Shona Laing (born 9 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician. She has had several hits in her native country, as well as a few minor international hits, most notably "

(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" is a song by New Zealand musician Shona Laing. According to Laing, the inspiration for the song was her reaction to a television appearance of American politician Ted Kennedy, Edward Kennedy. The song was originally rele ...

" and "Soviet Snow". Laing contributed to

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

album ''

Somewhere in Afrika ''Somewhere in Afrika'' is the eleventh album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, released in 1982. It is their last studio album recorded for their long time record label Bronze Records. They would record their next studio album, ''Criminal Tango'' f ...

'' and contributed music to, and appeared in, the 1985 action film ''

Shaker Run ''Shaker Run'' is a 1985 New Zealand action film directed by Bruce Morrison and starring Cliff Robertson, Leif Garrett, and Lisa Harrow. It follows a stunt driver (Robertson) and his ace mechanic (Garrett) on the run from secret police in the ...

''.

Musical career

Laing first came to prominence in 1972 as a 17-year-old schoolgirl, coming runner-up in the television talent show ''New Faces'' with her song "1905". Signed to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with Phonogram, her first two singles, "1905" and "Show Your Love" both certified gold and both peaked at number 4 on the New Zealand charts. In 1973, she won two Rata awards: Best New Artist and Recording Artist Of The Year. Laing twice represented New Zealand at the

Tokyo Music Festival The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1992. It was organized by the Tokyo Music Festival Association. The first edition of the Tokyo Music Festival took place on 13 May 1972 with 12 participating countri ...

, in 1973 (with the song "Masquerade") and 1974. In 1975, she relocated to Britain and was based there for the next seven years during which time she released a number of singles and an album, ''Tied to the Tracks'' in 1981. She joined

for two years, working alongside English musician Chris Thompson for the album ''

''. Laing returned to New Zealand in 1983, and released her album ''Genre'' two years later, in 1985. The song "

" eventually charted in Australia, and was re-released as part of her next album, ''

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

''. The song reached No. 2 on the NZ Singles Chart in August 1987. Laing won the

APRA Silver Scroll The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. APRA hold the annual Silver ...

in 1988 for "Soviet Snow" and in 1992 for "Mercy of Love". Laing was inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

as the Legacy Award recipient at the

2013 New Zealand Music Awards The 2013 New Zealand Music Awards is the 48th holding of the annual ceremony featuring awards for musical recording artists based in or originating from New Zealand. The main awards event will be held on 21 November 2013 at Vector Arena, Auckla ...

in November 2013.

Personal life

During a concert on 18 July 1996, Shona Laing said she was

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and in a relationship with another woman.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Awards

New Zealand Music Awards

, - , 1973 , Shona Laing , Recording Artist of the Year , , - , 1973 , Shona Laing , Best New Artist , , - , 1985 , Shona Laing – ''Genre'' , Album of the Year , , - , 1987 , "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" – Shona Laing , Single of the Year , , - , 1987 , Shona Laing , Best Female Vocalist , , - , 1987 , Shona Laing , International Achievement , , - , 1987 , Kerry Brown and Bruce Sheridan – "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" (Shona Laing) , Best Video , , - , 1987 , Shona Laing , Best Songwriter , , - , 1988 , Shona Laing – ''South'' , Album of the Year , , - , 1988 , Shona Laing , Best Female Vocalist , , - , 1988 , Shona Laing , International Achievement , , - , 1988 , Stephen McCurdy, Shona Laing and Graeme Myhre – "South" , Best Producer , , - , 1994 , Shona Laing , Best Female Vocalist , , - , 1995 , Shona Laing – ''Shona'' , Album of the Year , , - , 2013 , Shona Laing ,

References

External links

Shona Laing Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Shona 1955 births Living people APRA Award winners Bisexual musicians Bisexual women Women new wave singers New Zealand women singer-songwriters 21st-century New Zealand women singers 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand new wave musicians New Zealand women pop singers LGBT musicians from New Zealand Manfred Mann's Earth Band members LGBT singers from New Zealand LGBT songwriters New Zealand women in electronic music 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Vertigo Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Virgin Records artists TVT Records artists Columbia Records artists Epic Records artists