Raised and educated in Sydney, at seven I was a tomboy and hated playing with girls. At thirteen, when puberty struck, I accepted that my tomboy days were over, besides, I'd discovered that boys weren't such horrid creatures after all. I left school at the age of 15, not because I wanted to leave, I wanted to stay on and become a teacher, but the principal didn't think I was sufficiently academic to get the marks to go to teachers' college. So I left and worked in various office type positions but along the way I studied (part-time) classical guitar, amateur acting and commercial art. At seventeen, like most teenagers I wanted to buy a car but couldn't afford one so I bought a motor scooter complete with helmet, leather jacket and gloves instead.By the time I was twenty I was married. That's when I decided I wanted to be no, not a writer, but a singer! I saw myself singing on stage to large audiences all around the countryside. I became an entertainer and worked a cabaret act under the name of Linda Gaye for six years, until 1968.
