Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel and Rebecca Diane Albeck, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released eight albums, with three reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (20 January 2003), Preloved (3 September 2010) and Songs & Pictures (30 September 2011). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer, peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart in August 2004. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia.
"Poster Girl" & Songbirds: 2006-2009
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".  Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".  On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
What happened in 2006?
Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel
Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel