Allison Ann Giles, who performed as Allison Ann Durbin (born 24 May 1950), is a former New Zealand Australian singer, known for her success in the late 1960s and 1970s as the " Queen of Pop". Durbin's visual trademark at that time was her lustrous waist-length auburn hair. She is a relative of Canadian-born actress and lyric soprano

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

Biography

Allison Ann Durbin was born in 1950 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

to Owen Durbin (born c. 1912/1913) and Agnes Durbin, the second eldest of seven children. She attended school at Westlake High School, and performed for four-years in a children's choir. She became interested in singing and was inspired by artists like

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and

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, and began performing in public in her early teens. After winning a talent contest at an Auckland ballroom, she was signed to

Eldred Stebbing Eldred Claude Stebbing (3 October 1921 – 6 December 2009) was a New Zealand record label owner and co-founder of the Zodiac Records label. He also founded Stebbing Studios in Auckland. Biography Stebbing was born in 1921. After leaving schoo ...

Zodiac Records Zodiac Records has been the name of at least six different record labels: *Zodiac Records (New Zealand), an Auckland, New Zealand label of Stebbing Recording and Sound *Zodiac Records, a New York City, United States company in the 1950s *Zodiac Re ...

at the age of 14 and issued a number of singles. Her third Zodiac single, a cover of

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK a ...

"Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", out-sold the original in New Zealand and became her first charted hit. She built up a following in New Zealand, recording and fronting the

Mike Perjanik Mike Perjanik is a New Zealand-born musician, record producer, composer, arranger and bandleader who became well known in Australia from the late 1960s for his work on pop and rock recordings, and as a composer, arranger, bandleader and produ ...

Group and travelled with them to Australia in 1966 for residencies in Sydney. After nine months in Sydney, she left the group to pursue a solo career, making numerous appearances on Australian TV pop and variety shows. Durbin's first single for New Zealand

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, "I Have Loved Me a Man", (a cover version of the song by

Morgana King Maria Grazia Morgana Messina (June 4, 1930 – March 22, 2018), known as Morgana King, was an American jazz singer and actress.Liner notes by Joel Dorn – Morgana King album ''The Complete Reprise Recordings'' (2000).Liner notes by Ed Osborne � ...

) became a No. 1 hit in New Zealand and also a hit in Australia. The song won her a New Zealand music award, 1968

Loxene Golden Disc The Loxene Golden Disc was an annual New Zealand music award. It ran from 1965 to 1972. It was superseded by the Recording Arts Talent Awards (RATA). Background The awards launched in 1965 and is the forerunner of the New Zealand Music Awards. It ...

, and she was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1969. For three years running (1969, 1970 and 1971), she won Australia's King of Pop Award for Best Female Artist, commonly called the "Queen of Pop". Note: archived version only shows first part of three; rest of article is not archived. Archived version includes photos, live version does not. In 1971, she recorded a duet album, ''

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'', with

Johnny Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

, who had been voted Australia's "King of Pop" during the same years Durbin received her awards.

Personal life

In the late 1960s, Durbin began a relationship with expatriate New Zealand record producer

Howard Gable Howard Gable is a New Zealand-born Australian record producer who is best known for his work as an A&R manager and house producer for EMI's Columbia pop label in Australia in the late 1960s and early 1970. He was also for some years married to N ...

, then a senior A&R manager and in-house producer for EMI Australia. They married in 1969 and started a family. During the 1970s, as her career waned, Durbin began using

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and her marriage to Gable ended. In 1985, she publicly acknowledged her battle with drugs and sought treatment at Odyssey House, a drug rehabilitation centre, but she was struck by a car two days after leaving the centre, which left her with serious injuries, including a broken jaw. After she recovered, she worked as a country music singer in the late 1980s. In 1986, she married for a second time to Ray Giles. On 1 June 2007, under her married name Allison Giles, she was sentenced to 12 months' jail for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

trafficking. One of her co-accused, Giuseppe "Joe" Barbaro, whom she allegedly supplied with marijuana was a previously convicted drug dealer. TELEVISION

Discography

Studio albums

Charting singles

Awards and nominations

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. , - , 1969 , herself , Female Vocal , style="background:gold;", 1st , - , 1970 , herself , Best Girl , style="background:gold;", 1st , - , 1971 , herself , Best Girl Vocal , style="background:gold;", 1st , - , 1972 , herself , Best Female Vocal , style="background:silver;", 2nd

King of Pop Awards

The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978. , - , 1969 , herself , Best Female Artist , , - , 1970 , herself , Best Female Artist , , - , rowspan="2", 1971 , rowspan="2", herself , Best Female Artist , , - , Best Dressed Female Performer , * Note: Durbin is often referred to as the 'Queen of Pop', but won Best Female Artist at the King of Pop Awards from 1969-71. The Queen of Pop award was introduced in 1972. In 2003, Durbin reiterated this saying, "I never in fact won a queen of pop award. The award was called ''The King of Pop awards.''"

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Allison Durbin won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1979 , Allison Durbin , Country Female Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1980 , Allison Durbin , Country Female of the Year , , -

New Zealand Music Awards

The

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 1968 , , "I Have Loved Me a Man" , , Most Promising Female , , , , , -

References

Works cited * Noel McGrath's ''Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop'' - Rigby Publishers - 1978 * ''The Who's Who of Australian Rock'' - Chris Spencer - Moonlight Publishing

External links

Amplifier NZ Music

Pop Archives Feature – "Don't Come any Closer"

Pop Archives Feature – "Put Your Hand in the Hand"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durbin, Allison 1950 births Living people Australian women pop singers New Zealand women pop singers New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian cannabis traffickers New Zealand drug traffickers Singers from Melbourne