If you were around in the ‘60s, and even if you weren’t, chances are you’ve heard of Little Pattie.
Little Pattie, otherwise known as Patricia Thompson, fondly nicknamed for her petite stature, came onto the music scene in November 1963 when she was just 14-years-old with the double A-sided ‘He’s My Blonde Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy’ / ‘Stompin’ at Maroubra’.
The single blew up immediately – even though she didn’t necessarily want it to.
“I have to say, I was quite an unwilling performer. Being a performer was not on my dream list. All I wanted to do was finish school, go to university, and study medicine – that was my dream,” she said.
“But, singing became my occupation quite accidentally because I won a talent quest, and it all happened from there.”
According to Thompson, she then took it upon herself to overcome her shyness and learn to be a performer, resulting in an overwhelmingly fulfilling career which has seen her receive a Medal of the Order of Australia, and be inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame.
Now, she spends much of her time teaching music, and absolutely adores it.
“I’m thrilled with the way my life has turned out, and I’m still enjoying a career that I could only have dreamed about had I been that kind of kid,” she said.
“I’m very fortunate, I still enjoy my work very much.”
Though she admits it has resulted in a few interesting interactions with parents and grandparents.
“I like to be ‘Patricia their teacher’, but invariably they find out that there’s a bit more than that, and they tell their parents and their grandparents,” she said.
“It’s all very positive stuff. I’m proud of my students, and they become proud of me too, so it works both ways.”
However, Thompson is still actively performing, both solo and, in her new show, with other stars from the ‘60s.
Alongside Digger Revell, Jade Hurley, Dinah Lee and Lucky Starr, Thompson is currently on tour with The Good Old Days of Rock ‘N’ Roll, which sees these pioneers of the Australian rock ’n’ roll era join together in concert for the first time in 60 years.
“I particularly enjoy the show I’m involved with at the moment, because it’s with my old mates,” she said.
“We like each other, and like performing together, and even though we’ve known each other for a long time, we don’t get together to do shows very often as a team, so this is absolutely wonderful.”
In the show, each performer sings their own biggest hits, as well as coming together for fan favourites.
“It’s a quick moving feast,” she said.
“The whole show seems to go quickly, because we’re on, off, on, off, costume changes. It’s good fun!”
Thompson said she can’t wait for Penrith fans to see the show when it visits Panthers World of Entertainment next month.
“Particularly for those people grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I promise them they’ll have a great time,” she said.
“We’ll relive some memories for them, and they’ll be reliving their own memories I hope.”
The Good Old Days of Rock ‘N’ Roll will be on at Panthers Penrith on Sunday, June 2 at 2pm. For more information or to book, visit penrith.panthers.com.au.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.