Biography
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Born
4 November 1963
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Born In
Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Died
1 October 1999 (aged 35)
Lena was born in Greenock and grew up in the small town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute with musical parents, who owned a fish and chip shop. Father Victor Zavaroni played the guitar, mother Hilda sang, and Lena herself sang from the age of two. Her grandfather immigrated from Italy.
She was discovered in the summer of 1973 by record producer Tommy Scott, who was on holiday in Rothesay and heard her singing with her father and uncle in a band. Scott contacted impresario Phil Solomon, which led to his partner Dorothy Solomon’s becoming Zavaroni’s manager.
In 1974 Lena appeared on Opportunity Knocks hosted by Hughie Green and won the show for a record-breaking five weeks running.
Live performances quickly followed, including a show-stopping performance in a Hollywood charity show starring Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball as well as guest-starring on the “The Carol Burnett Show” (1967). She was even invited to go to the White House to sing for President Gerald Ford in 1974 and performed in the 1976 ‘Royal Variety Show’.
Notable TV appearances included “The Morecambe & Wise Show” (1968), “Hi! Summer” (1977), “The Val Doonican Show” (1970) and her own TV series called ‘Lena Zavaroni and Music’ (1979) and ‘Lena’ (1980 - 1982).
Lena developed anorexia and spent two years fighting this devastating illness from the age of 13 to 15, this became clinical depression which she had for the rest of her life.
Lena underwent a number of treatments for her depression but none of them seemed to help in the long team and so during September 1999 she underwent a surgical procedure called “Neurosurgery for Mental Disorder (NMD) but shortly after the Neurosurgery Lena contracted pneumonia while still in the hospital and died from it on October 1, 1999. She weighed less than five stone (70 lb, 32 kg).
Discography
- Lena's debut album and single: Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me The single went to number 10 in the UK pop charts, and the album went to number 8.
- Lena's second album: If My Friends Could See Me Now Pickwick releases a two record set. made up of Lena's first two albums called The Lena Zavaroni Collection
- Lena's third album: Presenting Lena Zavaroni
- Lena's fourth album: Songs Are Such Good Things
- Lena's fifth album: Lena Zavaroni And Her Music
- Lena's sixth and final album: Hold Tight, It's Lena
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