Ross La Vel was born in North-West Tasmania, spending his early childhood years in idyllic rural surroundings before his family moved to subtropical Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. Although his parents were both musical, Ross’s interest in music came late, only undertaking guitar studies at twenty when unable to find a suitable musical collaborator for lyrics he had begun writing in his late teens.

RITCHIE YORKE Rock Author/Journalist

Ross La Vel was born in North-West Tasmania, spending his early childhood years in idyllic rural surroundings before his family moved to subtropical Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. Although his parents were both musical, Ross’s interest in music came late, only undertaking guitar studies at twenty when unable to find a suitable musical collaborator for lyrics he had begun writing in his late teens.

Ross’s debut release in 1981 was the offbeat, independent single ‘Trains’, recalling his schoolboy fascination with the steam trains then still running on suburban lines. He loved standing on a railway bridge in the blasting soot and steam as they passed under him.

In 1986 Ross achieved national airplay in Australia with his second single, the haunting ‘Veronique’, an instrumental written and first performed in the South of France. The enthusiastic reactions to this track encouraged him to write more instrumentals. The eventual result was the album ‘Moment to Moment’ which as another independent release won an Album of the Year Award in Queensland as well as a number of other significant awards.

Ross’s music career later had to be put on hold when he was paralysed by guillain-barré syndrome, a devastating auto-immune disease considered a ‘cousin’ of polio. This experience and his gratitude to all who so strongly supported him through his 10 year, though incomplete, journey of recovery only increased his desire to give something positive to life through his music.

Of the three tracks now being promoted “Fly Away With Me” is the most recent, originally being recorded as an instrumental but remixed with vocals specifically for its inclusion on the ‘For the Lady’ album.  ‘Speaking Again’ is an early fun song featuring sax and synth while, ironically, the long-forgotten single, “Trains”, is set for a custom vinyl release by a retro label in Brisbane that discovered it through an obscure review on the internet. It was their enthusiasm for Ross’s songs that sparked his return to music.