Kamahl

Kamahl was born on 13 November 1934 in the Brickfields district of Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States, to Ceylonese Tamil and Hindu parents, the second eldest of six children. Kamahl's father, a chief clerk in the engineering department of Malaya Railways had migrated from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to Malaya in 1919. From 1936–1938, the young Kamahl lived with his mother in her hometown of Jaffna in Ceylon. He then returned to Kuala Lumpur, where he grew up until attending school at King's College in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1953–1955.^[2][3][4] His father was head of the local Tamil music school.^[4] Kamahl studied at the Victoria Institution.^[5] He suffered sexual abuse in his childhood by three different adults.^[1] He lived through the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II.^[4][2]

He arrived in Adelaide, South Australia, in April 1953,^[6] and finished high school at King's College.^[2] He then enrolled at the University of Adelaide, studying architecture to please his parents.^[7]

Kamahl developed an interest in singing at university. He went on the television talent program Australia's Amateur Hour and won the state final which led to further television and club engagements.^[4] He dropped out of his architecture course and became a full-time entertainer. He also studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music for a year.^[7][2]

At his early public performances, from 1958, he shortened his name to Kamal. Successive masters of ceremonies announced him as "camel", so he changed its spelling to Kamahl.^[4] Rupert Murdoch was an early important sponsor, and tipped Kamahl £10 at a party in December 1958 and encouraged him to move to Sydney.^[2][4] Without asking, Murdoch arranged for Kamahl to perform a six-week season at the Australia Hotel in Sydney.^[8] After that season, he boarded with the Murdochs for two years.^[4]

In 1966, Kamahl was a finalist in the Sydney Eisteddfod Sun Aria, singing Verdi's "Ella giammai m'amò" and Mussorgsky's "Farewell and Death of Boris". He co-wrote and sang the theme song for the 1967 feature film, Journey Out of Darkness, which he also acted in.

He was one of the first people to appear in concert at the Sydney Opera House. He has performed at the London Palladium^[9] and Carnegie Hall^[10] as well as pubs and clubs throughout Australia.

His first album, A Voice to Remember, was released in Australia in October 1967. He released singles and albums in the United States, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, South America, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany (in 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",^[11] composed and produced by Hans van Hemert, reached number one on the Dutch Top 40, the Nationale Hitparade, currently Single Top 100,^[12] and the Belgian BRT Top 30.^{[citation needed]} This song was part of the soundtrack of a World Wildlife Fund TV documentary. In 1978, Billboard reported "The Elephant Song" was the biggest selling single ever in Sweden.^[13]

In 2004, he appeared at the Big Day Out rock festival. 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.

Kamahl has released albums through ABC Music, a compilation Christmas album entitled Peace On Earth (2012),^[14] and a three-CD collection of favourites entitled Heart and Soul: For Lovers Of Life (2015).^[15]

Kamahl appeared in the Adelaide Festival of Arts plays Moon on a Rainbow Shawl in 1961 and Volpone in 1963. He also played John the Baptist in a production of Salome and appeared in Othello.^[7] In the 1967 film Journey Out of Darkness, Kamahl played an Aboriginal Australian.^[16]

Kamahl was a popular guest on the variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday. In 2009, he criticised the show for its treatment of him during his appearances. His feelings were revealed to the Australian public shortly after Harry Connick Jr. complained of a "black faces" skit for the show's "Red Faces" segment.^[17] In April 2021, the former compere Daryl Somers wrote a lengthy apology to Kamahl and to those who found the show's content offensive.^[18]

In 2003, he had cameos in the Australian films Harvie Krumpet and Fat Pizza. In 2005, he made appearances as a judge on The X-Factor. In September 2007, he appeared on The Chaser's War on Everything on ABC TV where he sang for a "newly-wed couple" who turned up uninvited at his door.

Kamahl appeared in an episode of the Australian TV quiz show Spicks and Specks, first broadcast in September 2010.^[19] In 2011, Kamahl made a cameo appearance on Swift and Shift Couriers as a phone store employee.^[20] In 2012, Kamahl made appearances in Prime's show The Unbelievable Truth.^[21] In May 2013, the Australian drama, Offspring, broadcast an episode which had Kamahl in a minor role as a medical specialist.^[22]

In 1988, Kamahl appeared in a television commercial for Dilmah tea.^[23] In 2005, he had a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.^{[citation needed]} In 2007, he made commercials for the Australian cable channel Fox8, advertising its WWE programming.^[24]

His biography, Kamahl: The Triumph of Hope, written by Keith Cameron is scheduled to be released on 15 November 2024.^[1]

In 1967, Kamahl married an Indo-Fijian woman, Sahodra, of whom his family did not approve. "There was no way my parents would've given their blessing."^[4] They have two children, Rajan, born in 1969, and Rani, born in 1971.^[25] Rani had a brief singing career which reached its peak in the late 1990s.

In November 2021, Kamahl revealed that he and Sahodra had separated after 55 years of marriage.^[26] He cited social media addiction as the cause of their separation, telling A Current Affair: "I'm Twittering day and night, and now, I'm paying a terrible price for it."^[27] He remained an avid Twitter user in the aftermath of his divorce, with the vast majority of his tweets being criticism of Donald Trump, but has since deleted his account.

In 2023, Kamahl first came out against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and then changed his position to support it, leading Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to coin the phrase "Kamahl-mentum" referring to a person who "came out and said No and went away, spoke to people, read what it was about, read the question and decided that he would come out and declare his support for Yes." However, in September 2023, Kamahl changed his position once again and ultimately did not support the Voice.^[28]

In 1985, the Chicago Tribune reported Kamahl as having sold "more than 20 million records worldwide" and "76 gold and 14 platinum records".^[34] In a 2007 press release, Kamahl's records were said to have achieved gold and platinum status over 80 times.^[35] In 2018, Port News reported Kamahl as having recorded more than 30 albums and earned "more than 100 gold and platinum records".^[36]

• 1994 – Member of the Order of Australia^[44]
• 1998 – Australian Father of the Year award
• 2004 – Australian Centenary Medal

In May 2006, he received another Australian honour when he was included in "Our Entertainers of the 20th Century". The award was organised by the Variety Club of Australia, the top entertainers of the century included Kylie Minogue, Dame Joan Sutherland, Jack Thompson and Graham Kennedy.^[45]