[1] On vocals and guitar Allen formed the Three Jays, in the late 1950s, with Jimmy Braggs on piano accordion and Johnny MacGaw on drums.
Robert Harry Bright was born on 3 February 1945 in Watford, England and arrived in Adelaide in April 1954, via SS Strathnaver, at age nine.
[4][5] His mother Elsie May Bright née Jackson (1915–2001) was a domestic worker, who had divorced her husband and had sole custody of their son before emigrating.
[7] Bright moved to Melbourne and released two singles on the W&G Records label in 1963, "Girls Never Notice Me" (with the Strangers) and "Defeated by His Heart", before joining the Roulettes later in that year.
[3] Bobby & Laurie performed as Tweedledum and Tweedledee in a Christmas pantomime of Alice in Wonderland at Melbourne's Tivoli Theatre, in December 1964.
In early 1965 the pair appeared on TV music show, Teen Scene, on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), where they were dragged off the stage by screaming female fans.
They appeared in the premiere episode of Channel 0's children's program, Magic Circle Club on 23 January, playing characters Twoddle and Boddle.
[2] In 1966 the duo switched to the Albert Productions label, for the singles, "Sweet and Tender Romance" (February) and their version of Roger Miller's 1962 B-side "Hitch Hiker" (March).
On the strength of "Hitch Hiker", the Australian Broadcasting Corporation gave them their own TV show, It's a Gas – later re-branded as Dig We Must.
The show was designed to attract a more sophisticated adult market, but lost the duo much of their teen appeal, which led to friction between the two artists.
Bobby & Laurie reunited on a radio program in February 1968 and returned to the charts with their cover version of the country music song, "The Carroll County Accident" (1969).
In the following years, the pair performed occasionally as Bobby & Laurie until their final Don't Let the Music Die concert on 1 June 2002 at the Kingston City Hall.
Allen became a country music singer-songwriter and issued solo albums, Once Upon a Song (1972), Any Other Man (1976) and Me 'N' Jack Daniels (1997).