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Lynsey de Paul ‘stood out like a cut-glass decanter among milk bottles’ Lynsey de Paul ‘stood out like a cut-glass decanter among milk bottles’
(about 4 hours later)
My first memory of Lynsey de Paul is of a big-eyed lady with long blonde curls and a wide-brimmed hat, sat behind a piano sadly asking: “Won’t somebody dance with me?” I didn’t know the meaning of the word “coy”, but I knew what I saw was patently ridiculous. No one’s idea of a wallflower, Lynsey de Paul was the definition of a glamorous pop star. In the stack-heeled, feathercut pop world of 1973, she looked like she had stepped out of a Biba catalogue. My first memory of Lynsey de Paul, who has died aged 64, is of a big-eyed woman with long blond curls and a wide-brimmed hat, sat behind a piano sadly asking: “Won’t somebody dance with me?” I didn’t know the meaning of the word “coy”, but I knew what I saw was patently ridiculous. No one’s idea of a wallflower, she was the definition of a glamorous pop star. In the stack-heeled, feather-cut pop world of 1973, she looked as if she’d stepped out of a Biba catalogue.
I never met Lynsey, but words like “feisty” and “tough” would often be used to describe her, the usual loaded terms that suggest a smart, successful woman operating in a man’s world. There were plenty of songwriting teams on Denmark Street in the early 70s whose names crop up on almost any singles chart you look at – Cook/Greenaway, Macaulay/McLeod, Carter/Stephens – and De Paul/Blue was one. Lynsey de Paul, though, was the only woman in the crowd.I never met Lynsey, but words like “feisty” and “tough” would often be used to describe her, the usual loaded terms that suggest a smart, successful woman operating in a man’s world. There were plenty of songwriting teams on Denmark Street in the early 70s whose names crop up on almost any singles chart you look at – Cook/Greenaway, Macaulay/McLeod, Carter/Stephens – and De Paul/Blue was one. Lynsey de Paul, though, was the only woman in the crowd.
With either Ron Roker or Barry Blue, she wrote a bunch of hit singles, including Blue’s Dancin’ On A Saturday Night, a No 2 hit in 1973, and harmony group the Fortunes’ Storm In A Teacup, their first top 10 hit in seven years. Prior to this, she was a Hornsey College of Art alumnus, and designed album covers for Alan Bown and Mike Hurst. It was while delivering a poster she had designed to ATV Music in 1970 that she got chatting and ended up being offered a publishing deal. With either Ron Roker or Barry Blue, she wrote a bunch of hit singles, including Dancin’ on a Saturday Night, a No 2 hit for Blue in 1973, and harmony group the Fortunes’ Storm in a Teacup, their first top 10 hit in seven years.
Lynsey was eventually convinced to record her own songs, beginning with the terrific Sugar Me, a top five hit in 1972 built around a thumping piano, Stephane Grappelli-like fiddle, and her echoed whispers. The impact on a TV generation was much the same as Kathy Kirby’s 10 years earlier – super-glamorous, and not shy of using lipgloss, Lynsey was an obvious star. I’d say she was quite obviously a homegrown star, too; she must have stood out like a cut-glass decanter among milk bottles at Hornsey, but she was too quirky and individual to be a Hollywood wannabe. Before this, she was a Hornsey College of Art alumnus, and designed album covers for Alan Bown and Mike Hurst. It was while delivering a poster of hers to ATV Music in 1970 that she got chatting and was offered a publishing deal. Lynsey was eventually convinced to record her own songs, beginning with the terrific Sugar Me, a top 5 hit in 1972 built around a thumping piano, Stéphane Grappelli-like fiddle and her echoed whispers. The impact on a TV generation was much the same as Kathy Kirby’s 10 years earlier – super-glamorous, and not shy of using lip gloss, Lynsey was an obvious star.
And so it makes some sweet sense that she dated some of the world’s most eligible (Sean Connery, Dudley Moore, James Coburn) as well as chaps who were never likely to escort Faye Dunaway to the Oscars (Bill Kenwright, Roy Wood, Slade’s manager Chas Chandler). I’d say she was quite obviously a homegrown star, too: she must have stood out like a cut-glass decanter among milk bottles at Hornsey, but she was too quirky and individual to be a Hollywood wannabe. She dated some of the world’s most eligible men (Sean Connery, Dudley Moore, James Coburn) as well as chaps who were never likely to get to the Oscars (Bill Kenwright, Roy Wood, Slade’s manager Chas Chandler).
Her first album, 1972’s Surprise, included Sugar Me and the follow-up top 20 hit Gettin’ A Drag, plus Lynsey’s versions of songs she’d written for other people – Storm In A Teacup, Dana’s Crossword Puzzle, and Mama Do, originally cut as Papa Do by her songwriting partner, Barry Blue. It’s a gem, pitched somewhere between the English baroque found on high-priced rarities like Mandy More’s But That Is Me and the singer-songwriter slot on That’s Life. Lynsey’s melodic knack never lets her down, and she always sounds in control and playful. More than one person has mentioned a similarity to Kate Bush.Her first album, 1972’s Surprise, included Sugar Me and the follow-up top 20 hit Gettin’ A Drag, plus Lynsey’s versions of songs she’d written for other people – Storm In A Teacup, Dana’s Crossword Puzzle, and Mama Do, originally cut as Papa Do by her songwriting partner, Barry Blue. It’s a gem, pitched somewhere between the English baroque found on high-priced rarities like Mandy More’s But That Is Me and the singer-songwriter slot on That’s Life. Lynsey’s melodic knack never lets her down, and she always sounds in control and playful. More than one person has mentioned a similarity to Kate Bush.
Lynseywould be a TV regular for the next couple of years, and her singles never came close to formula: Won’t Somebody Dance With Me was a 1930s Palm Court pastiche (which earned her an Ivor Novello award – she was the first woman to win one); No Honestly was a sitcom theme (and a second top 10 hit in 1974); while Ooh I Do pulled out all the Spector-esque stops. Still, her sales dipped rather badly once she came under the management of the legendary hardman Don Arden. Two albums, Love Bomb and Taste Me Don’t Waste Me, show there was nothing wrong with her songwriting – Sugar Shuffle, from the former, is an especially gorgeous, woozy mid-70s confection, fit to sit at the table with Liverpool Express’s You Are My Love. She would be a TV regular for the next couple of years, and her singles never came close to formula: Won’t Somebody Dance With Me was a 1930s Palm Court pastiche (which earned her an Ivor Novello award – she was the first woman to win one); No Honestly was a sitcom theme (and a second top 10 hit in 1974); while Ooh I Do pulled out all the Spector-esque stops.
Tied into a trying contract, Lynsey wrote the 1977 Eurovision entry Rock Bottom with Mike Moran, partly because it would be released on another label. Rock Bottom would be her last top 20 hit. She was never likely to survive punk as a performer. Unapologetically Tory, she would go on to write a song for the party’s 1983 conference. Still, her sales dipped rather badly once she came under the management of the legendary hard man Don Arden. Two albums, Love Bomb and Taste Me Don’t Waste Me, show there was nothing wrong with her songwriting – Sugar Shuffle, from the former, is an especially gorgeous, woozy mid-70s confection, fit to sit at the table with Liverpool Express’s You Are My Love.
Tied into a trying contract, she wrote the 1977 Eurovision entry Rock Bottom with Mike Moran, partly because it would be released on another label. That was her last top 20 hit. She was never likely to survive punk as a performer. Unapologetically Tory, she wrote a song for the party’s 1983 conference.
Michael Robson, who wrote the sleevenotes for her CD reissues in 2012, thinks that during the 1968 Hornsey Art School sit-in “she seemed to spend most of her time protesting about the student protests, making friends with the head and the Daily Mail”. To quote Brandy, a track from her first album, “Mating is better than hating … and so ends my philosophy.”Michael Robson, who wrote the sleevenotes for her CD reissues in 2012, thinks that during the 1968 Hornsey Art School sit-in “she seemed to spend most of her time protesting about the student protests, making friends with the head and the Daily Mail”. To quote Brandy, a track from her first album, “Mating is better than hating … and so ends my philosophy.”
It’s always rather sad to discover more about a former star’s life once they die. I had no idea that Lynsey was abused by her father, and that she presented a self-defence documentary in the 80s called Eve Fights Back. What I do know is that I’ve made a point over the years of buying any obscure single I see with a Lynsey de Paul writing credit, and I’ve never regretted it. It’s always rather sad to discover more about a former star’s life once they die. I had no idea she was abused by her father, and presented a self-defence documentary in the 80s called Eve Fights Back. I do know I’ve made a point over the years of buying any obscure single I see with a De Paul writing credit, and I’ve never regretted it.
Bob Stanley is the author of Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop Bob Stanley is the author of Yeah Yeah Yeah: the Story of Modern Pop