Born in Melbourne, Rowe was inspired by rock and roll as a teenager and began performing while still in high school, leaving his job to become a professional entertainer.

He was signed by local label Sunshine, where he released his biggest hits; he was credited for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence.

His string of consecutive top ten singles in the mid-1960s made him the most popular solo performer of the era, although attempts to break into the United Kingdom were unsuccessful.

His subsequent tour of duty in Vietnam, which lasted from 1968 to 1970, effectively ended his pop career, and his reputation was affected by the anti-war movement and stigma around returning soldiers.

Unable to recapture the musical success he enjoyed at his peak in the 1960s, he pursued a career in theatre and television, including a role on Seven Network soap opera Sons and Daughters.

In 1991, he was involved in a physical fight on live television with broadcaster Ron Casey after the latter made derogatory remarks regarding Rowe's service in Vietnam.

He began performing regularly at Melbourne dances and discos, backed by instrumental groups like The Thunderbirds, The Impostors and, finally, The Playboys, who became his permanent band until 1967.

He worked as a trainee technician but, in late 1964, his long hair became an issue with his employers and, in the face of a "cut it or quit" ultimatum, he left the PMG to become a professional entertainer.

Rowe's first single, released in April 1965, was a brooding "beat" arrangement of George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" (from Porgy & Bess) a choice suggested by Stan Rofe.

His second single, apparently discovered while trawling through Rofe's vast record collection, released in August, was a cover of Ben E. King's "I (Who Have Nothing)".

[10] That single is also notable for its B-side, a cover of "The Stones That I Throw", written by Robbie Robertson, originally recorded in 1965 by Levon & the Hawks, later known as The Band.

In the mid-year, he joined The Easybeats, Bobby & Laurie and MPD Ltd on "The Big Four" national tour that played to huge crowds around the country.

Several members opted to stay in Australia for family reasons, so Rowe replaced them with bassist Brian Peacock and guitarist Rod Stone, both from the ex-New Zealand band The Librettos, which had recently split.

However, on 5 October 1966, Go-Set magazine, which had been launched in February, began publishing a weekly national Top 40, compiled by Ed Nimmervoll.

Through the end of January and into February, Rowe achieved a first for an Australian popular recording artist by having two of the top three singles simultaneously for three consecutive weeks.

[16] Rowe worked in England for ten months and toured with acts including Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, The Spencer Davis Group, Kiki Dee, Gene Pitney and The Troggs.

High hopes were held for a British breakthrough and, in the early months of 1967, the pages of Go-Set featured predictions of his imminent UK stardom, though that never materialised.

He returned to England in January and, in March 1967, the group embarked on a tour of the UK, supporting The Troggs, Gene Pitney and Sounds Incorporated.

That same month, Phil Blackmore left the group for family reasons and returned to Australia, being replaced by English organist Trevor Griffin.

Written by Brian Peacock, "Sad" is now considered a 'freakbeat' classic and has been widely anthologised, appearing on the British collection Chocolate Soup For Diabetics Vol III, Raven Records' Kicks and Rhino's Nuggets II.

In June, Normie Rowe and the Playboys travelled to North America, supporting Roy Orbison on a US tour and, along with The Seekers, he represented Australia in performance at Expo '67 in Montreal.

Rowe was inducted into the army in February 1968, although he continued to perform part-time until leaving for Vietnam in January 1969, making various television appearances.

Rowe was later revealed to have inspired the song "Smiley", written by Johnny Young and recorded by Ronnie Burns, which was a major hit in Australia in 1969 and 1970.

The Hello album marked the end of Rowe's Sunshine contract, although the label had been taken over by Festival several years earlier after it had run into financial problems.

[citation needed] One of the people he remembers fondly from that period, who stuck by him and gave him encouragement in tough times, was Meteors drummer Stewie Speer.

In 1987, he won great acclaim in his central role of Jean Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh's Sydney production of the musical Les Misérables.

During a forum on republicanism on the Midday show with Ray Martin, he was involved in an on-air melée with Sydney journalist and talkback-radio host Ron Casey.

[20] In October 1979, Normie's son, Adam John Rowe, died after being accidentally knocked down by a motorist while he was riding his bicycle home from his school fete when he was eight years old.

In 2011, Rowe was a guest on episode 115 of SBS program RocKwiz, on which he performed Shakin' All Over, and a duet with Georgia Fields of The Beatles song All I've Got to Do.