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- Leslie is trying to
locate any camera/phone footage of Les Scott & her singing
together - both stills & audio.
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PIANO BAR AND
COUNTRY STAR
Leslie Avril is an amazingly
versatile entertainer who has dazzled audiences around the world
with her country music, piano bar and jazz shows.
Based in Melbourne, she is one of Australia’s leading singers –
and a headline act every year at the famous Tamworth Country Music
Festival.
The up-close atmosphere of cabaret also suits her seductive charm
and steamy vocals perfectly. Her versatility is rare
among modern artists … moving effortlessly from blues, jazz,
standards and Broadway to French love songs and country.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 1999-2005
• SXSW Festival, Austin Texas, USA
• "Under Milkwood" Athenaem Theatre Melbourne
• National Gallery of Victoria Opening Sydney Cabaret Convention
• Nominated for CMAA Independent Entertainer of the Year in
Country Music Achiever Awards
• Nominated in Judges’ Top 10 for Golden Guitar for Female
Vocalist of the Year at Australian Country Music Awards
• Dual finalist in Victorian Country Music Awards: Album of the
Year, Female Vocalist
• Six songs chosen for soundtrack of ABC-TV series Something in
the Air
• Her signature song Ticking Of The Clock featured on the Beyond
The Bitumen country CD released by Festival
• Australia Council Grant Recepient
ALBUMS
• Cowboy In My Bed (1998)
• Leslie Avril Live (1996)
• Champagne & Desolation (1994)
LIVE DYNAMITE
Leslie Avril has the voice and charisma that puts her in a
class of her own – whether she’s belting out raunchy rockabilly in
a crowded honky tonk, or distilling her magic in intimate cabaret.
She’s sexy, bluesy and sheer dynamite live. An extraordinary
singer who’s been compared to legends from Janis Joplin and Edith
Piaf to Bette Midler and Billie Holiday.
Her stunning vocals electrify an audience with power, depth and
aching honesty. And she’s earned the respect of great musicians
who’ve worked with her such as Ross Wilson, and Greg Macainsh of
Skyhooks fame.
Leslie is now preparing her fourth album and a new cabaret show.
SHOW REVIEWS
‘ She shimmied, she shook, she strutted, she flaunted, and
she flirted … but most of all she sang. Searing ballads followed
by driving rockers, all delivered with a voice full of power,
style and class. This dynamic and powerfully sensuous singer makes
every song her own. Avril is one of the great live acts in the
country.’ Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth
‘ The effect is instant. The girl is dynamite. A rich, throaty
voice that can make a Patsy Cline classic like I Fall To Pieces
sound as if it was written for Janis Joplin.’ Daily Telegraph
‘ Leslie Avril pores over her piano and sings the blues, prompting
comparison with Joplin and Holiday.’ The Age
‘ Miss Avril has sense of rhythm, melody and lyrics second
to none. Her timing and feel for Le Jazz Hot is spot on. She
reminds me very much of the late, great, divine Sarah Vaughan.
And her rendition of Piaf’s La Vie En Rose brought tears
to my eyes. ’ Toorak Times
ALBUM REVIEWS
• COWBOY IN MY BED
‘ Leslie is a legendary singer with a sultry voice. She has
captured the atmosphere of a rocking honky tonk on this great CD.’
- Aussie Post
‘ From the raunchy opening title track through to the closer,
Leslie Avril delivers the goods with one of the gutsiest voices
around. There are no frills, just genuine honesty and a feel for a
great song.’ Capital News
‘ A little stunner. The bar-room opener, the title song, bites
like a
surly Doberman.’ Beat Magazine
‘ Rubenesque Leslie Avril has produced an excellent album full of
humour, pathos and dance music. Avril’s voice, as much bluesy-rock
as country, can be raunchy, gutsy and sensitive.’
Art Streams
‘ Avril has a reputation for delivering country music with a
passion, drive and gutsy sound rare among female singers.’
- Country Update
• LESLE AVRIL LIVE
‘ The intimate feel of a small club, a voice laced with
vinegar, and a
band (including ex-Dingoes guitarist Kerryn Tolhurst) as hot as a
blowtorch sum up Leslie Avril’s second album.’ The Age
‘ A fine interpreter. Cowgirl’s Heart and Tangled Up In Love have
an evocative appeal. Billy Came Back – a World War One vignette
about a devastated digger – is drenched in pathos. Leslie cleanses
the sinfulness of Trashy Women with Randy Newman’s epic Guilty.’
Inpress
‘ Leslie Avril, toast of the Tudor Hotel at each Tamworth
festival, is in her element live. Her full-throated vocals are
renowned and this album
features 16 favourites. Released independently, it was snapped up
by Larrikin. Hear it and you’ll know why.’ Country
Music Roundup
THAT’S LESLIE AVRIL. SUPERB ON RECORD. SENSATIONAL
LIVE.
- But the Paris factor is even more
accentuated by a vocalist blessed with the alluring looks of
French sex-siren Danielle Darrieux and the voice of the legendary
Piaf. The singer who has the rare combination of looks and voice
is Leslie Avril and her rendition of `La Vie En Rose' brought
tears to my eyes. Merci beaucoup Mademoiselle Avril and trio.
Toorak Times, Melbourne 1990.
A jazz band headed by a singer with a fume blanc voice."
Mark Shield, The Age, Melbourne 1990.
This lady has one of the finest white female blues voices this
writer has ever heard and that includes names like Bonnie Raitt.
- Glen Milne, Valley
Voice, Melbourne 1979.
When I saw this girl I admit it, I looked twice. When I heard her
sing she knocked me flat. Her name is Leslie Avril and she sounds
like Streisand. Brian Goldsmith, The Herald,
Melbourne 1980.
John clowns around with Leslie Avril. She has a Bette Midler
voice, a bawdy humour to match and she couldn't give a damn who
John McEnroe is ... and he knows it. They like each other.
Pol Magazine 1982.
Leslie Avril pores over her piano and sings the blues prompting
comparison with Joplin and Holliday.
- Peter Wilmoth,
The Age, Melbourne 1981.
Proudly introduces Leslie Avril ... Spectacular ... Sensual ...
Seductive. Don't miss this exciting and talented performer.
- The Hilton, Melbourne
1983.
The effect is instant, electrifying. The girl is dynamite. A rich
throaty voice that can make a Patsy Cline classic like `I Fall to
Pieces' sound as if it was written for Janis Joplin, and kick an
old chestnut like `King Of The Road' clean down the block. And all
the while she shimmies and struts her stuff like a born trouper.
Doctor Dease, Daily Telegraph, Sydney 1991.
Move over Renee Geyer, there's another sultry siren burning up the
neon honky tonks of suburbia.
- David Dawson, The
Truth, Melbourne 1986.
The future of New Country Music in Australia rests with the talent
of the calibre of Leslie Avril.
- David Latta, Country
Music in Australia, The Book 1992.
When a girl singer on her first trip to the festival stopped the
show with a dynamic performance. She shimmied, she shook, she
strutted, she flaunted and she flirted ... but most of all she
sang. Searing ballads followed by driving rockers, all delivered
with a voice full of power, style and class. It was enough to win
me, the crowd and the band, but what hammered home was that
irresistible sense of fun. Mort Fist, Northern
Daily Leader, Tamworth 1990.
Lee, no stranger to success, has praise for two under-appreciated
peers - expatriate Kiwi singer Darcy Le Year and Leslie Avril.
- Lee Kernaghan "In
Press", Melbourne 1994.
Avril has one of the smokiest, most powerful voices in country
music. It's a voice that can virtually wring the emotion from any
song. Susan Jarvis, Country Music Magazine, 1993.
She came out of the South unannounced and caught us all unawares
five years ago. Hardened Festival regulars and top-class session
musicians were alike unprepared for the effect that Leslie Avril
has on her audiences. This dynamic and powerfully sensuous singer
makes every song her own. Leslie is one of the great live acts in
the country - there are few who approach her impact.
- Mort Fist, Tamworth
1995.
Now this is a lady with one heck of a future in front of her. In
possession of a vocal range that ranges between angelic and
someone who's chainsmoked Winnie Reds for 20 years.
Western Herald, Tasmania, 1997.
The intimate feel of a small club, a voice laced with vinegar and
a band as hot as a blowtorch,. Terry Reilly, The
Age, Melbourne 1997
Leslie Avril has one of those voices that can wring every ounce of
heartache from a classic country song and she’s sexy and funny
with it. Drum Media Magazine, Sydney, 1998
**********************************
www.leslieavril.com
Leslie Normie Rowe and Sam LeMann
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