| Penny McLean | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Gertrude Wirschinger |
| Alias: | Barbra Münzer |
| Birth Date: | 4 November 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Klagenfurt, Austria |
| Genre: | Soul, pop, disco |
| Occupation: | Singer, author |
| Years Active: | 1965–1985 |
| Label: | Ariola, Jupiter |
| Associated Acts: | Barbra & Helmut, Tony & Liza & Penny, Silver Convention |
Gertrude Wirschinger (born 4 November 1948), better known as Penny McLean, is an Austrian vocalist who initially gained acclaim with the disco music act Silver Convention, but also had exposure as a single recording artist. As a solo singer, she is most remembered for her million seller "Lady Bump". She is also an author.
Gertrude Wirschinger was born in Klagenfurt.[1]
In the early 1970s, under the name Barbra Münzer, she was part of the duo Barbra & Helmut. They released "Hideaway" bw "Stop" on the Telefunken label in 1972.[2] Late she was a member of the trio Tony & Liza & Penny. In 1973, they released a single on the Ariola label, "Öffne Die Tür" ("Open The Door") bw "Der Fremde" ("The Stranger").[3] By the mid-70s, she was a member of Silver Convention, a group that also included Linda G. Thompson and Ramona Wulf.[4] [5] They had hits with "Save me" and "Fly, Robin, Fly".[6] Around mid 1977, McLean left Silver Convention. She was replaced by Zenda Jacks.[7] In October 1976, her single "Devil Eyes" was released on the Ariola label.[8] Around July 1978, her album The Best of Penny McLean was released on Jupiter Records.[9] In 1979, she released the single, "Tut-Ench-Amun" which was written by Bernd Meinunger, Horst Hornung and Christian Dornaus. Backed with "Child of Egypt", it was released on Jupiter 100 698.[10] By late 1980, she was on the Teldec label roster.[11]
Her hit "Lady Bump" sold in the millions. She also had hits with "1-2-3-4-Fire", "Dance, Bunny, Honey, Dance" and more.[12]
By November 1975, the track bw "The Lady Bumps On" was rated # 14 in the New York discos.[13] In January 1976, it was #8 on the Cash box pop singles charts.[14] In July 1976, "Lady Bump" #7 in Australia's 2S Music Survey.[15] The single itself sold 3 million copies.[16]
As a popular author, she has written on spiritual and numerology matters.[17] [18] Some of the books she has written are Lass los, was dich festhält. Von der Kunst, du selbst zu sein, Numerologie und Schicksal. Ihr Leben ist berechenbar and Schattenspringer - Ein Jacobsweg der Seele.[19]
| Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [20] | CAN [21] | SWE | US R&B | |||
| Lady Bump | 12 | 47 | 3 | 59 | ||
| Penny |
| — | — | 22 | — | |
| Midnight Explosion |
| — | — | — | — | |
| Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [22] | SWE | ||||
| Success |
| 11 | 16 |
Platinum[23] | |
| The Best of Penny McLean |
| — | — | ||
| Star Discothek |
| — | — | ||
| Profile |
| — | — | ||
| Lady Bump |
| — | — | ||
| Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | AUT [24] | BEL [25] | CAN [26] | GER [27] | NET [28] | SWE [29] | SWI [30] | US [31] | US Dan. [32] | US R&B | ||||||||||
| 1972 | "Acapulcobanjopolka" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2" | |||||||
| 1974 | "A Letter from Miami" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1975 | "Lady Bump" | 9 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 2 | 90 | Lady Bump | |||||||
| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 108 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1976 | "1-2-3-4... Fire!" | — | 11 | 11 | — | 3 | 20 | 9 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Devil Eyes" | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Nobody's Child" | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2" | ||||||||
| 1977 | "Zwischen Zwei Gefühlen" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Dance, Bunny Honey, Dance" | — | — | — | — | 26 | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | Penny | ||||||||
| "Mambo Mama" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1978 | "Wild One" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Best of Penny McLean | |||||||
| "Midnight Explosion" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Midnight Explosion | ||||||||
| 1979 | "Tut-Ench-Amun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1980 | "Love Is Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Profile | |||||||
| 1982 | "Words" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | |||||||
| "Wenn Die Träume Flügel Kriegen" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1985 | "Don’t Ever Leave Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woman of cards | Eckhart Schmidt | 1985 | Actress[33] [34] | |
| Lieder gehen um die Welt[35] | Singer | Dieter Pröttel | 1982 | Made for television |
| Bistro | Otto Draeger | 1973 | Television series[36] | |
. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 187.
