Lena Zavaroni
Lena Hilda Zavaroni (born November 4, 1963 in Rothesay , Scotland , † October 1, 1999 in Cardiff , Wales ) was a British singer who began her career as a child star .
Childhood and discovery
Lena Zavaroni was born to musicians in Scotland. Her father Victor Zavaroni was a guitarist and her mother a singer. Lena started singing at the age of two. Her grandfather was an Italian immigrant. She was discovered in 1973 by British music producer Tommy Scott, who was vacationing in the town where she was born. He heard her in the band of her father and her uncle.
Singing career
In 1974 she first appeared on a British television show for young talent. After successful appearances on the show, their first album was released with the title track Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me . The album reached eighth place in the UK album charts. She has since become the youngest performer to have an album in the UK top ten. Appearances on the BBC telecast Top of the Pops followed. In the same year she performed at a charity concert in Hollywood on the side of Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball . This was followed by appearances on American television shows and an appearance in the White House before US President Gerald Ford . She received a record deal in the USA, but chart successes failed to materialize.
In London she attended the Italia Conti Academy , a traditional English theater school. From 1979 to 1982 she received her own TV show on the BBC under the title Lena Zavaroni and Music . Between 1974 and 1982 Lena Zavaroni released a total of seven albums, with her debut album remaining the most successful.
Later years
Lena Zavaroni had suffered from anorexia nervosa from the age of 13 . During her time at the theater school, her body weight dropped to 25 kg. The disease progressed through the 1980s and ended her career early. In 1989 she married. However, the marriage lasted only 18 months. In the same year her marriage her mother died of an overdose of sedatives . A house fire destroyed all the memorabilia from her show career. After the failed marriage, she moved to Hoddesdon to live near her father and his second wife. She lived withdrawn from welfare .
Lena later also suffered from depression . In the course of her mental illness, she was treated with medication and received electroconvulsive therapy , but all treatments failed over the long term. In September 1999 she was admitted to Cardiff University Hospital for psychosurgery surgery. She had expressly requested this intervention herself. She died of pneumonia three weeks after the operation at the age of 35 . When she died, she weighed only 32 kg.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1974 | Ma! (He's Making Eyes At Me) | - |
AT10 (4 weeks) AT |
- |
UK8 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: March 1974
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More albums
- 1974: If My Friends Could See Me Now
- 1975: In South Africa
- 1976: The Collection
- 1977: Presenting
- 1978: Songs Are Such Good Things
- 1979: And Her Music
- 1982: Hold Tight, It's Lena
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1974 | Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me |
- |
AT5 (12 weeks) AT |
- |
UK10  (11 weeks)UK |
US91 (4 weeks) US |
First published: January 1974
|
| (You've Got) Personality single track |
- |
AT3 (12 weeks) AT |
- |
UK33 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: May 1974
|
|
literature
- Elizabeth L. Ewan, Sue Innes, Sian Reynolds, Rose Pipes: The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh University Press 2006, ISBN 0-7486-2660-3 , p. 384.
Web links
- Lena-Zavaroni at Discogs (English)
- Lena Zavaroni Tributes
Individual evidence
- ↑ Penny Valentine: Lena Zavaroni - A child pop star, she fell victim to her own success. In: theguardian.com. October 5, 1999, accessed May 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: AT UK US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zavaroni, Lena |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zavaroni, Lena Hilda (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th November 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rothesay , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1, 1999 |
| Place of death | Cardiff , Wales |