80s Relic

Many hits from the early 80s remained radio staples well into the 90s but "Bop Girl” simply disappeared. It's almost as if Pat was written off as an embarrassing artefact of the 1980s and hidden away at the back of the dusty cupboard of Australian music history, right next to Colette and Jason Donovan. To my eternal shame, I only discovered Pat after watching Dannii Minogue cover "Bop Girl" on “Young Talent Time”. I was astounded by Dannii's amazing performance (as usual) but also taken by the insanely catchy song - which I thought might have been an old Beach Boys tune that had been given an YTT makeover. I was genuinely surprised that it was an Australian song from the 80s. Surely, something this good would have been a staple on radio? Obviously not.

Happy Ending

There has been something of a happy ending for Pat. "Bop Girl" has become a favourite on music video channels due to the appearance of a young Nicole Kidman in the hilarious video clip, while her third single, "Strong Love", was chosen to be part of the Countdown revival album. Hopefully, Pat will now be worshipped by a new generation of fans for her small but invaluable contribution to Australian music.

- Mike