Reddy was born to a show business family. Her parents, singers, dancers, writers and producers, toured their native Australia constantly and argued just as much. Helen revolted. She resolved to be a housewife and got married young. Nevertheless, her gift for music was evident. She won a talent contest and the prize was a trip to New York to cut a record with Mercury Records. She arrived and found it wasn’t. The prize was the chance to audition for one. In fact, they had already decided and her audition was unsuccessful.
Reddy had $200 and a three-year-old daughter. But she wasn’t to be deterred and decided to stay and try her luck. She lived in the infamous Hotel Albert in Greenwich Village and spent what few dollars she could get on “spaghetti and cockroach spray”.
Eventually, the struggle paid off and in 1972 her song “I Am Woman” suddenly flew to the top of the charts. The grounds for the song were the women’s liberation movement; as its fame grew, it became an anthem for the same movement. She became a full, bright lights celebrity and toured the world.
Reddy never found the same nerve as “I Am Woman”. Her later albums had none of the success. Nevertheless, the track is a classic and captures the surging energy of the feminist movement at the time. Indeed, its power has persisted and it was sung by thousands protesting the overturn of Roe v Wade this year.