THE NEW SEEKERS WERE FORMED IN 1969 BY AN AUSTRALIAN BY THE NAME OF KEITH POTGER WHO WAS A MEMBER OF SIXTIES BAND THE SEEKERS.THE ORIGINAL LINE UP CONSISTED OF EVE GRAHAM,MARTY KRISTIAN,LAURIE HEATH,CHRIS BARRINGTON AND SALLY GRAHAM.THIS LINE UP WOULD RELEASE ONE SINGLE AND ONE ALBUM.IN 1970 CHRIS,LAURIE AND SALLY LEFT TO BE REPLACED BY LYN PAUL,PETER DOYLE AND PAUL LAYTON. THE GROUP STARTED OUT AS VERY POPULAR IN THE STATES AND IN THE UK IN 1971 THEY RELEASED THEIR FIRST HIT CALLED NEVER ENDING SONG OF LOVE.THIS RECORD HIT NUMBER 2 IN THE CHARTS AND STAYED THERE FOR 4 WEEKS,IT WAS KEPT OFF THE NUMBER 1 SPOT BY T-REX . THE NEXT RECORD WAS GOOD OLD FASHIONED MUSIC WHICH ODDLY DIDNT CHART BUT AS A NOVELTY RECORD IS STILL INCLUDED IN THE GROUPS ACT AND REMAINS A FAVOUTRITE.IT FEATURED EVE ON GUITAR,MARTY ON BANJO AND LYN ON WASHBOARD AND CYMBALS. TOWARDS THE END OF 1971 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THE THE NEW SEEKERS WOULD BE THE VERY FIRST GROUP TO REPRESENT THE UK AT THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST. ON THE 1ST OF JANUARY 1972 THE NEW SEEKERS PERFORMED THE FIRST OF SIX SONGS FOR EUROPE.OVER THE NEXT SIX WEEKS THE GROUP SANG SIX SONGS AND EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP GOT TO SHOW THEIR TALENTS ON AT LEAST ONE OF THE SONGS.ON THE SEVENTH WEEK THE GROUP SANG ALL SIX SONGS AGAIN AND AFTER THE SONGS WERE PERFORMED, A FILM OF THE SIX SONGS WAS SHOWN. AFTER CLIFF INTRODUCED THE FIRST SONG EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP INTRODUCED THE FOLLOWING FIVE. THE FOLLOWING WEEK IT WAS ANNOUNCED BY CLIFF RICHARD WHICH SONG WOULD REPRESENT THE UK IN EDINBURGH ON 25TH MARCH.THE RESULTS FOR THE SONG FOR EUROPE ARE SHOWN BELOW. Song 1 OUT ON THE EDGE OF BEYOND 14645 pts 3rd place Song 2 SING OUT 7412 5th place Song 3 WHY CAN`T WE ALL GET TOGETHER 11337 pts 4th place Song 4 ONE BY ONE 27314 pts 2nd place Song 5 SONGS OF PRAISE 3842 pts 6th place Song 6 BEG, STEAL OR BORROW 62584 pts 1st PLACE !!!!! THE VOTES WE GIVEN VIA POSTCARD VOTING FROM THE BRITISH PUBLIC ALTHOUGH THE NEW SEEKERS DIDN`T WIN EUROVISION THEY CERTAINLY WERE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ACT OF THE EVENING. STRAIGHT AFTER EUROVISION THE STARTED A UK TOUR FINISHING OFF AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL AND THIS CONCERT WAS TELEVISED BY THE BBC ONE .THIS CONCERT HAS EVEN BEEN RELEASED ON VIDEO IN THE UK.A DVD WAS RUMOURED TO BE COMING OUT BUT SO FAR IT HAS NOT TURNED UP. DURING THIS CONCERT TOUR THE NEW SEEKERS INTRODUCED THEIR NEXT SINGLE AND THIS WAS CIRCLES,FEATURING EVE AND PETER ON LEAD VOCALS.THIS RECORD WENT TO NUMBER 4 IN THE CHARTS. SEEKERFEVER AS THE PRESS CALLED IT HAD BEGUN AND THE GROUP COULD DO NO WRONG. THEY THEN RELEASED THE OLD STANDARD COME SOFTLY TO ME FEATURING MARTY ON LEAD VOCALS AND THIS ONE CHARTED AT NUMBER 20. IN 1973 THEY RELEASED A ROCK TRACK CALLED PINBALL WIZARD FROM THE ROCK OPERA TOMMY,WHICH CHARTED AT NUMBER 16. IT WAS SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED THAT PETER DOYLE WOULD BE LEAVING AND HIS PLACE TAKEN BY ANOTHER PETER THIS TIME PETER OLIVER. TWO MINOR HITS FOLLOWED...NEVERTHELESS AND GOODBYE IS JUST ANOTHER WORD. WEVE GOTTA DO IT NOW WAS A KEEP BRITAIN TIDY ADVERT AND WAS TELEVISED REGULARLY FEATURING THE GROUP FILMED IN A BOAT AND TRAVELLING ROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE.THEY WERE ALSO ON BILLBOARDS ALL OVER THE UK,BUT THE SONG DIDN`T CHART. THEN LYN GOT HER TURN TO SING LEAD ON "YOU WONT FIND ANOTHER FOOL" AND WENT STRAIGHT TO NUMBER 1. SENTIMENTAL FOLLOWED ALSO BY LYN AND THIS GOT TO NUMBER 5. IN FEB 1974 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE GROUP WERE TO SPLIT UP AND TO GO THEIR SEPERATE WAYS. THEY EMBARKED ON A FAREWELL TOUR TAKING IN MOST BIG CITIES IN THE UK. WAS THIS THE END!!!!! IN 1976 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE GROUP WAS REFORMING WITH EVE,MARTY,PAUL AND LYN WOULD BE REPLACED BY KATHY ANN RAE AND PETER WOULD BE REPLACED BY DANNY FINN. SEVERAL SINGLES WERE RELEASED BUT WITHOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE PRVIOUS LINE-UP. IT`S SO NICE FAILED TO REACH THE TOP 40 AND I WANNA GO BACK CAME IN AT NUMBER 25 AND WENT DOWN THE FOLLOWING WEEK. IN AUGUST 1978 THE GROUP HAD THEIR LAST HIT WITH ANTHEM WHICH CHARTED AT NUMBER 21. THIS WOULD BE THE LAST HIT FOR THE NEW SEEKERS. EVE AND DANNY LEFT TO GET MARRIED AND PERFORM AS A DUO. THE GROUP STILL RELEASED RECORDS AND COMPILATION ALBUMS AND CDS. IN 1980 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THEY WOULD BE APPEARING IN THE SONG FOR EUROPE BUT WERE DISQUALIFIED AFTER THE BBC FOUND OUT THEIR ENTRY HAD BE PERFORMED ON A LOCAL NETWORK TV SHOW. IT IS AN AMAZING FACT BUT THE 1980 SONG FOR EUROPE HAD A NEW SEEKER FEEL ABOUT IT., a) DANNY FINN SANG LEAD VOCALS WITH THE WINNING SONG BY PRIMA DONNA b) DONNA JONES AND MICK FLIN SANG IN THE GROUP PUSSYFOOT AND LATER WOULD BE PERMENANT NEW SEEKER MEMBERS. IF THE NEW SEEKERS HAD BEEN ELIGABLE TO ENTER ,NO-ONE KNOWS WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED. THE NEW SEEKERS STILL PERFORM TODAY WITH MARTY,PAUL,DONNA,KATHY AND MICK. LYN PAUL HAS BEEN TAKING THE WEST END BY STORM IN BLOOD BROTHERS AND NOW IN TABOO. EVE RETIRED IN 2000 . PETER DOYLE SADLY DIED LAST YEAR OF THROAT CANCER IN AUSTRALIA.THE WORLD WAS ROBBED OF A GREAT TALENT. THE UNMISTAKABLE SOUND OF THE NEW SEEKERS WILL LIVE ON FOREVER! |