Introduction
Penny McLean (born Gertrude Wirschinger) is an Austrian born solo singer who had some hits on her own as well as with the seventies disco band Silver Convention. She is most remembered for her million seller "Lady Bump". She is also an author.
Early life
She was born Gertrude Wirschinger in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Music career
In the early 1970s she was part of the duo Barbra & Helmut. They released "Hideaway" bw "Stop" on the Telefunken label in 1972. Late she was a member of the trio Tony & Liza & Penny. In 1973, they released a single on the Ariola label, "Öffne Die Tür (Light Up The Fire)" bw "Der Fremde". By the mid-70s, she was a member of Silver Convention, a group that also included Linda G. Thompson and Ramona Wulf. They had hits with "Save me" and "Fly, Robin, Fly". Around mid 1976, McLean left Silver Convention. She was replaced by Zenda Jacks.
In October 1976, her single "Devil Eyes" was released on the Ariola label.Around July 1978, her album The Best of Penny McLean was released on Jupiter Records. By late 1980, she was on the Teldec label roster.
Hits
Her hit "Lady Bump" sold in the millions. She also had hits with "1-2-3-4-Fire", "Dance, Bunny, Honey, Honey, Dance" and more.
"Lady Bump"
By November 1975, the track bw "The Lady Bumps On" was rated # 14 in the New York discos. In January 1976, it was #8 on the Cash box pop singles charts. In July 1976, "Lady Bump" #7 in Australia's 2S Music Survey. The single itself sold 3 million copies.
Author
As a popular author, she has written on spiritual and numerology matters.
Some of the books she has written are Lass los, was dich festhält. Von der Kunst, du selbst zu sein, Numerologie und Schicksal. Ihr Leben ist berechenbar and Schattenspringer - Ein Jacobsweg der Seele.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | SWE | US R&B | ||
| Lady Bump |
| 47 | 3 | 59 |
| Penny |
| — | 22 | — |
| Midnight Explosion |
| — | — | — |
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | SWE | |||
| Success |
| 11 | 16 |
|
| The Best of Penny McLean |
| — | — | |
| Star Discothek |
| — | — | |
| Profile |
| — | — | |
| Lady Bump |
| — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | BEL | CAN | GER | NET | SWE | SWI | US | US DAN | US R&B | ||||||||||
| 1972 | "Acapulcobanjopolka" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| 1974 | "A Letter From Miami" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1975 | "Lady Bump" | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 1 | 90 | Lady Bump | |||||||
| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | |||||||||
| 1976 | "1-2-3-4... Fire!" | 11 | 11 | — | 3 | 20 | 9 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Devil Eyes" | — | — | — | 21 | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Nobody's Child" | — | — | — | 49 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | N/A | ||||||||
| 1977 | "Zwischen Zwei Gefühlen" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Dance, Bunny Honey, Dance" | — | — | — | 26 | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | Penny | ||||||||
| "Mambo Mama" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1978 | "Wild One" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Best Of Penny McLean | |||||||
| "Midnight Explosion" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Midnight Explosion | ||||||||
| 1979 | "Tut-Ench-Amun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| 1980 | "Love Is Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Profile | |||||||
| 1982 | "Words" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| "Wenn Die Träume Flügel Kriegen" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1985 | "Don’t Ever Leave Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||
Film and television
| Title | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Das Wunder | Woman of cards | Eckhart Schmidt | 1985 | Actress |
| Lieder gehen um die Welt | Singer | Dieter Pröttel | 1982 | Made for television |
| Bistro | Otto Draeger | 1973 | Television series |
- Penny McLean - Biografia filmweb.pl Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- Penny McLean - Filmography imdb.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016
- Lieder gehen um die Welt moviejab.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- Bistro - Serial TV (1979) cinemarx.ro. Retrieved June 16, 2016.