Lauren Copley - And then he kissed me (Durban show Girls are fun 1989)

This YouTube video is one of the very few live performances still believed to exist of South African teenager singer Lauren Copley, who achieved considerable success as a chart-topping recording artist in the 1970s.

During the late 1980s, Lauren performed in several popular TV shows including this one, a TV-4 show entitled ‘Girls are Fun.’ The show was filmed live in front of thousands of people..... on Durban’s North Beach.

For decades, Lauren’s recorded voice has remained largely silent, aside from a few limited singing performances. Now, 40 years later, her melodic, liquid gold voice is being showcased on a new CD album, entitled Chrysalis.

The release of the CD was prompted by repeated requests over several years from many people who still remember and enjoy her music.

The privately released 14-track album features Lauren’s own selection of favourite golden oldie songs from the 70s and 80s, as well as some beautiful modern ballads.

Lauren Copley – Chrysalis is due for physical CD release in 2015 and will also be available on cdbaby.com. Get more news and updates on Lauren’s new CD by ‘liking’ her Facebook page Singer Lauren Copley.


Back in the day….

A school teacher first discovered that a shy little six-year old had an amazing natural singing talent. At age 11, Lauren Copley became the youngest recording artist in South Africa when her debut record album Seven years older than four was released.

In her teens, she had several hit songs, including Flower of Life, Kentucky Blues and It’s too late now. Lauren also received two Gold discs (Kentucky Blues and It’s too late now) and some of her songs were released internationally.

When she was only 15 years old, Lauren was selected as one of only 20 out of a thousand international singers to represent her country at the 1973 Tokyo Music festival.

Competing against other international artists such as Olivia Newton John, Paul Williams, Lynsey de Paul and Mickey Newbury, she received the Cherry Blossom Merit Award for her performance of Vicki.

Throughout her high school career, Lauren continued to record and perform countrywide. However, she became increasingly disillusioned with the pressures of stardom, lack of privacy and commercial exploitation.

To the dismay of her fans, she quit singing as a career at age 20.

Although Lauren opted out when she was on the brink of international stardom, her love for music did not stop her from singing entirely.

She performed in several popular TV shows, joined the Entertainment Unit of the South African Defence Force and had a blast in the 80s as part of a dance gig band.

For more than 30 years, Lauren has been a successful professional journalist and editor.