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Blood Brothers
Norwich
Theatre Royal
(programme cover).
James Hirst,
Nicholas Hart and
Lyn Paul
at HM Theatre,
Aberdeen.
June 4th 1997,
Aberdeen Press & Journal
Aberdeen Journals Ltd.
© Copyright
Photograph by
Ian Dawson
Lyn Paul,
Nicholas Hart
and James Hirst
promote
Blood Brothers
at the Grand Theatre,
Swansea.
June 20th 1997,
South Wales
Evening Post
© Copyright
Tom Fairfoot,
Lyn Paul
and Paul Crosby promote
Blood Brothers
at the Theatre Royal,
Plymouth.
September 4th 1997,
Evening Herald
West Country Publications
© Copyright
No way sis
I'd Like To Teach
The World To Sing
(EMI CDEM 461)
WEB LINKS
If you want to hear
"the real thing",
visit the
Roger Cook website,
where you can
listen to the
New Seekers'
version of
I'd Like To Teach
The World To Sing
Roger Cook:
Who is Roger Cook
Songwriter?
|
Smash Mouth's
album
Fush Yu Mang
includes the band's
début hit
Walkin' On The Sun,
which parodied
the lyrics of
I'd Like To Teach
The World To Sing.
Blood Brothers
New Victoria Theatre,
Woking
(programme cover).
|
Blood Brothers
The New Seekers' Fan Club Biogram of 1972 had said that Lyn Paul "looks forward to being in a stage musical and fancies buying herself a Lotus Europe." Twenty-five years later her wish to be in a stage musical comes true when theatre producer Bill Kenwright offers her the role of Mrs. Johnstone in his production of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers.
"I had always wanted to act, but music had been my life, so it had never occurred to me. It was only when someone said I should go for that role - Mrs. Johnstone is a very northern, gritty role and I'm a northern woman, so it was something I could relate to - that I talked to my mum about it and she said, 'Well, write to the show's producer Bill Kenwright'.
So I actually wrote to him and asked him for the role. He replied by return post and two weeks later I was standing on a stage in the West End starting rehearsals. I can't tell you how nerve-wracking that was. I suddenly thought, 'How stupid. I don't even know if I can do this'. Mrs. Johnstone was the first time that I had done any musical theatre. I wish now that I had started acting years ago." (Evening News, Friday, 13th April 2007)
Following a three-week run in the West End, Lyn joins the UK touring production of Blood Brothers. As the show travels round the country, Lyn gets rave reviews.
Theatre Royal, Norwich
(5th - 17th May 1997)
"Every aspect of her portrayal speaks of settled assurance and poise ... and through a voice which itself provides its own radiant follow spot, we share through Lyn Paul's portrayal all a mother's hopes and anguishes and final bitter tears."
Eastern Daily Press
"Lyn Paul ... is brilliant as Mrs. Johnstone."
Evening News
New Theatre, Hull
(19th - 31st May 1997)
"If you have not already booked a seat judging by last night's standing ovations, you may find great difficulty getting one."
Hull Daily Mail
His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen
(2nd - 14th June 1997)
"Lyn Paul held it all together with a virtuoso performance.
It was her central role as Mrs. Johnstone which provided the heart and guts for this 14-year-old musical.
The eye was constantly drawn to her as she was transformed from a dance-loving teenager to a 25 year old mother-of-seven to a slightly bowed but undefeated granny."
Aberdeen Evening Express
Grand Theatre, Swansea
(16th - 28th June 1997)
"Lyn Paul showed a wonderful vocal talent in the role of Mrs. Johnstone.
Her closing rendition of Tell Me Its Not True ... was almost too moving to bear."
South Wales Evening Post
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
(30th June - 12th July 1997)
"Lyn Paul ... puts enormous energy and feeling into her role ... The songs - of which the best-known are "Marilyn Monroe" and "Tell Me Its Not True" - are delivered superbly, principally by Lyn Paul."
Medway News
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
(14th July - 2nd August 1997)
"It was left to Miss Paul to deliver the vital knockout punch. Her astonishing vocal range and luminous stage presence combined to glorious effect in stand out numbers Tell Me It's Not True and Marilyn Monroe."
The Advertiser
"Lyn Paul ... gave an emotionally-charged performance as Mrs. Johnstone ... Miss Paul demonstrated a wonderful voice and great acting ability. Her delivery of Tell Me Its Not True was one of the most moving pieces of theatre I've ever seen."
News & Mail
"But the revelation is Lyn Paul as the long suffering mother, Mrs. Johnstone, who keeps battling and is ever optimistic that she can make something of her life. Forget the fact that Lyn was once a pop singer and part of the New Seekers. Here she proves herself to be a great theatrical performer too. She is every bit as good as others who have played this part (and as they have included Barbara Dickson and Kiki Dee that is saying something). She sings and acts so well that I am surprised that she has not appeared more often in musicals."
Theatreworld Internet Magazine
The Hexagon, Reading
(25th - 30th August 1997)
"Lyn steals the show as tearful mum"
Reading Chronicle
Theatre Royal, Plymouth
(1st - 13th September 1997)
"Lyn Paul not only delivers her songs superbly ... but also has the full measure of Mrs. Johnstone's complex character, loving but cynical, hardened by her experiences but persistently optimistic, and aging brilliantly."
Evening Herald
Hippodrome, Bristol
(15th - 20th September 1997)
"Star of the show is Lyn Paul who won fame as a singer with the New Seekers in the '70s and now proves she can act too."
Bristol Evening Post
Before embarking on the tour, Lyn is interviewed a couple of times on the radio (including an appearance on Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4). She talks candidly about her career and about getting the part of Mrs. Johnstone:
"The worst part of the tour is actually leaving home because I have not been away from my husband and my son before ... But it's a small price to pay to be doing this show ... It really is the show to end shows for me. I've always wanted to do it."
Following the tour, Lyn returns to the West End cast of Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre. A review in The Scotsman (20th December 1997) highlights Lyn's performance: "Backed by an excellent cast, Lyn Paul gives a terrific performance in the central role."
Incidentally ...
In January, twenty-five years after the New Seekers hit the number 1 spot with I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, the song enters the singles chart again - a hit on this occasion for No way sis, who parody the song Oasis-style and take it to number 25.
In the Autumn another parody enters the chart. This time it's a band from San José called Smash Mouth, whose début hit, Walkin' On The Sun, has a gentle dig at I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing and the Coca-Cola jingle from which it was derived.
"It ain't no joke
I'd like to buy the world a toke
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars ..."
Ironically, this snippet from Walkin' On The Sun itself ends up in a TV commercial for the Ford Fiesta.
During the Summer Lyn Paul's sister Nikki Belsher appears at the Opera House, Blackpool in Oh What A Night, starring Kid Creole. Writing about the show in The Sun, Garry Bushell comments: "Stand-outs? Mark Walker as Rik and Nikki Belsher as Candi. Bernie Nolan has a great voice too." (The Sun, 30th August, page 24)
 
| In the News - 1997 |
| |
|
| Jan |
Nicola Horlick, dubbed "Superwoman" by the UK press, is suspended from her £1 million a year job with Morgan Grenfell.
Lone yachtsman Tony Bullimore, one of the participants in the Vendée Globe race, is rescued from the upturned hull of his boat on Thursday, 9th January, five days after it capsized in the Southern Ocean.
On 15th January, whilst on a visit to Angola, Diana, Princess of Wales calls for an international ban on landmines.
'Colonel' Tom Parker, who had been Elvis Presley's manager, dies on 21st January, aged 87.
Protesters obstructing work on the extension of the A30 at Fairmile in Devon are evicted from their tunnels on 31st January, after a week underground.
|
| Feb |
An English nanny, Louise Woodward, is arrested in Boston on Wednesday, 5th February and charged with assaulting Matthew Eappen, the baby she was employed to care for.
On 6th February Diane Blood wins the right to be inseminated with her dead husband's sperm. The Court of Appeal rules that she may seek fertility treatment within the European Community, though not in the UK.
China's leader, Deng Xiaoping, dies on 19th February, aged 92.
Three men - James Robinson, Michael Hickey and his cousin Vincent - who had been jailed in 1979 for the murder of 13-year-old paperboy Carl Bridgewater are released from prison on 21st February, after the Court of Appeal rules that their convictions were unsafe.
On 22nd February scientists in Scotland announce the birth of Dolly the sheep, the world's first successfully cloned mammal. Dolly had been born at the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh on 5th July 1996.
|
| Mar |
The rapper Notorious B.I.G. is murdered in Los Angeles on 9th March.
Harold Melvin, best-known for his '70s hit with the Bluenotes If You Don't Know Me By Now, dies on 24th March, aged 57.
39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult (21 women and 18 men) commit suicide in San Diego, California. Police discover their dead bodies on 26th March.
In the UK a new TV station, Channel 5, takes to the air on Sunday, 30th March.
|
| Apr |
The US space shuttle Columbia returns home 12 days early on 6th April due of a defective fuel cell.
On 8th April Conservatives in the constituency of Tatton meet to decide upon their candidate for the forthcoming general election. Despite a large number of abstentions and votes against him, the current MP Neil Hamilton, who has been at the centre of a "cash for questions" scandal, is re-selected as the Tory candidate.
On 12th April Pope John Paul II begins a two-day visit to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
Troops storm the Japanese embassy in Peru on 22nd April, bringing to an end a four-month siege of the building by anti-government rebels.
|
| May |
On 2nd May the UK has a Labour government for the first time in 18 years. Tony Blair is the new Prime Minister.
Martin Bell, former war correspondent for the BBC, defeats Neil Hamilton in the election and duly becomes MP for Tatton. Former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo loses his seat in Enfield Southgate. Other Tory casualties include Norman Lamont and David Mellor.
Four days after Labour's landslide election win the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announces that he is giving the Bank of England the freedom to control monetary policy without political interference.
On 19th May Tory MP Ann Widdecombe launches a fierce verbal attack on her former boss, Michael Howard, so ruining his bid to become leader of the Conservative Party.
Bill and Hillary Clinton visit the UK.
|
| Jun |
Noel Gallagher of Oasis marries Meg Mathews in Las Vegas on 5th June. The ceremony takes place at the Little Church Of The West, where Elvis Presley had married Priscilla.
William Hague becomes the new leader of the Conservative Party on 19th June.
On 20th June former Cabinet Minister Jonathan Aitken abandons his libel action against The Guardian newspaper and Granada Television.
Seventy-nine dresses and ballgowns from the wardrobe of Diana, Princess of Wales are auctioned in New York by Christies on Wednesday, 25th June, raising $5 million for charity.
At the stroke of midnight on 30th June the British formally hand back Hong Kong to China, so ending 156 years of colonial rule.
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is published on 30th June. The novel by J.K. Rowling has a first print run of 500 copies.
|
| Jul |
Following its aborted two-week mission in April, the space shuttle Columbia is relaunched on 1st July. This time the shuttle returns to earth on 17th July as planned.
The Pathfinder probe lands on Mars on 4th July.
Fashion designer Gianni Versace is murdered on 15th July outside his home in Miami's South Beach. Mourners joining friends and close family in Milan on 22nd July for a Mass in his memory include Diana, Princess of Wales, Elton John and Sting.
The IRA declares a ceasefire, starting at noon on 20th July.
|
| Aug |
A million people turn up at New York's Central Park on 7th August for a concert by country superstar Garth Brooks. Another 14.6 million watch the show live on TV.
On 25th August the former East German leader, Egon Krenz, is convicted on four specimen charges of incitement to manslaughter and sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
On Sunday, 31st August the world wakes up to the news that Diana, Princess of Wales has been killed in a car accident in Paris. Dodi Fayed and the driver of the car, Henri Paul, are also killed in the crash.
|
| Sep |
Spectator columnist Jeffrey Bernard dies on 4th September. Graham Lord, author of the play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell is barred by Bernard's family from attending his funeral.
Eight people are killed and more than 150 injured in a series of suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem.
Mother Teresa dies on 5th September, aged 87.
Princess Diana's funeral takes place on Saturday, 6th September after a week of unprecedented public mourning.
ABBA's producer Stig Anderson dies of a heart attack on 12th September.
On 14th September Pete Townshend unveils an English Heritage blue plaque at 23 Brook Street in London's Mayfair, where Jimi Hendrix had lived in 1968-69.
On Friday, 19th September an Intercity 125 travelling from Swansea to Paddington crashes into an empty freight train at Southall. Six people are killed and more than 150 injured.
On Monday, 29th September Nature magazine publishes the results of studies that proved the link between "mad cow" disease (BSE) and human brain disease (variant CJD).
|
| Oct |
John Denver dies on 12th October when the light aircraft he is piloting crashes into the Pacific Ocean.
The Council of Europe announces its plans for a ban on human cloning.
A House of Commons' Select Committee chaired by Gerald Kaufman submits a damning report on the mismanagement of London's Royal Opera House.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded jointly to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and Jody Williams.
On Tuesday, 21st October the Guinness Book Of Records declares that, with sales exceeding 31.8 million in just 37 days, Candle In The Wind 97 by Elton John is the biggest-selling single of all time.
|
| Nov |
British nanny Louise Woodward, who on 31st October had been found guilty by a Boston Court of murdering baby Matthew Eappen, has her conviction reduced to manslaughter. Her jail sentence is reduced to the 279 days she had already served and she is allowed to return home to Cheshire.
On 7th November the Spice Girls sack their manager, Simon Fuller.
Gary Glitter is arrested on Tuesday, 18th November on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
On Saturday, 22nd November the body of INXS singer Michael Hutchence is found hanging from the door of his Sydney hotel bedroom.
Speculation that Humphrey the cat, a former stray-resident of 10 Downing Street, had been put down is put to an end when a photographer is dispatched to the suburbs of south east London to take pictures of the cat in his new home.
|
| Dec |
On 3rd December the UK government bans the sale of beef on the bone.
On Thursday, 10th December the Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar, announces plans for Scotland to have its own National Assembly by 2000 - the country's first national parliament for three centuries.
The Conservative Party leader, William Hague, marries Ffion Jenkins on 19th December.
William Straw, the 17-year-old son of Home Secretary Jack Straw, is cautioned by police for selling cannabis to a journalist.
Microsoft buys the first webmail service, Hotmail, developed by two former Apple employees, in a deal worth a reported $400m.
Bores of the year, according to The Times, are the Spice Girls ("tarty and dull") and Christine and Neil Hamilton. DJ Chris Evans is The Times' "Ugly bloke of the year."
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| In the Charts |
| |
| UK Chart Debuts |
|
- All Saints
- Fatboy Slim
- Hanson
- Ricky Martin
- Puff Daddy
- Savage Garden
- Smash Mouth
- Steps
- Stereophonics
- Travis
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| UK Best-selling Singles |
|
- All Saints
Never Ever
- Tori Amos
Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big)
- Peter Andre
Flava
- Peter Andre
I Feel You
- Peter Andre
featuring Bubbler Ranx
Mysterious Girl
- Aqua
Barbie Girl
- Backstreet Boys
Anywhere For You
- Backstreet Boys
As Long As You Love Me
- Backstreet Boys
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
- Backstreet Boys
Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
- Gary Barlow
Love Won't Wait
- Boyzone
Baby Can I Hold You / Shooting Star (from the film 'Hercules')
- Boyzone
Isn't It A Wonder
- Boyzone
Picture Of You (from the film 'Bean: The Movie')
- Brand New Heavies
You've Got A Friend
- Cardigans
Lovefool (Re-issue - from the film 'Romeo and Juliet')
- Chemical Brothers
Block Rockin' Beats
- Chumbawamba
Tubthumping
- Eternal featuring BeBe Winans
I Wanna Be The Only One
- Hanson
Mmmbop
- Natalie Imbruglia
Torn
- Elton John
Candle In The Wind 97
- Katrina and the Waves
Love Shine A Light [Eurovision Song Contest Winner]
- R. Kelly
I Believe I Can Fly
- LL Cool J
Ain't Nobody
(from the film 'Beavis and Butthead Do America')
- Ricky Martin
Un, Dos, Tres, Maria
- No Doubt
Don't Speak
- Oasis
D'You Know What I Mean?
- Puff Daddy and Faith Evans (featuring 112)
I'll Be Missing You (Tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.)
- Savage Garden
I Want You
- Will Smith
Men In Black (from the film 'Men In Black')
- Spice Girls
Spice Up Your Life
- Steps
5,6,7,8
- Barbra Streisand / Celine Dion
Tell Him
- Various Artists
Perfect Day
- The Verve
Bitter Sweet Symphony
- The Verve
The Drugs Don't Work
- Robbie Williams
Angels
- Robbie Williams
Old Before I Die
|
|
One Hit Wonders |
| |
- Teletubbies
Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh
|
|
Hit Albums |
|
- Matraca Berg
Sunday Morning To Saturday Night
- Blur
Blur
- Eva Cassidy
Eva By Heart
- Beth Nielson Chapman
Sand And Water
- Depeche Mode
Ultra
- Celine Dion
Let's Talk About Love
- Nanci Griffith
Blue Roses From The Moon
- Natalie Imbruglia
Left Of The Middle
- k.d. lang
Drag
- No Doubt
Tragic Kingdom
- Oasis
Be Here Now
- Ocean Colour Scene
B-sides - Seasides and Firesides
- Prodigy
The Fat Of The Land
- Radiohead
OK Computer
- Kim Richey
Bitter Sweet
- Spice Girls
Spiceworld
- Shania Twain
Come On Over
- U2
Pop
- Verve
Urban Hymns
- Chely Wright
Single White Female
- Robbie Williams
Life Thru A Lens
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| At the Movies |
| |
| |
- Batman & Robin
- Bean
- The English Patient
- Everybody Says I Love You (Woody Allen)
- The Full Monty
- Love! Valour! Compassion!
- Mrs. Brown
- My Best Friend's Wedding
- Romeo and Juliet
- That Old Feeling
- Tomorrow Never Dies
- Wilde
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| On Television |
| |
| |
- Ally McBeal
(USA)
- BBC News 24
- Birds Of A Feather
(Series 7)
- The Brittas Empire
(Series 7)
- Clampers
- Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders
- Full Circle (Michael Palin)
- Ground Force
- Hotel
- It's Not Unusual
- Jonathan Creek
- Last of the Summer Wine
(Series 18)
- The Lily Savage Show
- Mastermind
(last episode)
- Men Behaving Badly
(Series 6)
- The Mrs. Merton Show
(Series 3 and 4)
- Night Fever
- A Question Of Sport
(Sue Barker)
- Roseanne
(last episode)
- Ruby Wax Meets...
- South Park
- Teletubbies
- This Life
(Series 2)
- Xena: Warrior Princess
|
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| Sporting Heroes |
| |
|
BBC Sport
BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Greg Rusedski
|
|
Football: Manchester United win the FA Carling Premier League Championship for the second year in a row.
Chelsea win the FA Cup.
Rugby: France win the Grand Slam in the Five Nations Championship.
Snooker: Stephen Hendry loses the final of the World Snooker Championship to Ken Doherty.
Hendry also loses in the final of the UK Championship, going down 10-6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Tennis: Martina Hingis wins the women's singles title at Wimbledon, beating Jana Novotna in the final (2-6, 6-3, 6-3).
Pete Sampras reclaims the men's singles title, beating Cedric Pioline in the final (6-4, 6-2, 6-4).
At the US Open Pat Rafter beats Greg Rusedski in the men's singles final; Hingis beats Venus Williams in the women's final.
Athletics: Wilson Kipketer sets a new World Record in the men's 800m (1:41.11).
Golf: Tiger Woods, entering his first major tournament as a professional, wins the US Masters at Augusta. He achieves the lowest total (270) and the largest margin of victory (12 holes) ever recorded at the Masters.
Ernie Els wins the US Open for the second time. Colin Montgomerie is runner-up, as he was when Els first won the title in 1994.
Justin Leonard wins the British Open at Royal Troon.
The European team, captained by Seve Ballesteros, retains the Ryder Cup, beating the United States at Valderrama by one point.
Motor Sport: Jacques Villeneuve wins the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship despite Michael Schumacher's attempt to ram him off the race track at the Spanish Grand Prix.
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| Page-turners |
| |
Man Booker Prize
Winner:
Arundhati Roy
The God Of Small Things
Jim Crace
Quarantine
Mike Jackson
The Underground Man
Bernard MacLaverty
Grace Notes
Tim Parks
Europa
Madelaine St. John
The Essence Of The Thing
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Remember then?
Send an e-postcard celebrating the '90s by clicking on this image.
|
 
Who said that?
Aim High
One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar.
Helen Keller
If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it;
Every arrow that flies feels the attraction of the earth.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Believe
If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right.
Mary Kay Ash
If you think you can win, you can. Faith is necessary to victory.
William Hazlitt
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt.
William Shakespeare, 'Measure For Measure' (Act I, Scene IV)
Time To Take A Chance
Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like hell.
Peter Brock
Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.
Jimmy Carter
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.
James Bryant Conant
To conquer without risk is to triumph without glory.
Pierre Corneille
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
George Eliot
He that would have the fruit must climb the tree.
Thomas Fuller
A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
Walter Gagehot
To get profit without risk, experience without danger, and reward without danger, is as impossible as it is to live without being born.
A. P. Gouthey
Do not fear to step into the unknown For where there is risk, there is also reward.
Lori Hard
It's time to start living the life you've imagined.
Henry James
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
William Shakespeare, 'Hamlet' (Act IV, Scene V)
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.
Tacitus
The bottom line is if you take a chance in life sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen but, honey, if you don't take a chance, nothing happens.
Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), 'The Golden Girls'
Talent
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage.
Sydney Smith
Talent Spotting
There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognise ability.
Robert Half
It is better to be looked over, than overlooked.
Mae West
Theatre
The theatre must be treated with respect; it is a place of strange enchantment, a temple of dreams; what it most emphatically is not is a scruffy ill-lit hall serving as a temporary platform for political or social propaganda.
Noël Coward
The aspirin of the middle classes.
Wolcott Gibbs
You need three things in the theatre - the play, the actors and the audience, and each must give something.
Kenneth Haigh
What should the theatre be? The theatre should be full.
Giuseppe Verdi
Theatrical Producers
There are, in general, two types of theatrical producers. One has a great many wealthy friends who will risk a tax-deductable loss. This type is interested in art. The other is one to whom each production means potential ruin or fortune. This type is out to make a buck.
George Sanders (as Addison DeWitt), 'All About Eve'
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