He was born on 21 July 1946 in Boralesgamuwa as the eldest of the family. His father Albert Peiris was a classical artiste at Radio Ceylon popular in 1940s. Albert was the first disciple of the Master musician H.W. Rupasinghe. His mother M.K. Asilin was born in Meddewatta, Matara was a housewife. He has three younger sisters – Irene, Shriyalatha and Somalatha. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a train driver due to the influence of his uncle Piyasoma Nanayakkara. He completed primary education from Boralesgamuwa Ananda Vidyalaya and later attended to Buwanekaba Vidyalaya, Maharagama and studied music in Advanced Level class. Later in 1962, he attended to Heywood Institute of Art.
He is married to Nanda Koralage, a student who came to the Heywood to play Ezraj. The couple has one son, Madhawa and four daughters – Janaki, Anuradha, Nadeera and Subashini. Madhava is a singer as well as a talented guitarist. He lives in Italy. Daughter Janaki is an Aesthetic Instructor at Devi Balika Vidyalaya. Anuradha is a dancer. She lives in Australia. Nadeera is the Milagiriya Branch Manager of Bank of Ceylon.
