Fame for Sri Lankan…in Europe

With the pandemic crippling the entertainment industry, in most parts of the world, it’s heartening to note that there are Sri Lankan, abroad, who have excelled, as musicians, and winning awards, as well.

Guitarist Sal Salgado is one such artiste who comes to mind.

He played with the band 20th Century and Heat, and then joined Fame, in Germany.

According to reports coming our way, Sal is doing extremely well, in Europe, and has won two international awards – American Global Music Award 2019 and the German VDM Award 2019

Both awards were for his talents as a singer and producer.

Sal, I’m told, started his music career, in 1984, in Galle, and performed in hotels and toured, mainly down south.

He moved to Colombo, in 1986, and joined 20th Century and was seen in action at hotels, and nightclubs, in the city.

He teamed up with the band Heat, in 1989, and a year later, left for Germany, and toured Europe with several different Sri Lankan and foreign outfits, and did the solo scene, as well.

Sal qualified as a professional sound engineer, in 1993, at AIA, in San Francisco, USA, and attended Berklee College of Music, in Boston, in 1995.

Sal´s dedication to the music of Pink Floyd, and Pink Floyd Tribute acts, came to the attention of Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, and he was invited to perform at the ‘The Wall’ concert, which was to be held between the Israel and Palestine boarder, in 2010, but was eventually cancelled due to political issues.

While in England, Sal performed with two popular Pink Floyd tribute acts and several rock bands, and is also seen with his own Pink Floyd tribute act, in Germany.

In addition to performing, on stage, Sal works as a freelance studio/live sound engineer, producer, and has been doing this scene for more than 25 years. What’s more, he has his own production facilities, in Germany.