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Biography
Infobox musical artist|image= || name = Kamahl| image = Kamahl 3.png| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Kandiah Kamalesvaran| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|df=yes|1934|11|13| origin = Malaysia | genre =| occupation = Musician | religion = Hindu | years_active =| instrument = Vocals | label = Philips EMI Mercury Records Festival Records Dino Records Reader's Digest Kamahl is the stage name of Kandiah Kamalesvaran (lang-ta|??????? ??????????; born 13 November 1934), an Australia n singer and recording artist, perhaps best known for "The Elephant Song", and his repertoire of popular music.
Early life
Born in Malaysia to Tamil people|Tamil Hindu parents, he is of Sri Lankan Tamil heritage. He grew up in Brickfields , Kuala Lumpur and studied at the Victoria Institution .
He arrived in Adelaide , South Australia in 1953 to receive a higher education at King's College (now Pembroke School, Adelaide|Pembroke School ), however, his arrival was not without prejudice on the part of an Australia still influenced by the White Australia Policy . This experience gave bite to his well-known quote: "Why are people so unkind? " cite web |url= http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1434728.htm |work=Talking Heads with Peter Thompson |title=Transcripts: Kamahl |date=15 August 2005 |accessdate=5 June 2007 |publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC
Music career
At his first public performance in 1958 he shortened his name to Kamal, but the Master of Ceremonies announced him as " Camel ". After that he changed the spelling to Kamahl.
As he made his way into the Australian music industry, Rupert Murdoch was an early important mentor. Murdoch tipped Kamahl Australian pound|£ 10 at a concert in December 1958 and encouraged him to move to Sydney . Without asking, Murdoch arranged for Kamahl to perform a six-week season at the Hotel Australia in Sydney. After that season, he boarded with the Murdochs for two years.
Kamahl has performed at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall , as well as pub s and club s throughout Australia. In 1982 Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II asked him to give a Royal Command performance in Brisbane for the Commonwealth Games there. In 1984, he sang with Cathy Lee Johnson at the L.A. Variety Telethon. Citation needed|date=November 2009 His first album was A Voice to Remember , which was released in Australia in October 1967. He has released singles and albums in the United States , Canada , United Kingdom|Britain , New Zealand , South America , India , Singapore , Malaysia and Germany (the last in German language|German , as well as in the Netherlands , Belgium , and Scandinavia . From 1967 onwards in Australia his records, tapes and CDs were primarily on the Philips label, but he also recorded on EMI, Mercury, Festival, Dino and Reader's Digest.
In 1975, his single, "The Elephant Song"Lyrics and audio for http://www.maleisie.be/media/audio/kamahl_the_elephant_song.html The Elephant Song (composed and produced by Hans van Hemert ) hit the number one spot on the Dutch Top 40 , the Nationale Hitparade (currently Mega Single Top 100|Single Top 100 )cite web |url= http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp? interpret=Kamahl& titel=The+Elephant+Song& cat=s |title=Kamahl & mdash; The Elephant Song |work=Dutch Charts |language=Dutch |publisher=Hung Medien and the Belgian VRT Top 30|BRT Top 30 .cite web |url= http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/4186 |work=Radio 2 |title=The Elephant Song & mdash; Kamahl |language=Flemish |year=2008 |publisher=VRT |location=Brussels This song was part of the soundtrack of a World Wildlife Fund TV documentary.
He has been in the Australian music industry for fifty years, and throughout that time has made some memorable TV and film appearances, as well as concerts. He was one of the first people to appear in concert at the Sydney Opera House . He was a particularly popular guest on the variety show '' Hey Hey It's Saturday . In 2004 he appeared at the Big Day Out rock festival, and the year before he had Cameo appearance|cameos in the Australian films Harvie Krumpet and Fat Pizza . He collaborated with the Wiggles for some of their performances, showing his inter-generational appeal. Citation needed|date=November 2009
His latest album is Imagine the World in Unison as of 2005. He is also making appearances as a judge on The X Factor (UK)|The X-Factor and has a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola . On 19 September 2007 he featured on '' The Chaser's War on Everything '' on ABC Television|ABC TV where he sang for a 'newly-wed couple' who turned up uninvited on his door.
In early 2008, Kamahl reunited with his old school, Pembroke (then Kings College), and went on tour in the United States with the Pembroke Symphony Orchestra.
Television appearances
In 2009, he accused the Australian TV show '' Hey Hey It's Saturday '' of having treated him in a way that smacked of racism, during his past guest appearances. His feelings were revealed to the Australian public shortly after Harry Connick, Jr. complained of a " blackface|black faces " skit for the show's " Hey Hey It's Saturday#The Jackson Jive|Red Faces " segment.citation needed|date=March 2012 In 2010, Kamahl made a cameo appearance on The Chaser Decides|Yes We Canberra! as well had a small role in one sketch which was unused but later an extra on the DVD release.
Kamahl appeared an episode of Australian TV quiz show Spicks and Specks (TV series)|Spicks and Specks which first went to air on 8 September 2010.cite web |url= http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc1/201009/programs/LE0930V033D2010-09-08T203000.htm? program=Spicks%20And%20Specks |work=ABC Television |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Coporation |title= Spicks and Specks & mdash; 8:30pm Wednesday, September 08 2010
He recentlywhen|date=March 2012 made commercials for Australian Cable Channel Fox8 , advertising their WWE programming.
In 2012, Kamahl made another cameo appearance in a pilot for a new show on Channel 7 in Australia.citation needed|date=March 2012
Awards and recognition
1994 - Order of Australia|Member of the Order of Australia
1998 - Australian Father Of The Year award
2004 - Australian Centenary Medal by Queen Elizabeth II
He received another Australian honour when he was included in 'Our Entertainers of the 20th Century' in May 2006. Organised by the Variety Club of Australia, the top entertainers of the century included Kylie Minogue , Dame Joan Sutherland , Rolf Harris , Jack Thompson (actor)|Jack Thompson and Graham Kennedy .
References
reflist
External links
http://www.kamahl.com Kamahl's official website
http://viweb.freehosting.net/Kamahl.htm Some information about Kamahl about when he was young in Malaysia, from the Victoria Institute
http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1434728.htm 2005 interview with Kamahl from ABC TV's Talking Heads (TV series)|Talking Heads
Persondata | NAME =Kamahl | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Entertainer | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =13 November 1934 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Kamahl Category:Australian male singers Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:People from Adelaide Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Recipients of the Centenary Medal Category:Tamil musicians Category:Australian people of Sri Lankan descent Category:Australian Hindus Category:Malaysian people of Indian descent Category:Malaysian Hindus Category:Sri Lankan Tamil musicians Category:Malaysian people of Tamil descent Category:People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide Category:Attic Records (Canada) artists
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