Check the On Disc page for a discography of Lyn's solo releases as well as earlier recordings with The Nocturnes and the New Seekers which feature her singing the lead vocal.
Late Night Grande Hotel was the title track of Nanci Griffith's1991 album, the sleeve notes of which included the following dedication: "To all the 'Grande' hotels (especially Blooms Hotel in Dublin) where I've so often taken rest and found some sense of place so far from my own home. I am grateful for your kindness." The song gave Lyn Paul the title for her 2006 album Late Night.
A gentle first verse, then Lyn lets rip on the chorus... The song is let down by the second verse where the lyric is inverted for the sake of a rhyme ("There's only one thing left for me. Now, Llewellyn, now your bride I'll be.") Lyn's vocals and the arrangement, however, offer ample compensation, with a particularly effective surprise ending, in which the opening refrain is played again on the guitar - just when you think the song has finished.
A real belter featuring Lyn's trademark growl on the line "It's easy enough to see that you're making a fool out of me.". An exuberant performance from Lyn with a raunchy guitar, brass and piano arrangement and soulful backing vocals.
Written by: F. Diez / Ron Roker Produced by: Ron Roker / Gerry Shury Arranged by: Ron Roker / Gerry Shury
While the New Seekers re-formed without her, Lyn continued her solo career by releasing what was to be her last single for Polydor. Mama Don't Wait For Me was a catchy pop song backed by a stunning version of Eric Carmen's classic ballad All By Myself.
Gerry Shury, who arranged and produced both the A and B-sides of the single with Ron Roker, had previously arranged some of the tracks on the New Seekers' album Together, the most memorable of which was the chart-topping single You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me.
Before becoming an arranger Shury had served his apprenticeship as a session musician, playing the piano for mainstream pop acts of the '60s such as Petula Clark. As the 1970s approached he worked with songwriter Tony Macaulay, arranging songs for the Fantastics. His reward came at the end of March 1971 when the Fantastics had a Top 10 hit in the UK with the single Something Old, Something New (Bell 1141).
Ron Roker also made his mark on the charts in 1971. In January that year Jackie Lee had a Top 20 hit with Roker's theme tune for the children's TV series Rupert The Bear. The following January brought an even bigger hit when Storm In A Teacup became a Top 10 smash for The Fortunes. Roker had written the song with Lynsey Rubin, who was at that time about to launch her own solo career as Lynsey de Paul.
Roker and Shury began their partnership in 1972, writing songs such as Do You Wanna Dance, a 1973 hit for Barry Blue (Bell 1336), and Guilty, a UK hit for the Pearls in the Summer of 1974 (Bell 1352).
They were also instrumental in the success of Sweet Dreams, who had a hit single in July 1974 with a cover version of ABBA'sHoney Honey (Bradley's BRAD 7408). The single featured former Pickettywitch vocalist Polly Brown singing a duet with Ron Roker.
In the mid '70s, before Shury's premature death at the age of 32, Roker and Shury worked with The Real Thing, Tina Charles and Biddu. Among their successes were the Shury-arranged and Biddu-produced hit for Carl Douglas, Kung Fu Fighting, and the Biddu / Roker / Shury composition Dance Little Lady Dance, which was a Top 10 hit for Tina Charles in 1976 (CBS 4480). Roker and Shury also produced and arranged Lyn Paul's 1977 single If Everybody Loved The Same As You.
B-side: All By Myself
Written by:E. Carman (misspelling on Lyn's single) Produced by: Ron Roker / Gerry Shury Arranged by: Ron Roker / Gerry Shury
Eric Carmen's version of All By Myself entered the UK singles chart on 10th April 1976 where it spent seven weeks, peaking at number 12. In the United States the song was an even bigger hit.
In December 1996Celine Dion also released the song as a single. Lyn's version falls somewhere between the two - more emotional than Eric Carmen's original but more restrained than Celine Dion's cover.
Catalogue Number: Polydor 2058 737 Released: 4th June 1976
Written by singer-songwriter Andy Fairweather-Low, this is a catchy number which Lyn has a lot of fun with. It features her doing a tap routine and calling out: "Music Hall, here I come!" In Australia the song was selected for release as a single (Polydor 2058 668).
Andy Fairweather-Low was the founder member of hit Sixties group Amen Corner. As lead singer Fairweather-Low had four Top 10 hits with the group, including a number 1 in 1969 with (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (Immediate IM 073).
In 1970 Fairweather-Low had a one-off hit, Natural Sinner, with the group Fair Weather. This was followed later in the '70s by solo hits with Reggae Tune (UK number 10, 1974) and Wide Eyed and Legless (UK number 6, 1975). Fairweather-Low's version of Mellow Down was released as a single (A&M AMS 7136) but was not a hit.
Being a good songwriter means paying attention and sticking your hand out the window to catch the song on the way to someone else's house!
Nanci Griffith
