Christie Allen

Born in 1954 in England, pop singer Christie Allen has had a successful career as a recording artist in her adopted homeland of Australia.

Allen was performing with a band in Perth when she came to the attention of songwriter and record producer Terry Britten. Britten, a former member of The Twilights, had previously worked with Cliff Richard and would go on to write 'What's love got to do with it' for Tina Turner. Impressed by Allen's vocal ability and bubbly personality, he began working with her and a recording contract with Mushroom Records resulted.

Her first three singles were substantial hits. 'Falling in love with only you', a country styled ballad, reached number 20 in 1979. Her next two singles were strongly influenced by the popular disco style – 'Goosebumps' reached number 3 in 1979, and 'He's My Number One' reached number 4 in 1980. With sales of 60,000, 'Goosebumps' would be Allen's greatest success and was one of Mushroom Record's highest selling singles until that time.

Allen was voted the country's most popular female performer at the Countdown Awards in 1979 and 1980. She released a handful of singles in the early 1980s but they were only mildly successful. A long illness prevented Allen from adequately promoting her career and she subsequently retired. By the 1990s she had resumed her singing career and performed as a vocalist with country music bands.

Allen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2008 and died at her home in Western Australia on 12 August 2008.