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.
Career
Early career as pop singer 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).
Cabaret and concert performances Byrne's live cabaret, Caught in the Act Again, commenced during mid-1999, it included both show tunes and some original material. The first half was "a little too low-key, mostly because the songs all have a similar, slow, acid-jazzy tempo" according to Fiona Scott-Norman of The Age. She was backed by John McAll on piano and Don Hirini as backing vocalist; she also co-wrote some material, including "I Don't Make the Rules", with Hirini. Caught in the Act Again earned a Green Room Award nomination for Best Cabaret Performance and Best Musical Arrangement.
Her cabaret work includes writing, directing, choreographing and starring in Girls, Girls, Girls from May to June 2002. The show also starred Wendy Stapleton and Lisa Edwards (replaced by Nikki Nicholls) as a tribute to the Supremes, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Patsy Cline and Lulu. In 2002 it won the Herald Sun Best Cabaret Award. The shows had sold out before they opened. In subsequent years Byrne, Stapleton and Nicholls periodically resumed Girls, Girls, Girls.
Since 1972 Byrne has been a regular performer at the Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight concert at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl. At the 2005 concert she performed a duet of Silent Night with her five-year-old daughter, Lucille, who was making her professional stage and television debut. In late 2006 her autobiography, Not Quite Ripe: A Memoir, was published on Pan Macmillan. She described how the book took her four years to write, "On and off. I wrote and I didn't write." Byrne reprised her role of Grizabella in the ExitLeft production of Cats, which was staged at the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart in late October 2007.
2009–present: stage and television roles In April 2009 Byrne played the role of Sue Barnes in Metro Street at its world premiere in Adelaide and its subsequent tour to South Korea, with an appearance at the Daegu International Musical Festival (see Daegu) in June.
From 29 July 2010 to April 2011 she played the role of the Bird Woman in the original Australian production of the stage musical, Mary Poppins at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre. She reprised the role in its Sydney run at the Capitol Theatre. From May to June 2012 Byrne played the role of Claire Christie in the Nine Network's Tricky Business.
From February to March 2014 she appeared on a dramatised crime biography, Fat Tony & Co., portraying Judy Moran, wife of Lewis Moran who was part of the Carlton Crew which were involved in the Melbourne gangland killings. Fat Tony & Co. focused on the rise and fall of convicted drug mastermind, Tony Mokbel, and is an offshoot of the first series of Underbelly (2008). Byrne described her portrayal of Moran: "You'd be surprised what I wear as Judy that's from my own wardrobe [...] There's a definite air of the theatrical about her and a lot of what I saw Judy wearing ... I thought she wore some really nice clothes. Everything she wore was so over the top."
In 2016 she took the role of Carlotta Campion in a concert version of Follies at the Melbourne Recital Hall for a limited run of three performances in May. In August she worked with Vika Bull in their Carole King tribute show, Tapestry. In late 2016, Byrne appeared on the third series of ABC comedy, Upper Middle Bogan.
From 2017 through to 2019, Byrne toured with Vika Bull in their Carole King tribute show 'Tapestry'.
In mid 2019, Byrne played the Beggar Woman in a production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, opposite Anthony Warlow and Gina Riley.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Note 1971Caravan Holiday Herself as Debbie Byrne 1985 Rebel Kathy McLeod as Debbie Byrne
Television Year Title RoleNote 1979 TV Follies Jill Johnson / Laura Summers TV series 1978 Cop Shop Kerry Clements TV series, 3 episodes 1987; 1989 Rafferty's Rules Sally Edwards / Tricia Rogan TV series, 2 episodes 1991; 1992 Police Rescue Maria Mellick / Tricia Mellick TV series, 2 episodes 1992 G.P. Helen Cartwright TV series, 1 episode 1992 Home and Away Julia Bowman TV series, 44 episodes 1992 The Flying Doctors Andrea Griffin TV series, season 9, episode 19: "Yesterday's News" 1993 Law of the Land Jean Jardine (regular) TV series 1995 Naked: Stories of Men Sharon TV special, 1 episode 1998 State Coroner Tracy Dabovich TV series, 1 episode 2002 The Secret Life of Us Peta TV series, season 2, 4 episodes 2007 City Homicide Marijke Sharman TV series, 1 episode 2011 Mary Poppins: Behind the Scenes Bird Lady TV special 2012 Tricky Business Claire Christie TV series, 13 episodes 2014 Fat Tony & Co. Judy Moran TV miniseries, 6 episodes 2016 Upper Middle Bogan Susan TV series, 1 episode 2017 Underbelly Files: Chopper Judy Moran TV miniseries, 2 episodes
Television (as self) Year Title RoleNote 1969 Brian and the Juniors Regular member 1971–1975 Young Talent Time Regular team member 1978 The Saturday Show Herself 27 episodes 1980 Farnham and Byrne Host & performer 9 episodes 1997 Oz Encounters: UFO's in Australia Voice & writer TV special 2003 Love is in the Air Guest Episode: "She's Leaving Home"
Stage
Theatre YearTitleRoleNotes 1985–1987Cats GrizabellaAustralian tour 1986Jerry's Girls Herself 1987–1990Les Misérables Fantine 1995Hot Shoe Shuffle April 1996–1997Sunset Boulevard Norma Desmond 2003Minefields and Miniskirts The Nurse Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne 2006Thoroughly Modern Millie MuzzieArts Centre Melbourne2007Little Me Belle PortineCats GrizabellaDerwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart2008High School Musical Mrs. DarbusFollies Sally Durant Plummer Arts Centre Melbourne 2009Metro Street Sue Barnes Australian & Asian tour 2010–2012Mary Poppins Bird Woman Australian tour 2016Follies Carlotta Campion Concert version 2019Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street The Beggar WomanAustralian tour 2023La Cage Aux Folles Jacqueline
Cabaret Year Title Notes Ref. 2002Girls, Girls, Girls With Wendy Stapleton and Nikki Nichols 2013Last Man Standing Arts Centre Melbourne 2017Tapestry With Vika Bull
Personal life Debra Anne Byrne was born on 30 March 1957 in Fitzroy to Norman Owen Byrne (born ca. 1928 – 2014) and Verna Alice née Reid (ca. 1930 – 1980). She was the fifth of six children – Lynda (died 2002), Cheryl, Sandra (died 1970), Peter and Robyn. She also has a younger half sister, Rebecca. Her father Norman worked as an engineering foreman; he became violent when drunk. According to Byrne she was sexually abused by her maternal grandfather, Ken Reid, from a young age until 13. In 1993 Byrne dropped the usage of 'Debbie' as her first name.
During her stint in Young Talent Time Byrne had a sexual relationship with 'Michael', an on-set boom-camera operator: she was under-age and he was more than ten years older. She later recalled, "I didn't feel protected at all. The attitude was, 'It's over now, it's finished', but this was personal and embarrassing and humiliating and distressing ... Parents need to be aware that even now, with the best protections in place, there's going to be someone who cares more for the product than the child. No law can change that."
In February 1975, Byrne was hospitalised due to "a nervous collapse brought on by a strenuous touring campaign." Her support slot on a tour for United States singer Gene Pitney was taken up by Samantha Sang. Byrne described how "I was drinking, smoking, barely eating, and spending a lot of time in hotel rooms fighting anxiety and depression."