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Debra Byrne
Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding cast member of Young Talent Time. She started her solo singing career with a cover version of "He's a Rebel" (March 1974), which peaked at number 25 on the Go-Set Australian Singles chart. At the Logie Awards of 1974 she won Best Teenage Personality and followed with the Queen of Pop Award in October – both ceremonies were sponsored by TV Week. She repeated both wins in the following year.
As a stage actress Byrne appeared in the Australian musical theatre versions of Cats (July 1985 to mid-1987), Les Misérables (November 1987 to May 1988, December 1989 to June 1990) and Sunset Boulevard (October 1996 to June 1997). Her solo album, Caught in the Act (April 1991), peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. In 2006 Byrne published her autobiography, Not Quite Ripe: A Memoir.
In 1969 Debra 'Debbie' Byrne made her television debut on Brian and the Juniors, a children's variety and talent show, hosted by newsreader Brian Naylor. She stayed with the show for 12 months until it finished in late 1970. In April 1971, she became an original cast member on Young Talent Time, another children's talent show, hosted by Johnny Young. Byrne proved to be a popular cast member: in March 1974 she won the Logie Award for Best Teenage Personality and the TV Week Queen of Pop Award in October.
In March 1974, before leaving the Young Talent Time regular cast, Byrne released her first solo single, "He's a Rebel", a cover version of the Phil Spector-produced 1962 hit by the Crystals. It peaked at number 25 on the Go-Set Top 40 Australian Singles chart, and reached number 1 on the Melbourne charts. Her debut album, She's a Rebel (1974), was produced by Young, with session musicians including Russell Dunlop on drums (ex-Aesops Fables, SCRA, Renée Geyer and Mother Earth, Johnny Rocco Band), Tim Partridge on bass guitar (Company Caine, Mighty Kong, Kevin Borich Express), Mark Punch on guitar (Johnny Rocco Band, Renée Geyer Band) and Terry Walker on guitar and backing vocals (the Strangers, Pastoral Symphony).
Byrne's follow-up single was a second Crystals cover, "Da Doo Ron Ron" (January 1975), backed by the track, "Boogie Man". In that year she won both the Logie Award for Best Teenage Personality and the TV Week Queen of Pop Award for a second time. In September 1975 Byrne travelled to London to record at Abbey Road Studios with Cliff Richard producing. While in London, she made public and TV appearances, including on The Cliff Richard Show.
Byrne's first Australian television guest appearance as a featured solo artist was on The Graham Kennedy Show at the age of fifteen. Since then she has made a guest appearance on every major Australian Tonight show and was a regular performer on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) series, The Saturday Show. In 1979 she merged singing with acting for the first time on the ABC's TV Follies series. From August 1980 Byrne co-starred alongside John Farnham in their own series, Farnham and Byrne. Craig Walsh of The Australian Women's Weekly previewed a segment for a rock 'n' roll themed episode, "[its] staging promises to make the series the smash hit of 1980, say the producers" with Byrne declaring "I've just discovered I can dance better than I thought."
Byrne's career stalled between 1980 and 1985 due to her heroin addiction, for which she undertook rehab at Odyssey House. A further stumbling block occurred when a sex tape of her and a former partner was stolen and leaked to the media.
In mid-1985, Byrne recorded her second solo album, The Persuader, which was produced by Peter Dawkins. She issued the single "The Persuader" in August, but neither single or album charted. She made a successful and highly publicised career comeback in 1985 with the starring role as Kathy McLeod, opposite Matt Dillon, in the feature film, Rebel. She was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for the performance. Byrne sang lead vocals on nine of ten tracks on Rebel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1985).
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Debra Byrne
Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding cast member of Young Talent Time. She started her solo singing career with a cover version of "He's a Rebel" (March 1974), which peaked at number 25 on the Go-Set Australian Singles chart. At the Logie Awards of 1974 she won Best Teenage Personality and followed with the Queen of Pop Award in October – both ceremonies were sponsored by TV Week. She repeated both wins in the following year.
As a stage actress Byrne appeared in the Australian musical theatre versions of Cats (July 1985 to mid-1987), Les Misérables (November 1987 to May 1988, December 1989 to June 1990) and Sunset Boulevard (October 1996 to June 1997). Her solo album, Caught in the Act (April 1991), peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. In 2006 Byrne published her autobiography, Not Quite Ripe: A Memoir.
In 1969 Debra 'Debbie' Byrne made her television debut on Brian and the Juniors, a children's variety and talent show, hosted by newsreader Brian Naylor. She stayed with the show for 12 months until it finished in late 1970. In April 1971, she became an original cast member on Young Talent Time, another children's talent show, hosted by Johnny Young. Byrne proved to be a popular cast member: in March 1974 she won the Logie Award for Best Teenage Personality and the TV Week Queen of Pop Award in October.
In March 1974, before leaving the Young Talent Time regular cast, Byrne released her first solo single, "He's a Rebel", a cover version of the Phil Spector-produced 1962 hit by the Crystals. It peaked at number 25 on the Go-Set Top 40 Australian Singles chart, and reached number 1 on the Melbourne charts. Her debut album, She's a Rebel (1974), was produced by Young, with session musicians including Russell Dunlop on drums (ex-Aesops Fables, SCRA, Renée Geyer and Mother Earth, Johnny Rocco Band), Tim Partridge on bass guitar (Company Caine, Mighty Kong, Kevin Borich Express), Mark Punch on guitar (Johnny Rocco Band, Renée Geyer Band) and Terry Walker on guitar and backing vocals (the Strangers, Pastoral Symphony).
Byrne's follow-up single was a second Crystals cover, "Da Doo Ron Ron" (January 1975), backed by the track, "Boogie Man". In that year she won both the Logie Award for Best Teenage Personality and the TV Week Queen of Pop Award for a second time. In September 1975 Byrne travelled to London to record at Abbey Road Studios with Cliff Richard producing. While in London, she made public and TV appearances, including on The Cliff Richard Show.
Byrne's first Australian television guest appearance as a featured solo artist was on The Graham Kennedy Show at the age of fifteen. Since then she has made a guest appearance on every major Australian Tonight show and was a regular performer on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) series, The Saturday Show. In 1979 she merged singing with acting for the first time on the ABC's TV Follies series. From August 1980 Byrne co-starred alongside John Farnham in their own series, Farnham and Byrne. Craig Walsh of The Australian Women's Weekly previewed a segment for a rock 'n' roll themed episode, "[its] staging promises to make the series the smash hit of 1980, say the producers" with Byrne declaring "I've just discovered I can dance better than I thought."
Byrne's career stalled between 1980 and 1985 due to her heroin addiction, for which she undertook rehab at Odyssey House. A further stumbling block occurred when a sex tape of her and a former partner was stolen and leaked to the media.
In mid-1985, Byrne recorded her second solo album, The Persuader, which was produced by Peter Dawkins. She issued the single "The Persuader" in August, but neither single or album charted. She made a successful and highly publicised career comeback in 1985 with the starring role as Kathy McLeod, opposite Matt Dillon, in the feature film, Rebel. She was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for the performance. Byrne sang lead vocals on nine of ten tracks on Rebel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1985).