A Girl to Watch Music By - Allison Durbin

Sixties teen sensation Allison Durbin featured on an episode of this early music show, shortly after her version of 'I Have Loved Me a Man' topped the Kiwi charts. Durbin sings ballad 'Looking Through a Tear', before swapping the dress, probably reluctantly, for a polka-dot pantaloon ensemble. As she sings the hip-swinging 'Eso Besso' (That Kiss), a small group of pseudo-Mexicans attempt to show a sombrero can make a viable dance prop. Durbin relocated to Melbourne around the time this was shot, where she would be triple crowned 'Queen of Pop'.

With a versatile, powerhouse voice, Durbin rose to the top of the charts during New Zealand’s golden age of female pop singers. Her career included a dramatic rise to Australasian success, followed by an equally dramatic and darker fall.

– David Herkt, in an AudioCulture profile of Allison Durbin

Key Cast & Crew

John Barningham

Producer

Garth Young

Musical Director

Allison Durbin

Performer