LAUREL LEA

Laurel Lea was born Lorraine May Chapman in 1942. Her parents ran a travelling performance troupe and Laurel joined them from the age of 15. 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 1960 or 1961 she married fellow Bandstand singer Kevin Todd (born ca. 1943), and the couple had a son Mark (born ca. 1962). The pair often performed duets and by December 1963 had signed with CBS Records.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. She supported Screaming Lord Sutch's tour in 1964. 

It's a mystery why Laurel's recording career was so sparse in the 60s. She only recorded two singles, ''Treasure Of Your Love / What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me'' in 1964 on CBS and ''I Shall Take My Leave / You're Closer To Me'' in 1969 on Parlophone. In the 70s she appeared on many TV shows including Countdown and The Ernie Sigley Show. 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 supported Jerry Lee Lewis' tour of Australia in 1979. She also had a band in the 1980s called Chockarock.

Laurel Lea died of leukemia on 31 January 1992, aged 49. 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, "accomplished television regulars like Laurel Lea had the look, the sound and the talent". The program featured two of her tracks, "Alfie" and "Tomorrow".

SINGLES
''Treasure Of Your Love / What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me'' 1964 CBS
''I Shall Take My Leave / You're Closer To Me'' 1969 Parlophone

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Lea