In his younger days Kevin Finn had entertained ideas of becoming a priest or a Christian brother, having been educated by nuns at primary school and by the Christian brothers at St. Mary’s College. Once he had discovered the music of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. however, he decided his future was in music. He got a taste of what that would be like as a guest singer with Tony Collier's Southampton-based group The Strangers. Lead singer status came after that in another Southampton group, The Whirlwinds, with whom Kevin recorded two songs, Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill and The Dribble (Twist).
Then came some name changes. Under the guidance of local entrepreneur John Ferris, Kevin became Kevin Scott and The Whirlwinds became The Kinsmen, comprised of Ivor Amiabeg (also known as Ivor Tomlin) on guitar, Mick Dubiel on bass, Rod Hamon on keyboards and Pete Hunt on drums. At first the role of lead vocalist was shared between Kevin and Gary Young but after Gary left the group Kevin was given top billing. As Kevin Scott & The Kinsmen the group began to make a name for itself locally and played some prestigious society gigs, including a show for The British Racing Drivers’ Association at Grosvenor House in London.
In 1964 Kevin Scott & The Kinsmen twice appeared on the same bill as The Rolling Stones - first at a 'Pop Hit Parade' show at The Empire Pool and Sports Arena, Wembley on Sunday, 31st May and then at the Brighton Hippodrome on Sunday, 19th July. In addition to Kevin Scott & The Kinsmen, the acts appearing with The Rolling Stones at Wembley were: Adam Faith, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, Freddie & The Dreamers, Julie Grant, The Hollies, Eden Kane, The Barron Knights with Duke D'Mond, The McKinleys, The Merseybeats, The Roulettes, The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Undertakers. The support acts at the Brighton Hippodrome included The Echoes, Julie Grant, Kenny Lynch and Marty Wilde and The Wildcats.
Although Kevin Scott & The Kinsmen had gained some traction, the group didn't have a recording contract and Kevin decided that it was "time to move on". He and The Kinsmen's bass player, Mick Dubiel, formed a new group, The Time. The line-up was completed by John Glenfield (lead guitar) and Danny Barbour (drums). With a recording contract secured for them by John Ferris, The Time released two singles on the Pye label – Take A Bit Of Notice / Every Now And Then (Pye 7N 17019), which was released in January 1966, and The First Time I Saw The Sun Shine / Annabel (Pye 7N 17146), released in July. Neither of the singles made the charts and so the group decided to call time on The Time.
The following year Kevin joined the group Wishful Thinking, reverting to his real name of Kevin Finn. At that time the line-up of Wishful Thinking was: Brian Allen (drums), Roger Charles (bass) and Terry New (lead guitar). The band had previously released two singles in 1966 with vocalist Roy Daniels - Turning Around / V.I.P. (Decca F 12438) and Step By Step / Looking Around (Decca F 12499). Two singles followed in 1967 with Kevin on lead vocal - Count To Ten (Decca F 12598) and a cover of Neil Diamond's Cherry, Cherry (Decca F 12627). Then came the next change in line-up (Terry New quit the band and was replaced on lead guitar by John Franklin). This line-up recorded an album of cover versions, Live Vol. 1 (Decca LP SKL 4900), which included Cherry, Cherry. They released another single for the Decca label in 1967 - Meet The Sun / Easier Said Than Loving You (Decca F 12673) - and two more in 1968 - It's So Easy / I Want You Girl (Decca F 12760) and Alone / Vegetables (Decca F 22742).
In March 1969 Roger Charles was replaced by a new bass player and vocalist Tony Collier, who Kevin knew from his Southampton days. In 1970 the new line-up released a single in Germany, Without A Place To Go / Waterfall (Metronome M 25210). They followed it up in 1971 with Hiroshima / She Belongs To The Night (Global Records / Phonogram 6004 99). Though it didn't make the Top 20 at the time, the single would eventually become a big hit in Germany. The song, which featured Tony Collier on lead vocal, was also the title track of Wishful Thinking's second album (Global Records 6306 903). Unlike their first LP, this was an album of original material - a showcase for the songwriter Dave Morgan, who wrote all of the songs on it. Morgan had recorded a solo album in 1969 with Wishful Thinking's producer Lou Reizner and two of his songs, Something and This Time Tomorrow, had been recorded as B-sides by the Move. In the early '70s Morgan played bass with the heavy metal band Magnum and in the '80s joined the Electric Light Orchestra.
In Britain Hiroshima was released as the B-side of the single Clear White Light (B&C Records CB 184). This was the closest that Wishful Thinking came to cracking the UK charts. The song, written by Alan Hull of Lindisfarne, was played a lot on the radio, but distribution problems meant that it was hard to come by in record shops. Meanwhile Danny paid the bills as a session singer, providing backing vocals on records and TV shows for Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard and Harry Secombe plus live shows with The Kinks.
Although Wishful Thinking didn’t make it into the UK pop charts, the group did find its way into UK cinemas (and cinemas around the world) in the 1973 film That’ll Be The Day, starring David Essex. Wishful Thinking were also featured on the original soundtrack of the film (Ronco MR 2002/3), performing as the backing group for Billy Fury on five songs - A Thousand Stars, Long Live Rock, That’s All Right Mama, Get Yourself Together and What'd I Say - as well as performing a song of their own, It’ll Be Me. The film and the soundtrack were both big successes. The film was one of the most popular in the UK that year while the soundtrack spent seven weeks at the top of the album chart until its chart run was cut short in the week ending 18th August 1973, from which time all compilations listed as being by 'various artists' were removed from the chart. The film was released on DVD in 2003 as a double feature with its sequel, Stardust, which does not feature Wishful Thinking (Studio Canal D038491).
Hiroshima was re-released in Germany several times during the 1970s and '80s and became a small hit in 1975. By this time Kevin (now calling himself Danny) was one third of Marty, Paul and Danny with Marty Kristian and Paul Layton. Following the demise of the New Seekers in May 1974, Marty and Paul had been looking for someone to join them in a new band. Danny, who had been recommended to them by John Franklin, had to audition four times before they were convinced that he was the right person.
Pictured (left to right) are:
Marty Kristian, Danny Finn and Paul Layton as
Marty, Paul and Danny.
   
Marty, Paul and Danny recorded three singles for RCA. The first, Coming Alive Again (RCA 2486), was co-written by the three of them. It was recorded on 20th September 1974 at the IBC recording studios in London but didn't reach record shops until on 21st March the following year, while the legal difficulties preventing its release were being resolved.
MPD played their first gig at the Watford Palace Theatre on 8th February 1975. Their back up band included John Franklin (who, at the time, also played guitar for Lyn Paul) and John Redpath (previously the drummer with Ofarim and Winter, the support act on the New Seekers' 1973 tour of the UK). MPD played another gig (combined with a press reception to promote Coming Alive Again) at the Royalty Theatre in London on 24th April. In addition to Coming Alive Again, the boy’s live act included a lot of other new material - Join Us Everybody, I Believed You Blind, Hold Me, The Father, The Son And The Undermined Magician, Our Last Song Together, an Elvis Presley medley and - a highlight at both shows - Danny's dramatic rendition of a ballad written by Marty, Love Of My Life. In amongst the new songs were a few that were familiar to fans of the New Seekers: Paul’s song Ride A Horse, Marty’s interpretation of Crying In The Rain and Pinball Wizard / See Me, Feel Me. At their second show at the Royalty Theatre Paul and Danny even performed When I Was Small, a song that had been a popular part of the New Seekers’ live shows, and originally performed by Peter Doyle and Lyn Paul.
Despite doing the rounds of record shops and local radio stations MPD failed to get the hit single they had hoped for. A follow-up, Take Me Back (RCA 2607), was released on 12th September 1975. Written by Marty and co-produced by Barry Blue and Ossie Byrne, the single was another catchy song with a sing-along chorus and obvious chart potential. Once again, however, Marty, Paul and Danny were to be disappointed.
MPD had just released their third single, Sweet Melinda (RCA 2630), when Wishful Thinking's single Hiroshima (Atlantic ATL 10 668) resurfaced in Germany. Ironically, Danny found himself having more success with his old band than he was with his new one. In the MPD Newsletter of November 1975 Jenny, the Fan Club Secretary, wrote:
"One of Wishful Thinking's records, Hiroshima, has just gone into the charts in Germany (I believe the record is No. 1 in Berlin). It must be the 'sleeper' of all time 'cos I gather from Danny that the record was originally released there over three years ago!!"
Wishful Thinking hastily re-formed with Danny, John Franklin and Tony Collier being joined this time by John Redpath. The four of them went over to Germany to promote the single but they failed to capitalise on the success they had there, returning instead to England where Danny soon found himself accepting an offer he felt he couldn't refuse...
New Seekers
line-up featuring Danny Finn (top right).
In April 1976 Marty, Paul and Danny teamed up with ex-New Seeker Eve Graham and singer Kathy Ann Rae to re-form the group that had once taught the world to sing. The revised line-up held a reunion concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 16th May 1976 and released a comeback single, It's So Nice (To Have You Home), a month later. The group promoted the single with appearances on Top Of The Pops (BBC1, 24th June) and The Wheeltappers & Shunters' Summer Night Out (Granada, 30th June). The single, however, only made a modest impact on the charts, peaking at number 44. The follow-up I Wanna Go Back did slightly better, peaking at number 25. Both songs were written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, the latter was also produced by them.
During the Autumn and Winter of 1976 the New Seekers re-established themselves as regulars on the UK cabaret circuit, also finding time in October to support Andy Williams at the London Palladium. 1977 included a Spring tour of the UK, two trips to the USA and a tour of the Far East. The group's third single for CBS, Give Me Love Your Way, was released on 6th May. Written and produced by Tarney & Spencer, the song took the group in a new direction, being less obviously 'pop' than their first two singles.
In 1978 the New Seekers were reunited with their old record producer David Mackay. The group's recording sessions with David yielded an album and three singles - Flashback (CBS 5909), Do You Wanna Make Love (CBS 6168), featuring Danny on lead vocal, and Anthem (One Day In Every Week) (CBS 6413). The latter, which also featured Danny as lead vocalist, became the New Seekers' last Top 30 hit. During 1978 the New Seekers supported Shirley Bassey on her 25th anniversary tour of the UK, as well as headlining a tour of their own. Despite the success of the tours and of the hit single - maybe because of it? - Eve and Danny decided that the time had come for them to leave. They departed in September with plans to get married and to work together professionally as a duo. Their plans, however, were tripped up by contract issues. The release of their first single, Ocean And Blue Sky (Chrysalis CHS2269), which was produced by David Mackay, had to be put back to April 1979, by which time their career re-launch had lost momentum.
Eve's and Danny's wedding on 1st June 1979 made headline news, with front page photos of the happy couple in the Daily Mirror and Daily Star. They got married at St. James' Roman Catholic Church, Marylebone, before heading north for a Protestant ceremony near to Eve's home in Perthshire.
Eve Graham and Danny Finn
Between 1978 and 1980 Danny continued to work with Eve, though he maintained his connection with Wishful Thinking and also became a member of a new group, Prima Donna.
In 1978 Wishful Thinking's single Hiroshima was a hit again in Germany. Bigger the second time around than it had been the first, the record spent 23 weeks in the Top 20 and almost a year in the Top 50. On 21st September 1978 it peaked at number 8. Danny, Tony and the two Johns recorded some new material together and released a couple of singles in Germany, America / You Lay Me Down (Atlantic ATL 11 222) and State Fair Majorette / Crash At Honolulu (Global Records and Tapes 0033.215). John Redpath then decided to quit the band and it appeared that it was finally the end of the road for Wishful Thinking.
However, Wishful Thinking's enduring popularity in Germany persuaded Danny Finn, Tony Collier and John Franklin to re-form again in 1980, this time as a trio. They released what turned out to be their last single, Tightrope Man / (It's All About) Loving You (Global Records and Tapes 0033.228). It was produced by Gavin Dare and Dave Howman, who also had a hand in writing and producing Eve Graham's 1980 album, Woman Of The World (Celebrity Records LP ACLP 007).
1980 was a busy year for Danny. In addition to the Wishful Thinking single, he also provided vocals, albeit uncredited, for Eve's Woman Of The World album and, on 9th April, represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest as lead singer with the group Prima Donna.
The six members of Prima Donna were brought together especially for the contest. The line-up was modelled on the Guys 'n' Dolls formula of three "guys" and three "dolls", paired off on stage as happy young couples. As journalist Penny Allen told it, Danny's involvement in Prima Donna came about after a visit to a fortune teller:
"Danny Finn, late of the New Seekers, had already turned down Eurovision offers, but when approached by Stuart [Slater] and Stephanie [de Sykes], he had just returned from a fortune teller who had told him he would be doing business and making money with someone called Stephanie. Not surprisingly, he accepted."
Prima Donna featuring Alan Coates, Danny Finn (pictured centre) and Lance Aston,
sisters Jane Robbins and Kate Robbins
and Sally Ann Triplett (front centre).
Sally Ann Triplett won the A Song For Europe contest again in 1982 as one half of the duo Bardo.
She went on to pursue a successful career in musical theatre, appearing in West End productions of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Follies, Chess, Grease, Cats and Anything Goes.
Kate Robbins went on to appear in the popular ITV soap opera Crossroads. In 1981, as part of her storyline in the soap, she performed the Simon May song More Than In Love. When it was released as a single by Kate Robbins and Beyond (RCA RCA 69), it became a huge hit, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart. Between 1986-1996 Kate worked as an impressionist, providing the majority of the female voices for the satirical TV series Spitting Image. She also sang the lead vocal on The Chicken Song, a song from the series that went on to become a number 1 hit in the UK in 1986.
Jane Robbins made another bid for Eurovision glory in 1989 as a member The Pearls, whose song Love Come Down came 4th in the preliminary A Song For Europe contest.
Lance Aston (brother of Jay Aston, who was a member of Bucks Fizz when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981) entered A Song For Europe again in 1983 as one third of Audio, singing alongside Tim Clark and ex-New Seeker Kathy Ann Rae.
Prima Donna had been selected as the UK's entry at the A Song For Europe contest the previous month, seeing off competition from the New Seekers (who were disqualified from the contest) and from a group called Pussyfoot (whose line-up included Donna Jones and Mick Flinn, both of whom would go on to become members of the New Seekers). The closest competition of all, though, came from another quarter. At the end of the voting Prima Donna's Love Enough For Two was tied in first place with Maggie Moone's Happy Everything. Unhappily for Maggie Moone, a majority of the regional juries gave their casting vote in Prima Donna's favour. Interviewed afterwards on Radio 1's Newsbeat, Danny said: "I'm sure it must have been great TV viewing but for us backstage... the nerves are frayed."
In the Eurovision Song Contest itself, Prima Donna came third, finishing 22 points adrift of the German entry (Katja Ebstein's Theater) and 37 points behind the winning entry from Ireland (Johnny Logan's What's Another Year?). And Danny's verdict? "I think the best song certainly won."
Love Enough For Two just made it into the UK charts, spending 4 weeks in the Top 75 and peaking at number 48. Reviewing the single before it charted, Radio 1 DJ Tommy Vance said: "This is Europop, brilliantly constructed, cleverly written by [Stephanie] de Sykes and [Stuart] Slater and magnificently performed by a group... put together purely and utterly for the Eurovision Song Contest, who happen to have taken the name 'Prima Donna', which is... a good little European name... It's a very, very good record." Fellow DJ David "Kid" Jensen commented: "They certainly will not represent the charts as we know them today or the music scene as vibrant and exciting as it is." Prima Donna's low chart placing proved his point. The failure of the group's follow-up single, Just Got To Be You (Ariola ARO 244), further underlined it. The record wasn't a hit and Danny returned once more to working with Eve Graham and to developing his new-found interest in theme parks.
Together with John Franklin, Danny wrote and recorded the theme music and created all the special sound effects for a new ride ‘Apirama’ (The Bee Ride) at Meli Park in Belgium. In 1980 one of Danny's theme park songs - Europa Park Song (Europa Park KS 0014) - was released as a single in Germany. During the following years Danny and John continued to write music for parks and attractions throughout Europe.
In 1981 Eve and Danny toured the Far East for six weeks before playing a Summer Season at the UK's biggest theme park and fun-fair, Alton Towers. They performed three shows a day from 21st July through to the end of August. The shows included some of the New Seekers' greatest hits. The highlight, however, was Danny's rendition of the Nilsson classic Without You. Eve and Danny released two singles in 1981 - Your Love (Celebrity Records ACS 3), which was billed as Eve Graham featuring Danny Finn and a Yuletide offering, which was released under the name of Viva and cornily titled Chris Must Stay (Cambra CMB 01).
In 1981 Danny also sang in A Song for Europe as part of a backing group for singer-songwriter Gary Benson. Benson was best known for his 1975 hit Don't Throw It All Away, a song first performed by The Shadows in the 1975 A Song for Europe contest. His 1981 entry was a song titled All Cried Out. It finished joint fourth with a score of 63 points, 34 points adrift of the winning song, Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz.
Later in 1981 Eve and Danny recorded their own version of Making Your Mind Up. This appeared on an alnum of covers titled Chartbusters Volume One (Cambra CB1000). Eve also sang on the travks Woman In Love, Japanese Boy and Super Trouper, with Danny providing the vocal for Hold Me. Neither Eve nor Danny, however, were credited on the album sleeve as vocalists.
In 1982 Eve Graham and Danny Finn toured the UK with Gene Pitney. In '83 and '84 they toured with Max Boyce. The tour merchandising included a re-packaged version Eve's album Woman Of The World, with the original title track being replaced by Your Love. It was sold as a cassette by Eve Graham & Danny Finn and retitled On The Road. During one of the tours Danny flew to Dallas for a few days in persuit of a developing interest he had in theme parks. "When I re-joined the tour" he once quipped, "it seemed that nobody had missed me!"
After 1985 Eve and Danny no longer worked together as a duo. Danny - who reverted to his real name, Kevin - focused on his career as a theme park designer while continuing to support Eve in her solo career and occasionally performing himself. He appeared (playing guitar and singing backing vocals) on the video The New Seekers Story, which was distributed by Eve's agent to club owners in the UK. In 1990 he joined Eve as one of the backing vocalists on the CD Paris: A Story Of Love And Its Power (Paris Music LTD PML 001/2).
In 2001 Kevin and Eve moved to Norfolk, where Kevin ran Rex Studios, a Great Yarmouth based company involved in the design of theme park attractions. In 2003, while they were living there, another opportunity arose for Kevin to get together with other former members of Wishful Thinking - Brian Allen (drums), Roger Charles (guitar), Tony Collier (vocals), John Franklin (guitar), Terry New (guitar), Roy 'Daniel' Spreadborough (vocals) and Richard Taylor (bass). They all gathered in the Canal Suite of the Lakeside Leisure Complex, Frimley Green (owned by the group’s former manager Bob Potter) to celebrate the birthday of Sylvia McMasters, secretary of the original Wishful Thinking fan club. They performed two songs, Peggy Sue and Cherry, Cherry. Having been members of the group at differing times, it was the first time that the eight of them had ever given a live performance together.
In April 2004 Kevin and Eve moved to Crieff, Perthshire. "The idea was always that we would move up here to retire," Eve told a journalist (Daily Mail, 16th January 2006). Retirement plans, however, were put on hold when Scotdisc offered Eve the opportunity of a solo comeback. The result was an album titled The Mountains Welcome Me Home, released in October 2005 on CD and cassette, and on DVD and video. The album included re-recordings of some of the New Seekers' biggest hits, together with songs first featured on the video The New Seekers Story - The Mountains, Neil Sedaka's The Hungry Years and The Seekers' hit The Carnival Is Over. A second album, 'Til The Season Comes Around Again, which featured Kevin Finn on backing vocals and Wishful Thinking's John Franklin on guitar, was released a year later in October 2006.
In addition to working together on Eve’s album, Kevin and John also collaborated on some Wishful Thinking projects. In 2005 Wishful Thinking reunited for a German television show, Die Ultimative Chartshow - Dauerbrenner (The Ultimate Chartshow - Evergreens). Having spent 44 weeks in the German charts in 1978, Wishful Thinking’s Hiroshima was to be featured in the show but when Andreas Hedler, webmaster of the Wishful Thinking website, received an e-mail asking if he could supply some photographs, he went one better. Group members were persuaded to travel from around the world to make a personal appearance. Kevin and John Franklin arrived in Cologne from the UK, Brian Allen travelled from France and Roger Charles from Australia. They performed an edited version of Hiroshima on 23rd March to a standing ovation. The show was broadcast on 15th April. The band met again in Jaunuary 2007 at John Franklin's Lakeside recording studios and once again in 2008, this time for a holiday at a villa in central France. While on holiday they trawled through their archive of previously unreleased recordings and talked through the possibility of getting back together to write and record some material for a new album. The album, Believing In Dreams, was released in August 2009.
Kevin died after a short illness on 22nd February 2016. His funeral was held at 10.30am on Monday 7th March at St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Perth.
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