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Tony Barber (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tony Barber
Born
Anthony Arthur Barber

(1942-12-03) December 3, 1942 (age 81)
England, United Kingdom
Other namesA.A Barber (publishing pen name)
Occupations
  • Author
  • singer-songwriter
  • inventor
  • artist
  • soft toy designer

Anthony Arthur Barber, known as Tony Barber (born 3 December 1942) is an English-born author, singer-songwriter,inventor, artist, papercrafter and soft toy designer who emigrated to Australia in 1963.

Biography

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He was a member of the band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs in the 1960s. Subsequently performing as a solo artist, his biggest hit was "Someday" (Aust #13/1966). He wrote 35 children's books in the 1980s under the names A. A. Barber and Tony Barber, including The Puggle Tales.[1] He appeared on the children's television show The Music Shop as Tony the Toymaker.[2] Many of his books feature a fantasy character he created and named "Puggle", for which he also designed a stuffed toy of the same name that gained popularity and that was then used to name a baby echidna.

Barber founded The Lost Forests chain of toy stores, which sold soft toys that he designed.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Booth, Doug (10 January 2004). "Snuggle with Puggle". Home Magazine. Australia. p. 20.
  2. ^ "Green-haired Fred a Barber's delight". Gold Coast Bulletin. Queensland, Australia. 19 February 2009. p. 9.
  3. ^ Brown, Jenny. (19 July 1991). "Making Sales from an Unlikely Story", Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
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