Lesley Rae Dowling is a South African singer-songwriter.
Lesley Rae Dowling was discovered in Stellenbosch in 1980 by artist manager Paddy Lee Thorpe. She released her first single (The Spaniard / Grips of Emotion) and album (Lesley Rae Dowling) in 1981. Many of her albums have been produced and co-written (and accompanied) by Tully McCully. Her music has won many South African music awards, including various Sarie (South African Recording Industry) awards, several SAMA awards, 3M Scotty awards, and an FNB SAMA award.
She declined the opportunity in the early 1980s to go international, as the cultural boycott of South Africa during the late apartheid era meant she would need to live in Ireland for six months a year, something she was not prepared to do.
She has a well-known love/hate relationship with the music industry, and has never been comfortable with public performances. She lives on her farm, "De Groote Zalze" near Stellenbosch.