Laurel Lea Explained

Laurel Lea
Birth Name:Lorraine May Chapman
Alias:Lorraine Lianos
Birth Date:1942 10, df=y
Origin:Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
Death Place:Camperdown, New South Wales[1]
Genre:Pop
Occupation:Singer, TV performer
Years Active:1957–1992
Label:Leedon, CBS

Lorraine May Chapman (3 October 194231 January 1992), professionally known as Laurel Lea,[2] was an Australian popular singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Lea appeared regularly on TV series, Bandstand, Six O'Clock Rock and Saturday Date. In 1974 and 1975 she toured throughout Australia with contemporaries Johnny O'Keefe, Johnny Devlin, Lonnie Lee and Barry Stanton. On 31 January 1992 Lea died of leukaemia.

Biography

Laurel Lea was born as Lorraine May Chapman. She was raised in Armidale, New South Wales by Con Lianos and was known as Lorraine Lianos. Con and his wife ran a travelling performance troupe and Laurel joined them from the age of 15.[3] Her younger brother Doug (born c. 1946) performed as a drummer, Little Rock Billy in the early 1960s.[4] In 1958 Lea signed with Leedon Records and was promoted by its founder, United States-born Lee Gordon.[5]

At the end of 1960, Lea broke her jaw in a fall and was unable to sing for six months.[3] She regularly appeared on TV series Bandstand, Saturday Date and Six O'Clock Rock.[3] Lea was inspired by Brigitte Bardot, "I used to copy her mannerisms, and the way she opened her eyes and looked up like this". In October 1963 an audience of 40,000 attended a 2UW concert with the roster including Lea, Bee Gees, Lonnie Lee, Col Joye and Judy Stone.[6] Lea recorded several singles, but had limited chart success.

In 1974 and 1975, she joined her contemporaries Johnny O'Keefe, Johnny Devlin, Lonnie Lee, Barry Stanton, Jade Hurley and Tony Brady in the Good Old Days of Rock 'n' Roll Tour which travelled throughout Australia. Lea returned to the updated Bandstand ‘76 show now hosted by Daryl Somers for a one off live performance.[7] [8]

She also had a band in the 1980s called Chockarock.

Personal life

In 1960 or 1961 she married fellow Bandstand singer Kevin Todd (born ca. 1943), and the couple had a son Mark (born ca. 1962).[9] [10] The pair often performed duets and by December 1963 had signed with CBS Records.[11] By November 1975, Lea had been married and divorced twice, "[she] has finished with two husbands and has a son of 13".[12]

Laurel Lea died of leukemia on 31 January 1992 in Camperdown, New South Wales, aged 49.

Legacy

From 12 October 2003, ABC-TV series, Love Is in the Air, was a five-part documentary on Australian pop music with "Episode 2: She's Leaving Home" describing female pop stars and how many travelled overseas to try to further their careers, Lea was described, "[a]ccomplished television regulars like Laurel Lea had the look, the sound and the talent".[13] The program featured two of her tracks, "Alfie" and "Tomorrow".[14]

Discography

Singles

TELEVISION

YearTitlePerformanceType
1959-1962Six O'Clock RockHerself - SingerABC TV series
1962Saturday DateHerself - SingerTV series
1962The Johnny O'Keefe ShowHerself - Singer TV series, 1 episode
1963-1968BandstandHerself - SingerTV series, 12 episodes
1963Sing Sing SingHerself - SingerTV series, 2 episodes
1966JimmyHerself - Guest TV series, 1 episode
1969This Day TonightHerself - Singer sings "Alfie"ABC TV series, 1 episode
1975The Ernie Sigley ShowHerself - SingerTV series, 2 episodes
1975This Is Your LifeGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode "Johnny O'Keefe"
1976CountdownHerself - SingerABC TV series, 1 episode
1976Bandstand '76Herself - Singer sings "You're No Good"TV series, 1 episode
1978, 1979The Mike Walsh ShowHerself - GuestTV series, 1 episode
1978Reg Lindsay's Country HomesteadHerself - Singer sings "Crazy Arms" / "I Still Miss Someone"TV series, 1 episode
1979; 1980The Mike Walsh ShowGuest PerformerTV series, 1 episode
1980Country MusicHerself - GuestABC TV series, 1 episode
1980, 1981The Mike Walsh ShowGuest with Warren Williams, Bryan Davies, Little Pattie, Lucky Starr.TV series, 1 episode
1981Australian Music Stars Of The 60sHerself - Archive clipTV special
1981Channel Nine Celebrates: 25 Years Of TelevisionHerself - Archival 'Bandstand' clip with Brian HendersonTV special
1981; 1983The Mike Walsh ShowGuest Performer TV series, 1 episode
1983; 1984The Mike Walsh ShowGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1984The Mike Walsh ShowGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1995Australian Women In Rock And Pop MusicHerself - Archive clipsTV Documentary
2001Long Way to the TopHerself - Archive clipABC TV series, 1 episode
2003Love Is in the AirHerself - Archive clip 'This Day Tonight'ABC TV series, 1 episode 2: "She's Leaving Home"

External links

Reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Laurel Lea. IMDb. 2 March 2020.
  2. Her name is frequently misspelled as "Laurel Lee"
  3. News: Listen Here – First Baby for the Johnny Devlins . Ward . Kirsten . . 11 . 1 November 1961 . 15 April 2012 . She left school at 15 to join the touring tent show run by her father, Con Lianos, and for the past few years has appeared in TV shows regularly..
  4. News: Pin-Up Trio . Teenagers' Weekly. Australian Women's Weekly . 11 . 20 December 1961 . 15 April 2012 . ... songster Laurel Lea ... the touring troupe run by her father, Con Lianos ... Little Rock Billy is really Doug Lianos, Laurel's younger brother... .
  5. Sturma . Michael . Gordon, Lee Lazer (1923–1963) . gordon-lee-lazer-10332/text18289 . 15 April 2012.
  6. Web site: Timeline . . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) . 15 April 2012 . Note: This source spells her last name as Lee.
  7. Book: McFarlane . Ian . Ian McFarlane . . Encyclopedia entry for 'Lonnie Lee' . 15 April 2012 . 1999 . Allen & Unwin . St Leonards, New South Wales . 1-86508-072-1 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20040419074245/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=1009 . 19 April 2004 . dmy-all . http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=1009 .
  8. News: Laurel Lea . The Australian Women's Weekly . 27 May 1964 . 4 April 2012 . 54 Supplement: Teenagers' Weekly . National Library of Australia.
  9. News: The Weekly Round . Adair . Robin . The Australian Women's Weekly . 2 . 24 June 1964 . 15 April 2012 . Laurel revealed recently that she and TV personality Kevin Todd have been married for more than two years; they have an 18-month-old son, Mark. .
  10. News: Listen Here – Young Vocalist Wasn't Interested in Singing . Baker . Ainslie . Teenagers' Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly . 11 . 14 February 1962 . 16 April 2012 . 'I thought if they could do it, so could I, so I decided to give [singing] a try', said handsome, 5 ft. 11 in. Kevin, who is now 19. .
  11. News: PopLine – New Success for Col Joye . Rogers . Bob . Bob Rogers (disc jockey) . Teenagers' Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly . 11 . 18 December 1963 . 17 April 2012 . Now that Kevin and Laurel are working for the same company [C.B.S.] they could easily repeat ... successful duets they often do on national television shows. .
  12. News: Happy Days of Bandstand . Musgrove . Nan . The Australian Women's Weekly . 8–9 . 5 November 1975 . 15 April 2012 .
  13. Web site: Episode 2: She's Leaving Home – Transcript . Love is in the Air . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 15 April 2012 . 19 October 2003 .
  14. Web site: Episode 2: She's Leaving Home – Songlist . Love is in the Air . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 15 April 2012 . 19 October 2003 .

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