• Sad goodbye for Lena
• Have you got a voice
• A Dispatch from the U of K
• When you need a listening ear?
• The do's and don'ts for nails
• Smell nice with Theorema
• Blue, blue heart...
• Familiar Faces" hits Sri Lanka's music scene
• 

Young designer Ineka Cooray presented a collection of attractive designs under her label Akeni at the Hilton's Title - Tattle Tea last week. The show was presented by Geraldine Bandaranaike and featured models Sylvana, Joyee, Roshini, Dechen, and Karen. Pix by Mettasena

Sad goodbye for Lena

Lena Zavaroni, the child pop singer of yesteryear is dead. Lena died on the night of Friday, October 1 at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff. She was 35 years old. Lena was in hospital for a few days having undergone an operation. She developed an infection and died as her body was too weak to fight it. Miss Zavaroni was suffering from anorexia. Her family was by her bedside.

Lena Zavaroni was born on November 4, 1963. She rose to fame in the television series "Opportunity Knocks" when she was just 11 in 1974. Lena became a household name. Her solitary chart hit was 'Ma (He's Making Eyes At Me)'which reached No.10 in the UK in 1974. Lena's child star counterpart across the Atlantic at the time was little Jimmy Osmand.

Lena went on to perform in the US with Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli and even performed at the White House. But as she grew older things changed. In the 80's she became anorexic. However she did fall in love and marry in 1989. Zavaroni was and continues to have a share of popularity here in Sri Lanka too as her songs are aired over Radio Sri Lanka.

Just as Shirley Bassey and Bret Tefel sang at the opening of the Rugby World Cup on October 1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and as Wales beat Argentina in the opening match, celebration in Wales turned to sadness that night as Lena Zavaroni breathed her last.

The Pet Shop Boys are back on the scene. They have not forgotten their computers and certainly their good lyrics. Neil Tennent and Chris Lowe surface this week on the UK singles chart at No. 14 with 'New York City Boy'. The song is a kind of reflection or tribute by the duo to the Seventies. They have taken on board one of the masters of dance music David Morales who co-produced the single 'New York City Boy'. Critics have already labelled the song as an over produced dance track. The new single is a follow-up to the July release of 'I Don't Know What You Want...' which peaked at No.15. The two tracks will be among other tracks to appear on the Pet Shop Boys soon to be released album 'Night Life'.

Gabrielle was one of the bright stars of 1993. She took a break and returned to the scene last year with a little success. Now the lady is back again with a song called 'Sunshine' at No. 9. The song has been given favourable reviews but they fall short of the material in her debut album. Gabrielle is also to release her third album called 'Rise' shortly which will contain among other tracks a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'.

This year has been a rather gloomy year for CD sales in the UK. Despite the cloudy signals, there are songs that manage to keep above the water. 'We're Going To Ibiza' by the Vengaboys, a former No. 1 of four weeks ago is still within the top 10 at No. 8. Another Ibiza hit, 'The Sun Is Shining' by Bob Marley (vs) Funkmaster Delux is doing satisfactorily at No. 7 down a notch from its previous position. Bob Marley's song is an exception in that he gets introduced to a whole new generation and the crazy party/clubgoers. Lou Bega's 'Mambo No. 5' still as strong as ever, dropping a notch to No. 5. The song is helped by its beat and raunchy video which could raise the eyebrows of some elders. And from what we hear Lou Bega is likely to add a few more swayers (at least one) before the year is out.

Melanie C's long awaited solo career takes off at No. 4. The song 'Going Down' had been receiving airplay prior to release upto two weeks ago. The track is the debut single for the Spice Girl whose album 'Northern Star' is due out soon. Last year while working on her album Melanie C bumped into Bryan Adams and she figured out rather prominently on his single 'When You're Gone' a No. 3 hit by December. On her own, kicking off at No. 4 is indeed an achievement.

Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers married for the third time recently. The 60-year-old star married Patti Arnold.

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