackson, Shaggy, Brian Adams performed in Colombo, thanks to showbiz personalities of relevant times.

But no body has given a thought of bringing Sri Lankan talent on to the stage under the brand names. This was started with the turn of the millennium under a brand name of different categories, different eras, and different style of music.

Damayantha Kuruppu or more popularly known as DK Promotions was the creator of this new concept. He started organizing concerts in various themes. Seventies Show, Seventies to Millennium, Hits Now and Then, Legends of Pop, Top Band of the Seventies, 5 Star Explosion, Ronnie and Corrine in Concert, Amazing Grace in Concert and Musical Tribute to Vijaya Corea are some of the popular Concerts that came up during the past two years.

DK has now moved into the new era by stepping into the international scene. His very first show of International act was Lobo.

Damayantha was a professional hotelier, who graduated from the Ceylon Hotel School. But the love of music has pushed his hotelier image to aside.

After graduating from the Hotel School in Colombo, Damayantha determined to go abroad to do his advanced study in Hotel Management.

'There I got involved with a band and stated doing few gigs with them. That aroused my musical inside and I went on performing with them’ explained.

Damayantha started his musical stint in early seventies with a band called 'Minx'. My musical career and the beginning of interest revolve around Clarence. He is the biggest influence on my career in Music.

'We used to sing most of Clarence’s song and his music became a part of our life. We developed a rapport with him and started visiting him for more music and advices. We had a chance to perform a concert at Navarangaha in 1974 with Clarence and Milton, who we consider as top names in the showbiz. That was my first show on stage' he went down memory lane.

'I did all vocal parts for my band and it was all Clarence songs. I love jazz and R n'B' but not current type rap and hip hop' he said Damayantha returned to Sri Lanka from Europe and Dolphin in Waikkala was his first posting.

'I took my hoteliering career seriously and was with John Keells for few years. There also I associated with many Sri Lankan bands. After some sometime I decided to leave my hospitality industry for music in different level' he said Damayantha teamed up with singer Rajiv Sebastian to create DR Entertainment and their very first concert was 'Tribute to Clarence'. Together the duo did many successful shows, concerts and events, before parting for their separate ways. Then Damayantha started his own venture DR Promotions and under that banner he did some of the top concerts in Sri Lanka including 'I Don't Know Why Concert' of the Gypsies. His first international venture was 'Lobo Live in Concert in Colombo' in 2006. The most current is the Cliff Richard Concert in Colombo scheduled to be staged on February 23 at Exhibition and Convention Centre.

'Cliff will be my biggest venture and that exposure and experience, really pushed me into more international events. This year music fans will be able to see some of the top international names. I hope the things will go right in our country soon' Damayantha added.