Collette Roberts (born 1968), who performed
mononymously as Collette, is a New Zealand-born, Australian-based model turned
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
pop singer during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She had a top five single on both the
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
singles charts in 1989 with her cover version of
Anita Ward's "
Ring My Bell". Collette's rendition was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in Australia by
ARIA
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
. Sometimes considered a
one-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...
, Collette had two other top 40 Australian hits in 1989 with "
All I Wanna Do Is Dance" and "
That's What I Like About You". She retired from her music career in 1995 to focus on her work as a stylist and make-up artist.
Biography
Collette Roberts was born in
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand.
She became a fashion model and relocated to Melbourne.
[McFarlane]
'Collette'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 19 April 2004. Retrieved 1 April 2017. In 1988 she started working with
Guy Gross in Sydney to co-write material for her proposed solo career.
They recorded demo tracks, which they took to Tony Briggs of
CBS Records Australia; Briggs advised Roberts to attempt a cover version of one of four tracks, which included
Anita Ward's 1979 hit, "
Ring My Bell".
After recording a demo of that track, she was signed to CBS.
Roberts worked with her producers,
Peewee Ferris and Kirke Godfrey, on a new version of "Ring My Bell", which was recorded at CBS Studios in East Sydney.
She co-wrote the B-side, "Save Yourself", with Ferris.
[ Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'] The single was released in February 1989, and reached No. 5 on the
ARIA Singles Chart and No. 4 in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
[Australian (]ARIA
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
) chart peaks:
*Top 50 peaks:
*Top 100 peaks:
*"This Will Be (Everlasting Love)":
*"You Can Run":
*''Attitude'': "Ring My Bell" was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in Australia by
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA).
[ To promote the single, Roberts performed in bright fluorescent ]lycra
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity (physics), elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont.
Name
The name ''spandex'', which ...
clothing, especially bike shorts, bras and braces.
In September 1989 a Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
case, ''CBS Records Australia Limited v Guy Gross'' with Gross supported by Dr G.B. Hair, Mr Derek Williams and Mr Martin Armiger and CBS supported by Mr R.W. Toop, heard that Gross was counter-suing for a share in royalties and costs associated with Roberts' single; the court determined that "There was nothing unjust in what occurred, no reason why Guy should be remunerated by Collette for his work and no reason why Collette should not retain any benefit she may receive from CBS. The cross-claim will therefore be dismissed."
The artist issued two more singles in 1989, " All I Wanna Do Is Dance" (July) and " That's What I Like About You" (October), and both reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 40.[ All three singles appeared on her debut album, '' Raze the Roof'' (October 1989), which peaked in the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart.][ Roberts and Ferris co-wrote five of its ten tracks, with Roberts writing or co-writing three other tracks.]
In 1990 the singer developed a new image of short hair and black clothing; she cast aside the bike shorts look in an attempt for her music to be taken more seriously. Her second album, ''Attitude
Attitude or Attitude may refer to:
Philosophy and psychology
* Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind
** Attitude change
* Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition
Science and technology
* Orientation ...
'', appeared in April 1991, which was produced by Mark S. Berry. The album and its singles, " Who Do You Think You Are?" (August 1990), " Upside Down" (November) and " This Will Be" (March 1991), yielded little commercial success.[ Roberts appeared briefly as Isabelle Britton on the Australian ]soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
, ''Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
'', in late 1991.['Week commencing 8 April 1991'](_blank)
8 April 2022. ''bubblingdownunder.com'' website.
Roberts retired from the music industry in 1995 and pursued a career as a stylist and make-up artist. She appeared on Channel 7's '' Where Are They Now?'' in 2006, revealing that she does volunteer work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo Sydney is a government-run public zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the Lower North Shore suburb of Mosman, New South Wales, Mosman, on the shores of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour. It offers great views of Sydney ...
. She occasionally performs "Ring My Bell" at LGBT interest events, wearing similar outfits to the one she wore in the original music video.
In November 2019, a thirtieth-anniversary edition of the ''Raze the Roof'' album was made available for purchase digitally and on streaming platforms.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
References
;General
* Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality.
;Specific
External links
Collette
at MySpace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Collette
1968 births
Living people
Australian dance musicians
Roberts, Collette
Australian hairdressers
Australian make-up artists
Musicians from Christchurch
New Zealand emigrants to Australia