Chapter 5, Big Chance, mentions the song Follow The Wind, which was influenced by the Seekers and later recorded by the New Seekers:
"Follow The Wind, also written by Barry, had quite a folk sound to it. A song quite obviously influenced by Australian band the Seekers, who had just achieved the first of many successes in the UK, it remains one of the most underrated songs of the period. Ironically, the New Seekers would go on to record this song in 1970." (page 71)
The book also mentions the Bee Gees' collaborations with Ossie Byrne, who in 1969 produced the single Mister, Mister for Paul Layton of the New Seekers: Byrne first met the Bee Gees in 1966, offering them free recording time at his studios in the Sydney suburb of Hurtsville. When the brothers set sail for England aboard the SS Fairsky on 3rd January 1967 Byrne accompanied them. He produced their début album in the UK, Bee Gees 1st, which included the hit singles New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Polydor 56 161) and To Love Somebody (Polydor 56 178). The Bee Gees dedicated their 1987 album E.S.P. to Byrne, following his death from cancer three years earlier.
A biography of Seekers' star Judith Durham - a "must read" for fans of Judith Durham and the Seekers but also worth a glance for New Seekers' fans.
Graham Simpson describes how the New Seekers cast a shadow over Judith Durham's early solo career. Not only was Judith mistaken for Eve Graham, she was even asked to sing I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing.
There are also obvious parallels between Judith Durham's experiences as a member of the Seekers and Lyn Paul's and Eve Graham's subsequent experiences with the New Seekers.
Paper Paradise
Paper Paradise: Confessions Of A Rock 'n' Roll Survivor
Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Wheatley became the New Seekers' tour manager in 1972, having previously been a member of the Australian bands Bay City Union and The Masters Apprentices. In his autobiography he recalled how his own experience as the member of these bands helped him with his new job for the New Seekers:
"Very early in my management life I realised the lesson to learn was to do for the artists what I would have liked to have done for me. It was that simple." (page 69)
Wheatley described life on the road as a mixed blessing: on the downside it took him away from London and his wife Alison, but on the other hand it gave him a good grounding in the business that was to become his livelihood:
"It was all part of my learning process ... We often toured Europe where the New Seekers had a huge following. It was exciting working with an act at that level ..." (page 69)
When the New Seekers' management company, the Gem-Toby Organisation, established an office in Los Angeles, Glenn Wheatley moved to the States to run it. Highlights of his time here included being asked to organise the entertainment for President Nixon's inauguration, at which the New Seekers sang I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, and a trip to Las Vegas. Unlike Lyn Paul and Peter Doyle, who managed to miss the show, Glenn got to see Elvis.
"The New Seekers spent a lot of time performing in Las Vegas. They did Caesars Palace for a month and it just about drove me crazy. The heat during the day was so oppressive, we had to stay inside the hotel the entire time. The good news was that I got to see Elvis perform at the Hilton. He was fat, but it didn't matter. He was the King!" (page 71)
Straight
(hardback edition).
Straight
Boy George with Paul Gorman
Publisher: Century
ISBN: 1 84413 390 7 (hardback)
Publication date: 3rd March 2005
Straight or twisted? Ten years after Take It Like A Man,Boy George delivered the second installment of his life story.
Lyn Paul is listed with the other women - Gemma Craven, Mari Wilson and Jackie Clunes - who played the part of Josie in Boy George's musical Taboo (page 179) - "a great set of actresses" according to Boy George, but "some of them became very twisted when they played that role." There is also a small photo of Lyn with the cast and crew of Taboo.
Take It
Like A Man
(paperback edition).
Take It Like A Man: the autobiography of Boy George
Boy George and Spencer Bright
Publisher: Sidgwick & J.
ISBN: 0 283 99217 4 (hardback)
Publication date: 19th April 1995
In his autobiography Take It Like A Man,Boy George describes his childhood holidays on a Wiltshire farm. He recalls: "The couple that looked after us were hippie types. The husband had a beard, played guitar and wore corduroy trousers, she looked like one of the New Seekers" (Take It Like A Man, Chapter 3, page 31).
Boy George published a second volume of autobiography, titled Straight, in 2005.
NEXT PAGE [Music Books, Directories and Encyclopedias] >>
Page 31 of Boy George's autobiography Take It Like A Man, (paperback edition)
autographed by Boy George and Lyn Paul.
