Amanda Lear

File:Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure.jpg

Amanda Lear on Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure cover

Amanda Lear (born November 18, 1946 in Hong Kong, of a French father and Chinese mother) is a singer and was a disco queen in the 1970s. She was engaged to the lead singer of Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry. She was also the model on the cover of the Roxy Music album For Your Pleasure.

During the 1960s painter Salvador Dalí was her companion, and although she was Dali's protege she also became David Bowie's lover. In 1979, she married the aristocrat Alain-Philippe Malagnac d'Argens de Villele, French writer Roger Peyrefitte's lover and adoptive son. Malagnac, aged 51, perished in a fire in the couple's home in Saint-Etienne-du-Grès near Avignon on December 17, 2000.

Despite being a Playboy model, Amanda was widely rumoured to be transsexual because of her low baritone-like vocal timbre. This story follows her to this day, although it was also rumoured to be a publicity stunt thought up by her, Bowie and Salvador Dalí. In 1977, Amanda signed a recording contract, thanks to her success as a model. Her debut single was a cover of Elvis Presley's "Trouble" it was not featured on the first album and has not been released on CD to date. Her first album was entitled I Am A Photograph and was a tongue in cheek reference to her days as a model with the Zoli Model Agency. It produced hit singles such as "Blood And Honey", "Alphabet", "Tomorrow", "La Bagarre" (The Fight), These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (a cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic) and one of her more well-known and bigger hits is the song "The Queen of Chinatown". I Am A Photograph stayed on the German charts for 33 weeks. In 1979, she posed nude for Playboy, upsetting many of her fans who praised her mystery.

In 1978, Amanda continued her line of successful disco albums. She recorded Sweet Revenge, an album told in concept mode, about a girl who sold her soul to Satan for fame and fortune. Her first single from Sweet Revenge, "Follow Me", was a big success. The album sold over 4,000,000 copies and charted in 41 countries, including Chile, South Africa, India and Thailand where it stayed for 16 weeks. Singles Gold, Run Baby Run and Enigma also became singles from Sweet Revenge. She also recorded Never Trust A Pretty Face, an album with roots mixed in disco and rock music, with yet another hit single, "Fashion Pack", a disco song about the lives of the rich and famous.

In 1979, Amanda recorded the album Diamonds For Breakfast. It was fairly successful. She also did a series of ads for Fiat cars in Italy.

In 1983, Amanda recorded a New Wave album with Tribal beats, Tam-Tam. It was a flop and did terribly everywhere.

In 1986, Amanda recorded Secret Passion, an album of New Wave mixed with rock music. It featured a cover of the Troggs' "Wild Thing". Amanda got into a car accident and the album flopped because she wasn't able to promote it. However, in the hospital, Amanda wrote a book called The Immortal, about a woman who lives forever and is very depressed because she watches everyone she loves grow old and die around her, while she is helpless to stop it.

Amanda recorded several other albums as well into the late 90s. In 2001, she launched a comeback album known as Heart. Heart contained the hit single "I Just Wanna Dance Again", which was a return to Amanda's disco origins. The album also featured the cover song "Love Boat".

In 2004 one of her biggest hits from the 70's, "Enigma", was revived in a TV and radio advertising campaign for a chocolate dairy product known as Kinder Bueno in eastern and central Europe.

In the same year, Amanda did the voice of Edna Mode in the French and Italian language versions of The Incredibles.

On 30 th October 2006 her 13th album "With Love " is released in France. It includes 12 covers of her favourite female singers from Peggy Lee to Nina Simone. It is considered by French press as her best ever work !

To date Amanda has released 13 albums and has also released over 40 singles. She has sold 8-10 million albums worldwide and has sold 25-30 million singles worldwide as well.

Nowadays she resides in Southern France.

Albums

• 1977: I Am A Photograph
• 1978: Sweet Revenge
• 1979: Never Trust A Pretty Face
• 1980: Diamonds For Breakfast
• 1981: Incognito
• 1982: Ieri, Oggi
• 1983: Tam Tam
• 1987: Secret Passion
• 1990: Uomini piú uomini
• 1990: Tant qu'il y aura des hommes
• 1993: Cadavrexquis
• 1995: Alter Ego
• 1998: Back In Your Arms
• 2000: Follow Me...Back In My Arms
• 2001: Heart
• 2005 : Forever Glam The Best of 1976/2005
• 2006 : The Sphinx : 3CD Box 1976-1983
• 2006 : With Love ( NEW album )

Singles

• 1975: Trouble
• 1976: La Bagarre
• 1977: Blood and Honey
• 1977: Queen of Chinatown
• 1977: Tomorrow
• 1977: Lady In Black
• 1978: Follow Me
• 1978: Gold/Lili Marleen
• 1978: Run Baby Run
• 1978: Enigma (Give A Bit of MMH To Me)
• 1978: The Sphinx
• 1979: Fashion Pack
• 1980: Fabulous Lover Love Me
• 1980: Diamonds
• 1980: Ho Fatto L'Amore Con Me
• 1980: Le Chat de Gouttiere
• 1980: When
• 1980: Solomon Gundie
• 1981: Egal
• 1981: Igual
• 1981: Love Amnesia
• 1981: Hollywood Is Just A Dream When You're Seventeen
• 1981: Red Tape
• 1981: Fashion Pack
• 1982: Lili Marleen
• 1982: Fever
• 1982: Incredibilmenta Donna
• 1983: Love Your Body/Darkness and Light
• 1983: No Regrets
• 1984: Assassino
• 1984: Ritmo Salsa/Hotel Palace
• 1985: No Credit Card
• 1985: Women
• 1986: Les Femmes/She Wolf
• 1986: Wild Thing
• 1986: Aphrodisiac
• 1987: Follow Me
• 1987: Wild Thing
• 1987: Aphrodisiaque
• 1988: Thank You
• 1988: Tomorrow
• 1989: Métamorphose
• 1989: Follow me/Gold (Remix)
• 1990: Scuola d'amore
• 1989: Tomorrow/Inch'Allah ca va feat. CCCP
• 1992: Fantasy
• 1995: Everytime you touch me
• 1995: Peep!
• 1996: Angel Love
• 1998: Blood and Honey (Remix)
• 2001: Love boat
• 2002: Beats of Love ft. Get Ready
• 2002: I Just Wanna Dance Again
• 2004: Martini Disease feat. Jetlag
• 2005: Paris by Night
• 2005: Copacabana
• 2006: Queen Of Chinatown 2006

External links

• Amanda Lear website hosted by tripod.com (Warning: contains pop-ups)
• Biography of Amanda Lear, provided by 1greatcelebsite.com
• eurodancehits.com
• [1] Amanda Lear biography
• Amanda Lear Photo Gallery Tribute