Born 9th October 1970, London... The daughter of Top Topham, The Yardbirds' original lead guitarist, Léanie grew up listening to all sorts, including blues, Joan Armatrading, John Lennon (fellow 9th Oct birthday boy), The Beatles, The Stones, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, Abba (don't knock 'em 'till you've heard 'Eagle'), ELO, Bread and so on... While at Sussex University, this little confused songstress found her ultimate musical happiness with floppy-haired shoegazers Ride, The Charlatans and Chapterhouse, along with a healthy dose of PJ Harvey (another fellow 9th Oct birthday girl), the beautifully bonkers Cocteau Twins and all the other stuff that students liked in those days. Her own style is erm... mellow & wistful but slightly warped; gentle songs but peppered with tongue-in-cheek ditties about breast implants, travelling witches, bathroom torture or the shoe shopping gene that she so happily lacks. Léanie has used hypnotherapy and NLP techniques to overcome chronic stage fright, and although she much prefers being cooped up in the studio she occasionally ventures out to make an arse of herself. Her debut album Karamelién is available now.
