Vale: Christie Allen

Former Australian pop star Christie Allen, who appeared on Countdown with her 1979 song Goosebumps, died of cancer yesterday.

Born in England in 1954, Allen settled in Perth where she was noticed by producer Terry Britten and signed to Mushroom Records.

Her first three singles were all big hits. The ballad Falling In Love With Only You, hit number 20 in 1979. She moved to a more disco style for her following two releases – her 1979 Top 3 hit Goosebumps (with sales of 60,000, was for a time Mushroom Record’s highest selling single) and He’s My Number One hit number 4 in 1980. Molly Meldrum awarded Allen Queen of Pop at the Countdown Awards in 1979 and 1980. She was also the voice behind the soft drink jingle ‘Come Tarino with Me.’

In 2006, Michael Gudinski asked Christie to participate in the Countdown Spectacular tour. With ill health, she had to decline.

In March 2008, Allen was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. She was very ill and lost a lot of weight, but still kept her inner strength. She knew that she was unlikely to recover and went to great lengths to ensure that her husband and family would be OK. Christie chose to live out her remaining days at home with her husband Mark taking care of her and family around her.

Christie passed away at home in country West Australia on Tuesday August 12th at 7.35 am. She is survived by husband Mark, her much loved daughter Christa Lea, granddaughter Ashlee and her as yet unborn grand child due in December and her brothers Keith, Steve & Mark.