Remo Fernandes bids farewell to live concerts with emotional UK performance

NEW DELHI: "Humma Humma" singer and musician Remo Fernandes announced at a concert in London that it would be his last live performance, saying that a minor stroke and vertigo have taken their toll and he can no longer play the flute and guitar as he used to.

Fernandes, best known for blending world music influences into a distinctive sound, made an emotional speech before the hour-long concert earlier this week to explain why he has to now perform sitting in a chair.

"Now sitting down and performing is not really my cup of tea. So that's why I decided to call it a day and to stop performing," Fernandes told the crowd at Cranford Community College in Hounslow.

"Some years ago, after I took the third COVID vaccine, I suffered a light stroke. And that stroke gave me some problems in the use of my fingers. So that made my guitar playing and my flute playing a bit difficult. And it was not as it used to be before.

And then last year, I suffered from vertigo. I had a nasty fall for which I had to be operated on in my cranium."

Fernandes said his doctor told him that he can't perform while standing and that's when he decided to end his journey as a live performer.

He said there were two reasons why he decided to perform for one final time at the UK-Goan Festival.

"I was supposed to perform here last year but I could not perform because of my operation. And the president of the Goan UK, Mr Ravi Vaz, was kind enough to invite me again this year. And this year, I didn't want to say no, I could not say no. So here I am," he said.

The second reason was that he had long wanted to perform in front of Goans in the UK for a long time.

"Finally, my wish has come true. And I'm going to be performing for you. And I wish to apologize for the fact that my fingers are not what they used to be, what they used to be. My throat is not what it used to be. And I have to sit down and perform," he said.

For the next hour, Fernandes took the audience on a trip down memory lane by performing all the songs that made him a pop sensation -- from "Maria Pitache" to "Humma Humma".

Fernandes is best known for blending Goan, Portuguese, rock, pop, Latin, reggae and world music influences into a distinctive sound.

Born on May 8, 1953, in Goa, Fernandes studied architecture at Sir J J College of Architecture in Mumbai before choosing music as a full-time career.

He rose to prominence in the 1980s, long before India’s independent music scene became mainstream.

His English-language albums such as his debut “Pack That Smack” (1986) and “Bombay City” established him as one of India’s leading rock musicians, while songs like “Bombay City”, “Mr Minister” and “Down with Brown” became cult classics.

Fernandes achieved nationwide fame with playback hits including “Humma Humma” (“Bombay”), “Huiya Ho” (“Khamoshi: The Musical”), “Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha”, “O Meri Munni”, and “Signal”.

Over the years, he has performed alongside or shared stages with internationally renowned musicians, including members of Queen and Led Zeppelin, and has toured extensively across India and abroad.

Apart from music, he has acted in films such as “Ek Villain”, “Bombay Velvet” and “99 Songs”.