Katrina Leskanich

Katrina Leskanich

Katrina Leskanich is a singer from Topeka, United States, and a rock artist associated with Katrina and the Waves. She is born in 1960. Raised in a U.S. military family, she moves to England in 1976, becomes a UK resident, and lives in England for many years.

Katrina and the Waves

Leskanich forms Mama's Cookin' with Vince de la Cruz in 1978. In 1981, she and de la Cruz join The Waves with Kimberley Rew, formerly of the Soft Boys, and Alex Cooper; the group becomes Katrina and The Waves. Based in Cambridge, the band has international success with songs including

“Walking on Sunshine”

and “Sun Street”. “Walking on Sunshine” becomes widely known as a summer anthem. The group also receives a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

Further singles include “Do You Want Crying”, “Que te Quiero”, “Rock and Roll Girl” and “That’s The Way”, which reaches number 14 in the United States. In 1997, Katrina and The Waves win the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with “Love Shine a Light”, which reaches number 2 in the British charts. The band also appears on BBC One’s Top of the Pops for four weeks running.

Solo work and later activity

After the band breaks up in 1999, Leskanich begins a solo career. She first works as a DJ for BBC Radio 2 and then plays the lead role in the musical Leader of the Pack in 2001. Her first solo CD, Katrina Leskanich, is released through Universal Records in Britain in 2005. She also records a cover of Kirsty MacColl’s “They Don’t Know”, which is played on Radio 2.

In 2005 she takes part in Melodifestivalen with “As If Tomorrow Will Never Come” and co-hosts Congratulations - 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen with Renars Kaupers. She later performs “Hitsville UK”, a Clash cover, for a compilation linked to Sandinista!. She appears in the 1980s touring show Gylne Tider in Norway, in the Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series in Australia, and as one of three jury members for Eurosong 2008 in Belgium. She also performs a remix dance version of “Love Shine A Light” on a BBC Eurovision song-selection show.

To mark the 25th anniversary of “Walking on Sunshine”, Leskanich releases her live album The Live Album in 2010, featuring live and blues versions of the song. In the same year she re-releases Turn The Tide with bonus tracks, including a club mix of “They Don’t Know” and the Espirito mix of “Walking on Sunshine”. She releases the EP Spiritualize in 2011. In 2012 she forms a new band line-up and plays festivals including the Acoustic Festival of Britain, The Ultimate 80s Festival, Gig in the Park in Suffolk, Rewind Festival in Scotland, KeiteleJazz in Finland, and Here and Now at Ascot. She also performs with Katrina and The Romance, a project with Ben Crabbé, Dany Lademacher and other musicians, touring festivals in Belgium in 2012.

Writing and other projects

Leskanich publishes her first book, Peggy Lee Loves London - My London Guide, in 2013, described as a photographic guide to London. That same year she performs in Pamplona at the San Fermín festival.