Laura Pallas

Santa Monica resident Laura Pallas began her singing and acting career in her native London, England. She burst on the disco scene in 1983 with the wildly successful 12" single "Skiing In The Snow" and quickly followed it with a second 12" single of "Face From The Past." Both records established Laura as not only a disco artist, but as a first rate singer and songwriter. The following year she had her American breakthrough with the high energy 12" "Emergency." The song sailed to the top of many club charts and made her a well known name particularly in the gay clubs. Just as quickly as she had earned a reputation she almost lost it with her next release, "Hands Off." The song faltered and fickle Americans shied away from it. While back at home in England she remained as popular as ever, her career was in a turmoil. 1985 brought numerous appearances but no new recordings and many on this side of the Atlantic thought she was a goner. 1986 was a bright and hopeful year with two new singles. "Sweet Confusion" and "Cry To The Wind." The album "Cry To The Wind" brought Miss Pallas to a whole new audience with a smooth and sophisticated style. It demonstrated that she was a very versatile artist. Disco dancers would be offered one final 12" single in 1989 with "Revenge Is Sweet." The song did better in Europe than in the States, and besides a 1995 "Best Of" collection it would be her final recorded output for over a decade. Just as her star had burned brightly, it dimmed as quickly and the ensuing years found little in the way of career milestones. One notable achievement was having a song she penned (and sung) make it to the finals in the "Eurovision" contest. "Room For Change" lost to a ditty by Katrina and The Waves. Her career was in a slump and she made the obvious rounds of club performances and oldies shows with little luck. That luck changed when she landed the role of "little sister" to Madonna in 1996s "Evita." She was whisked off to Argentina for filming where her talent impressed Madonnas manager Freddy DeMann. DeMann called Laura to Los Angeles in June of 1996 with the hopes of developing a sitcom around her unique talent. Eventually it was decided to put the sitcom on the back burner. Laura, the trooper, quickly found work as an actress. First as a singer in 1997s "Law Of Deception" and then as a dancing woman in the made-for-tv movie "Houdini." While her music career seemed to take a backseat and her acting career wasnt really setting the world on fire, at least she was out there and making a living. She continued to pursue acting with roles in the 1998 pilot episode of "Cupid," a role in 1999 in the hit "Any Day Now" and a slot on "The Education Of Max Bickford" in 2001. But she really wasnt getting ahead with her acting and she was feeling restless and unfulfilled. She was persuaded by her "managers" to get herself out there and so she started doing a series of showcases to feature her real talent, singing. This led to her realization that she had a "god-given" talent that she should never turn her back on. At this point she has put her acting career on the back burner to re-focus on her recording career. In 2005 she released a brand new compact disc entitled "Strong Enough." The disc featured ten stunning performances. Her voice is clear, strong and as powerful as ever. The fare is non-disco and yet moving and worthy of purchasing. We are so pleased that Laura has returned to recording, and yes we love her "danceable" stuff, but we are happy to hear her sing anything. In 1990 Laura had joined the Santa Monica Chorus, a chapter of Sweet Adelines International. She is also a member of the Sweet Adelines International Faculty. In addition to directing the Santa Monica chapter, Laura coaches quartets and choruses around the country. Laura also sang lead in the internationally competitive quartet, Naturally, Region 11 Quartet Champions in 2005. Besides her work with the chorus she continues to remain in California and is always active. Thanks to the little lady with the big talent for all that she has given us.......mucho gracias!