AmandaLear

A
M
A
N
D
A

LEAR

    Born in 1941 in Hong Kong from an English/French father and an Asian/Russian mother, Amanda was raised in the South of France and in Switzerland. Her passion for art emerged soon and at the tender age of 16 she went to Paris to study painting before joining the famous St Martins School in London in 1964. She became chums with Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, and a wild child of the London nights. Her stunning Eurasian features attracted the attention of Catherine Harlé, head of the most famous European model agency.
     In 1965 she went to Paris to catwalk for Paco Rabanne and Yves St Laurent. During this stay she met Salvador Dali who wanted her as a model. She became his muse and closest friend for over 15 years. From this period came the legend and rumour about the transexuality of Amanda Lear.
     In 1973, while pursuing a successful modeling career, David Bowie met and fell in love with her and they were together for over a year. He wanted her to sing and so she actually participated in his "Midnight Special" shown on NBC in 1974.
     In 1975 she signed a record deal and released her 1st single "La Bagarre." It was an unexpected success in discos, although the title had nothing to do with discos at all. Her importance to disco fans, however, began in 1977, when she recorded "I Am A Photograph" in Germany with production help from Tony Monn. "I Am A Photograph" is the first of six sleazy, hard-to-find albums in which she flaunts a voice so heavy with low notes it makes one wonder if she really isn't a man after all. But Lear's slow notes are simply an exaggeration of the whiskey-voiced sultriness created by Marlene Dietrich. That isn't to say, however, that Lear's lyrics — or the music's inverted proportions — don't exploit her mythology as a kinky concoction to the bursting point.
      Amanda Lear is not only a singer, but also a real multi-talent: in 1981 she started to exhibit her own paintings very successfully and in 1982 Italian TV magnate Berlusconi offered her a chance to host a prime time variety show, making her a star in Italy.
     In 1987 she released an album "Secret Passion" produced by American producer Christian de Walden on Carrere Records. It featured a cover of the Trogs "Wild Thing" and was released in the U.S. by Hot tracks and in Canada. Unfortunately, a car accident prevented Amanda from promoting it correctly. While she was staying in the hospital she wrote a novel "The Immortal" published in France the same year.
     In 1988 she recorded with Italian rock band "CCCP" and filmed a concert for Italian TV in San Remo. In 1989 and 1990 she recorded successful French and Italian albums while she also started new TV and radios shows for the same countries. That same year Ian Levine remixed "Follow Me" and "Gold" for Ariola Records.
     In 1992 she made a French film, acclaimed by critics, "A Woman For Me" and started participating in the most popular French show "The Big Heads" (a talk show with little plays within and actors cracking jokes) before getting her famous sex show "Beware Of The Blondes"/"PEEP" (in Germany ) which got over 50% of the market share and is still shown every sunday evening in Germany.
     In 1993 she recorded "Cadavrexquis" an album which marked her return to Dance music. The single "Fantasy" produced by German "Bass Bumpers" was a big hit. In 1995 she recorded in Münich for the 1st time in over 12 years, the album "ALTER EGO" was released on the dance label ZYX . In June 1995 she participated in a disco reunion concert in Paris in front of 5000 people along with Boney M , Grace Jones and Gloria Gaynor.
      Here in the new millenium it looks as if Amanda has no thoughts of slowing down or retiring. We are proud to honor her in The DiscoMuseum and look forward to many more unexpected releases from this elusive diva.