1. An Occasional Man
2. My baby Does It Good
3. New Fangled Tango
4. These Dreams
5. Do It Again
6. Je T'Aime
7. Sugar Me
8. The Man I Love
9. (Just As) I Am
10. Pillow Talk
11. Last Tango In Paris
12. Please Terry, Do It One More Time
Abigail is chiefly remembered for her role in the pioneering
1970s TV soap Number 96, but she is also notable for being the
first in a long line of Australian TV soapie stars who branched
out into pop music. I
t's a career path that's proved hugely successful for Kylie
Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia, but unfortunately for Abigail her
pop success was short-lived and she now has the dubious
distinction of being one of the more prominent "one-hit wonders"
of the early Seventies.
Abigail Rogan was born in England and migrated to Australia in
1968. Her first major Australian role was the lead female part
in a local production of the British stage farce There's A Girl
In My Soup, followed by bit parts in various stage productions,
TV shows and movies.
Her big break came in late 1971. Abigail was "between
engagements" so she joined a queue of hopefuls at the North
Sydney offices of Cash-Harmon Productions, which was auditioning
actors for a new series being made for the TEN network. Abigail
recalled:
"I was pretty nervous - which is unlike me - when I walked
into Bill Harmon's office but he was such a dear man. He put me
straight at ease. I read the part of Bev for him and he told me
to report to the TEN studios at North Ryde for a screen test. I
was over the moon. The next day he told me I was in."
The role she had won was that of blonde bombshell Bev Houghton,
one of the characters in Channel 10's now-legendary "sex and
sin" soapie Number 96, which premiered in March 1972. The
series, which followed the lives and loves of the tenants of an
inner-city apartment block, became an instant runaway hit - it
was consistently the highest rating show in its timeslot and it
was voted Australia's most popular TV show for three consecutive
years.
Although unashamedly populist in its approach, Number 96 was a
pioneering program in many ways - it broke new ground on
Australian TV with its daring depictions of nudity and sex
scenes, it was the first TV show anywhere in the world to give a
sympathetic portrayal of gay characters (as well showing TV's
first on-screen gay kiss) and it pioneered the now-standard
device of the end-of-year "cliffhanger" series finale.
Most importantly for Channel Ten, it generated massive publicity
and pulled in a fortune in advertising revenue, putting the
struggling station solidly back into the black after several
years of steadily mounting losses.
Abigail is probably a better actress than people give her credit
for (or than her roles gave her a chance to prove), but her
undeniable beauty, buxom figure and alluring screen presence
were perfect for her role as the sultry and seductive Bev.
Number 96 made her a national star virtually overnight, and she
was soon being touted as "Australia's No.1 sex symbol".
Interestingly, Abigail's partner and manager at the time, Mark
Hashfield, was also cast in the show as Alan Cotterell, the
boyfriend of Bev's flatmate Janie. Although Alan seemed on the
surface to be a fairly dull character, he concealed a dark
secret and later in the first series he was unmasked as the
infamous "knicker snipper", who terrorised female residents.
Abigail's autobiography, imaginatively titled Call Me Abigaill,
was published in early 1973, at the height of her TV fame, and
it sold 15,000 copies in just two weeks. The book contained
details of her private life, some of her original poetry, and
photos of Abigail on and off the set. Indicating how
conservative Australian society still was at that time, Abigail
recounted in her book that she actually received hate mail which
condemned her as "a wicked woman", although viewers were only
ever shown a few brief flashes of her breasts and bottom, and
her character actually left the series virgo intacta.
By 1973 Number 96 reigned supreme as Australia's top-rating show
and the most-watched program in Australian TV History. But in
June of that year Abigail shocked her fans by abruptly leaving
the series. She no doubt hoped to avoid being typecast (too
late, as it turned out) but she was evidently keen to develop
her career in other directions.
Abigail was quickly signed up by Festival Records. With producer
Martin Erdman at the controls, and backed by a group of
experienced session players, her first single was tailor-made
for her sexy image - it was a breathy, bilingual version of the
steamy bedroom epic "Je t'aime...moi no plus", written by
legendary French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
The first vocal version was recorded in 1965 by Gainsbourg and
his then lover Brigitte Bardot, but was shelved at Bardot's
request, and Gainsbourg subsequently re-recorded the song in
1968 with his new lover Jane Birkin. The Gainsbourg-Bardot
original was eventually released in 1986.
The quality of Abigail's voice is definitely a matter of
personal opinion, but fortunately the song didn't call for much
singing (and it's been rumoured that she was 'ghosted' by a
session vocalist). The verses are mostly spoken in a breathy
whisper, and Abigail did her best to give it a saucy edge.
Aesthetic considerations proved secondary, however - Abigail's
notoriety was sufficient to propel "Je T'aime" into the national
Top Ten, and the single peaked at #6 in August 1973. It was
followed by a self-titled album, released later in 1973, also
produced by Martin Erdman.
Most of the tracks were clearly chosen for their suggestive
titles although the album's closing track, "Please Terry, Do It
One More Time", showed off Abigail's comedic side; here she
duets with popular comedian-ventriloquist Chris Kirby, who
performed in the guise of his dummy character, Terry.
Abigail released three more singles over the next year or so,
although precise discographical details are hard to find. "These
Dreams", the follow-up to "Je T'aime", was lifted from the LP
and probably came out in late 1973. It was followed by two more
singles, "Stay A While" and "Biting My Nails", both released
during 1974, but none of her releases after "Je t'aime" made any
impact on the charts, and her pop career was well and truly over
by 1975.
Abigail's fifteen minutes of fame did not expire immediately
after she left Number 96, but in later years she was mostly cast
in a succession of stereotypical roles that exploited her
sex-bomb persona. During 1974 she returned to the small screen
in Grundy's high-school soapie Class Of '74, donning glasses and
a dark wig to play the role of a seemingly prim French teacher
who has a secret life after-hours. In 1976 she appeared in
Grundy's fondly remembered z-grade hospital soapie The Young
Doctors.
Abigail also made several film appearances in the '70s,
including cameo roles in the two Alvin Purple movies in 1973 and
1974, and in Eliza Fraser in 1976 (all directed by Tim Burstall).
She also made frequent guest appearances on chat shows and panel
games including Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks in the late
'70s and early '80s. In later years Abigail returned to the
stage and worked in musical theatre. In 2003, after a long
absence from TV, she popped up on a national current affairs
program talking about her struggle with weight problems.