Annabella Lwin

Biography

Lwin was born to a Burmese father and an English mother in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar).

Bow Wow Wow

In 1980, at the age of thirteen, she was spotted by a friend of Malcolm McLaren singing at a dry cleaning premises in North London where she worked part-time. Following her successful audition for the lead singer position in McLaren's new group (the yet-to-be-named band Bow Wow Wow), he had her transfer from a mixed comprehensive school in London to the Sylvia Young Theatre School. McLaren dubbed her 'Bess Man'. The group would go on to chart success with the songs "Go Wild in the Country", "Do You Wanna Hold Me?" and "I Want Candy". Early on in the band, controversy surrounded Lwin as she had posed nude for the cover of See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy, the group's first full-length album (Lwin was 14 at the time).

Fever

When Lwin was ousted from the band in September 1983 following the release of their final album, When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, she embarked on a solo career, releasing the album Fever in 1986, which was produced by and recorded with multi-instrumentalist Jim Lea of Slade. She formed a new band, Naked Experience, and collaborated across the Atlantic with seasoned musicians and songwriters such as Billy Steinberg and Ellen Shipley. The official song release, "Carsex", made the Top 10 in the UK Dance Chart, and re-mixed dance follow-up "Do What You Do" (1995), produced by Steve Lironi, spent one week at No.61 in the UK Singles Chart. Another single from the album, "War Boys", produced by John Robie, spent six weeks on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, peaking at #28.

Other work

Lwin reunited with the former bass player from Bow Wow Wow in 1997, recreating the sound of the original band for a US tour. The reunion included appearances by a range of musicians from the young up and coming, such as Eshan Khadaroo of Beat Kitchen, (Blue Man), and the established, including Adrian Young from (No Doubt), both playing drums in place of original member Dave Barbe. The original guitarist of Bow Wow Wow, Matthew Ashman, had died of complications from diabetes in 1995, and various guitarists filled in.

Lwin has recorded original material as a solo artist, and is a featured vocalist on numerous transatlantic dance tracks with producers/DJs, such as Tony B of Groove Radio, Jason Nevins, and the Utah Saints. Lwin's songwriting also brought her into partnerships with producers such as Guy Chambers and Michael Lattanzi.

In 2005, Lwin was a featured vocalist, with Camp Freddy members Dave Navarro and Billy Morrison, during a fund raising concert for victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Lwin co-wrote and co-produced a solo song with record producer Carey Beare, which was donated exclusively to the Hands and Hearts Organization for Tsunami Relief in spring 2006.

Amongst a couple of her own shows in 2010, Lwin appeared on stage with Kathy Valentine and Charlotte Caffey (Go-Go's), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), and other prominent artists for a MAP Benefit concert called 'Women in Recovery.'

She continues to sing and perform with Bow Wow Wow and new songs as well as participating in animal charity related concerts.

Lwin is a practicing (Soka Gakkai International) Buddhist.