Christie Allen (born June Dorothy Allen; 24 July 195412 August 2008) was an English-born Australian

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

singer who had a successful career in Australia. Her top four hits on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

Singles Chart were "

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary ...

" (October 1979) and "

He's My Number One "He's My Number One" is a pop song written by Terry Britten and B. A. Robertson and recorded by Australian pop singer Christie Allen. The song was released in January 1980 as the fourth single from Allen's debut studio album, '' Magic Rhythm'' (1 ...

" (February 1980). Allen was voted the Most Popular Female Performer at the ''

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, partic ...

'' / ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

Music Awards Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect o ...

for 1979 and 1980. At the 1979 awards, "

" also won the Best Songwriter award for

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten (along ...

. Allen died on 12 August 2008 of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

, aged 54.

Biography

Christie Allen was born June Dorothy Allen on 24 July 1954 in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to Keith Frederick Allen (1932-2004) and Vera Helen née Kettle (1932-2001). Allen has three brothers, Keith, Stephen and Mark. Note: Item barcode is 9875020. User may have to search for: Allen Keith Vera June Stephen Mark At the age of eight years, Allen sang "My Johnny's Gone Away" in a talent quest. In 1965, the Allen family migrated to Australia and settled in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. Allen and her brothers formed a band, Pendulum, where she provided lead vocals. Whilst performing with Pendulum, Allen contacted UK-born

, a songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and was the lead guitarist of Australian rock group,

the Twilights The Twilights were an Australian rock band that formed in Adelaide in 1964. The band developed from a three-piece acapella group consisting of Glenn Shorrock, Mike Sykes and Clem "Paddy" McCartney, who merged with instrumental group the Hurric ...

, Britten had worked with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

for whom he co-wrote " Devil Woman" in 1976 with Kristine Holmes. By the mid 1970s, Britten was living in Australia and was impressed by Allen's vocal ability and bubbly personality and began songwriting for her. In 1978, Allen signed a recording contract with

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival M ...

and in September 1978 she released her debut single "You Know That I Love You", which reached the top 100 on the Australian

Singles Chart, and attracted some national radio airplay and positive reviews. Her next three singles from her debut album, ''

Magic Rhythm ''Magic Rhythm'' is the debut studio album by Australian pop singer Christie Allen Christie Allen (born June Dorothy Allen; 24 July 195412 August 2008) was an English-born Australian pop singer who had a successful career in Australia. Her ...

'' (November 1979), were top 20 hits; "

Falling in Love with Only You "Falling in Love with Only You" is a pop song written and produced by Terry Britten and recorded by Australian pop singer Christie Allen. The song was released in March 1979 as the second single from Allen's debut studio album, ''Magic Rhythm'' (1 ...

" reached No. 20 in April 1979. while her next two singles were strongly influenced by the popular disco style of music at the time."

", which reached No. 3 in September 1979, and "

", which peaked at No. 4 in February 1980. "Goosebumps" achieved sales of more than 60,000. Allen toured Australia backed by The Hot Band, which was composed of Max Chazan on guitar (Rubes), Greg Cook on guitar (ex-

Cam-Pact Cam-Pact was an Australian soul and psychedelic pop band which formed in April 1967. Originally they performed as The Camp Act but soon changed to Cam-Pact (or CamPact). Although little known outside Melbourne at the time, the various lineups of ...

the Mixtures The Mixtures were an Australian rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1965. Biography 1965–1976: The Mixtures Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of the Strangers ...

, Ram Band,

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote ma ...

), Bruce Haymes on organ (Rubes,

Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and "I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top&nb ...

Band), Michael Hegerty on bass guitar (Richard Clapton Band), and Rick Puchala on drums (Richard Clapton Band); and later Yuri Worontschak on keyboards: Yamaha CP70B and

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

(ex Spitfire). Allen was voted the 'Most Popular Female Performer' at the ''

'' / ''

for 1979 and 1980. At the 1979 awards ceremony on 13 April 1980, Allen performed, "

". At the same ceremony, Britten won the 'Best Songwriter' award for "He's My Number One". Allen won the 1980 award for 'Most Popular Female Performer', broadcast on 22 March 1981. Besides performing, Allen also appeared on ''Countdown'' as a guest host in November 1979 with

Russell Hitchcock Russell Charles Hitchcock (born 15 June 1949) is an Australian musician and lead vocalist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. Early life Born in Melbourne, Hitchcock attended South Brunswick State School, and later studied at Princes Hill Hig ...

(

Air Supply Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five h ...

), and in April 1980 with

Molly Meldrum Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...

. In the early 1980s Allen supplied the voice-over and sang the

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

'Come Tarino with Me' for Tarino orange soft drink commercials. In August 1980, Allen released the singles "

Baby Get Away "Baby Get Away" is a pop song written by David Most, Michael Burns and Steve Glen and recorded by Australian pop singer Christie Allen. The song was released in August 1980 as the lead single from Allen's second studio album, ''Detour'' (1980). Th ...

", "Switchboard" and "Don't Put Out the Flame" and her second and final studio album ''Detour''. By the mid-1980s a long illness prevented Allen from adequately promoting her career and she subsequently retired. Allen and her second husband, Angelo, had a daughter Christaleah. In the 1990s Allen returned to performing as a vocalist, with country music bands. In October 1998 Allen married her partner, Marc, and at that time

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski forme ...

appealed on national radio for information on Allen's whereabouts—Gudinski wanted her to perform at a televised tribute concert for the 25th anniversary of his company, Mushroom Records. On 14 November 1998 Allen sang "

" before a huge crowd at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

—she retired following her performance which was released on the VHS album, ''

Mushroom 25 Live ''Mushroom 25 Live'' is a live album, video and DVD by various Australian musicians and was recorded at the Mushroom 25 Concert held on Saturday 14 November 1998, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. From the early afternoon until late at night for t ...

'' (December 1998). In 2006, Gudinski asked Allen to participate in the

Countdown Spectacular The ''Countdown Spectacular'' is a series of concerts reviving the nostalgia of the Australian music television series '' Countdown''. Countdown Spectacular The first tour was staged from June to August 2006. It featured mainly Australian artists ...

tour; however, due to ill health, she declined. In March 2008 Allen was diagnosed with

and died at her home in rural Western Australia on 12 August 2008, aged 54.

Personal life

Allen had an older brother, Keith, and two younger brothers, Stephen and Mark. With all three brothers, she formed a Perth-based group, Pendulum. In the 1970s, Allen lived with her first husband, Frank Rechichi in Karratha, Western Australia. By the 1990s, with Mark, her domestic partner, Allen had a daughter. In October 1998, Allen married her partner, Mark.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Award and nominations

TV Week / Countdown Awards

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , rowspan="4" , 1979 , rowspan="2" , herself , Best New Talent , , - , Most Popular Female Performer , , - , "Goosebumps" , Most Popular Single , , - ,

for "He's My Number One" by Christie Allen , Best Recorded Songwriter , , - , 1980 , herself , Most Popular Female Performer , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Christie 1954 births 2008 deaths Australian country singers Australian women pop singers English emigrants to Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia Australian disco musicians Australian dance musicians Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in Western Australia 20th-century Australian women singers Mushroom Records artists Australian expatriates in England