Wouldn’t you love to be this woman? In the early 60’s she was a protege of Salvador Dali.

Rumours about her transexuality abound, but she still managed a career in modeling. Then in the late ’60s and early ‘70’s she became David Bowie’s lover, before moving on to Bryan Ferry. For her troubles she ended up on the cover of Roxy Music’s second LP, For Your Pleasure.

In 1977 Amanda Lear started a recording career with a cover of an Elvis Presley song, Trouble. Later that year she recorded an album of Euro-disco tunes that included a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking.

In 1978, before her second album was released, she decided to put those pesky transexual rumours to rest with a NSFW spread in Playboy.

Then came her second LP, Sweet Revenge.

The A-side of this album is a masterpiece with Amanda’s deep smokey voice, her German accent and her Marlene Dietrich-esque delivery in her “spoken word” singing style. The combination of all these factors make the album seem remarkably old fashioned (think Weimar Republic, Kurt Weill…) and 1970’s disco decadence (think Studio 54, powdered drugs, open sexuality…). The connection she’s making is quite clear.

The album as a whole is shimmering with the glamour of dark bars and steamy nights. The B-side includes songs about 1930’s comic characters, a song, Enigma (Give A Bit Of Mmh To Me)satirizing her psuedo transexuality, and I rockin’ romp simply called The Stud. One can guess what that’s about.

The sepia-toned back cover pic has her reclining on an old beer barrel, a la Dietrich in The Blue Angel, with sequined curtains behind her.

Amanda Lear would release quite a few more albums over the next decade before quieting down through the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s. Her return to music was made in 2001 with a new single, “I Just Wanna Dance Again” which resecured her place in the disco star pantheon.

In 2004 she performed the voice of the fussy spy fashion designer, Edna Mode in the French and Italian versions of The Incredibles.

Like I said…Wouldn’t you love to be this woman?

Sample the A-side suite, Follow Me at my blog here.