Danny Costello will forever be remembered for his music

Daniel Rae Costello, succumbed to his sickness in Australia last week.

The Lautoka-born singer and songwriter was the son of tourism icon the late Dan Costello and Jessie Rae.

He grew up in the Sugar City and at St Thomas Primary School along with his four younger siblings, Katy, Vincent, John and Tara.

Mr Costello Senior ran Beachcomber Island Resort and Treasurer Island Resort just out of Lautoka, which was then one of tourism’s most loved destinations in Fiji.

He and Vincent started a band, The Fleet Swingers, when he was young.

This kicked off a colourful career for Danny who churned out many albums and showed his love for Fiji, samba music and, later in life, Gospel songs. He adored the late Elvis Presley and was devastated when the King of Rock and Roll died.

While at Marist Brothers High School he won the talent quest and later stole the heart of his wife, Corina, who was at Suva Grammar School. Danny was a popular sight at Beachcomber Island with his sulu where he was part of the band on the island and played alongside a number of renowned musicians in the 1970s.

According to Wikipedia, he recorded his first solo album Tropical Sunset in 1979, which wasn’t much of a success, but a year later, his album, Lania was a huge success in Fiji and around the Pacific. He moved to Australia a few years later because of the 1987 coup where he wrote two songs, Samba and Take me to the Island and returned to Fiji and started his own Studio and Production Suite called Tango Sound Productions and recorded his first big hit album, Samba.

In the past 30 years, Danny recorded 30 albums, a feat very few musicians in Fiji have done.

One of his biggest breaks was providing back-up to Pussycat legend Toni Wille in Fiji and providing a memorable duet with her for the hit song Let the World Sing.

Danny was an accomplished songwriter, composer, arranger, audio engineer, vocalist, musician and producer in the Pacific region.

Some of his albums are Tropical Sunset, Lania, Jungle Walk, Rockin Island Hits, The Beach Party, Moondance, Let The World Sing, Footprints In The Sand, Wind Of Change and Calypso Man. Daniel Rae Costello will be remembered for his contributions to the Fijian music industry.

He was meticulous in his music compositions with everything going down to the finer points.

Rest in Peace Danny.