Patsy Biscoe (born 21 March 1946) is an Australian children's television personality, singer and guitarist. She regularly appeared on children's national television shows, ''

Here's Humphrey ''Here's Humphrey'' was an Australian children's television series produced by Banksia Productions for the Nine Network, which first aired on 24 May 1965 and last went to air in 2009. It features an anthropomorphic brown bear character (a p ...

'' and ''

Fat Cat and Friends ''Fat Cat and Friends'' was an Australian children's television show starring Fat Cat (full name: Frederick Alphonso Tubsy Cat or Francis Aloysius Tom Cat), a costumed character, who is an orange/ginger anthropomorphic cat who wears red brace ...

''. She has released many children's music albums containing nursery rhymes and similar children's songs and has sold in excess of 500,000 units in her musical career.

Early life and training

Biscoe was born in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, India, to a British army officer and a civil servant. She came to Australia and settled in Sydney with her family during the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, and they moved to Sandy Bay in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

when she was nine. She won a classical singing scholarship after making an unscheduled appearance at the St Mary's College annual

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

. While studying medicine at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, she sang and played the guitar at a Sunday night jazz club. Her studies and fledgling career were interrupted by a car accident which damaged her eyesight. She covered a scar on her forehead from the accident with what became her distinctive long-fringed haircut. Biscoe was a finalist in the Starflight International talent quest of the Australian television show, ''

Bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

'', competing for an overseas trip and a recording contract. She recorded her first LP in Sydney in 1965 with

CBS records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

.Turnbull, Malcolm J.
The Folk Revival in Tasmania 1964–1972
", accessed 22 December 2007.

Career

She gained fame in her adopted home of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

when she regularly appeared on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

children's show, ''

'' (1965–2008), which she hosted from September 1970. Later she was a presenter on local TV children's show, ''Channel Niners''. She also appeared as a singer on another children's TV show, ''

'' (1972–91), on

SAS-10 SAS, formerly SAS-7 and before that SAS-10, is a television station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the Seven Network. History SAS-7 was originally known as SAS-10, an affiliate of what became Network Ten. It commenced broadcasting ...

. In October 1980 she promoted wearing seat belts for children in a TV ad campaign by the Road Safety Council in South Australia. After retiring from performing, Biscoe became a naturopath. She has also been Deputy Mayor of the

Barossa Council Barossa Council is a local government area in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The council area covers 912 square kilometres and had a population of over 23,000 as at the 2016 Census. History It was proclaimed on 1 July 1996 following t ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

and Chair of the Tanunda Town Committee.

Recognition

Biscoe was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2016 for her services to music and her local community. During the early 1990s, Biscoe was parodied by Adelaide comedian

Glynn Nicholas Glynn Nicholas (born 1952) is an Australian actor, comedian, director, writer, and producer. In the early 1990s he developed several the comic alter ego Paté Biscuit, a parody of Patsy Biscoe, a fellow presenter on the TV show ''Here's Humphrey ...

who played Paté Biscuit on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

television comedy show, ''

The Big Gig ''The Big Gig'' was a popular Australian television sketch comedy music/variety series based on the British TV series '' Saturday Live''. It was produced and broadcast on ABC TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by ...

''. Biscoe appeared in several episodes with Nicholas, one time tying up Biscuit and taking his place on the show with Bongo, Biscuit's hand puppet. She also appeared on the show using her own hand puppet, Bongette—the female counterpart of Bongo. When on screen together, neither Bongo nor Bongette could hide their attraction for the other.

Discography

Studio albums

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biscoe, Patsy 1946 births Living people Australian women singers Australian children's musicians Australian television personalities Women television personalities People from Shimla People from New South Wales Musicians from Adelaide Australian women guitarists Members of the Order of Australia University of Tasmania alumni Indian emigrants to Australia Australian people of British descent Deputy mayors of places in Australia South Australian local councillors