(SONG) BIRDS OF A FEATHER

We didn’t know what to expect when Lene Lovich’s mom opened her door to us in a leafy suburban Detroit neighborhood. Salt and pepper waist-length braids, maybe? But no, Lene’s mere was English, it was her father who was Serbian. He’d met her Yorkshire-born mother during World War II when he was stationed in England with the Navy. They were married and returned to Detroit, where Lene (actually “Marlene”) grew up with two sisters and a brother. There were problems, though; Lene’s father had a history of mental instability and her mother eventually fled to England with the children. Her father came over some time later and tried to kidnap her two sisters; he was only successful with one, who Lene, her mother and the rest of the family haven’t seen to this day—she is wherever her father is.

Cancel our imagination, Lene’s mother is petite and strawberry blonde. She murmurs “hello,” and Lene and her Yul Brynner lookalike boyfriend/musical partner Les Chappell stepped forward to meet us; all hair and no hair.