Introduction
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" and "Soviet Snow". Laing also contributed to the Manfred Mann's Earth Band album Somewhere in Afrika. Laing also contributed music to, and appeared in, the 1985 action film Shaker Run.
Currently she resides in New Zealand and occasionally plays live shows, enjoying a small but devoted fan base.
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 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, in 1973 (with the song Masquerade) and 1974. In 1975 she travelled to Britain and was based there for the next seven years, where in 1982, she was a vocalist for Manfred Mann's Earth Band alongside fellow New Zealander, Chris Thompson.
Laing was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame as the Legacy Award recipient at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards in November 2013.
Personal life
During a concert on 18 July 1996, Shona Laing came out as bisexual and noted that she was in a relationship with another woman.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ |
AUS |
|||
| 1972 | Whispering Afraid |
|
— | — |
| 1974 | Shooting Stars Are Only Seen at Night |
|
— | — |
| 1982 | Tied to the Tracks |
|
— | — |
| 1985 | Genre |
|
— | — |
| 1987 | South |
|
16 | 62 |
| 1992 | New on Earth |
|
4 | — |
| 1994 | Shona |
|
35 | — |
| 1997 | Roadworks |
|
— | — |
| 2007 | Pass the Whisper |
|
— | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ |
|||
| 1991 | 1905–1990 Retrospective | 19 | |
| 2002 | The Essential Shona Laing |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ |
AUS |
US Dance |
US Mod. Rock |
|||
| 1972 | "1905" | 4 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid |
| 1973 | "Show Your Love" | 4 | — | — | — | |
| "Masquerade" | 11 | — | — | — | ||
| "Someone To Be With" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1974 | "I'm Crying Too" | — | — | — | — | Shooting Stars Are Only Seen at Night |
| 1975 | "Don't You Think It's Time" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "I Love My Feet" | 39 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid | |
| 1980 | "Whistling Waltzes" | — | — | — | — | Tied to the Tracks |
| "Don't Tell Me" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Bundle of Nerves" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1984 | "America" | 44 | — | — | — | Genre |
| 1985 | "One in a Miilion" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1987 | "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" | 2 | 9 | — | 14 | South |
| "Drive Baby Drive" | 45 | 65 | — | — | ||
| "Soviet Snow" | — | — | 32 | — | ||
| "Caught (between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea)" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Walk Away (42nd Street)" | 14 | — | — | — | New on Earth |
| "Fear of Falling" | 26 | — | — | — | ||
| "Thief to Silver" | 35 | — | — | — | ||
| 1993 | "Mercy of Love" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1994 | "Kick Back" | — | — | — | — | Shona |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
Awards
New Zealand Music Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Shona Laing | Recording Artist of the Year | Won |
| 1973 | Shona Laing | Best New Artist | Won |
| 1985 | Shona Laing – Genre | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1987 | "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" – Shona Laing | Single of the Year | Nominated |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Won |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | International Achievement | Nominated |
| 1987 | Kerry Brown and Bruce Sheridan – "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" (Shona Laing) | Best Video | Nominated |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | Best Songwriter | Nominated |
| 1988 | Shona Laing – South | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1988 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Won |
| 1988 | Shona Laing | International Achievement | Nominated |
| 1988 | Stephen McCurdy, Shona Laing and Graeme Myhre – "South" | Best Producer | Nominated |
| 1994 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Nominated |
| 1995 | Shona Laing – Shona | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | Shona Laing | Legacy Award | Won |