It wasn't till years later - whilst helping my girlfriend practise her song in the dressing room before a local talent quest - the compere heard me and insisted that I should compete the following week. I think I agreed only out of politeness but how I regretted it the next morning! However I had committed myself and in my world you never went back on your word. I returned the following week with an acoustic guitar and a hand written chord chart for the band. I was absolutely terrified!,...but I won.

It didn't take me long however to work out that it took a lot more than a good voice to win all the time - life was so unfair! - and that sequinned dresses, puffy hair, dramatic stage moves and fancy charts of showcasey Barbara Streisand-type songs played a big part in the Talent Quest circuit. I knew it was all too plastic and just not me. So at 17 I searched out and joined the local (South Coast) Country Music Association. The family ended up joining too, and we soon became those "singing Frenchams". The people were so friendly, they thought I was the best thing since sliced bread! I guess there's nothing like a bit of new blood. So I became a regular artist on their charity shows, and met a lovely young guitar player who became a third brother to me, Quentin Fraser. I was going through a serious Ralph Mctell phase - and he could actually fingerpick the song "Streets Of London" just like Ralph. He was my hero.

I also got my first couple of (paid!) gigs around this time - through my first friend-come-Manager!,.. Bryan Hayes. He was a lovely Ex-ships Captain I had met where I was working in the Maritime Services Board of NSW. He had the "gift of the gab" and lots of charm and he loved listening to me sing. Pretty soon I had my bright green metallic Mini chock full to the brim with some "Farrington" PA gear (all for $25 night hire!,... those were the days!) my guitar and song books. I learnt really quickly that people would actually pay me to sit in the corner and sing Country & folk songs - something I loved doing.

It didn't take me long to realize that the Talent Quest scene wasn't for me, however I stayed on the circuit for a little while for a few reasons. It gave me most importantly some profile in my local area, got me noticed by a few local agents, allowed me to watch and learn from others in my field and helped me deal with pre-performance jitters of which were always a problem. Of course the winner and place getter cheques didn't go astray either ... but I had other long term plans. It was about this time that I met Gary Brown. He was a young guy who took a great interest in my talent and was working in a well known local duo. He was the first songwriter I had ever met and after seeing me in a Talent Quest he asked me if I would come and sing some of the songs he'd written. I was very flattered (and quite smitten - if the truth be known!), but it wasn't long before we became really good friends. I soon discovered that he was everything I wanted to be. He was in a good working duo, writing his own songs, recording in good studios and even had a great home studio. I sometimes wonder why we never ended up together ... (singing in a duo I mean!). I guess it just wasn't to be.

Instead we spent many years together as friends, many days in his studio making recordings of me singing country classics and songs he'd written and many nights in post gig pizza places just being muso's. Gary taught me a lot though, much of which he would never know. Most importantly he was the first person to tell me that I was good. He helped me to believe in myself and gave me the courage to continue to bumble along, despite the odds.

At this time I was regularly attending my local country music association and it was with them that I made my first visit to Australia's largest Country Music Festival in Tamworth. The festival was a regular trip for many in the Association and a lot of us stayed in the same hotel so there was always a jam happening around the pool when you finally trudged "home". The Association also encouraged its members to go into the "Capital Country Music Association's" big talent quest. At the time it was Tamworth's biggest semi-professional talent quest and held quite a high profile in the Festival. The Association would put together a backing band for it's members to use and then of course got great publicity mileage when their members came back home with awards - of which quite a few of us did and when asked to enter, I thought, why not?
It was my first try and I was hoping maybe for a place, but some of those girls were so good. They had the right moves, the right dresses, the right sound, I didn't think I had a hope. I didn't wait around till the winners names were posted and thought my Association friends were joking when they told me I'd won, I just couldn't believe it - it was my first real taste of success,... to me this was no club talent quest, this was my kind of music and I was on my way! Not only did I win the "Female Vocal" Award in that quest but I also picked up the award for the "Best Performance of an Australian Composition" - I was on cloud nine for quite a few days!

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