SUPER STAR .01 Senior Musician Lorena Novoa went from Young Talent Time to singing in police band Code One.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
LORENA NOVOA VALUING OUR PEOPLE EDITORIAL JANAE HOUGHTON PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW HENSHAW
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ome of Victoria’s most talented musicians are members of police band Code One. One of the most recognised faces is Senior Musician and lead vocalist Lorena Novoa.
www.police.vic.gov.au/policelife
Back in 1984, at just 13 years old, Ms Novoa got her lucky break and began performing on the hit television show, Young Talent Time. “My parents brought me to Australia when I was three years old and the first thing I remember seeing on television was Young Talent Time. I absolutely loved it and it became my dream to be on the show,” she said. Ms Novoa had been performing at an end of year concert at the Johnny Young Talent School, when Mr Young approached her to be part of the show. “It was all a whirlwind from there, I was pretty much rehearsing or
performing every day, we were doing national concerts, we had all these fans that were just crazy about us and the show.” Ms Novoa also remembers performing with stars such as Dannii Minogue. “This was during the time Kylie Minogue was in Neighbours, she would often be working in the studio down the hall and would pop in to watch Dannii and us.” Ms Novoa left the show in 1987 and these days is seen belting out tunes such as Michael Jackson’s Beat It and Pink’s Raise Your Glass, wearing the police uniform in the band Code One. “Never in a million years did I think I would end up singing, wearing a police uniform,” she said. “But it is just so much fun. We play at a range of events, anything from schools, to shopping centres, to markets and balls.
“The aim of the police bands is to be proactive and build strong relationships between the police and the community. We also promote safety messages,” she said. In between Young Talent Time and Code One, Ms Novoa always performed. She was in a number of cover bands and sang commercials. In 1993 she was in a band called Culture Shock, which had a top 20 hit called Satisfy the Groove.
Code One plays all around Victoria. To find out performance dates or to book it visit http://www.police.vic.gov.au/ content.asp?Document_ID=670 on the Internet.
POLICELIFE SUMMER 2012
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