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Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton (born Sheena Shirley Orr) is a pop singer born in Belshill , Scotland in April 1959.

Sheena first shot to fame on the United Kingdom television programme The Big Time which followed her attempts to gain a record contract. This culminated in a deal with EMI Records.

Her best known early musical work is probably the James Bond movie theme “For Your Eyes Only”, and “Morning Train ” (which was originally titled "9 to 5" in its British release but was renamed for American issue to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton song "Nine to Five"). Later, she also found success with the songs “Strut” (1984) and her 1987 duet with Prince “U Got The Look”. Her move towards a more sexy image with "Strut" was met with mixed reactions from diehard fans, and she was also one of the first artists to have a music video banned based upon lyrics rather than imagery when some broadcasters refused to play her Prince-penned, sexually risque "Sugar Walls." Despite of (or perhaps because of) the controversy, the album A Private Heaven which featured "Strut" and "Sugar Walls" became her biggest seller. Around this same time she also recorded a Grammy-winning Spanish-language album, Todo me recuerda a ti and scored a country music hit with "We've Got Tonight", a duet with Kenny Rogers.

In November of 1987 Sheena made her first dramatic acting appearance on the television programme Miami Vice playing a singer named Caitlin Davies, whom Sonny Crockett was assigned to protect until she made a court appearance. Sonny and Caitlin were married by the episode’s end, and the fourth-season’s sagging ratings were boosted so much that the producers signed Sheena to five more episodes. By the spring of 1988 the latest installment of the Miami Vice Soundtrack was released, and featured the song “Follow My Rainbow”, which Sheena sang on her tragic last appearance, just moments before her character was fatally shot. The song also appeared on her next album The Lover In Me, a moderate success which was released the following autumn. In 1991, What Comes Naturally became the last of Sheena’s albums to chart in the U.S. Four more albums would be released, but were only available in Europe and the Far East. She recently enjoyed some success with a song entitled "Fabulous" and has also become something of a gay icon.

Sheena continued acting in America, starring in Broadway revivals of Man Of La Mancha (1992) and Grease (1996). In 1999, she voice-acted a half-demon character, Annah-of-the-Shadows, in the computer game Planescape: Torment. Since 2000 Sheena has appeared in a Broadway-style show in Las Vegas. She lives there with her two adopted children.

In April and May 2004, Sheena visited Australia and featured in a kooky TV commercial for Connex in Melbourne. A number of unrealistically happy passengers in an unrealistically underpatronised morning train were singing Morning Train . Sheena boarded the train at Burnley Station, and screamed. The passengers paused in awe, then went on singing.

In January 2005 Sheena appeared in the television series Young Blades.

External link

Her albums include:

  • SHEENA EASTON (1981)
  • YOU COULD HAVE BEEN WITH ME (1981)
  • MADNESS, MONEY & MUSIC (1982)
  • BEST KEPT SECRET (1983)
  • TODO ME RECUERDA A TI (1984) - Spanish-language release
  • A PRIVATE HEAVEN (1984)
  • DO YOU (1985)
  • NO SOUND BUT A HEART (1987)
  • THE LOVER IN ME (1988)
  • SHEENA (1989)
  • WHAT COMES NATURALLY (1991)
  • NO STRINGS (1993)
  • MY CHERIE (1995)
  • FREEDOM (1997)
  • HOME (1999)
  • FABULOUS (2001)

Last updated: 05-07-2005 09:48:25
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04