The 50th Anniversary of The New Seekers – GOLD – All the Hits on 3 CDs
Released 25th September 2020
13 Top 40 Hits, 8 Top 20 Hits, 2 No.1’s Including…
I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing –
Released in 1971, I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing’ was The New Seekers’ third single. It followed the 1970 USA hit ‘Look What They’ve Done To My Song Ma’ (which was an airplay hit only in the UK) and their first UK smash hit ‘Never Ending Song of Love’, which reached No. 2 in 1971. The group was asked by ad agency, McCann-Erickson to record a series of 26 different radio jingles for the Coca Cola brand. These were sent to radio stations across the country and their reactions gauged. ‘I’d Like to Buy the World A Home’ was by far the most popular and this was chosen for the famous TV ad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib-Qiyklq-Q). As the band had prior contractual obligations, they were prevented from attending on the day of the shoot, so some actors and extras were brought in to mime to the group’s track! So successful was the ad that top writers Greenaway, Cook, Backer and Davis were commissioned to write the lyrics for a full-length song based on the jingle. ‘I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing’ was the result and the song went on to sell over 12 million copies across the globe, including both sides of the Atlantic and to No. 1 in the UK. It was the first advert jingle ever to become a hit song and it became the Peace Anthem of the 1970s.
Beg Steal Or Borrow –
The New Seekers were the first group to represent the UK in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest and were selected to do so prior to the success of ‘I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing’ becoming a hit, due to Cilla Black (who was originally picked to be the UK entrant) having to withdraw after she fell pregnant. The New Seekers appeared on the BBC TV Show ‘It’s Cliff’ for 12 weeks, which had in excess of 24 million viewers each week and this included ‘A Song For Europe’, where 6 songs were performed by the group. An audience vote was cast as to which one would be performed during the contest itself. Beg Steal or Borrow won the vote and was tipped to win but as was usual in those days, political issues seem to get in the way, and they were just pipped to the post by two rogue votes from certain juries! Today almost 50 years later Eurovision fans vote it as one of their favourite UK entries. It was a huge hit right across Europe.
Pinball Wizard / See Me Feel Me –
Pinball Wizard went Top 20 in the UK and USA and the pop world were ‘shocked’ that The New Seekers DARE to record such a song!!! However, Pete Townshend congratulated the group by telegram on a great version. The group were due to sing the song on the Val Doonican show on BBC 1 but had to pull out due to him not wanting such a ‘rock’ song performed on his programme!
You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me –
The group spent most of 1973 in the US touring with Dionne Warwick, Neil Diamond, Vicki Carr and Liza Minelli, returning home in November to release ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’ – giving them another No. 1 hit.
Never Ending Song Of Love –
Was The New Seekers first hit in the UK, a big No. 2 for the group (it went to No. 1 in the other official chart of the time). They were asked to perform 3 songs at the 1971 Royal Command Performance and had to fly back from the US in order to attend and then fly straight back next day. Lyn Paul almost missed the show as she was so poorly and was taken to hospital immediately afterwards.
New Seekers
Other Facts…..
The band were formed by founder member of 60’s group The Seekers, Keith Potger, after his group split. He decided to have two girls in The New Seekers as an insurance should one leave.
In Jan 1973 they were invited by President Nixon to attend his re inauguration at the White House as he loved the band.
‘Crying In the Rain’ reached No.1 in the Far East and appears here on CD for the very first time.
7 other songs on GOLD have never been on CD before including ‘Tell Me’ which was hoped to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980. However, two days before the Song For Europe contest the group were dropped due to having performed the song months before on Scottish TV. Coincidentally Danny Finn who had left the band in 1978 went on to repress the UK with his group Prima Donna.
‘Anthem’, featured on GOLD took the group back into the charts in the Autumn of 1978. Sitting at number 21 it was expected, after appearing on TOTPs that week to hit the top 10. However, a distribution issue by the record label meant that there were no copies of the song available for 2 weeks!
When the group supported Liza Minnelli on her 1973 US Tour she surprised them with a private jet full of naked ladies!
US President Barack Obama named ‘Free To Be You And Me’ as his favourite children’s song.
Heritage tomatoes are all the rage right now, and justifiably so! Sweet, succulent, colourful and full of flavour, the quality of heritage tomatoes, also known as heirloom tomatoes, is outstanding and miles apart from generic, red store bought tomatoes. Heritage tomatoes, with such whimsical names as Green or Black Zebra, Green Sausage, Candy’s Old Yellow, German Red Strawberry and Beefsteak, don’t just make for a colourful meal, but an extraordinarily tasty one, too, as they offer the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity and give the dish a complex, layered aroma. The soft, luscious flesh and fragrant aroma of the tomatoes pair extremely well with the creamy goat’s cheese, delicate fresh thyme and the nutty saltiness from the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and tender Coppa with its rich and meaty aroma. Best enjoyed with a glass of crisp white wine, this is the ultimate dish to celebrate the end of the summer season!
Ingredients:
For 3 stuffed tomatoes (1 portion)
3 mid-sized heritage (heirloom) tomatoes, mix of colours
3 slices of Coppa (cured meat from Northern Italy or Corsica, similar to prosciutto)
1 clove of garlic
4 tbsp. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2-3 pieces of sundried tomatoes
75g soft goat’s cheese
Olive oil
Fresh thyme
For the sauce:
½ yellow and ½ red pepper
1-2 tsp. cornflour
100ml vegetable stock
Olive oil
2 tbsp. Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Pepper, sea salt to taste
What you’ll need:
Chopping board
Kitchen knife
Measuring jug
Small mixing bowl
Small pot
Grater
Stick blender
Sieve
Tablespoon
Teaspoon
Whisk
Deep (non-stick) baking tray, preferably made from silicone
Method:
Take a sharp kitchen knife and, at an angle, carefully cut off the top (spare the stalk). Take a teaspoon and extract the juice sack (keep it for later).
Finely dice the garlic and place and equal amount in each hollowed out tomato.
Prepare the filling by combining soft goat’s cheese, diced sundried tomatoes, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, sliced Coppa, olive oil and a tablespoon’s worth of fresh thyme in a small mixing bowl. Stir well and use a teaspoon to evenly distribute the filling. Then, place the tomato tops back on the now stuffed tomatoes.
Cut the peppers into chunks, as well as the juice sacks from the tomatoes. This will add a nice flavour to the sauce later. Place the tomatoes in the deep baking tray. Around it, scatter the pepper and tomato chunks. Add vegetable stock and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top.
Bake it the oven, middle rack, fan 170°C or gas mark 4, for about 20 minutes. Then, carefully put the stuffed tomatoes on a plate, take the baking tray with the pepper chunks and liquid inside and pour it in a bowl. Then, put the tomatoes back onto the tray and bake them in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, puree the pepper chunks together with the liquid. Then pass everything through a sieve. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer. Stir in the cornflour to thicken the sauce, then add grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a dash of black pepper. Remove from the heat.
Pour the sauce on a deep plate, then place the baked tomatoes in the middle and drizzle some olive oil on top.
Enjoy !
(Credit to: Castelli/Parmigiano for these beautiful recipes)
“Wow! So pretty and so heart-felt. We need to be pretty strong here.” – Dr Brian May (Queen)
Linda Lamon
Hold On In Love’s Name – Released 25th September 2020
The response from Queen guitarist Brian May about her new song Hold On In Love’s Name, contributed to Linda Lamon making her decision to release the single, which was inspired by wildlife and the environment, to help his Save Me Trust. Linda decided to support the charity after seeing how hard the Surrey based team work to help reverse the effects of global warming and environmental damage by planting forests and caring for wildlife.
“We have very sadly seen a decline in wildflower meadows by 95% in the last 40 years and some of our insect population, such as butterflies and bees, reduced by up to 60%. This all effects our ecosystems and the natural food chain, which in turn affects us – and it’s all down to deforestation and building development. We desperately need afforestation programmes to help address the balance to save our planet for future generations.” – Linda Lamon
Originally from Stockport, Greater Manchester, Linda first met Brian after she penned The New Woodland Song to celebrate the planting of 100,000 native trees in his 160-acre woodland whilst living in Dorset in 2013. She performed it live with the village ladies and children’s choirs for the opening of the tree planting ceremony, only a few yards away from the rock star.
“The planting day was truly one of the most memorable and different days of my life – if those trees develop into healthy adults, I will feel that I contributed something significant in a small way in the rescue of the British countryside.” – Brian May
Linda & Brian May
The keen photographer went on to write two more songs with the charity in mind and has watched the wood flourish through her lens each year since 2013, creating a record of the growth and keeping the owner updated with photographs of the trees, shrubs and wildflower meadows.
“May’s Wood is now attracting new wildlife and it’s wonderful to see. We need lots more forests like this to be planted around the world before it’s too late. The UK government have recognised this but have not gone far enough. As we come out of lockdown in these unprecedented times living with the virus, we have seen that green spaces are vital for human health and well-being.”
It’s taken a while, you could say, for Linda to get fully on track with her music. At the age of 70, with two grown up daughters and four grandchildren, she is bringing out her first album, after launching her new single.
“Whilst many of the pop and rock stars from my teenage years are now enjoying a revival, I feel like I’m just beginning. We owe it to my grandchildren’s generation to make right what’s wrong and I’m hoping this song will go some way in creating awareness about this very real plight that affects their future.”
The forthcoming album, ABOUT TIME is aptly named to reflect the fact that it is about time she recorded songs she has been writing since she was 16. It also explains that these pieces really are about time as they cover four decades, from the eighties to the 20 twenties. A blend of country and pop, the tracks were recorded remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown by musicians in Nashville, USA, with Linda adding the vocals and mixing in Dorset and Manchester. Overseeing the project was producer Lynton Guest, former member of The Love Affair who had Number 1 hits in the 1960s with classic tracks Everlasting Love and Rainbow Valley.
Linda Lamon
“It took a 17 -year- old band mate to encourage me to record my own songs after I had spent years being involved with music in some form. But it still took me another ten years to get around to doing it. It was only after my husband died from Motor Neurone Disease that I picked up the gauntlet and ran with it.”
October 13, 2026 1915 Cornell Wilde 1921 Yves Montand 1923 Cyril Shaps 1925 Baroness Margaret Thatcher 1940 Chris Farlowe 1941 Paul Simon 1946 Edwina Currie 1959 Marie Osmond 1965 Cherelle
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