Allison Ann Giles, who performed as Allison Ann Durbin[1] (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.[2]
Allison Durbin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Allison Ann Durbin |
| Born | (1950-05-24) 24 May 1950 (age 72) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
Allison Ann Durbin was born in 1950 in Auckland to Owen Durbin (born c. 1912/1913) and Agnes Durbin, the second eldest of seven children.[3] 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 Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Dionne Warwick,[2] and began performing in public in her early teens.
After winning a talent contest at an Auckland ballroom, she was signed to Eldred Stebbing's Zodiac Records at the age of 14 and issued a number of singles. Her third Zodiac single, a cover of Herman's Hermits "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", out-sold the original in New Zealand and became her first charted hit.[4] She built up a following in New Zealand, recording and fronting the Mike Perjanik 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.[4]
Durbin's first single for New Zealand HMV, "I Have Loved Me a Man", (a cover version of the song by Morgana King) 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, and she was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1969.[4] 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".[5] In 1971, she recorded a duet album, Together, with Johnny Farnham, who had been voted Australia's "King of Pop" during the same years Durbin received her awards.[4]
In the late 1960s, Durbin began a relationship with expatriate New Zealand record producer Howard Gable, then a senior A&R manager and in-house producer for EMI Australia. They married in 1969 and started a family.[5] During the 1970s, as her career waned, Durbin began using heroin 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.[5] After she recovered, she worked as a country music singer in the late 1980s.[6] In 1986, she married for a second time to Ray Giles.[5]
On 1 June 2007, under her married name Allison Giles, she was sentenced to 12 months' jail for cannabis trafficking. One of her co-accused, Giuseppe "Joe" Barbaro, whom she allegedly supplied with marijuana was a previously convicted drug dealer.[7]
TELEVISION
| Year | Title | Performance | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The NZ Music Awards | Herself - Winner "Most Promising Female" | TV special, NZ |
| 1969-1970 | In Melbourne Tonight | Herself - Singer | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1969 | The Tommy Leonetti Show | Herself - Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969-1971 | TV Week King Of Pop | Herself - Winner "Queen Of Pop" | TV special |
| 1969;1970 | The Mike Walsh Show | Herself - Guest / Singer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1970 | Bandstand | Herself - Singer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | Sounds Like Us | Herself - Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Weekend Starts Here | Herself | TV series |
| 1970 | TV Week King Of Pop | Herself - Winner 'Queen Of Pop" | TV special |
| 1970 | Happening '70 | Herself - Singer | TV series |
| 1971 | TV Week King Of Pop | Herself - Winner 'Queen Of Pop' | TV special |
| 1971 | Happening '71 | Herself - Singer | TV series |
| 1971 | Uptight | Herself - Singer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1971 | Young Talent Time | Herself - Guest Singer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself - Singer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974-1975 | The Ernie Sigley Show | Herself - Guest / Singer | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1975 | O'Keefe At The Cathedral | Herself | TV special |
| 1979 | The Barry Crocker Show | Herself | TV special |
| 1980;1982 | The Don Lane Show | Herself - Singer sings "Some Girls" | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1982 | Australian Music Stars of the 60s | Herself - Archive clip | TV special |
| 1990;1992 | Hey Hey It's Saturday | Herself sings "Put The Hand In The Hand" | TV series, 1 episode "70's show" |
| 1992 | Hey Hey It's Saturday | Herself - Singer sings "Can't Get Over You" | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Good Morning Australia | Herself - Guest / Singer sings "Bright Eyes" | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994;1995 | Good Morning Australia | Herself - Singer sings "Crazy" | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Good Morning Australia | Herself - Singer sings "River Deep, Mountain High" | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | When Rock Was Young: The 70s | Herself - Archive clip | TV special |
| 1998 | Denise | Herself - Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | Love Is In The Air | Herself | ABC TV series, 1 episode 2: "She's Leaving Home" |
| 2007 | Ten News | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2007 | Ten Late News | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [8] | ||
| I Have Loved Me a Man |
|
- |
| Soft and Soulful |
|
- |
| Together (with Johnny Farnham) |
|
22 |
| Amerikan Music |
|
- |
| Born a Woman |
|
75 |
| Are You Lonesome Tonight |
|
52 |
| Three Times a Lady |
|
- |
| Bright Eyes |
|
34 |
| Shining Star |
|
43 |
| My Kind of Country |
|
97 |
| Nothing But the Very Best (with Diana Trask) |
|
88 |
| Country Love Songs |
|
79 |
| Reckless Girl |
|
- |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [8] | ||
| 1968 | "Don't Come Any Closer" | 47 |
| "I Have Loved Me a Man" | 27 | |
| 1969 | "Games People Play" | 29 |
| "He's Bad Bad Bad" | 98 | |
| 1970 | "Golden Days" | 98 |
| 1971 | "Put Your Hand in the Hand" | 24 |
| "Baby, Without You" (with Johnny Farnham) | 27 | |
| 1972 | "Amerikan Music" | 33 |
The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, Go-Set and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities.[9]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | herself | Female Vocal | 1st |
| 1970 | herself | Best Girl | 1st |
| 1971 | herself | Best Girl Vocal | 1st |
| 1972 | herself | Best Female Vocal | 2nd |
The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.[9]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | herself | Best Female Artist | Won |
| 1970 | herself | Best Female Artist | Won |
| 1971 | herself | Best Female Artist | Won |
| Best Dressed Female Performer | Won |
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), 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.[11]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Allison Durbin | Country Female Entertainer of the Year | Won |
| 1980 | Allison Durbin | Country Female of the Year | Won |
The New Zealand Music Awards are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | "I Have Loved Me a Man" | Most Promising Female | Won | [12] |
Works cited