Katrina Leskanich

 

THE year 1968 was a momentous one for many reasons.

Civil rights campaigner Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated, children’s author Enid Blyton died and Apollo 8 returned from a successful space mission, which would pave the way for man to land on the Moon.

It was also the year that eight-year-old Katrina Leskanich suspected she might be gay.

The daughter of a US Air Force colonel and a strict Catholic mum was watching the Super Bowl on American TV with the seven other members of her family at their home in Nebraska when Lynn Anderson glided through the crowds singing ‘I Never Promised You A Rose Garden’.

"The combination of her voluptuous good looks and the wonderful melody of the song made me appreciate two things all at once,” says Katrina.

Like thousands of others, she would one day have to tell them that. That she loved music and she was gay.

When the news finally came out, it was greeted with mixed feelings.

"The colonel took it on the chin and my mother thought I was eternally damned,” said Katrina, now 46. She also encountered hostility from others, which affected her self-esteem.

"It just didn’t make me feel very good about myself,” she said.

Katrina was also worried that her sexuality might affect her career as a singer so she kept it hidden. It would be many years later that she would very publicly and unwittingly out herself.

Katrina had been invited to the Sony Music Awards after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Love Shine A Light and was photographed by tabloid newspapers kissing comedienne Caroline Aherne.

"We were both quite drunk and having a laugh, but it was interpreted as a serious statement about my sexuality,” she said.

"But after the initial, Oh my God what have I done?, I felt a huge sense of relief.

"It was a relief to know it didn’t really matter that much.”

In fact what happened next was rather remarkable.

"After the photographs appeared in the tabloids, the Waves and I agreed it would be better not to stress too much about it because I was also concerned about how the news might impact on me and the band,” she said.

"But Love Shine A Light shot to number 2 and our record label Warner Records were delighted.”

Today she seems much more chilled about her sexuality.

"Being in a meaningful relationship with a woman for four years now makes me feel more comfortable with each passing day,” she said. "And we would like very much some day to celebrate our own union."

She has lived in the UK for the past 30 years and has no desire to return to the States.

"I love living in London. Britain is a nation of eccentrics, which helps when it comes to tolerating cultural differences.

"I think the UK is the most beautiful country in the world, especially in the summer. And it's the only place in the world where I can get a decent cup of tea."

She loves performing - especially in front of a gay crowd.

"I feel an acceptance and ease with a gay crowd," she said. "I like their energy and sense of fun."

But if she weren't performing, she would probably become a vet.

"Then I wouldn’t have to spend all my time in his waiting room with either the dog, the cat or the birds," she said.

The cat, for the record, is black and 17 years old.

Looking ahead, she may one day settle down with the love of her life.

But did she ever think it would be possible for gay people to marry in the UK?

"I’m from Kansas," she said. "And we believe that the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."