Laurel Lea


Lorraine May Chapman, professionally known as Laurel Lea, 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. Her younger brother Doug performed as a drummer, Little Rock Billy in the early 1960s. In 1958 Lea signed with Leedon Records and was promoted by its founder, United States-born Lee Gordon.
At the end of 1960, Lea broke her jaw in a fall and was unable to sing for six months. She regularly appeared on TV series Bandstand, Saturday Date and Six O'Clock Rock. 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. 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.
She also had a band in the 1980s called Chockarock.

Personal life

In 1960 or 1961 she married fellow Bandstand singer Kevin Todd, and the couple had a son Mark. The pair often performed duets and by December 1963 had signed with CBS Records. By November 1975, Lea had been married and divorced twice, " has finished with two husbands and has a son of 13½".
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, "ccomplished television regulars like Laurel Lea had the look, the sound and the talent". The program featured two of her tracks, "Alfie" and "Tomorrow".

Discography

;Singles