Louise Ganner

Womborne, March 19th 1973

Jim Lea  after his wedding to Louise Ganner at Womborne Registry Office.

Jimmy Lea & Louise Ganner were childhood sweethearts, right from the time Louise was twelve and Jimmy thirteen. Theirs is a lovely story. 

"We met at school. I guess it was love at first sight. There's never been any other girl for me." 

"To me Louise is everything a girl should be: beautiful, sweet, kind, tolerant and affectionate. All my friends adore her - I'm sure they're very jealous!" 

Like Jim, Louise is a native of Wolverhampton and when they married both agreed that they didn't want to move away from that area. 

"We've got a beautiful house in a suburb of Wolverhampton. Louise loves it and enjoys keeping it tidy. What I love about her is that she's content to be a housewife - she doesn't want any limelight herself. She leaves that to me." 

Although Jim knew he would marry her one day, neither wanted to hurry into it. 

"We knew it would be sensible for us to wait until we had enough money, so we decided to hang on until Slade had made it. Now I can afford to give Louise anything she wants. Even before we were married we were able to see each other quite frequently because I lived with my parents at that time. At every opportunity I'd take her to a club or restaurant and we'd catch up on what had been happening." 

Their wedding, on February 10, 1973, was a great occasion. 

"We had a marvellous time. All the boys were there, not to mention our parents and millions of relatives. What a party!" 

Jimmy was worried that his fans might be upset when they heard about his marriage but couldn't believe it when many of them wrote wishing him luck. 

"They wrote such lovely letters and some even sent us wedding presents. I don't know why but I'd felt sure they'd react in a strange way. I guess it was very unfair of me because they were lovely about it. I still get as much mail as I used to. And I need that - it's great to know you're liked." 

"Another good thing about the fans is that they hardly ever bother me at home. That's really nice. They realise I want to be alone with Louise when I can." 

Jimmy has finally managed to get the house decorated properly. 

"It took time but we've done it at last. All the junk from the garden has been cleared and I managed to get the wallpaper to stay on the walls. It took a bit of persuasion, mind you!" 

Looks like everything's roses in the Lea household. They certainly deserve it after hanging on so long to be married. Eight years is a long wait.

---

Lou Lea is absolutely gorgeous, far too good for James to hide her away. Their wedding on February 10, 1973, may have been a great occasion but, if it happened, it must have been a trial run for the real wedding that took place in March (19th possibly) at the Registry Office in Womborne, a few miles SW of Wolverhampton. They have two children, Kristian and Bonny, and two grandchildren. Jim and Louise live in a secluded area of Brewood, Staffordshire.

My thanks to Chris 'The Historian' Selby for his relentless research. It is said, in certain circles, that Walsall Archives have a seat reserved specifically for him and that Wolverhampton archives consult him when searching the Express & Star. 

Next Page