Lynsey de Paul

Trained in classical music, London-born pianist Lynsey de Paul entered art college and turned her hand to designing album sleeves as a means to boost her income. This awakened her interest in songwriting and some of her first tunes were recorded by other artists in 1971. In 1972, after co-writing her first hit single for The Fortunes ("Storm in a Teacup"), Lynsey emerged as a performer in her own right with hit single "Sugar Me". Success as a singer-songwriter was consolidated with a run of hit singles and four albums, including representing the U.K. with Mike Moran in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, "Rock Bottom", which came second. In 1973, Lynsey was the first women to win an Ivor Novello award for "Won't Somebody Dance With Me", a feat she repeated again in 1974 for the TV theme "No Honestly". Ever busy, she also wrote a number of hits for other artists in the 70s and 80s. Lynsey was oft to be seen on a variety of UK TV shows, particularly during the 70s, displaying her varied talents and so it was inevitable that she would turn to acting. She has appeared on stage in the thriller "Shriek" and the musical "Pump Boys and Dinettes" as well as in the film Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984) and the TV drama The Starlight Ballroom (1983). More recently, she released a self-defense video for women, titled Taking Control (1992). She was well known for her stance on animal rights and her support for Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party, composing "Vote Tory, Tory, Tory for election glory", which she performed at the 1983 Conservative Party conference.