Yvonne Barrett

Yvonne Barrett (born 1946 - died 4 September 1985) was an Australian pop singer who made the Top 40 charts in Melbourne & Sydney and was nationally known for her TV appearances.

Career

She began her performing career early, commencing ballet lessons at the age of two and a half. This led to appearances in stage shows such as Sound of Music and Carnival. She took singing leassons in her mid-teens and was able to pass an audition for Australia's national pop music TV program. "The Go! Show". She soon became a regular on this show doing songs like "Off & Running", "I Walk Alone" and The Toys "A Lovers Concerto". Signed to Go records, a record label spin-off from the show, Yvonne achieved her most chart success in 1965-66 with her version of the Tony Hatch song, "You're The One" b/w " Little People". In Dec 1965 she performed over Xmas in a tour for Australian troops in Vietnam.

1970 saw her voted a runner-up in the Go-Set magazine national Pop Poll. Although not achieving further chart success she retained considerable popularity through her live appearances, and on national TV shows, such as "Uptight" and "Happening 70-72" doing songs such as, "Always Something There To Remind Me" and Rare Earth's, "Get Ready". In 1970 she released the single Lu (a Laura Nyro song) which featured her big voice with a brassy jazz-rock, Blood Sweat & Tears style arrangement. During the 1970s she moved into session work and club appearances. In 1985 she was found murdered in Sydney. She had been working there as a waitress since moving from Perth. Her spouse was later convicted of the crime.

Discography & Chart Positions

45 rpm Singles

*Oct 1965 Little People* / You're The One** (Go!! Records)(Australia #58 - 10 Weeks) (Melbourne* #28) (Sydney* #3)

*July 1966 Send Her Away / Won't Someone Say (Go!! Records)

*Oct 1966 Don't Bother Callin' / I'm Taking Him Back (Go!! Records)(

*March 1970 Lu / Picture Me Gone (Columbia / EMI)

*1972 No Longer Part Of Your Life / Mr 7 (Albert Productions)

Compilation Albums - 33 rpm LP's & CD

* Go ! Hitmakers Vol 1 (Various artists LP) - Little People (one track only)
* Go ! Hitmakers Vol 2 (Various artists LP) - You're The One (one track only)
* Go ! Hitmakers Vol 3 (Various artists LP Various artists) - Send Her Away (one track only)
* Go-Set Pop Poll Awards 1970 (Various artists LP) - Picture Me Gone & Lu (two tracks)
* Girls,Girls,Girls Vol 1 (Various artists LP & CD) - Send Her Away (one track only)

References

* The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop - Ian McFarlane - Allen & Unwin, Sydney - 1999 - ISBN 1 86508 072 1 - ISBN 1 86449 768 2
* Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop - Rigby Publishers - 1978 - ISBN 0 7270 1909 0
* The Who's Who of Australian Rock - Chris Spencer - Moonlight Publishing - ISBN 0 86788 668 4
*An Australian Rock Discography 1960-1989 - Chris Spencer - Moonlight Publishers - 1990 - ISBN 0 7316 8343 9
* The Various Artists in Australia - Chris Spencer - Moonlight Publishing - 1990 - ISBN 0 7315 8348 X
* Gavin Ryan's Chart Books
* Go-Set Pop Poll LP cover
* David Kent's Australian Chart Book 1940-1969

External links

* [http://www.poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=1809 Lyn Nuttall's Where Did They Get That Song ? Website - Yvonne Barrett Feature]
* [http://www.jocksjournal.com/samplejj.pdf Disc Jockeys Journal 4 September 2006]
* [http://www.milesago.com/tv/go-show.htm Milesago - The Go! Show]
* [http://au.search.yahoo.com/search?p=yvonne+barrett&ei=UTF-8&pstart=1&fr=fp&b=1 Reference to performance at Bien Hoa, Vietnam 23/12/1965]
* [http://www.mastersapprentices.com/goset.htm Go-Set Pop Poll Album cover]