Lena d'Água
Helena Maria de Jesus Águas, commonly known as Lena d'Água (born 16 June 1956), is a Portuguese singer.
Biography
Lena d'Água was born in Lisbon. In 1973 she enrolled briefly in Sociology but did not graduate, as the 25 April 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal changed everything. She left university and joined a theatre group, later majoring in Education.
In 1975 d'Água married Ramiro Martins, the bass player of the band Beatnicks. The couple had a daughter and in May of the following year Lena joined the band as lead singer, divorcing and leaving the project in 1978. Being the first woman in the country to lead a pop rock band, she became a sex symbol and a pop star; after singing with the Beatnicks and Salada de Frutas she pursued a solo career with her band Atlântida, whose first three solo albums were produced by England's Robin Geoffrey Cable.
Lena d'Água was a heroin addict for about nine years. After attending drug rehabilitation she became clean in 1998,[1] but nevertheless she never left music. She sang Billie Holiday[2] and Elis Regina[3] with Portuguese jazz musicians, whom with she would later record a live album singing Portuguese classics from the 70's at the Hot Clube in 2005. Her latest album, Carrossel, was recorded in 2013, with a rock and roll power trio called Rock and Roll Station with whom she recovered her pop-rock hits from the 80s.
Discography
- 1978 – Ascenção e Queda (Petrus Castrus)
- 1979 – Qual é Coisa, Qual é ela?
- 1979 - O Nosso Livro/Cantiga da Babá (single)
- 1980 – Sem Açúcar (Salada de Frutas)
- 1981 – Robot/Armagedom (Salada de Frutas single)
- 1980 – Vígaro cá, vígaro lá/Labirinto (single)
- 1982 – Perto de ti
- 1983 – Papalagui/Jardim Zoológico (single)
- 1984 – Lusitânia
- 1986 – Terra Prometida
- 1987 – Aguaceiro
- 1989 – Tu Aqui
- 1992 – Ou Isto ou Aquilo
- 1993 – As Canções do Século
- 1996 – Demagogia (greatest hits)
- 1996 – O Melhor de Lena d'Água - Sempre Que o Amor Me Quiser (greatest hits)
- 2007 – Sempre - live at Hot Clube de Portugal
- 2011 – Lena d'Agua & Banda Atlântida (Bandas Míticas compilation, 14)
- 2014 – Carrossel
Personal life
D'Água is the daughter of S.L. Benfica star José Águas, who played for the club in the 1950s and 1960s. Her younger brother, Rui, also played successfully for the Lisbon club (1980s/1990s), and both represented the Portuguese national team.
In 2011 d'Água wrote a book about her father, titled «José Águas, o meu pai herói» («José Águas, my hero father»).
References
- ↑ Lena d'Água "Nunca quis ser cantora, nunca gostei da fama" (Lena d'Água "I never wanted to be a singer, i never enjoyed fame"); IOnline, 22 May 2010 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Lena canta Billie abril 2002 Guarda (Lena signs Billie April 2002 Guarda); Lena d'Água, 2 September 2014 (Portuguese)
- ↑ 2002 Lena canta Elis 6teto (2002 Lena sings Elis 6teto); at YouTube (Portuguese)
External links
- Official blog (Portuguese)
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