Solo Career
After the Waves broke up in 1999, Leskanich launched a solo career, first as a DJ for BBC Radio 2 and then in 2001 she played the lead role in the musical Leader of the Pack. She released her first solo CD, Katrina Leskanich, through Universal Records in Britain in 2005. And the single - Leskanich's cover of Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know" was played on Radio 2. In 2005 she also participated in the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest (Melodifestivalen 2005) with the song "As If Tomorrow Will Never Come". In 2005 Leskanich (with Renars Kaupers) hosted Congratulations - 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, in Copenhagen.
Katrina covered a Clash song, "Hitsville UK" for a compilation album put together by Jimmy Guterman, which is a tribute to The Clash Sandinista! album and was released on 15 May 2007 in the United States.
Katrina performed in the 1980s show Gylne Tider which toured Norway in the early summer of 2007 and transferred to the Christiania Theatre in Oslo from October to December 2007. Katrina's cover of "They Don't Know" was included in the compilation Gylne Tider 2 which was released in 2007 and went platinum.
Katrina also appeared in the Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series around Australia between late August and early September 2007. She performed her hit "Walking On Sunshine".
From 27 January 2008 to 9 March 2008, Katrina was one of three jury members for Eurosong 2008 in Belgium, the pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
On 1 March 2008, she performed a remix dance version of her 1997 Eurovision winning song, "Love Shine A Light", on the BBC Eurovision song selection show.
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of "Walking on Sunshine", Leskanich released her first live album - THE LIVE ALBUM in July 2010. The album includes a live version and a blues version of "Walking on Sunshine". “I have performed ‘Walking on Sunshine’ for so many years in so many different countries that it’s become the one constant in my life and the one thing I can count on to bring happiness to myself and others.” said Leskanich. In September 2010 Katrina re-released her solo album 'Turn The Tide' with a couple of bonus tracks - club mix of 'They Don't Know' and the Espirito mix of 'Walking on Sunshine'.
In November 2010, Katrina was a guest coach on the Austrian TV show Helden von Morgen on ORF1. All her contestants went through to the next round including Lukas Plochl who sang a rap of Love Shine A Light.
In May 2011, Katrina released an EP 'Spiritualize' "In 1999 I wrote, collected and compiled some songs I thought would come together for an uplifting and spiritual type of album. I thought I'd try to make this a bit more personal," said Leskanich.
In 2012 Katrina formed a new line up of her band with Darren Loveday (guitar), Trevor Newnham (bass), Ed Carlile (drums), Steve Turner (keyboards), Dave O'Higgins (saxophone) and Martin Shaw (trumpet). The band played the Acoustic Festival of Britain, The Ultimate 80s Festival and then Gig in the Park in Suffolk. Katrina has also played at festivals around Europe this year including the Rewind Festival in Scotland, KeiteleJazz festival in Finland and Here and Now at Ascot. Katrina also teamed up with Ben Crabbé from the Belgian band De Kreuners and Dany Lademacher from The Radios and Herman Brood and His Wild Romance to form Katrina and The Romance which toured festivals in Belgium in the summer of 2012.
Read more about this topic: Katrina Leskanich
Famous quotes containing the words solo and/or career:
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)
“Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.”
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)