Katrina Leskanich


Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich is an American musician, author and former lead singer of British-American pop rock band Katrina and the Waves whose song "Walking on Sunshine" was an international hit in 1985 and who in 1997 won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the song "Love Shine a Light".

Early life

Leskanich was born in Topeka, Kansas. Her father was a colonel in the United States Air Force, and Katrina and her five siblings moved frequently as children. The family arrived in the United Kingdom in 1976.

Early career

Mama's Cookin', a pop cover band hailing from Feltwell, England, was founded in 1978. It featured Leskanich on vocals and keyboards, her then-boyfriend Vince de la Cruz on vocals and lead guitar, and Marcos de la Cruz on drums. By late 1980, Alex Cooper had joined the band on drums, with Bob Jakins on bass. Mama's Cookin' proceeded to gig steadily in England over the next two years, specialising in covers of songs by American acts.
In 1981, singer/songwriter/guitarist Kimberley Rew joined Mama's Cookin', and the five-piece group was quickly renamed The Waves after a band Rew and Cooper had been in together in the mid-1970s. The Waves were initially fronted by Rew. However, over the first year of the Waves' existence, Rew began to write material for Leskanich to sing, and she was soon the primary vocalist. The Waves made their initial recorded appearances on a 1982 single ; both tracks were included on the 1982 Rew solo album called The Bible of Bop. The Waves then issued their debut EP, Shock Horror, later in 1982. Around this time, bassist Jakins left the band. He was not replaced, as de la Cruz took over on bass and the band was rechristened Katrina and the Waves.

Katrina and the Waves

Early Canadian success (1983–84)

In early 1983, the fledgling band recorded—at their own expense—an LP of their original material designed to be sold at gigs. Rew wrote all the songs on this LP, while Leskanich sang eight of the album's ten tracks.
The LP was shopped around to various labels, but only Attic Records in Canada responded with an offer. Consequently, although they were based in England, Katrina and The Waves' first album Walking on Sunshine was released only in Canada.
The album garnered enough critical attention and radio play to merit a Canadian tour. In 1984, the group released a follow-up album in Canada, with Leskanich now handling all the lead vocals. Also in 1984, their song "Going Down to Liverpool" was covered by The Bangles, which added to their profile. With the group building a fan base with their recordings and extensive touring, major label interest began to build, and Katrina and the Waves signed an international deal with Capitol Records in 1985.

"Walking on Sunshine" and international success (1985–89)

The band re-recorded, remixed, or overdubbed 10 songs from their earlier Canadian releases to create their self-titled international debut album in 1985.
The Katrina and the Waves album was a substantial critical and commercial success, and the group had a worldwide hit with the song "Walking on Sunshine,". A Grammy award nomination for "Best New Artist" followed, as did constant touring, both of which helped to spur sales of new releases. A follow-up single to "Walking on Sunshine" called "Do You Want Crying" also became a top 40 US hit, reaching No. 37 in the late summer of 1985.
The band's follow-up album, entitled Waves, did not meet with the same measure of success as the first album. The album did spin off a minor UK and US hit in the form of the Rew-penned "Is That It?". "Sun Street" was a UK Top 30 hit in 1986. However, Capitol dropped the band after the Waves album failed to meet expectations. The band subsequently recorded a 1989 album for Capitol-distributed SBK Records called Break of Hearts, a harder, more rock-oriented effort than their previous releases. The album included "That's the Way", which reached No. 16 in the US.

Downturn, comeback, and breakup (1990–97)

Throughout the 1990s, Katrina and the Waves recorded fairly steadily, though most releases were available only in continental Europe and/or Canada. They also recorded the song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" with Eric Burdon for the TV series "China Beach" in 1990.
In 1997, after having somewhat faded into obscurity, the band won the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 for the United Kingdom with "Love Shine a Light". Reacting to the win, Leskanich said it was the second landslide victory in a week; the song won by a record points margin, and Tony Blair had won the 1997 British general election two days previously. The song won by a then-record margin of 70 points over the Irish runner-up. The song went to No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart and Katrina and The Waves performed an unprecedented four weeks running on the BBC One TV show Top of the Pops.
Katrina and the Waves broke up in 1999.

Solo career

After the Waves broke up in 1999, Leskanich launched a solo career. She released her first solo CD, Katrina Leskanich, through Universal Records in Britain in 2005.
In 2005, Leskanich reflected on sharing her name with a hurricane that devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast in late August and early September of that year, after the name "Katrina and the Waves" appeared on numerous news television shows, headlines, and blog postings that were covering her namesake hurricane. When a New York Times reporter contacted her about this, she said: "The first time I opened the paper and saw 'Katrina kills 9,' it was a bit of a shock.... I hope that the true spirit of 'Walking on Sunshine' will prevail. I would hate for the title to be tinged with sadness, and I will have to do my own part to help turn that around." She also stated that she hoped that "Walking on Sunshine" would become an anthem for the Gulf Coast's recovery.
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of "Walking on Sunshine", Leskanich released her first live album The Live Album, in July 2010. The album includes both a live version and a blues version of "Walking on Sunshine". "I have performed 'Walking on Sunshine' for so many years in so many different countries that it's become the one constant in my life and the one thing I can count on to bring happiness to myself and others," said Leskanich.
In September 2010, Katrina re-released her solo album Turn The Tide with a couple of bonus tracks – the club mix of "They Don't Know" and the Espirito mix of "Walking on Sunshine". In May 2011, Leskanich released an EP entitled Spiritualize. "In 1999 I wrote, collected and compiled some songs I thought would come together for an uplifting and spiritual type of album. I thought I'd try to make this a bit more personal," said Leskanich.
In 2013, Leskanich and her new band performed at festivals in the UK and Europe, including the San Fermín festival in Pamplona in Spain on Plaza del Castillo, and the Steinegg Festival in Italy. In 2014, Leskanich, a firm believer in animal rights, supported Wildlife Rocks with an acoustic performance. Other performers included Queen lead guitarist and founder of the Save Me organisation, Brian May. The event raised awareness for vital wildlife projects, and was attended by several members of Parliament.
Leskanich released her second solo album, Blisland, which was inspired by the genre of music from her formative years. "I wanted to record an album that reflected my love of all the genres of music I grew up listening to, from Peter Frampton Live to Neil Young's Harvest. I fell in love with the South West of England; the beautiful beaches reminded me of California, and a little village called Blisland not only had a fantastic little pub but also gave me the perfect name for my new album."
In May 2017, Leskanich released her first compilation album, The Very Best of Katrina. In 2018, Leskanich released her first Christmas single, "I Can't Give You Anything but Love".

Other work

Leskanich and Sher Harper, her manager, coauthored Peggy Lee Loves London – My London Guide, a quirky photographic guidebook about London. In 2018, Leskanich and Harper released a new dog-friendly travel guide, Metropoodle: My Cornwall Guide, on Amazon Kindle.

Discography

Solo

Singles

Albums