The Daily Mirror / The Sunday Mirror (London, England)
Author/Byline:Pat McArt
Page:21
Section:News
Words:182

Quote

I WAS in the town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute last week, and I just happened to notice the name above a fish and chip shop - Zavaroni. I had to think for a minute, and then it struck me - was there a connection between the singer Lena Zavaroni and the island?

So, I did what everyone does these days, I whipped out the old mobile phone, Googled it and yip there it was in black and white - she was raised in the Scottish town.

I remembered Zavaroni from the very first night she won Opportunity Knocks as the little girl with the huge voice. Within months she was a star who was touring the world.

I could see as I looked around in that beautiful wee town how easily a 10-year-old child brought up in a tight island community would have struggled after losing her moorings of family and friends when fame came a knocking.

And she did. From the age of 13 she suffered from anorexia nervosa, by 15 was diagnosed with clinical depression and was dead of pneumonia by the age of 35.

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