Bridgette Allen is a New Zealand-born jazz singer who has a career going back to the 1960s. She has appeared on television in both New Zealand and Australia. She also starred in the film ''Hooks and Feelers'', which was an adaptation of a

Keri Hulme Keri Ann Ruhi Hulme (9 March 194727 December 2021) was a New Zealand novelist, poet and short-story writer. She also wrote under the pen name Kai Tainui. Her novel '' The Bone People'' won the Booker Prize in 1985; she was the first New Zealan ...

story.

Background

Allen was born in New Zealand, and is of Maori descent. She is also the cousin of the singer Abe Phillips who died in 1971.

Career

By April 1970, and with no major plans to return to Australia, Allen was now based in Auckland. In 1971, having already worked in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, by late February she was in Tahiti. There were plans for her undertake an Australian tour, which she would co-compere with

Howard Morrison Sir Howard Leslie Morrison (18 August 1935 – 24 September 2009) was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009, he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers. Early life Of Māori (Te Arawa), Irish ...

to promote tourism. In May, due to commitments in New Zealand, Allen turned down a contract as a supporting artist for Morrison in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. It was reported in the 11 July issue of '' The Sunday News'', that she was to stand in for Paul Fisher while he went with Ray Woolf to the United States, taking two months off of an eight month contract. In April 1973, it was announced in the ''Sunday Herald'' that Allen was off to the United States as guest of

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

. She was also going to look at the possibilities or work over there.

Mid 70s onwards

In June 1975, she embarked on a cabaret tour which would include Australia, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and the possibly other locations such as

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. In 1976, in spite of her comments the previous year that the club circuit was "pretty dead", and television work limited to Australian artists, in May, that year she was off to Australia to carry on with her career there.

1980s

In 1981, ''

The New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, fo ...

'' featured an article on her life and career in its 14 February issue. By September 1982, following the birth of her son, she had slowed her career down. By early 1987, she was based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

.''The Auckland Star'', 13 January 198
Sec B p 1, 4, Background on New Zealand jazz singer now based in Melbourne
/ref>

Discography

Filmography

References

External links

Artisttrove: Bridget Allen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Bridgette New Zealand Māori women singers New Zealand jazz singers New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand film actresses New Zealand musical theatre actresses New Zealand stage actresses 20th-century New Zealand women singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)