Shona Laing
New Zealand musician known for alternative hits and international success.
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via Wikipedia: Shona Laing · see source
Shona Laing, born 9 October 1955, is a New Zealand musician who grew up in Eastbourne, a suburb of Lower Hutt. While a student at Hutt Valley High School, her musical abilities first drew public attention. She later gained international recognition for her alternative music, especially the tracks "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow," the latter inspired by the Chernobyl disaster. Her work reached US alternative radio stations like WLIR, and she contributed to Manfred Mann's Earth Band album Somewhere in Afrika as well as the 1985 action film Shaker Run.
Musical career
Laing first stepped into the spotlight in 1972 as a 17-year-old schoolgirl, finishing as runner-up on the television talent show New Faces with her song "1905." She signed with Phonogram, and her first two singles, "1905" and "Show Your Love," both reached number 4 on the New Zealand charts and were certified gold. In 1973, she won two RATA awards: Best New Artist and Recording Artist of the Year. She represented New Zealand at the Tokyo Music Festival twice, in 1973 with "Masquerade" and again in 1974.
Relocating to Britain in 1975, she spent seven years there, releasing several singles and the 1981 album Tied to the Tracks. During that time, she joined Manfred Mann's Earth Band for two years, working with English musician Chris Thompson on the album Somewhere in Afrika. Returning to New Zealand in 1983, she put out the album Genre in 1985. The song "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" later charted in Australia and was re-released on her next album, South, hitting number 2 on the NZ Singles Chart in August 1987.
Laing won the APRA Silver Scroll in 1988 for "Soviet Snow" and again in 1992 for "Mercy of Love." At the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards, she received the Legacy Award and was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. In 2020, South was awarded the IMNZ Classic Record Award at the Taite Music Prize.
Did You Know?
- She was a 17-year-old schoolgirl when she placed runner-up on the TV talent show New Faces in 1972.
- During a concert on 18 July 1996, Laing stated she was bisexual and in a relationship with another woman.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Shona Laing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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