Lena Zavaroni

Lena Zavaroni was so overawed by the transitioning from her Scottish council home to the stately home of the Solomons’ in London that she became somewhat disconcerted. She confessed to having been overwhelmed by the cosmopolitan setting of and fast paced life in London, compared to the tranquil bucolic environment in Rothesay.

She developed an inferiority complex when she found herself attending ballet classes (at the Italia Conti Stage School) alongside teenage girls who were taller and slimmer than her. She began feeling guilty about her small stature and corpulence and believed that eating less would slim her down, automatically making her appear taller.

Lena’s resolve to become thinner like the other girls in the ballet academy led to her exhibiting signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa—a serious eating disorder. Like most other child stars, she was beset with typical problems like childhood loss, and the stress of coping with too much public attention.

Lena Zavaroni was born on 4 November 1963 in Renfrewshire County of Scotland to a family with Italian-Scottish roots. Her father, Victor Zavaroni, who hailed from Genoa, was an accordionist, and her mother, Hilda, was a singer. Her parents owned ‘Zavaroni’s’, a fish and chip café in Rothesay town in the Isle of Bute.

Lena started singing when she was only 2 years old and often performed together with her father in local clubs during her childhood. It was while performing as a band member along with her uncle and father in 1973 that she attracted the attention of Tommy Scott, a music producer.

Music producer, Tommy Scott recommended Lena Zavaroni to Philip Solomon who in turn entrusted her to his wife, Dorothy Solomon, who became her manager. Before her relocation to London to train as a ballet singer, she went to Glasgow, accompanied by her mother, to audition for a TV show titled, ‘Opportunity Knocks’.

Lena’s auditioning for the Hughie Green show ‘Opportunity Knocks’ was immensely successful as she was declared the winner in five consecutive events of the program in 1974. Soon after, an album of hers named ‘Ma! He’s Making Eyes At Me’, which was an anthology of classic pop numbers, was released.

The album, ‘Ma! He’s Making Eyes At Me’ made it to the UK Top 10 Album Chart and finished at eighth position in the listing. Lena, who was just 10 years old at that time, she became the youngest singer in UK with an album in the top 10—an achievement yet to be accomplished by any other artist till date.

Following the release of her album, she dropped out of primary school and shifted to London to take admission in Italia Conti Stage School owned by Philip Solomon and Dorothy Solomon. She trained in ballet under the guidance of the Solomons and lived with them.

Lena performed at a charity event in Hollywood alongside Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra in 1974. Thereafter, she made a guest appearance in ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ followed by singing performances in ‘The Morecambe and Wise Show’ and the ‘Royal Variety Show’ where she performed for the queen.

Lena Zavaroni sang at the White House for the 38th US President, Gerald Ford. ‘Stax Records’, an American record label, signed her up for promoting and distributing her recordings in USA. However, she failed to achieve the same level of success in USA as she did in her home country.

Lena Zavaroni, a budding singer whose life was unfortunately cut short by her premature demise, released a total of 8 albums in her professional career lasting for 13 years from 1974 to 1986.

Some of Lena’s notable albums include her debut record, ‘Ma! (He’s Making Eyes At Me) released by Philips Records in 1974, ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’, and ‘Lena Zavaroni in South Africa’.