BARBARA ALLEN    

Profile

Born and raised in County Antrim, Barbara grew up in a musical family with three brothers, her twin Gary, Geoff and John.    Gary and Geoff have, at times, shared the stage with her.    Barbara’s father is a songwriter, and a former manager of rock legend Gary Moore.

Barbara first showed her desire to sing and ability to perform, starting at the age of eight years, by winning several children’s talent contests in Morecambe, England, while on holidays with her family.

Her first stage appearance in Northern Ireland, was when the owner of the Flamingo, Ballymena, the late and well known Sammy Barr, asked her to sing some Christmas songs.     It was the night before her tenth birthday.

Barbara gained more valuable stage experience performing with the Showbiz Charity Club of Belfast.

At sixteen she made her television debut, introduced by George Hamilton IV, on ‘Make Mine Country’. A program that she would later present, along with fellow artist Brendan Quinn, for two series, on BBC TV.

With a face the camera loves, and a voice to match, many television appearances followed.    The highlights of which would be, gaining a runner’s up spot on the popular ‘Bob Says Opportunity Knocks’ programme on British national television, a forerunner to the X-Factor, and then sharing the stage with one of her childhood favourites, Crystal Gayle, on the BBC TV show ‘Hugo and Friends’.    She had met Crystal once before, as an eleven year old fan in Belfast.

On the recording front, Barbara has twice been nominated for British Country Music ‘Single of the Year’.

Barbara, until recently, presented a popular Wednesday night ‘country music’ radio show.

PRESENT RECORDINGS…. ‘NOBODY’

A four song CD which includes two gospel songs, ‘Is It So Amazing’ and, from her previous album, ‘He Grew The Tree’, along with a duet with Warren Smyth, ‘I Will If You Will’.  

The title song, ‘Nobody’, was played a lot, on the airwaves, last year.