| Pat Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patricia Mary Higgins 11 June 1948 |
| Other names | Mummy Cool |
| Occupation | Journalist, singer |
| Employer | Go-Set |
| Spouse | Ross Wilson (1969–1989) |
| Children | Daniel Wilson (b. 1971) |
Pat Wilson (born Patricia Mary[1] Higgins, 11 June 1948) is an Australian singer and journalist. Wilson wrote for Go-Set, a 1960s and 1970s pop music newspaper, under the pen-name "Mummy Cool" during 1971–1972.[2] Wilson released several singles in the early 1980s including the hit single "Bop Girl".[2] The song was written by her then husband Ross Wilson[2][3] of the bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock.
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Wilson first saw Ross Wilson perform with his band The Pink Finks in about 1965, when she was sixteen. They met when he was working for the Department of Supply.[4] In 1969 Ross left Australia for England to become a member of Procession. Wilson joined him there; they married and returned to Australia.[4]
Ross and three bandmates formed Daddy Cool in 1970 and toured Australia. In early 1971 they performed at the Myponga Festival in South Australia.[5][6] Concert footage of their performance of "Eagle Rock" shows a pregnant Wilson in the front row.[4] The Wilsons' son Daniel was born just as "Eagle Rock" reached #1 on the National singles charts.[4][7] At about this time, Wilson started writing her column for Go-Set taking over an advice column called "Dear Lesley Pixie" and using the pen-name "Mummy Cool".
In 1975 Wilson appeared on Australian band Skyhooks' second album Ego is not a Dirty Word on the title track, "Ego is not a Dirty Word".[8] She played finger cymbals. Ross produced the album.[8]
In 1983, Ross wrote "Bop Girl" for Wilson to perform, it became a #2 hit in Australia;[7] Ross also provided backing vocals and appeared in its music video. The single released on Warner Music Group[1] became one of the highest selling singles of 1983,[7] and achieved airplay in various parts of the world, including the United States, where the single peaked at #104 on the Billboard pop chart. Subsequent singles failed to repeat this success.
The "Bop Girl" music video was the screen debut of 15 year old Nicole Kidman playing the role of a young "bop girl". Chosen by director Gillian Armstrong, songwriter Ross recalled that Kidman was to represent "an up and coming starlet with a bright future".[4] Kidman herself insisted that the video be used for both a BBC documentary about her career, and also in an American Cinematheque tribute, with the result that the video returned to Australian music video playlists in 2004.
A follow-up EP called Strong Love was released in 1984 also on Warner Music Group.[1][9]
Wilson was married to musician Ross Wilson for twenty years according to her brief account on ABC-TV's Talking Heads on 9 July 2007, where Peter Thompson interviewed Ross.[4] They have a son Daniel born in 1971.[4]