Seeking Success
Columbia Records release a second Nocturnes' album Wanted Live (Columbia S(C)X 6315). Recorded live onto two track tape at Tiffany's in Manchester, the LP features The Nocturnes performing to a packed house. Among the celebrities in the audience that night are Freddie Garrity and The Hollies. Lyn Paul (listed on the sleeve as Tanzy Paul) sings a great cover version of the Peggy Lee classic Fever. Lyn can also be heard singing on three of the other tracks: Loco-Motion, Da Doo Ron Ron and Eso Es El Amor (That's Love). The sleeve notes, written by Ross Mitchell, also credit Lyn with playing cow bell and claves!
Tanzy Paul and Ross Mitchell
pictured on the sleeve of The Nocturnes' Wanted Live album.
 
In February, following the break up of The Seekers the year before, ex-Seeker Keith Potger launches a solo career with the release of a single The World Would Never Turn Again (Mercury MF 1073). Shortly after this, having failed to make the singles chart with his first release, Keith is persuaded by manager and former flat-mate, David Joseph, to form the New Seekers. Lyn Paul auditions for the group but her management also want a slice of the cake. Interviewed by John Dunn in 1983, Lyn said: "Obviously Keith and David didn't want anything to do with that!" Lyn telephones Eve Graham to tell her about the auditions, with the result that on 9th June Eve becomes one of the founding members of the New Seekers. The other members of the group are: Chris Barrington, Sally Graham (no relation to Eve), Laurie Heath and Marty Kristian. The New Seekers make their first television appearance on The Frankie Howerd Show (ATV, 16th August 1969, 6.15pm) followed by their first public performance at the Bournemouth Pavilion on Sunday, 17th August.
Meanwhile, the Virgil Brothers - an Australian trio
comprised of Peter Doyle, Rob Lovett and Danny Robertson - are in the UK seeking success. A single, Temptation 'Bout To Get Me (Parlophone R-5787), which had been released in Australia the year before, is released in July. A second single, When You Walk Away (Parlophone R-5802) follows in September. Neither of them are hits and the trio disbands. Peter Doyle stays in the UK and within a year finds himself a member of the New Seekers alongside Lyn Paul.
New Seekers
Pictured (left to right): Marty Kristian, Eve Graham, Sally Graham, Chris Barrington and Laurie Heath.
The Seekers are still riding high in the album charts. A compilation album, The Best of the Seekers, which had been released in November the previous year, reaches number one and The Seekers end the year with 66 weeks on the UK album chart - more than any other recording artist.
Meanwhile things are starting to look hopeful for Lyn's solo career as Tanzy. Then, just as a record contract is being negotiated, Lyn's managers are killed in a road accident in France. As a result Tanzy's career takes a turn for the worse and Lyn once again finds herself working for Mecca as she had done previously with The Nocturnes - "Very good for a short period but not the kind of thing I wanted to stick with for a long time."
Pictured above:
Lyn Paul as Tanzy.
Incidentally...
Several of the year's top albums feature tracks that Lyn Paul will later record with the New Seekers - Neil Diamond's Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show from the album of the same name (recorded by the New Seekers on their 1974 album Together); No Man's Land from Fairport Convention's album What We Did On Our Holidays (which the New Seekers include on their album New Colours) and Rain from José Feliciano's album 10 to 23. The New Seekers' version of Rain first appears on the group's 1972 US album Come Softly To Me. In the UK and the rest of the world it is included on the 1973 album New Seekers Now.
Four of the year's top selling singles in the UK will also find their way onto New Seekers' albums - Dean Martin's Gentle On My Mind, Melting Pot by Blue Mink, Blackberry Way by The Move and Pinball Wizard by The Who (which the New Seekers will also release as a single).
| In the News - 1969 |
| |
|
| Jan |
Rupert Murdoch buys the UK’s largest-selling Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, on 2nd January, following a year-long battle with fellow newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell for control of the paper.
Richmal Crompton, author of the Just William books, dies on 11th January, aged 78.
In London on 12th January 4,000 demonstrators try to take over Rhodesia House and South Africa House.
Jan Palach, a 21-year-old student protesting at the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, burns himself to death in Wenceslas Square, Prague, on 16th January.
On 20th January Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President of the USA.
George Harrison re-joins The Beatles on 22nd January, having quit the group on 10th January during the recording sessions for the album Let It Be, The Beatles give their last live performance on the roof of their Apple studios at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30th January. The police intervene after 42 minutes.
25 students at the London School of Economics are arrested on Friday, 24th January, during violent protests against the installation of steel security gates. The LSE closes for three weeks.
|
| Feb |
Yasser Arafat becomes leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on 3rd February.
The Jumbo Jet (Boeing 747) makes its first flight on 9th February.
On 12th February Rhodesian nationalist leader Ndabaningi Sithole is convicted of planning an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Ian Smith.
Lulu and Maurice Gibb get married on 18th February at St. James's Church, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
T. Rex kick off a UK tour in Manchester on 22nd February with David Bowie as support act.
|
| Mar |
The supersonic airliner Concorde flies for the first time on Sunday, 2nd March, successfully completing a 27-minute test flight from Toulouse. The plane makes its first supersonic flight in October.
On Tuesday, 4th March the Kray twins are found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering fellow gangster Jack "the Hat" McVitie. They are both sentenced to life imprisonment, with minimum sentences of 30 years.
The Victoria Line on the London Underground is completed to Victoria Station. The Line is officially opened on 7th March by Queen Elizabeth II, who travels one stop on the tube from Green Park to Victoria.
James Earl Ray appears in court in Memphis on 10th March. He pleads guilty to the murder of Martin Luther King and is sentenced to 99 years in prison.
On 17th March, following the death of Levi Eshkol, 70-year-old Golda Meir becomes Israel's fourth - and first female - Prime Minister.
Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman on 12th March. Eight days later, on Thursday, 20th March, John Lennon marries Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. The next day John and Yoko begin their week-long "bed in" for peace at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam.
On 19th March British troops take over the Caribbean island of Anguilla, which had adopted a new constitution and broken its ties with Britain on 7th February.
Former US President General Dwight D. Eisenhower dies on 28th March, aged 78.
The Eurovision Song Contest, held in Madrid on 29th March, ends in a four-way tie between the entries from France (Un Jour, Un Enfant by Frida Boccara), the Netherlands (De Troubadour by Lenny Kuhr), Spain (Vivo Cantando by Salomé) and the United Kingdom (Boom Bang-A-Bang by Lulu).
|
| Apr |
On 9th April Wolverhampton's Transport Committee drops a ban prohibiting bus conductors and drivers, many of whom are Sikhs, from having long beards and wearing turbans at work.
Oliver! wins the Oscar for Best Picture at the 41st Academy Awards ceremony on 14th April.
On 17th April Bernadette Devlin becomes MP for Mid-Ulster. She takes her seat in Westminster on her 22nd birthday, becoming Britain's youngest-ever woman MP.
General de Gaulle resigns as President of France on 28th April, after losing a referendum on constitutional reform.
Terence O'Neill resigns as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland on 30th April.
|
| May |
James Chichester-Clark becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland on 1st May.
On Friday, 2nd May the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II sets sail from Southampton on her maiden trans-Atlantic voyage.
On the same day The Who preview Tommy for the British press at Ronnie Scott's in London. On 9th May, as they embark on a US tour, the band perform Pinball Wizard on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In the UK the legal age limit for voting in elections is lowered from 21 to 18 on 12th May.
The Soviet space probe Venera 5 lands on Venus on 16th May.
On 24th May, after a 7-year run and 4,354 performances, the curtain comes down on The Black and White Minstrel Show at London's Victoria Palace.
The Gibraltar Constitution Order 1969 is published on 30th May. Under it, Gibraltar attains full internal self-government, with immediate effect. Elections for a new House of Assembly are scheduled for 30th July. The preamble to the Constitution states: "Gibraltar is part of Her Majesty’s dominions... Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.".
|
| June |
On 8th June Brian Jones announces that he is leaving The Rolling Stones.
On the same day Spain closes its border with Gibraltar.
The Beatles' Ballad Of John and Yoko reaches number 1 in the UK on 11th June. Banned by the BBC for the line "Christ, you know it ain't easy," the single nonetheless spends three weeks at the top of the singles chart.
Georges Pompidou is elected President of France on 15th June.
In a referendum in Rhodesia on 20th June more than 80% of the electorate vote in favour of Ian Smith's proposals for a republic and an apartheid-style constitution.
Kenneth Tynan's musical revue Oh! Calcutta! opens off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre on 21st June.
On the same day the BBC broadcasts a documentary, Royal Family, depicting the day-to-day life of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. The programme is broadcast again on ITV on 28th and 29th June.
The tennis player Maureen Connolly, who in 1953 became the first woman to win all four Grand Slam tournaments during the same calendar year, dies of ovarian cancer on 21st June, aged 34.
Judy Garland dies in London on 22nd June, aged 47.
On 27th June police raid the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York. The ensuing riot is described by writer Dennis Altman as "the Boston Tea Party of the gay movement."
On 30th June Nigeria blocks aid to Biafra, claiming that Red Cross supplies of food and medicine are being used to smuggle arms to Biafran rebels. Two weeks later the Nigerian leader, General Gowon, gives in to international pressure and once again allows the Red Cross to airlift urgent medical supplies to Biafra.
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| July |
Queen Elizabeth II invests Prince Charles as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester at ceremonies at Caernarvon Castle on 1st July.
The United States and Cambodia re-establish diplomatic relations on 2nd July. The US Embassy in Phnom Penh re-opens on 16th August.
Brian Jones, who had quit The Rolling Stones the previous month, drowns while taking a midnight swim on 3rd July, aged 27. Two days later, as a tribute to him, The Rolling Stones give a free concert in London's Hyde Park.
On the morning of 19th July the dead body of Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign worker for the assassinated US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, is discovered in the back seat of an overturned car belonging to his brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, submerged in a tidal channel on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. Edward Kennedy later pleads guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury; he is sentenced to two months, suspended, in jail and loses his driving licence for a year.
On Monday, 21st July at 2.56am GMT Neil Armstrong takes "one small step for man... one giant leap for mankind" when he becomes the first man to walk on the moon. At 3.41am, after stepping out of the Eagle landing craft, he and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin plant the Stars and Stripes flag in the moon's surface.
General Franco names Prince Juan Carlos as his eventual successor as Head of State and future King of Spain. His choice is ratified by the Spanish parliament on 22nd July.
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Aug
|
Halfpennies are withdrawn from circulation in the UK on 1st August.
On Friday, 8th August The Beatles pose for the now-famous photograph that was used on the front cover of the band's eleventh studio album, Abbey Road. Taken by freelance photographer Iain Macmillan, it pictures the 'Fab Four' - John Lennon followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison - walking across a zebra crossing near to the EMI Studios on Abbey Road in St. John's Wood, London.
The actress Sharon Tate and four of her friends are murdered in Los Angeles on 9th August.
The RUC uses tear gas for the first time on 12th August after nine hours of rioting in the Bogside area of Londonderry. Two days later the British government sends troops to Northern Ireland in what is described as a "limited operation" to restore law and order.
The famous Woodstock Music and Arts Fayre begins on 15th August. Jimi Hendrix closes the festival on 18th August with a set that includes his notorious version of Star Spangled Banner.
President Kaunda declares a state of emergency in Zambia on 25th August.
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| Sep |
On Monday, 1st September Colonel Gaddafi usurps King Idris and proclaims Libya a Republic.
Ho Chi Minh, President of North Vietnam, dies on 2nd September.
The housing charity Shelter launches its "Face the Facts" campaign on 11th September, claiming in a report that up to three million people in Britain need re-housing.
On 21st September police raid a squat at 144 Piccadilly in central London, evicting squatters who have been occupying the building for six days.
|
| Oct |
Spain cuts off telephone links with Gibraltar on 1st October.
Britain adds a new coin to its currency on 14th October, when the ten-shilling note is replaced by the heptagonal 50-pence piece.
On Wednesday, 15th October two million Americans join the Vietnam Moratorium, taking part in meetings, marches and religious services to protest at the war in Vietnam.
The writer Jack Kerouac, who achieved widespread fame and notoriety in 1957 with the publication of his second novel On The Road, dies of an abdominal hemorrhage on 21st October, aged 47.
Willy Brandt is elected Chancellor of West Germany on the same day.
Fritz, a 21-year old terrier who had been imported from West Germany to the UK by his owner on 4th April, is found dead on 18th October. A post-mortem confirms a diagnosis of rabies, prompting a cull of wildlife in Surrey.
On 27th October, following anti-government demonstrations in which 11 people were killed, President Kenyatta places the Kenyan opposition leader Oginga Odinga and seven of his colleagues under house arrest.
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| Nov |
The Beatles' double A-side Something / Come Together enters the UK singles chart on 8th November. Come Together is banned by the BBC because its lyrics mention Coca-Cola by name.
On 13th November 46,000 people take part in a "march against death" outside the White House. The marchers carry the names of US soldiers killed in Vietnam. Two days later 250,000 people take part in another anti-war march in Washington.
ITV broadcast the UK's first colour TV commercial on 14th November.
Apollo 12 lands on the moon on Wednesday, 19th November. Astronauts Alan Bean and Charles 'Pete' Conrad follow in Neil Armstrong's footsteps, spending a total of seven-and-a-half hours on the moon's surface.
On 25th November John Lennon returns his MBE in protest at Britain's involvement in Vietnam and Biafra.
On the same day President Nixon announces that he has ordered the destruction of US germ warfare stocks.
Stevie Smith is presented with the Gold Medal for Poetry by the Queen on 29th November.
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| Dec |
18-year-old Meredith Hunter is murdered amid violent scenes at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in California, a rock concert held on 6th December, headlined by The Rolling Stones.
The H3N2 flu virus, which broke out in Hong Kong in July 1968, returns to the UK. On 12th December the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board issues a 'red alert' after 150 nurses and staff catch the flu. London's hospitals follow suit, restricting admissions to emergency cases so as to provide beds for victims of the flu virus.
27 people are killed and 100 injured in simultaneous bomb explosions in Rome and Milan on 12th December.
The Who perform Tommy at the Coliseum Opera House, London on 14th December.
On Tuesday, 16th December, at the end of a seven-and-a-half hour debate, MPs vote by a large majority (343 to 158) for the permanent abolition of the death penalty for murder. The motion is passed by the House of Lords on 18th December.
Phillips Petroleum discover oil in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea on 23rd December.
On Christmas Eve Charles Manson is charged with the murder in August of actress Sharon Tate and four of her friends.
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| In the Charts |
| |
UK Chart débuts |
| |
- David Bowie
- Glen Campbell
- Jethro Tull
|
| UK Best-selling Singles |
| |
- Amen Corner
(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice
- The Beatles
The Ballad Of John And Yoko
- The Beatles
Get Back
- The Beatles
Something / Come Together
- Bee Gees
Don't Forget To Remember
- Bee Gees
First Of May
- Blue Mink
Melting Pot
- Booker T. and The M.G.s
Time Is Tight
- David Bowie
Space Oddity
- Glen Campbell
Wichita Lineman
- Johnny Cash
A Boy Named Sue
- Lou Christie
I'm Gonna Make You Mine
- Jimmy Cliff
Wonderful World, Beautiful People
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bad Moon Rising
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
Proud Mary
- Desmond Dekker and The Aces
The Israelites
- Bob Dylan
Lay Lady Lay
- The Fifth Dimension
Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In (from the musical 'Hair')
- Fleetwood Mac
Albatross
- Fleetwood Mac
Oh Well
- Marvin Gaye
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
- Marvin Gaye
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
- Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Onion Song
- Bobbie Gentry
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
- Robin Gibb
Saved By The Bell
- Rolf Harris
Two Little Boys
- Herman's Hermits
My Sentimental Friend
- The Hollies
He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother
- Mary Hopkin
Goodbye
- The Isley Brothers
Behind A Painted Smile
- Jethro Tull
Living In The Past
- John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band
Give Peace A Chance
- Lulu
Boom Bang-A-Bang
[Eurovision Song Contest Joint Winner]
- Mama Cass
It's Getting Better
- The Marmalade
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
- Dean Martin
Gentle On My Mind
- The Move
Blackberry Way
- Elvis Presley
In The Ghetto
- Elvis Presley
Suspicious Minds
- Radha Krishna Temple (London)
Hare Krishna Mantra
- Martha Reeves and The Vandellas
Dancing In The Street
- Cliff Richard
(Billed as: Cliff and Hank)
Throw Down A Line
- The Righteous Brothers
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
- Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
The Tracks Of My Tears
- Clodagh Rodgers
Come Back And Shake Me
- Tommy Roe
Dizzy
- Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town
- The Rolling Stones
Honky Tonk Women
- Peter Sarstedt
Where Do You Go To My Lovely
- Simon and Garfunkel
The Boxer
- Nina Simone
To Love Somebody
- Frank Sinatra
My Way
- Dusty Springfield
Son-Of-A Preacher Man
- Thunderclap Newman
Something In The Air
- The Tremeloes
(Call Me) Number One
- Junior Walker and The All-Stars
Road Runner
- The Who
Pinball Wizard
- Jackie Wilson
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher
- Stevie Wonder
For Once In My Life
- Stevie Wonder
My Cherie Amour
- Stevie Wonder
Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday
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| One Hit Wonders |
| |
- Archies
Sugar Sugar
- Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg
Je t'aime... Moi Non Plus
- Bob and Earl
Harlem Shuffle
- Noel Harrison
Windmills Of Your Mind
- Harry J. All Stars
Liquidator
- Edwin Hawkins Singers
Oh Happy Day
- Humble Pie
Natural Born Bugie
- Oliver
Good Morning Starshine (from the musical 'Hair')
- Joe South
Games People Play
- Steppenwolf
Born To Be Wild
- Upsetters
Return Of Django
- Karen Young
Nobody's Child
- Zager and Evans
In The Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)
|
| Hit Albums |
|
- The Beatles
Abbey Road
- Blind Faith
Blind Faith
- Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash At San Quentin
- Chicago
Chicago Transit Authority
- Cream
Goodbye
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
Willy And The Poor Boys
- Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Still & Nash
- Bob Dylan
Nashville Skyline
- Fairport Convention
What We Did On Our Holidays
- The Hollies
The Hollies Sing Dylan
- Jethro Tull
Stand Up
- King Crimson
In The Court Of The Crimson King
- Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
- Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
- The Moody Blues
On The Threshold Of A Dream
- Nana Mouskouri
Over And Over
- Pink Floyd
Ummagumma
- The Rolling Stones
Let It Bleed
- Frank Sinatra
My Way
- Dusty Springfield
Dusty In Memphis
- The Who
Tommy
|
|
|
| At the Movies |
| |
| |
- Battle Of Britain
- Le Boucher
- Carry On Camping
- Easy Rider
- Hello Dolly!
- Kes
- Midnight Cowboy
- The Most Dangerous Man In The World
- Oliver! (Re-release)
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Once Upon A Time in The West
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
- Three Into Two Won't Go
- The Virgin Soldiers
- Where Eagles Dare
- The Wild Bunch
- Women In Love
|
|
| On Stage |
| |
Tony Award for Best Musical:
1776
|
|
| On Television |
| |
| |
- The Benny Hill Show
(Thames Television)
- The Clangers
- Dad's Army
(Series 2 and 3)
- Department S
- The Dustbinmen (Series 1)
- The Flashing Blade
- Hadleigh (Series 1)
- Ken Dodd And The Diddymen
- Lift Off!
- The Liver Birds
(Series 1)
- Manhunt
- Monty Python's Flying Circus
(Series 1)
- The Morecambe & Wise Show
(Series 2)
- Nationwide
- On The Buses
(Series 1 and 2)
- Pot Black
- Randall And (Hopkirk) Deceased
- Royal Family
- Sesame Street
(USA)
- Sez Les
(Les Dawson)
- Tonight With David Nixon
(Series 2)
- Wacky Races
- Will The Real Mike Yarwood Stand Up?
|
|
| Sporting Heroes |
| |
BBC Sport
BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Ann Jones
|
Tennis: Margaret Court wins the women's singles title at the inaugural Australian Open, beating Billie Jean King, 6-4, 6-1.
At Wimbledon, in a reversal of the 1967 women's singles final, Ann Jones beats Billie Jean King, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Defending Men's Champion, Rod Laver, beats John Newcombe in four sets (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4) to win his fourth men's singles Championship. Laver also wins the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open.
Boxing: Henry Cooper knocks out Piero Tomasoni to retain his European Heavyweight title.
Sailing: Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, becoming the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world
Snooker: John Spencer defeats Gary Owen 37-24 at the Victoria Hall, London to become World Snooker Champion for the first time.
Rugby Union: Wales win the Five Nations Championship for the fourth time in six years.The Welsh team misses out on the 'Grand Slam' but takes the Triple Crown with victories over England, Ireland and Scotland.
Horse Racing: Highland Wedding wins the Grand National.
Blakeney wins the Derby.
Rowing: the University of Cambridge crew wins the annual Boat Race against Oxford.
Golf: George Archer wins the 33rd US Masters at Augusta, finishing 1 stroke ahead of Billy Casper, George Knudson, and Tom Weiskopf.
Orville Moody wins the US Open, finishing 1 stroke ahead of Dean Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosberg.
Tony Jacklin wins the British Open golf tournament at Royal Lytham St. Annes.
Great Britain & Ireland tie with the United States in the Ryder Cup.
Football: Leeds United end the season as Champions of the Football League First Division.
Matt Busby retires as Manager of Manchester United.
Manchester City win the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City.
Pele scores his 1,000th professional goal on Wednesday, 19th November in a game between Santos and Vasco da Gama at the Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro.
Cycling: Eddy Merckx wins the Tour de France.
Motor Racing: Jackie Stewart wins the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship for the first time.
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|
| Page-turners |
| |
Man Booker Prize
Winner:
P. H. Newby
Something To Answer For
Barry England
Figures
In A Landscape
Nicholas Moseley
The Impossible
Object
Iris Murdoch
The Nice
And The Good
Muriel Spark
The Public Image
G.M. Williams
From Scenes Like These
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