Elektra Records

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New Seekers: singles

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:

• Asia
  
• Australia and New Zealand
  
• Europe
  
• United Kingdom
  
• USA and Canada
  

If any of the New Seekers' singles are missing from your collection, then why not try finding them using our On the Net guide to record collecting?

Check the other Sound and Vision pages for information on the New Seekers' other recordings.

Canada: Highest chart position: 2 / Weeks on chart (Top 30): 8
USA: Highest chart position: 14 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 12

Billboard magazine correctly predicted that this song, written by Melanie, would take the New Seekers "all the way up the chart!" (Billboard, Vol. 82, No. 33, 15th August 1970)

USA: Highest chart position: 67 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 7

Note: although When There's No Love Left was originally chosen as the A-side of this single, it was actually the B-side (another Melanie song) that took it into the US chart.
Other notable B-sides turned A include: The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody; Shadows, Apache; Sonny and Cher, I Got You Babe; Rod Stewart, Maggie Mae.

On Friday, 15th August 1969 Melanie's performance of Beautiful People had been one of the highlights of the Woodstock Festival. She went on stage at 10.50pm, having been asked to stand in for the Incredible String Band, who had refused to play while it was raining. While she was singing the audience lit up candles, a moment she later captured in the song Lay Down (Candles In The Rain).

Billboard magazine described the New Seekers' version of the song as "a gem" (Billboard, Vol. 82, No. 49, 5th December 1970).

USA: Highest chart position: 81 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 5

Billboard magazine predicted "a sure fire chart topper" (Billboard, Vol. 83, No. 10, 6th March 1971) but the single did not equal the success of What Have They Done To My Song, Ma.

Unlike the other Melanie songs covered by the New Seekers, Nickel Song was sent to the group by Melanie before she recorded her own version. Melanie's version was released in 1972 with What Have They Done To My Song, Ma on the B-side (Buddah 268). The single, effectively a double A-side, reached number 35 and spent 10 weeks on the Hot 100.

Tongiht did not make it into the Hot 100, though Billboard magazine had remarked upon the single's "Top 40 potency" (Billboard, Vol. 83, No. 38, 18th September 1971).

Canada: Highest chart position: 2 / Weeks on chart (Top 30): 7
USA: Highest chart position: 7 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 11

The Hillside Singers cover version of I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing beat the New Seekers' original into the Hot 100 by a week, entering the chart on 27th November 1971. The New Seekers, however, ended up having the bigger hit.

USA: Highest chart position: 81 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 4

Beg, Steal Or Borrow became one of the few UK entires in the Eurovision Song Contest to make it into the US Hot 100. Prior to this the only two of the UK's Eurovision entries had registered on the US singles chart - and then, only just: Say Wonderful Things by Ronnie Carroll (No. 91 in 1963) and Congratulations by Cliff Richard (No. 99 in 1968). Shortly after the New Seekers had made it into the chart with Beg, Steal Or Borrow, Mary Hopkin also crept into the Hot 100 with her 1970 Eurovision entry Knock Knock, Who's There (No. 92 in September 1972).

USA: Highest chart position: 87 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 5

USA: Highest chart position: 84 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 5

Billboard's review said the single was "loaded with top 40 and MOR potential" (Billboard, Vol. 84, No. 38, 9th September 1972).

USA: Highest chart position: 95 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 3

USA: Highest chart position: 29 / Weeks on chart (Hot 100): 13

The Who had a US hit with Pinball Wizard in April 1969 (No. 19) and another US hit with See Me, Feel Me in September 1970 (No. 12). The New Seekers, with their medley of the two songs, became the first act to cover US hits by The Who and have a Stateside hit of their own. Although Rod Stewart's and Elton John's versions of Pinball Wizard received a lot of radio airplay in the States, neither version was released as a single.

The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard / A Woman Grows
MGM 14586

Billboard's review described this single as "a collage of colours which are romantic in nature while depicting a situation which never came." (Billboard, Vol. 85, No. 28, 14th July 1973)

Pinball Wizard / See Me, Feel Me, New Seekers /
Shang-A-Lang, Tinker's Moon
Polydor Special Products 2814 024

A single released in Canada, promoting Suzuki - "carefree motorcycling... get on to something good."