These pages provide details of some of the printed publications - books, theatre programmes, newspapers and magazines - that have featured Lyn Paul during her long career.
These pages provide details of newspaper articles, reviews and interviews featuring Lyn Paul or the New Seekers, which appeared in the UK press during the 1990s. Scroll down the page or select a year from the list below.
The reviews are in and they're all good! That was certainly the case for Lyn Paul in 1990. The end of year panto, Babes In The Wood, scored a bullseye but it was Lyn's Autumn appearances with Norman Wisdom that really hit the spot...
The Stage & Television Today, 20th September 1990.
DARTFORD: The Norman Wisdom Show
review by James Green
"... best of all, a powerhouse contribution from Lyn Paul.
The leggy blonde looks good and sings better, displaying experience and stage presence as she punches home her songs with body language. A revelation, and couldn't she do an Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam."
Croydon Advertiser, 14th December 1990.
Robin and Roy score a bullseye
review by Diana Eccleston
"Hero of the tale is, of course, Robin Hood, here played by the attractive Lyn Paul..."
Sunday Times, 23rd December 1990.
Features: Christmas Shows
Ain't nothing like a dame
by Robert Hewison
Lyn Paul and the production of Babes In The Wood in which she was starring were mentioned in an article about Christmas pantomimes.
"Roy Hudd, a writer, director and great performer of pantomimes, considers himself a traditionalist, but Babes In The Wood, which he directs and stars in at the Ashcroft, Croydon, is more like vaudeville.
The Croydon panto is a treasurehouse of routines from variety, the last form of live, mass entertainment to flourish before television changed the game...
Panto plays a vital role in introducing children to the spectacle of live performance, and theatrical conventions have to be learned. My eight-year-old daughter has given me strict instructions to say that Babes In The Wood was the best panto she has ever seen, but it took her time to adjust to Lyn Paul as a chap. Sensibly, she concluded that girls are better as principal boys because they have better voices."
The Guardian, 28th December 1990, pages 17.
Ashcroft Theatre, Babes In The Wood
review by Cedric Pulford
"Lyn Paul is a song-belting principal boy..."
Aladdin
Grand Theatre,
Wolverhampton
(programme cover)
In 1991 Lyn Paul performed in a season of Summer shows with Bobby Crush at the Spa Theatre in Bridlington (8th July - 3rd September) and in a "gloriously rude" production of Aladdin at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton (18th December 1991 - 26th January 1992).
Bridlington Free Press, 4th July 1991, page 1.
It's show time at the Spa
The Bridlington Free Press previewed the Summer entertainment at Bridlington's Spa Theatre.
"From Monday (July 8) Opportunity Knocks winner Bobby Crush will be starring in a musical show with guests the Simmons Brothers, Lynn Paul [sic] and Musik Express. The show is on every Monday and Tuesday at 7.45pm until September 3."
Bridlington Free Press, 11th July 1991, page 22.
The Bridlington Free Press of 11th July carried an advert for the Summer Season at the Spa Complex, including the "Big Night Out" on Mondays and Tuesdays (8th July - 3rd September) with Bobby Crush, Lyn Paul and the Simmons Brothers.
Bridlington Free Press, 8th August 1991, page 25.
The 'Out and About' column of the Bridlington Free Press listed Bobby Crush's Big Night Out among the week's entertainments: "With Lynn Paul [sic] (former New Seeker) and the Simmons Brothers until September, 7.45pm."
Bridlington Free Press, 15th August 1991, page 21.
Once again Bobby Crush's Big Night Out was listed in the 'Out and About' column of the Bridlington Free Press. And again Lyn's name was spelt with an extra 'n'.
Express & Star, Friday, 20th December 1991, page 15.
Naughty Aladdin is pure magic
review by David Hotchkiss
"This is a traditional telling of the tale... with Gareth Hunt... and Lyn Paul as a sensible principal boy who also happens to be a competent vocalist."
The production of Aladdin at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton starring the Krankies, Lyn Paul and Gareth Hunt continued to 26th January. The Stage sent their reviewer Barry Balmayne, who liked what he saw.
The Stage & Television Today, 16th January 1992, page 25.
Aladdin
review by Barry Balmayne
"Lyn Paul cuts a dashing traditional Aladdin. She both sang and danced exceptionally well and had little difficulty in projecting the title role as a most identifiable character full of warmth and understanding."
In 1994 The Seekers re-formed, the New Seekers were remembered in Q magazine, Lyn Paul was well reviewed in Dick Whittington, and The Observer started a story that would run all the way to the end of 1996...
The Sunday Age, Sunday, 7th March 1993, page.
Desperately seeking success - again
by Caroline Wilson
With The Seekers re-forming for a series of concerts, Caroline Wilson took a look at what the four members of the group had done after they went their separate ways.
"It was Potger who resurrected the Seekers in the form of the New Seekers... who got five songs in the British top-five, including the No.1 hits You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me and I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing."
Q, March 1994, pages 89-90.
We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert
by Paul Henderson
The New Seekers were listed (twice) in an inventory of the stars who have performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Lyn Paul took the stage there with the New Seekers in April 1972 and March 1973. Lyn has subsequently appeared at the Royal Albert Hall with Culture Club (July 2002).
The Times, 13th April 1994, page 39.
The carnival is on again; The Seekers
by Alan Jackson
The Seekers came to London in 1994 to promote the compilation CD A Carnival Of Hits.Alan Jackson interviewed Judith Durham and cast an eye over The Seekers' past history, including their years apart.
"While Durham had travelled extensively with her British husband, the musician Ron Edgeworth... her compatriots had followed divergent paths. Keith Potger had been instrumental in forming the New Seekers, then moved into record production and PR. Bruce Woodley became a successful jingle-writer. Athol Guy spent eight years as a Liberal representative in the Victoria Parliament..."
The Times, 17th May 1994, page 2.
27 good reasons why Tony Blair might be a bad bet
by Matthew Parris
Political sketch-writer Matthew Parris wrote "a thoroughly nasty column about Tony Blair: Twenty-seven bad things you didn't know about the next Leader of the Labour Party."
Billboard, Vol. 106, No. 24, 11th June 1994, page 5.
Greenaway To Head ASCAP In London
Billboard reported the news that Roger Greenaway had been "confirmed as the senior U.K. and European membership representative of ASCAP... Hits penned of co-authored by Greenaway include... the international hit for the New Seekers, I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing. Greenaway and his long-time partner, Roger Cook, carried off a joint Ivor Novello Award last week, receiving the Jimmy Kennedy Prize for longstanding achievement."
The Times listed the 100 greatest pop songs as chosen by "a panel of experts". Sneaking in near the bottom of the list was Your Song by Elton John.
97 YOUR SONG
"Apart from one dreadful example of Elton John's habit of distorting Bernie Taupin's lyrics to fit a tune - when "you can tell everybody this is your song'' becomes ``you can tell everybody this is y'so-ong'' - this is an impeccable collaboration. Legend has it that Taupin wrote the words on the roof of music publishers Mills Music Ltd. at 20 Denmark Street - Tin Pan Alley - on 27th October 1969, presumably as he ``kicked off the moss''. It was Elton's first hit - Top 10 in UK and US in January 1971 - and became an MOR standard with covers by the Four Tops, New Seekers, Nolans, Billy Paul (no. 37, 1977), Roger Whittaker, Andy Williams and Rod Stewart (no. 41, 1992)."
Herald Express, Saturday, 17th December 1994, page 15.
We've got a real top team
by Sandra Loy
"Panto producer Charles Vance reckons this year's panto marks a return to the great traditions of the genre...
'In Paul Shane, you're dealing with a man who's a very big musical, comedy, singing star.'
'Lyn's story is legendary - how she taught the world to sing!'..."
Herald Express, Tuesday, 20th December 1994.
Paul Shane and other diamonds set to twinkle
"Paul Shane - the infamous Ted Bovis in Hi-De-Hi - slopes around as Idle Jack, and makes sure there is no shortage of mischievous twinkles..."
"Lyn Paul, ex-member of the New Seekers, will be starring as Dick in pursuit of her - or should that be HIS - sweetheart, Alice Fitzwarren..."
Cruel world has taught Lyn there is a way to sing, page 4
by David Woodthorpe
Lyn Paul talked to David Woodthorpe about bankruptcy, the New Seekers, and some dodgy '70s fashions: "I can't believe I wore some of the things I did!"
The Guardian, 22nd December 1994, G2, page 10.
Dick Whittington, Torquay
review by Allen Saddler
"Lyn Paul plays Dick Whittington with dash and spirit. She looks good and moves well and her singing is much better than in the average panto."
Herald Express, December 1994.
REVIEW: Dick Whittington, Princess Theatre, Torquay
For panto fun this one's got the lot
by Sandra Loy
"The great British pantomime tradition is alive and well - and living in Torquay...
... when Lyn Paul opened her mouth and out came a tune, it was the breath of fresh air for which we've been waiting a couple of years now. Looking totally stunning atop the most astonishing legs ever to grace any panto, this Dick Whittington is the best principal boy Torbay has seen for many a year."
Having declared herself bankrupt the previous year, Lyn Paul talked about it in an interview in December. By this time her career was back on track - with glowing reviews of her appearances at the Leeds City Varieties and at the Café Royal to prove it.
The Times, 17th February 1995, page 21.
Obituaries: Nigel Finch
Lyn Paul was mentioned in an obituary for Nigel Finch.
"Nigel Finch, television editor and film-maker, died of an Aids-related illness on February 14 aged 45. He was born on August 1, 1949.
By his own account he had had a faltering start in film-making. He had agreed to make a film about the singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul, quite a star at the time. He was, he confessed, not well acquainted with Ms de Paul nor her oeuvre. In error, he booked another songstress with a similar name Lyn Paul, the lead singer of the New Seekers group, who seemed very happy indeed to be singled out for a biographical study. Finch, embarrassed to admit his error and not thinking it especially important, went ahead and made the film anyway."
Reading Evening Post, Friday, 14th July 1995, page 6.
Pop Star Finds Her £3/4m Dream Home
Lyn Paul got a mention in an article on the purchase by singer Kate Bush of a 14-bedroom mansion near Reading.
"The star is not the first pop talent to have lived in the area.
One neighbour confided: 'I am not surprised really. I'm not sure why but we've had quite a few famous musicians living around here. Lyn Paul from the New Seekers used to live next door for several years - her parents were very nice and always passed the time of day'."
The Guardian, 4th August 1995, page 16.
Borrowed Rhyme
by Patrick Humphries
"When does a homage become a rip off?" Patrick Humphries surveyed the songs that sound alike - Crocodile Rock and Speedy Gonzalez, My Sweet Lord and He's So Fine, Shakermaker and... what was it?
"Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher acknowledges the classic rock of The Beatles, although Oasis'sShakermaker was actually a lot nearer to the... New Seekers' I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing."
Observer, 17th September 1995, page 10.
Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis like to have a bit of a bitch
by Miranda Sawyer
Miranda Sawyer interviewed the Gallagher brothers prior to the release of Oasis's second album. As was to become increasingly common in articles about Oasis, any mention of Shakermaker and the New Seekers weren't far behind...
"Noel has met and made friends with the posters on his wall - Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, even Paul McCartney. He's not met and made enemies with the New Seekers (they sued him for nicking I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing in Shakermaker)."
The Guardian, 6th October 1995, page 19.
My smash of a speech at the ping-pong hall
by Bel Littlejohn
The New Seekers and political satire? "New Britain. New Community. New Millennium. New World. New Statesman. New Potatoes. New Seekers..." Get the picture? Bel Littlejohn got carried away in his satire of New Labour politics and, before you knew it, the New Seekers were getting regular name checks in his column in The Guardian.
"A very good bill opened the autumn season of music hall at the famous Leeds City Varieties, notable for the début here of two vocal favourites - Lyn Paul and Dennis Lotis.
"After the interval we had Terry Herbert...
Then, in a stunning white creation, we had Paul. This vivacious blonde vocalist has pep and personality. She sang Hello Dolly and Baby Face before inviting the audience to join her in a sing-along, which it did with enthusiasm."
Daily Mail, 5th December 1995, pages 22-23.
Look what they've done to my life by the New Seeker who lost it all
by Lester Middlehurst
Lyn talked about "bankruptcy, infidelity and the myth of the squeaky-clean image of the group that taught the world to sing."
The Guardian, 7th December 1995, G2, page 5.
FurtherMoore
by Suzanne Moore
Suzanne Moore's column in The Guardian commented wryly on the "pop story of the week" (see Daily Mail above).
The Times, 8th December 1995, page 37.
Join the party
review by Tony Patrick
Lyn Paul / Mike Berry, Café Royal
"IT'S Christmas party time in the Green Room of the Café Royal, to which an unusually successful pairing of entertainers is attracting audiences boisterous even by the standards of this convivial nightspot. When the customers are determined to have a good time, singing along even before invited to do so, experienced performers simply take the energy and beam it back...
The seamlessly proficient four-piece band barely broke its stride before the one-time New Seeker, Lyn Paul, took the stage, swinging directly into You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me yet another irresistible singalong song. Fewer of the crowd joined her for Crazy and Crying, but the table-singers were very pleased to contribute to Stand By Your Man and I Will Survive (rather an odd coupling, if you stop to think). Paul's voice is warm and strong, and her sassy approach and glitzy style (spangly dress slit to the thigh) found its perfect outlet in New York, New York. She closed with two Neil Sedaka songs: Love Will Keep Us Together and Solitaire: again, hardly adventurous, but it was exactly what the audience wanted.
Both singers probably don't care whether they can revisit the charts, but as long as cabaret audiences appreciate no-frills entertainment and professionalism, neither will be idle for long."
The Stage, 21st December 1995.
Green Room, Café Royal: Lyn Paul / Mike Berry
review by Peter Hepple
"His running mate for this seasonal dream ticket was Lyn Paul, forever associated with the seventies and the hits she had with the New Seekers. Without ever repeating the disc successes of those days, she has kept going as an exceptionally powerful solo artist, partly because, to my mind, she has something of the old music hall spirit.
The songs may be fairly modern but she puts them across in a dashingly extrovert manner - not for nothing has she become one of the best present-day pantomime performers. And, if she wanted to, she could become one of the best country singers on either side of the Atlantic."
I can hold a note as long as the Chase National Bank. Ethel Merman
Debt
There are but two ways of paying debt: increase of industry in raising income, increase of thrift in laying out. Thomas Carlyle
How swiftly those who've made a pact,
Can come to overlook the fact.
Or wish the reckoning to be delayed
But a debt is a debt, and must be paid. Willy Russell, 'Blood Brothers' (Act 1)
The Times
I read The Times each morning and if my name does not appear in the obituaries, I go on to enjoy the day. Noël Coward
I like The Times. It's not too rough on the buttocks. Owen Newitt (Roger Lloyd Pack), 'The Vicar Of Dibley'
