DEBRA POOLE -
Born in Gibraltar, I grew up in a wee farming community in Aberdeenshire. Sunday mornings were always spent listening and singing along to my mother’s record collection and I always sang the lead in the school musicals and concerts until I was fourteen, when music had to make way for more “useful” subjects. My major passion was horses and I rode and competed locally throughout childhood.
I started work at the nearby RAF Base and in late 1988 moved to South Carolina, again living in a small country town. Still no singing!
1996 saw me back in Scotland, doing horse riding Instructor certification; then after a sudden change in circumstances I landed in Brisbane in February 1997. I became a group exercise instructor for Les Mills International, where I was on stage professionally 5 or 6 times a week coaching to the latest hits. They called this “the exer-tainment industry”. Eventually I became a Personal Trainer and opened my own private studio, but injuries stopped the Group Ex and Covid lockdowns killed my PT Business. Still no singing!
My husband bought me a karaoke machine for my birthday a couple of years ago so I could finally start singing for the first time since I was fourteen! I had also found this wonderful club via Google and after a couple of years stop and start have now settled into singing again. I hope you enjoy the songs I’ve chosen for tonight: four that we’ve performed over the past year, plus one very new one.