United Kingdom: Retrospective for Lynsey de Paul

by Alex Noone 807 views

Lynsey de Paul has announced the forthcoming release of the first official anthology of her 1970s recordings.

Two double disc sets will be available from 18 March 2013 on Cherry Red Records. The first, Sugar and beyond, covers the period 1972-1974, and the second, Into my music, 1975-1979. The discs will include tracks that have not been released before as well as many favourites, including her Eurovision song, Rock bottom.

Although celebrated as a solo performer, it was as part of a duo that Lynsey de Paul represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977. De Paul teamed up with singer-songwriter Mike Moran to write, compose and eventually perform Rock bottom at the Eurovision final at Wembley Conference Centre, London. The pair were narrowly beaten into second place by France’s Marie Myriam with L’oiseau et l’enfant.

Lynsey de Paul was on the UK jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, but her relationship with the competition has not always been easy. Her performance on Song For Europe 1977, the television programme deciding the UK’s entry that year, was marred by a cameraman strike at the BBC. Minutes before the live show, the performers were told it would be broadcast on radio only. ‘We had got all these little outfits made up,’ she told interviewers, ‘…we had 22 feet of piano, and we had Lionel Blair choreograph…and it went out on radio.’

Since her experiences at Eurovision, Lynsey has continued to make music and in 2005 was given a Gold Badge Award by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for her outstanding contribution to Britain’s music industry.

Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran in 1977 –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb4Toha0QR0