The New Seekers released 29 singles in the UK. Lyn Paul sings on 16 of them, including all six of their Top 10 hits.
Most of the singles from the New Seekers' hey day were also released in the USA, Europe, the Far East and Australia. However, these singles appeared on different record labels from the UK releases: early US releases were on Elektra, later ones on MGM / Verve; European releases were on Philips. Some featured different tracks on the B-side and a few were not released in the UK at all. To find out more about the New Seekers' singles releases in different parts of the world, select one of the following options:
In 1976 the New Seekers re-formed after two years apart. Lyn Paul did not rejoin the group, nor was she asked to. Her place in the line-up was taken by Kathy Ann Rae who had previously worked with Marty Kristian and Paul Layton on what Paul describes as "production and writing ideas." Without Lyn, the group failed to recapture the success of its glory days and It's So Nice (To Have You Home) made only a modest impact on the UK singles chart, peaking at number 44.
It's So Nice (To Have You Home) was written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter who, as Paul Layton puts it, "had a good track record." During the '60s the duo had written Eurovision hits for Cliff Richard(Congratulations) and Sandie Shaw(Puppet On A String). In the mid '70s they wrote and produced hits for the Bay City Rollers(Saturday Night, Remember (Sha-La-La), Shang-A-Lang, Summerlove Sensation and All Of Me Loves All Of You) and for Kenny(The Bump, Fancy Pants, Baby I Love You OK and Julie Ann). Kenny also recorded It's So Nice but used the title Nice To Have You Home. The song was a hit for the band in Germany (RAK 1C00697135) but the UK release (RAK 225) failed to make any impression on the British singles chart.
Martin and Coulter also produced number 1 singles for the England World Cup Squad, who hit the top spot in 1970 with Back Home, and for Midge Ure's group Slik, who topped the UK singles chart in 1976 with Forever and Ever.
Phil Coulter also had success on his own, arranging Dana's1970 Eurovision winner All Kinds Of Everything and producing Billy Connolly's1975 hit D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
Asked why the New Seekers had omitted It's So Nice when they later came to re-record their hits, Paul Layton said: "I think that with hind-sight we identified less with that song than the others."
This was the second single written for the New Seekers by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. I Wanna Go Back was also produced by the duo but their out and out pop style did not work as well for the New Seekers as it had for other acts. The Bay City Rollers had 4 UK Top 10 hits with Martin & Coulter songs and another hit in the States with Saturday Night.Kenny had 3 UK Top 10 hits and Slik got to number 1 with Forever and Ever.I Wanna Go Back made it into the UK Top 30, but peaked at number 25.
Paul Layton recalls: "Our management company teamed us up with Martin & Coulter for production and so we were largely in their hands as far as the selection of the singles was concerned."
Written by: Alan Tarney / Trevor Spencer Produced by: Alan Tarney / Trevor Spencer Lead Vocal:Marty Kristian and Kathy Ann Rae
The New Seekers teamed up with Tarney and Spencer in 1977 to record one of their best singles. Give Me Love Your Way wasn't rewarded with the chart success it deserved but it did earn the group praise from the music press.
They came over to England from Australia in 1969 and formed a band, Quartet, with Terry Britten and Kevin Peek (the two of whom also worked with the New Seekers as session musicians). After recording just two singles the band broke up but Tarney and Spencer continued to work together on recordings for other artists. During the pre-Punk 1970s they recorded with (among others) The Drifters, Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard and Bonnie Tyler.
In 1976 they released their first album together, simply titled Tarney and Spencer (Bradleys Brad 1011). Many of the songs on this album were subsequently recorded by other artists, among them ex-New Seeker Peter Doyle, who recorded We Believe In Lovin' and Cliff Richard, who recorded Give Me Love Your Way. The song was included on Cliff's album Every Face Tells A Story, released in March 1977. Hard on its heels came the New Seekers' version, which was released as a single two months later.
In 1977Tarney and Spencer also worked with Peter Doyle on his album Skin Deep (RCA PL 25113). In addition to producing and playing on the album, they contributed two songs, Harlem Dream (Tarney and Spencer) and Shangri-La (Tarney).
Tarney and Spencer flew to California in 1978 to record their second album, Three's A Crowd (A&M AMLH68466). In 1979 they recorded their third and final album together, Run For Your Life (A&M AMLH64757). Although they'd signed a ten album deal with A&M, their contract was terminated after their final single, Cathy's Clown, failed to chart.
After this Alan Tarney continued to have success writing and producing hits for other artists. Among the long list of his production credits are two albums each for Barbara Dickson and Leo Sayer, three albums for A-ha, four for Cliff Richard and the Dream Academy'sLife In A Northern Town.
Trevor Spencer returned to Australia, setting up the Sh-boom Studios in Perth with Gary Taylor and Hank Marvin (Shadows).
A song about the "sweet old songs" of The Beach Boys, Beatles and The Rolling Stones. One segment of the song includes Beach Boys style harmonies with Marty singing the words "surf city, surf city" and Eve singing the refrain "I'd like to teach the world."
Written by Peter McCann, Do You Wanna Make Love had a title and lyrics that were not typical of earlier New Seekers' singles. On a first listen the lyrics appear to have a promiscuous connotation, but listen again and you'll realise that the opposite is in fact the case:
Do you wanna make love
Or do you just wanna fool around?
You can take it seriously
Or take it somewhere else.
The song had been a US hit for McCann in 1977 (20th Century 2335), spending 22 weeks in the Hot 100 and peaking at number 5. It was also recorded by US soul singer Millie Jackson and was released as the B-side of her 1979 single I Changed My Mind (Spring SPR 2036). In 1980 it was released as the A-side of a UK single by former New Seeker Peter Doyle (Limelight BULB 1).
Complex harmonies and a highly original arrangement made this one of the best singles ever released by the New Seekers - their finest moment without Lyn Paul and their last Top 30 hit. The Encyclopedia Of Rock hailed it as "an outstanding a cappella record" (page 316).
The song was selected by the New Seekers' producer David Mackay. That, according to Eve Graham, was one of the reasons why it worked so well. Speaking in a Radio City interview with Roger Blythe in 1978, she said: "Other producers and other writers tend to be a bit short-sighted, should I say, by the name the New Seekers, trying to bring it up to date... guessing what kind of material we might want to do. But Dave is not put off by the name because he's so familiar with it anyway... He just came out and looked for songs that he felt were hit songs and not: 'Oh, it's got to be in this kind of a category'."
Anthem was originally recorded by the Australian rock band Procession, whose line-up included the song's writers, Brian Peacock (bass) and Mick Rogers (lead guitar). Formed in 1967, Procession released Anthem (in an 'a cappella' version) as their début single in January 1968. The single entered AMR Top 100 Singles chart on 20th January 1968 and peaked at number 30. The band re-recorded the song (with a full rock backing) and re-released it as a single in February 1969, this time with the title One Day in Every Week.
The New Seekers made several changes to the song, noticeable among them a change to the lyrics of the second verse. The original "Sunday is with the family. They visit her grave quite frequently. She's in their thoughts most constantly (oh yes, she's free)." became "Sunday is with the family, where in the morning takes the tea. She listens to mummy chatting pleasantly."
New Seekers Anthem (One Day In Every Week) (sheet music)
Pictured (left to right): Danny Finn, Kathy Ann Rae, Paul Layton, Eve Graham and Marty Kristian.
You Needed Me
Written by: Randy Goodrum Produced by: Nicky Graham Lead Vocal: Vivien Banks
Recorded after the departure of Eve Graham and Danny Finn and featuring new recruit Vivien Banks on lead vocal, this single came as a huge disappointment after the brilliant Anthem. At the time Anne Murray deservedly had a hit with her version of this song (US number 1 / UK number 22).
Boyzone revived the song in 1999, taking it to the top of the UK singles chart and scoring a sixth number 1 in the process. The single was only number 1 for a week but it remained in the charts for a total of fifteen. You Needed Me has also been covered by Lynn Anderson, Val Doonican, Millie Jackson, Rose Marie, Lena Martell, Daniel O'Donnell, Kenny Rogers, Roger Whittaker and Tammy Wynette.
Written by: Scott / Wolfe Produced by: Nicky Graham Lead Vocal:Kathy Ann Rae
Vivien Banks brief career as a New Seeker was over, her place in the group being taken by Nicola Kerr. The new line-up released what was to be the New Seekers' last single for CBS - a real smoocher featuring Kathy Ann Rae on lead vocal.
Don't Stop The Music had been recorded previously by Bonnie Tyler. It was issued as the B-side of her 1978 single Here Am I (RCA PB 5076).
