Leonardo's Bride

Leonardo's Bride was an Australian pop band that formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1989. It consisted of singer Abby Dobson (lead vocal and acoustic guitar), Dean Manning (electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer and hammond), Jon Howell (drums) and Patrick Wong (bass, backing vocals and cello). They released two albums, Angel Blood in 1997 and Open Sesame in 2000, before splitting in 2001.

They were nominated for three ARIA Awards at the 1997 awards with their album Angel Blood and single "Even When I'm Sleeping". "Even When I'm Sleeping" was voted "song of the year" at the 1998 APRA Awards.

History

Formation (1989?1995)

Leonardo's Bride first came about in 1989, where Abby Dobson and Dean Manning performed for the first time at an open mike night at the Crossroads theatre in Sydney, Australia. A year later Dobson and Manning traveled around Europe and America busking and playing in clubs and bars, doing 250 shows over sixteen months. Some of the gigs included; Sin-e in New York, Les voultes de lutece in Paris, Hen & Chickens in London and Zorba's bar in Santorini, Greece. Then in 1992 the bands new line-up had its first performance in Syndey with, Dobson on vocals, Manning on guitar, bouzouki and vocals, Alex Hewetson on double bass and Antero Ceschin on drums. They released their first EP in 1993 entitled Leonardo's Bride (1993). In 1994, Patrick Hyndes and Jon Howell joined the band and saw the release of their second EP in 1995 titled Temperamental Friend (1995). In that same year, 1995, they toured with The Badloves in Australia and the Big Geraniums in Ireland.

Angel Blood (1996?1998)

The year 1996 saw the recording of their debut album, Angel Blood, and the release of the album's first single "So Brand New" in Australia. It wasn't until the released of the album's second single, "Even When I'm Sleeping", where the band saw commercial success. "Even When I'm Sleeping" went to peak in the top five on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and was nominated for "Single of the Year" at the ARIA Music Awards of 1997. The song also went to win "Song of the Year" at the APRA Awards of 1998. Angel Blood was released in Australia on April 28, 1997, was critically acclaimed and peaked in the top thirty on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. It was also nominated for "Breakthrough Artist - Album" and "Best Cover Art" at the ARIA Music Awards of 1997. "Buddha Baby" was the last single to be released from the album and peaked in the top forty in Australia. 1997 also saw the band tour with Everything But the Girl in Australia.

The band split in 2001. Dobson has since pursued a solo career. Her first single as a solo artist was "Don't Ask for More", which displayed a more radio-friendly sound than the band. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the hit show The Secret Life of Us. The second show soundtrack featured another song by Abby, "I'm Not Missing You". Abby was also featured on Paul Mac's album 3000 Feet High (2001). In late 2007, Abby released her first solo album, Rise Up, preceded by the first single, "Shining Star".

Dean Manning, the groups' principal songwriter released a solo album "Diplomatic" (2003) and went on to form "Holidays On Ice' with Angie Hart. They have released 2 albums - "Playing Boyfriends & Girlfriends" (2005) & "Pillage Before Plunder" (2009). Manning who created the Leonardo's Bride album covers now regularly exhibits his paintings.

Jon Howell formed the successful blues outfit "Chase The Sun" releasing their self titled debut album in 2009. Patrick went on to study medicine and currently practices in Newcastle, Australia.

Discography

Albums
Year
Album details
Chart positions
Certifications

(sales thresholds)
AUS

NZ

1997
Angel Blood
First studio album
Released: April 28, 1997
Label: Mushroom
25
35
ARIA certification: Gold.
2000
Open Sesame
Second studio album
Released: October 23, 2000
Label: Mushroom
?
?
EPs
Year
Album
1993
Leonardo's Bride
Released: 1993
Label: Independent
1994
Temperamental Friend
Released: 1994
Label: PolyGram
Singles
Year
Single
Chart positions
Album
AUS

NZ

1996
"So Brand New"
?
?
Angel Blood
1997
"Even When I'm Sleeping"
4
34
"Buddha Baby"
40
?
2000
"Sonic"
?
?
Open Sesame

Awards and nominations

ARIA Awards
Year
Award
Work
Result
1997
Single of the Year
"Even When I'm Sleeping"
Nominated
Breakthrough Artist - Album
Angel Blood
Nominated
Best Cover Art
Nominated
APRA Awards
Year
Award
Work
Result
1998
Song of the Year
"Even When I'm Sleeping"
Won
Most Performed Work
'"Even When I'm Sleeping"'
Won