Lorraine Segato
Lorraine Christine Segato (born June 17, 1956 in Hamilton, Ontario)[1] is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for and a principal songwriter of new wave and pop rock group Parachute Club, with which she continues to perform.
Contents
History
Segato initially became known in the late 1970s as the vocalist in the Toronto rock band Mama Quilla II.[2] This band formed the core membership of The Parachute Club. The Parachute Club was particularly active in the 1980s, initially breaking up in 1989. Segato co-wrote nearly every song the band released, including all their singles. A reconstituted version of the band, including Segato, commenced performing in 2005 and continues to perform today. After the initial breakup of Parachute Club, Segato released a solo album, Phoenix, in 1990.[2]
In 1991 she collaborated on the one-off single "Can't Repress the Cause", a plea for greater inclusion of hip hop music in the Canadian music scene, with Dance Appeal, a supergroup of Toronto-area musicians that included Devon, Maestro Fresh Wes, Dream Warriors, B-Kool, Michie Mee, Lillian Allen, Eria Fachin, HDV, Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall, Messenjah, Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott, Self Defense, Leroy Sibbles, Zama and Thyron Lee White.[3]
Her second solo album, Luminous City, followed in 1998.[2]
She has also worked in film production, writing and directing a documentary on Toronto's late 1970s/early 1980s Queen Street West scene, Queen Street West, The Rebel Zone, and as a lecturer and social justice activist. Segato also appeared on the science fiction show Lexx, singing a song as the "Time Prophet" on the episode "Brigadoom".[4]
She performed "Rise Up" at the state funeral of Jack Layton on August 27, 2011, supported by the choir of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto.[5] In 2014, the surviving band members released a contemporary dance remix of the song in conjunction with Toronto's hosting of the 2014 edition of WorldPride.[6]
Her third solo album, Invincible Decency, is slated for release in January 2015. She is also preparing Get Off My Dress, a loosely autobiographical one-woman theatrical play.[2]
Personal life
An out lesbian, Segato married Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, the daughter of journalist Michele Landsberg and politician and diplomat Stephen Lewis and the sister of journalist Avi Lewis, in 2009.[7]
Discography
All songs co-written by Lorraine Segato
Singles (Parachute Club)
| Release date | Title | Chart peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM |
|||
| July 1983 | "Rise Up" | 9 | The Parachute Club |
| 1983 | "Alienation" | ||
| 1984 | "Boy's Club" | ||
| October 1984 | "At the Feet of the Moon" | 11 | At the Feet of the Moon |
| February 1985 | "Act of an Innocent" | 61 | |
| June 1985 | "Sexual Intelligence" | ||
| October 1986 | "Love Is Fire" | 24 | Small Victories |
| February 1987 | "Love and Compassion" | 81 | |
| May 1987 | "Walk to the Rhythm" | 90 | |
| January 1988 | "Big Big World" | 86 | Non-album single |
| June 2014 | "Rise Up (WorldPride Remix)" | — | Non-album single |
Albums
With Mama Quilla II
- 1982 - KKK//Mama Quilla/Angry Young Woman Tupperwaros; EP.
With The Parachute Club
- 1983 - The Parachute Club Current/RCA
- 1984 - At the Feet of the Moon Current/RCA
- 1985 - Moving Thru the Moonlight Current/RCA; remixes
- 1986 - Small Victories (1986) Current/RCA
- 1992 - Wild Zone: The Essential Parachute Club BMG; reissued 2006 by EMI International[8]
Solo
- 1990 - Phoenix Warner Bros. Records
- 1998 - Luminous City True North
- 2015 - Invincible Decency
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Biography of The Parachute Club; www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Lorraine Segato: Emerging from the Shadows". Music Express, February 7, 2014.
- ↑ "Urban Music". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Ross, Becki. The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation, University of Toronto Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8020-7479-0, p281
- ↑ "An Anthem to Remember". CBC News Network, August 27, 2011.
- ↑ "The Parachute Club releases remix version of ‘Rise Up’". Toronto Star, June 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Michele Landsberg celebrates 70 years". Now, July 15, 2009.
- ↑ Particulars via www.amazon.com; accessed 09-02-07.
External links
- Lorraine Segato Website; not updated since 2004
- Parachute Club Website/Blog
- Pages with broken file links
- 1956 births
- 20th-century Canadian singers
- 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century Canadian singers
- Canadian New Wave musicians
- Canadian singer-songwriters
- Canadian people of Italian descent
- Canadian women dramatists and playwrights
- Feminist musicians
- Female New Wave singers
- LGBT dramatists and playwrights
- LGBT musicians from Canada
- LGBT writers from Canada
- LGBT singers
- LGBT songwriters
- Lesbian musicians
- Lesbian writers
- Lewis family (Canada)
- Living people
- Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario
- Writers from Hamilton, Ontario
- Canadian documentary filmmakers
- Canadian women film directors
- 21st-century women writers
- Canadian female pop singers
