Laurel Lea
| Laurel Lea | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lorraine May Chapman |
| Also known as | Lorraine Lianos |
| Born | 3 October 1942 |
| Origin | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 31 January 1992 (aged 49) Camperdown, New South Wales |
| Genres | pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, TV performer |
| Years active | 1957–1992 |
| Labels | Leedon, CBS |
Lorraine May Chapman (3 October 1942 – 31 January 1992), 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.
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 (born ca. 1946) 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.
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