Laurie Heath
Laurie Heath was one of the original members of the New Seekers. A talented all-rounder, he could sing, play guitar, dance and act. He was also a keen songwriter and two of his songs appeared on the New Seekers' first album - Not As Good As the Real Thing (on which he sang the lead vocal) and Zarzis (which was also used as the B-side of the New Seekers' first single Meet My Lord). Another of his songs, Roundelay, was used on the New Seekers' second album, Keith Potger and the New Seekers. By this time Laurie had already left the group.
As a budding young actor Laurie Heath appeared in stage productions of Oliver! and The Sound Of Music and the film Goodbye Mr. Chips; he also appeared in the film Becket alongside Paul Layton, who also became a member of the New Seekers, though the two were not members of the group at the same time. In an interview for the Australian Women's Weekly, Laurie joked: "Don't blink watching them. You might miss me."
In addition to theatre and film, Laurie Heath also landed a number of television roles, appearing in episodes of Z Cars and 24 Hour Call, with leading roles in The Canterville Ghost, It Happened Like This and Winter In Ischia.

Laurie Heath (far right)
pictured with the original line-up of the
New Seekers
(from left to right: Marty Kristian, Eve Graham, Sally Graham
and Chris Barrington).
After quitting the New Seekers, Laurie Heath, Chris Barrington and Sally Graham formed a trio called Milkwood. They released three singles for Warner Brothers, the first of which, Watching You Go, was arranged by Mick Ronson (two years later [1974] Ronson recorded one of Laurie's songs, This is For You, which was released on his album Play, Don't Worry in January 1975). The third Milkwood single, What Can I Do To Make You Love Me, featured Laurie on lead vocal.
After Milkwood Laurie branched out on his own, releasing two solo singles for EMI - We Danced It Our Way and Dreamin' (I Love You) - both of which he wrote himself.
|