Lecia Jønsson

Lecia Jønsson
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Born	Lecia Sundstrøm Hansen (1948-09-18) 18 September 1948 Avedøre, Denmark
Occupation	Singer songwriter
Years active	1961-present
Known for	Lecia & Lucienne The Scarletts Laban
Spouse(s)	Steen Jønsson (m. 1967; div. 1980)

Lecia Jønsson is a Danish singer and songwriter, known for performing in a duo with her sister, Lucienne Sundstrøm, and later being in the duo Laban with Ivan Pedersen, which found limited international success in Europe and the United States. Jønsson's musical career started in 1961 when she and Lucienne Sundstrøm began performing as a duo, Lecia & Lucienne, and both sisters later became members of the Danish band The Scarletts. After leaving The Scarletts, Lecia & Lucienne had a hit single in Denmark titled "Rør Ved Mig," which garnered substantial popularity in Denmark in 1973. Sundstrøm retired from the music industry in 1981, thus leading to Jønsson to start a solo career.

In 1982, Jønsson and fellow Danish singer Ivan Pedersen formed the duo Laban. Laban lasted from 1982 to 1988 and broke into the American charts with their 1986 single "Love in Siberia." Laban disbanded in 1988, and Jønsson has maintained a solo career. Starting in 1992, Jønsson has continued recording music and singing while remaining out of the public eye. She has recorded music in a variety of genres, including Pop, Eurodisco, Synth-pop, Country, and Jazz.

Career

Lecia & Lucienne (1961 - 1981)

Jønsson started performing in 1961 in a duo with her younger sister Lucienne Sundstrøm. Their career kickstarted when their first performance gave them a third place at a singing competition at Damhuskroen. Jønsson and Sundstrøm toured the country in the following years and released their first single, "Waiting on the Corner," in 1964. Jønsson and Sundstrøm, sought-after soloists, performed as choir girls in over five hundred recordings, toured with various Danish acts, and in 1965, they became members of The Scarlets. Jønsson and Sundstrøm formed the vocal foreground of the group, singing on the hits "She Taught Me How to Yodel" and "Man klarer alting med et smil" (One Can Handle Everything With a Smile). Their first tenure with the group lasted until 1969, although they returned to performing with the group decades later.

In 1973, the sisters signed with Metronome, where they found success with their hit singles "Rør Ved Mig" (Touch Me) and Waterloo, with "Rør Ved Mig" selling 25,000 copies. In 1979 and 1980, Jønsson and Sundstrøm performed together for the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, placing 7th on both occasions. After releasing two English-lanugage LP's, their music partnership ended after Sundstrøm retired from the industry in 1981. Following the dissolution of Lecia & Lucienne, Jønsson started a solo career under producer Tommy Seebach.

Laban with Ivan Pedersen (1982 - 1988)

In 1981, producer Cai Leitner heard "Sarà perché ti amo" by Ricchi e Poveri, and subsequently thought it could be a hit single. He wanted a Danish version recorded and requested that Ivan Pedersen write the song with Danish lyrics and record it as a duet with Jønsson. The resulting song was titled "Hvor ska' vi sove i nat?" ("Where Are We Going to Sleep Tonight?"), and was recorded in November 1981. Since both Jønsson and Pedersen were involved in other projects at the time, Tommy Seebach suggested that the single be released under the name Laban. "Hvor ska' vi sove i nat?" was released in March 1982, finding immediate success in the duo's native Denmark, where it has sold a million copies to date. Jønsson later said that while she and Ivan had fun performing together, they initially expected the partnership to only last a few months. However, due to the success of the duo's debut, a self-titled debut album, Laban, was swiftly recorded and released in October 1982, becoming a gold record on the day it released.

The duo's next album was Laban 2, accompanied by a single, "Meget bedre nu" (Much Better Now), which went to #3 in autumn 1983. Laban, Laban 2 and their third album, Laban 3, achieved platinum status in Denmark, making them the first Danish act to have three platinum LP albums in a row. In 1985, Cai Leitner persuaded the duo to sign a contract with Mega Records. Following this, they departed EMI, and Laban's sound was developed further to include the incorporation of more synthesizers into their music to appeal to the younger crowd. After Laban left EMI, EMI then released a greatest hits compilation that year called "Laban's bedste", which peaked at #26 in Denmark. In October 1985, the duo's next album, Laban 4 saw a release, alongside their next single "Kold som is" that got to #4 in Demark. After their continual success in their home country, Jønsson and Pedersen began expanding into international releases.

The duo broke into the American music charts with their 1986 single "Love in Siberia", an English version of "Kold som is." "Love in Siberia" peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100, #38 on the U.S. Dance Chart, and #47 on the Cash Box chart. The success of "Love in Siberia" made Laban only the fifth Danish act to break into the Billboard Hot 100 at the time. Laban's mainstream popularity was found with the success of "Love in Siberia" and their English LP Caught by Surprise, causing their music to be released in over forty countries worldwide. Laban found substantial popularity in Scandinavian territories like Sweden, where the album reached #28 and the title track single "Caught by Surprise" reached #9. Jønsson was one of the primary songwriters alongside Pedersen for Laban's music, and songs Jønsson wrote included "It's a Fantasy," "Playboy / Playgirl," and "Limit to Love." However, due to the stress of constantly performing and internal tensions beginning to accumulate, Jønsson began expressing interest in ending Laban by October 1986.

In August 1987, Laban released their second album, Roulette. The album was composed of English versions of songs on the yet-to-be released Laban 5 and some from Laban 4. However, Roulette and its singles failed to achieve the same international success as prior releases. The album managed to peak at #25 for two weeks in Sweden, but record sales of the album were lackluster elsewhere. Laban's popularity was fading by the latter part of 1987, and record sales in their native Denmark had stagnated. Laban's final studio album, as well as their last Danish album, was Laban 5, released in October 1987. Laban's last Danish single was written by Pedersen and titled "De vilde er de værste" (The Wild Ones Are the Worst). The B side was written by Jønsson and titled "Hvor ka' vi mødes" (Where Can We Meet).

Due to disagreements about Laban's future, fading popularity, and declining record sales, Laban ended in the summer of 1988 after a short tour in Sweden for Laban 5, and Jønsson ceased working with Pedersen. Jønsson later stated that her and Ivan were "cheated out of millions" due to contracts under Mega Records; a sentiment that Pedersen felt similarly to.

Solo career (1980's - present)

Jønsson's solo career kickstarted during her time in Laban with her song entries in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, releasing two singles, "Det' en hemlighed" (It's a Secret) and "Hvis nu lykken findes" (If Happiness Exists). "Det' en hemlighed" managed to reach #6 in the Danish charts, as well as get 5th place in the 1984 Danish Melodi Grand Prix. Jønsson later stated the song was based on her internal feelings in Laban at the time. "Hvis nu lykken findes" was submitted in the 1986 Danish Melodi Grand Prix, getting 6th place.

After Laban's dissolution, Jønsson has maintained a solo career with mixed success, such as achieving second place in the 1989 Danish Melodi Grand Prix with her song "Landet Camelot," scoring thirty points. In 1990, she competed in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix for the last time with the song "Krig Og Fred," getting 6th place. The same year, Jønsson traveled to Nashville to record her solo album, "For Altid," which kickstarted her career in the country music genre. She was nominated for a Grammy in the Country genre in 1992, but later that year, she withdrew from the public eye, having gotten tired of the spotlight and pressure from the industry. In 1993, Jønsson started singing Jazz and released multiple jazz albums. Våde Spor I Sand was a collaboration with Ellen Heiberg in 1995, which was followed by At Last in 2004 and At Last 2: My Jazzy Love in 2005. In August 2005, Jønsson won the "Song of the Year" USA award for her song "It Isn't Love."

In 2008, Jønsson released a Christmas EP disc, which included a cover of the hit song "Baby, It's Cold Outside." In 2019, Jønsson wrote the lyrics for an Abba tribute titled "ABBA We Love You Forever," themed about being young and falling in love while listening to Abba's music.

In 2023, Jønsson published "Det' en hem’lighed" (It's a Secret), a book and memoir that reflected on her time with Ivan Pedersen in Laban and behind-the-scenes conflicts, garnering criticism from Pedersen.

Personal Life

Lecia was born on 18 September 1948 in Avedøre, Denmark, as the eldest child of four girls. In 1967, Lecia married Steen Buchardt Jønsson, and they were married for thirteen years before divorcing in 1980. They had one daughter, Leila, who was born in November 1969. Steen Jønsson died in 2006.

Discography

With Lecia & Lucienne

• På Vej (1974)
• Dansktoppen I 5 år (1975)
• Rør Ved Mig (1975)
• Sister To Sister (1978)
• L&L (1980)

With Laban

• Laban (1982)
• Laban 2 (1983)
• Laban 3 (1984)
• Laban 4 (1985)
• Caught by Surprise (1986)
• Roulette (1987)
• Laban 5 (1987)

Solo

• Lecia (1989)
• For Altid (1990)
• Våde Spor I Sand (1995)
• At Last (2004)
• At Last 2: My Jazzy Love (2005)
• Christmas Present (EP, 2008)

Compilation albums

• Laban's bedste (1985)
• Laban: Greatest Hits (1988)
• De største narrestreger (1997)
• Det' En Hemlighed (1998)
• The Collection (2000)
• De 36 bedste narrestreger (2009)
• Komplet & rariteter (2010)
• Love in Siberia - The Best Of Laban (2010)

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