Stevie Vann Lange

BIO

Stevie Lange (real name Stevie Vann Lange) is a Zambian-born British singer and vocal coach. She is known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. She was a lead vocalist for a music group called Night. She had two Top Twenty U.S. chart hits in the late 1970s. Raised in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) where her father worked as a copper miner and her mother as a physician, she showed an early aptitude for music through playing piano at the age of six. At 12, she began to perform with dance bands and she starred in her own television variety show at the age of 16. She had released two solo albums. In high demand as a radio and TV commercial jingle singer while still a teen, she also earned a Sarie Award as South Africa's Top Female Vocalist.

Stevie attended the same school as Mutt Lange in Mufulira. She left Zambia and the two met again in South Africa where they married and formed a band called Hocus. They both sang on jingles and spent some time writing, recording and playing gigs. Working with Mutt in the studio for years undoubtedly helped her to hone and perfect her production skills. Mutt is still regarded as one of the best producers on the planet.
They both felt the need to expand and they were offered a U.K. management deal and left Cape Town for England. While in the U.K., they released their first single called ‘Right On Running Man’. Mutt went on to become one of the world’s leading record producers. Although their marriage had broken up, they still remain the best of friends.

Signed to Planet Records, she recorded two albums with a producer known as Richard Perry. The first, their self-titled 1979 debut, only reached number 113 on the U.S. Billboard album charts but garnered two Top Twenty U.S. singles. Hot Summer Night peaked at number 18 in the U.S. Top 40, while also becoming an international hit in Australia (number 3), Canada (number 23), South Africa (number 13) and elsewhere.
Her studio session work in the 1980s included backing vocals for acts like ‘Chaka Khan’, ‘Billy Ocean’, ‘Tears for Fears’, ‘Johnny Hates Jazz’, ‘Wham’!, ‘Swing Out Sister’, ‘Nik Kershaw’ and ‘Ray Charles’. She also toured as a backing vocalist with Elton John for two years in the 1980s.

In 1995, she worked with Mutt on two projects. She sang backing vocals Def Leppard's ‘When Love & Hate Collide’ from Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995). In 1995, she recorded a self-titled solo album with Lange as producer. With backing musicians Dann Huff, Max Carl and Bob Carlisle and a duet with Bryan Adams, the album failed to garner chart success or hit singles.

Stevie continues to work in the music industry and has provided assistance to many acts like Blue, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Robbie Williams, Atomic Kitten and KT Tunstall.