amanda 'blue' leigh BIOGRAPHY singer / songwriter 1971 - 2011 HAMMAK with Anton Fig, Keith Lentin, Andre De Villiers, Midge Pike, Mike Faure, George Wolfhaart, Nicolas Pike, Allan Pasqua, and others Cape Town, South Africa - 1970s Spider and Shanghai with Anton Fig, Keith Lentin, Holly Knight, Jimmy Lowell, Beau Hill New York City - 1980s Blue.Fig with Anton Fig 1980s Gene Simmons Management 1980s NativeLand with Robit Hairman, Ron Kunene Los Angeles - 1990s Awakening, for Dreaming, Returning Godfrey Nelson producer 3 solo CDs (lightblue. style) New York City - 2000 to 2006 (indie artist WholeBlue music) One Love Keith Lentin producer New York City - 2008 (indie artist WholeBlue music) Blue.Fig with Anton Fig (drummer) Classic rock compilation CD of home studio, original song demo recordings New York City - 1980s, 2010 mandy blue (release pending) Roger Bashew producer Cape Town, South Africa - 2011, 2012 (indie artist WholeBlue music) Core Energetics - Radical Aliveness - West coast - Ann Bradney Assistant October 2007 to 2010 Core Energetics - East coast - Stuart Black and Warren Moe Graduate, assistant October 1997 to 2006 Energetic Clearing Process: Training and Healings with Judith Johnson Practitioner, healer October 1995 to present Natural Gourmet with Anna Marie Colbin Chef's course New York City - January 1993 to February 1994 Those of us who have been privileged to observe Amanda's music career from the outset, have always known that her music is not separate from her Self. The amazing instrument that is her voice, has carried the songs of others and her own, into the heart and soul of those who have continued to listen to her over the years. "I feel like I came in with a script", Amanda says, "a script and a purpose - I'm here to align that purpose with my music, poetry and photography to make a joyful noise!" Amanda "blue" Leigh's story begins in the Cape of Good Hope during the early 1970's and spans four decades and three continents. Amanda (or Mandy, as she was known by, when she first stepped onto a Cape Town stage in \ 1971) was born Amanda Cohen. She came of age during the turbulent years of Apartheid's Swan Song and absorbed the rich, multi-cultural diversity of her homeland, like a sea sponge taken from the two oceans that meet at Africa's Southern-most tip. Beneath the surface of separation, coalitions of artists and political activists were forming. The atmosphere was redolent with revolution. All this informed the young singer, credited with bringing the songs of Neil Young to South African audiences, who often performed, back to the audience, her shyness painful and palpable. This sensitivity is what later compelled her to retreat from performing in order to explore her inner world, but her journey to that point in time was unforeseen then. She began working with a group of local musicians, including Anton Fig (Letterman Band) and Keith Lentin. Together they formed H.A.M.M.A.K. which boasted two amazing vocalists; Amanda and Andre De Villiers. H.A.M.M.A.K. released a live album in 1971 after months of critical acclaim for their powerful live performances all over South Africa. The group disbanded shortly thereafter, when a few of the band members decided to try their luck in the U.K. Amanda was soon signed to a solo deal by Warner Brothers in England and released her first solo record, Medusa, in 1972. Returning to South Africa after nine months abroad, Amanda married her long standing boyfriend and band mate, Keith Lentin, before moving to Boston with him, where he had enrolled in the Berkley School Of Music. Anton Fig was studying at the New England Conservatory Of Music and they continued collaborating on their original material, even as they experimented with other forms; progressive jazz in particular. Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius - Weather Report - were huge influences at that time. Introduced to jazz early on by Midge Pike and spending Sunday evenings at Green Market Square listening to Dollar Brand play, had inspired Anton and Keith to go beyond their simple pop/rock origins and in turn they pushed Amanda to explore and experiment with her (vocal) instrument. While Keith practiced long hours with a metronome in their Beacon Hill flat, Amanda was a full time mother to their daughter Chay, who was born in Boston and was a toddler when they all decamped to New York City in 1977. Sharing a loft on Franklin St, in Tribeca, the trio wrote songs and practiced, recording those sessions and songs. They called themselves first Siren, then Spider. Before long, there was a buzz and Holly Knight liked what she heard. She approached them and became Spider's keyboardist. Shortly after they were joined by Jimmy Lowell on bass. Holly brought her strong pop melodies and lyrical skills to the mix and Spider began to attract the attention of other musicians. Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley from KISS discovered the band later that year and introduced them to the late Bill Aucoin, who became their manager, signing them to Nikki Chinn and Michael Chapman's Dreamland Records. They recorded two albums for Dreamland. Tina Turner who covered "Better Be Good To Me", a song on their second Spider release "Between the Lines", co-written by Chapman and Holly Knight, tipped her hat to Amanda's singular vocal style. In 1982 Spider disbanded after Holly Knight moved to Los Angeles to pursue a solo career. Anton Fig was also in demand as a session drummer but he remained with Amanda and Keith under their new formation, "Shanghai", joined by new keyboardist, producer/writer Beau Hill, who were signed by Terry Ellis to his label, Chrysalis. It was a short lived deal and after releasing one album, the band fell apart. Rock and Roll breeds complicated relationships - both professional and personal - the gypsy lifestyle provides little in the way of stability or security. As the band relationships unraveled, Amanda and Keith divorced and a year later Anton and Amanda were a couple. After they married in 1985, Amanda retreated from the music scene, giving birth to her second child, her's and Anton's son, Austin. Except for occasional forays to sing with friends such as Link Wray, Paul Butterfield, Chris Spedding and South African Zulu singer/dancer Ron Kunene (Lion King). Amanda spent the next decade focusing on motherhood and raising her children. During those years with Anton, the two of them wrote and recorded an impressive catalogue of original songs in Anton's home studio. Many of the vocal tracks were recorded while Amanda sang in the bathroom (which, according to Amanda, has a great natural, chamber echo sound for vocals), of his Central Park West apartment. By 1992 Amanda's journey within began in earnest, as she started to do healing work, first for herself and then studying Energetic Clearing Point holding work (Judith Johnson) and Core Energetics (John Pierracos). Anton and Amanda divorced in 1993 and Amanda moved into her own apartment on Riverside Drive, completed her degrees and set up a practice. She continued writing and recording an extensive repertoire of songs, poems and photography work. She met John Slicker, a fellow Core Practitioner and healer, who has been her husband and partner since 2000. With the release of Blue.Fig (July, 2010) - the remixed and remastered material she wrote and recorded with Anton during their marriage, Amanda has come full circle. Willing now to integrate all she has learned on her healing journey which has brought her glorious and gifted mentors - including Helen Luke and Laurence Van Der Post - along with her considerable musical craft, she feels ready, finally, to return to the stage. "I see myself as having done the foundation of my inner work," she says now. "I went underground into the inner worlds - my life had become unmanageable - I needed to heal." Devoting herself to that work, her dedication has led her to counseling and teaching Core principles, integrating this with the healing arts of music, poetry and photography has proved to be the ultimate synthesis of her work in the world now. "I have all the material I need", she says, "what I would love is a band!" "A great band," she continues, "that includes indigenous players from all over the world - I'm totally ready to go back out there, I feel I have a purpose in bringing healing sounds, words and images together and this is in full alignment now, for the first time". Written by: Lynne Allen Robinson, Playwright/Artist/Writer, Taos NM		Home Content Bio Music Photo Art Poetry Videos Photo Gallery Store Links Contact Share Facebook
© amanda 'blue' leigh 2011