Australian-born Shirley Abicair was a singer and television personality as well as a renowned exponent of the zither. She achieved her greatest popularity during the 1950's and 60s, despite having no theatrical background. Though born in Melbourne, she grew up in Adelaide the daughter of an RAAF wing commander. Abicair later pursued music and arts studies in Sydney, supporting herself financially as a daytime typist whilst singing at parties and private functions. She eventually graduated to performing at nightclubs and in cabaret. When she ran out of songs, she incorporated the zither (on which she was self-taught) into her act. After winning a radio contest in Sydney, Abicair appeared in early Australian television broadcasts.
In 1952, she made a move to England, along the way giving concerts in Singapore and Karachi. A newspaper photo taken upon her arrival at Heathrow was noticed by a radio producer, and, before long, Abicair was featured on stage and on British television. For the big screen she had merely a solitary turn, co-starring alongside comedian Norman Wisdom in the farce Was man aus Liebe tut (1955). By the middle of the decade, Abicair performed in several family-oriented BBC TV programmes, becoming celebrated as much for her trademark zither-playing as for her promoting Australia as a kind of unofficial ambassador. Having returned 'down under' in 1958, she briefly headlined in her own variety music series, The Shirley Abicair Show (1958), aired live in Melbourne. This was followed by a six-episode ABC documentary series, Shirley Abicair in Australia (1960).
Abicair released her first single in 1953 and the first of four albums (mostly pop and folk songs) five years later. Her later EP's also included covers of the Paul Simon hit Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall, Carole King 's So Goes Love and Am I Losing You, first recorded by Jim Reeves.
For much of the 60s, Abicair remained a popular guest panelist on variety, game and talk shows, both in the U.S. and in Britain. In 1965, she accompanied comedian Frankie Howerd on a tour of Malaysia and Sarawak, Borneo, entertaining British forces stationed there. This was filmed and presented the following year as a TV special entitled East of Howerd (1966), part documentary, part stand -up comedy.
Having faded from the limelight, Shirley Abicair spent her later years living in London where she died on September 27 at the age of 94.
