# Shona Laing

Shona Laing (born 9 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician. She was raised in Eastbourne, a suburb of Lower Hutt, and was a student at Hutt Valley High School when her musical talents first came to public notice. Laing had several folk hits in her native country and in the 1980s became internationally popular for her alternative music, most notably "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow" which was based on the Chernobyl disaster. Various alternative radio stations in the US such as WLIR played songs from her "South" album and she became internationally known. Laing contributed to Manfred Mann's Earth Band album Somewhere in Afrika and contributed music to, and appeared in, the 1985 action film Shaker Run.

## Musical career

Laing first came to prominence in 1972 as a 17-year-old schoolgirl, coming runner-up in the television talent show New Faces with her song "1905". She signed a recording contract with Phonogram. Her first two singles, "1905" and "Show Your Love" were both certified gold and each peaked at number 4 on the New Zealand charts. In 1973, she won two RATA awards: Best New Artist and Recording Artist Of The Year. Laing twice represented New Zealand at the Tokyo Music Festival, in 1973 (with the song "Masquerade") and 1974. In 1975, she relocated to Britain and was based there for the next seven years during which time she released a number of singles and an album, Tied to the Tracks in 1981. She joined Manfred Mann's Earth Band for two years, working alongside English musician Chris Thompson for the album Somewhere in Afrika.
Laing returned to New Zealand in 1983, and released her album Genre two years later, in 1985. The song "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" eventually charted in Australia, and was re-released as part of her next album, South. The song reached No. 2 on the NZ Singles Chart in August 1987. Laing won the APRA Silver Scroll in 1988 for "Soviet Snow" and in 1992 for "Mercy of Love".
Laing was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame as the Legacy Award recipient at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards in November 2013.

## Personal life

During a concert on 18 July 1996, Laing said she was bisexual and in a relationship with another woman.

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | Details | NZ | AUS |
| 1972 | Whispering Afraid | Label: Vertigo/Philips/Phonogram International | — | — |
| 1974 | Shooting Stars Are Only Seen at Night | Label: Philips/Phonogram International Catalogue: 6334 012 | — | — |
| 1981 | Tied to the Tracks | Label: EMI Odeon/Parlophone Catalogue: EMC 3360 | — | — |
| 1985 | Genre | Label: Pagan Records/Virgin Catalogue: PAL 1004 | — | — |
| 1987 | South | Label: Pagan Records/Virgin/TVT Catalogue: PAL 1031/208 735 | 16 | 62 |
| 1992 | New on Earth | Label: Columbia/Epic/Sony Music Catalogue: 471514-2 | 4 | — |
| 1994 | Shona | Label: TriStar Music/Epic Catalogue: WK 66165 | 35 | — |
| 1997 | Roadworks | Label: Columbia Records/Sony Music Catalogue: 488241-2 | — | — |
| 2007 | Pass the Whisper | Released: 1 November 2007 Label: Independent label | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |||||

### Compilation albums

| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | Details | NZ |
| 1991 | 1905–1990 Retrospective | | 19 |
| 2002 | The Essential Shona Laing | Label: Columbia Catalogue: 5096842000 | — |
| 2020 | Hindsight | Label: Frenzy | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||

### Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Title | NZ | AUS | US Dance | US Mod. Rock | Album |
| 1972 | "1905" | 4 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid |
| 1973 | "Show Your Love" | 4 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid |
| 1973 | "Masquerade" | 11 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid |
| 1973 | "Someone to Be With" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1974 | "I'm Crying Too" | — | — | — | — | Shooting Stars Are Only Seen at Night |
| 1975 | "Don't You Think It's Time" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1975 | "I Love My Feet" | 39 | — | — | — | Whispering Afraid |
| 1980 | "Whistling Waltzes" | — | — | — | — | Tied to the Tracks |
| 1980 | "Don't Tell Me" | — | — | — | — | Tied to the Tracks |
| 1981 | "Overboard" | — | — | — | — | Tied to the Tracks |
| 1981 | "Bundle of Nerves" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1984 | "America" | 44 | — | — | — | Genre |
| 1985 | "Not a Kennedy" | — | — | — | — | Genre |
| 1985 | "One in a Million" | — | — | — | — | Genre |
| 1987 | "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" | 2 | 9 | — | 14 | South |
| 1987 | "Drive Baby Drive" | 45 | 65 | — | — | South |
| 1987 | "Soviet Snow" | — | — | 32 | — | South |
| 1987 | "Caught (Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea)" | — | — | — | — | South |
| 1992 | "Walk Away (42nd Street)" | 14 | — | — | — | New on Earth |
| 1992 | "Fear of Falling" | 26 | — | — | — | New on Earth |
| 1992 | "Thief to Silver" | 35 | — | — | — | New on Earth |
| 1993 | "Mercy of Love" | — | — | — | — | New on Earth |
| 1994 | "Kick Back" | — | — | — | — | Shona |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |||||||

## Awards
### New Zealand Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1973 | Shona Laing | Recording Artist of the Year | Won |
| 1973 | Shona Laing | Best New Artist | Won |
| 1985 | Shona Laing – Genre | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1987 | "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" – Shona Laing | Single of the Year | Nominated |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Won |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | International Achievement | Nominated |
| 1987 | Kerry Brown and Bruce Sheridan – "Glad I'm Not a Kennedy" (Shona Laing) | Best Video | Nominated |
| 1987 | Shona Laing | Best Songwriter | Nominated |
| 1988 | Shona Laing – South | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1988 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Won |
| 1988 | Shona Laing | International Achievement | Nominated |
| 1988 | Stephen McCurdy, Shona Laing and Graeme Myhre – "South" | Best Producer | Nominated |
| 1994 | Shona Laing | Best Female Vocalist | Nominated |
| 1995 | Shona Laing – Shona | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | Shona Laing | New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | inductee |