allison durbin was born allison ann durbin in 1950, in auckland to owen durbin (born c. 1912/1913) and agnes durbin, the second eldest of seven she attended school at westlake high school, and performed for four-year in a children's choir. she became interested in singer, and has been inspired by artists like aretha franklin, nina simone and dionne warwick, and began performing in public in her early teens and after winning a talent contest at an auckland ballroom, she was signed to eldred stebbing's zodiac records at the age of 14 and issued a number of singles on the label. her third zodiac single, a cover of herman's hermits "can't you hear my heartbeat", out-sold the original in new zealand and became her first chart hit. she built up a following in new zealand, recording and fronting the mike perjanik group and she travelled with them to australia in 1966 for residencies in sydney. after nine months in sydney she left the group to establish a solo career, making numerous appearances on australian tv pop and variety shows.