Bop Girl

"Bop Girl"
Single by Pat Wilson
from the album Strong Love
B-side	"Tacky"
Released	September 1983
Studio	Rhinoceros
Genre	Pop
Length	3:33
Label	WEA
Songwriter(s)	Ross Wilson
Producer(s)	Ross Wilson Mark Moffatt Ricky Fataar
Pat Wilson singles chronology
"Bop Girl" (1983) "Strong Love" (1984)
Audio
"Bop Girl" on YouTube

"Bop Girl" is the debut single of Australian pop singer Pat Wilson. The song was written by her then-husband, Ross Wilson[1] of the bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock. "Bop Girl" was released in September 1983, peaking at number two on the Australian Kent Music Report, number ten in New Zealand and number 28 in South Africa. At the 1983 Countdown Music Awards, the song won Best Debut Single. Wilson was also nominated for Most Popular Female Performer and "Bop Girl" was nominated for Best Promotional Video.[2]

Music video

Film maker Gillian Armstrong directed "Bop Girl"'s music video. It is the screen debut of 15-year-old Nicole Kidman playing the role of one of three young "bop girls".[3] Kidman was chosen by Armstrong; songwriter Ross Wilson 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 in an American Cinematheque tribute (November 2003), with the result that the video returned to Australian music video play lists in 2004.[5] The music video was shot in South Coogee. Much of the video was a pixilation animation in time with the music. At the Countdown Australian Music Awards for 1983, it was nominated for Best Promotional Video.[2]

Track listings

7-inch vinyl (WEA – 7–259854)

1. "Bop Girl" – 3:51
2. "Tacky" – 3:17

12-inch vinyl (WEA – 0–259850)

1. "Bop Girl" – 4:33
2. "Tacky" – 3:17

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983–1984) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 10 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[8] 28

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9][10] 11

In popular culture

"Bop Girl" was featured in the short-lived 1980s American sci-fi show Otherworld episode "Rock n' Roll Suicide", with the two young members of the family performing it in a talent show. The song was featured as the title song for the short-lived Being Lara Bingle.

References

1. ""Bop Girl" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 April 2009.
2. "Countdown Awards on Sunday". The Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 725. 9 April 1984. p. 19. Retrieved 22 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
3. Hughes, John (8 January 2008). "Lost in the '80s: Pat Wilson, "Bop Girl"". popdose.com. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
4. "Ross Wilson interview on Talking Heads with Peter Thompson". Talking Heads. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
5. Cashmere, Paul (27 April 2004). "Who was Ross Wilson's 'Bop Girl'?". Undercover. Archived from the original on 18 November 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 341. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Pat Wilson – Bop Girl". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
8. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs A-B". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 435. ISBN 0-646-11917-6..
10. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.