She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in second place and scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland, and had a successful career as a songwriter, record producer, actress and television celebrity.
[7] In one incident as a student aged 19, de Paul was concussed for two days following a fight with her violent father, prompting her to leave her comfortable family home for a two roomed flat above an Indian restaurant near her college.
In his 2015 autobiography, label mate Tom Jones wrote: "We had Lynsey de Paul, a big star, though she fell out with Gordon (Mills) for wanting to produce her own records".
According to an interview with Michael Robson, featured in the liner notes to "Sugar and Beyond", de Paul had to fight hard to get this single released - indeed she would have preferred it in place of "All Night" and also to keep the long closing instrumental part of the song.
In 1973, when Mick Ralphs left Mott the Hoople, his replacement Luther Grosvenor was contractually obliged to change his name – de Paul suggested Ariel Bender.
[68] De Paul continued to release singles through the mid-1970s, including the UK hit "My Man and Me", which she performed an acoustic version of on The Old Grey Whistle Test, along with "Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby", "Love Bomb", "Hug and Squeeze Me" and "If I Don't Get You the Next One Will".
[75][76] Other notable songs co-written by de Paul and Blue include "Tip of My Tongue" which was a radio hit and UK chart bubbler for the British group Brotherly Love as well as female vocal trio Ellie (a.k.a.
[80] De Paul's songs have reached the charts in many territories, including the US, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Israel, Canada and Australia.
[88] In April 1976, she appeared with Sacha Distel (who had, together with Petula Clark, recorded a version of "Taking It On", composed by de Paul and Ron Roker in 1973)[89] and Marti Caine at the London Palladium.
[103] De Paul also wrote and performed the theme song for "A Divorce", a series of three plays by Fanny Galleymore starring Julia Foster, Polly James and Michael Kitchen for the BBC[104][105] that was also broadcast on German TV.
[119] "Won't Somebody Dance With Me" was also featured in The Muppet Show, sung by Gonzo (Season Two, Episode 41 with Julie Andrews)[120] as well as in The New Mickey Mouse Club performed by Lisa Whelchel.
After a four-year period in California in the late 1970s and early 1980s with her partner at the time, actor James Coburn, whom she met at a party thrown by Joan Collins[133][134] de Paul returned to England.
[141] Her song "Brandy", which had been the B-side of the single "Getting a Drag" was released by Japanese singer Miki Asakura on her 1981 album "Sexy Elegance" with new lyrics and the title "Friday Night".
The script was written by writers including Michael Frayn, Jack Rosenthal and John Cleese with the epilogue provided by Alan Ayckbourn and narrated by Ian McKellen and also featured Joanna Lumley, Nigel Havers and Helen Mirren.
[173] She hosted television shows such as Club Vegetarian, Shopper's Heaven, Eat Drink & Be Healthy, Women of Substance, The Vinyl Frontier and 15 episodes of Living Room Legends, which featured home videos.
[45] A book based on the programme and video written by de Paul and Clare McCormick with the title Taking Control: Basic Mental & Physical Self Defence for Women, was published by Boxtree in 1993.
[183] In 2006, an updated DVD of her self-defence training programme, Taking Control: Simple Mental & Physical Self Defence for Women, was released[184] and featured on television (The Wright Stuff) and in the media.
It featured newly recorded and released songs, notably "Words Don't Mean a Thing" and "We Got Love", as well as reworked and updated versions of many of her classic hits, plus two club mixes of "Sugar Me" and "Getting a Drag".
[190] That year, she also released a new single "There's No Place Like London", her version of the song she had written for Shirley Bassey, featuring an all-star cast that included Frankie Vaughan, Patti Boulaye, Gareth Hunt, Kenny Lynch, Rula Lenska, Gwen Taylor, Lionel Blair, Lorraine Chase, Pam St. Clement, Harry Fowler, Polly James, Larry Adler, Rose Marie, Victor Spinetti, Gorden Kaye and the St Joan of Arc School Choir and credited to Lynsey & Friends.
Lionel Blair urged everyone to join the parade to promote London and Ian Fenn provided a report from Stock Aitken Waterman's Hit Factory, where the record was produced.
Other artists appearing on the album included Ron Moody (who sang "A Little Learning" as Prof. Maurice Molehead), Kate Robbins, Ian Lynn, Tony Jackson (bass player) and Jon Glover.
[194][195][196] It came with an accompanying song colouring book for Eurotunnel's mascot, entitled Marcus The Mole,[197] De Paul also signed up with Leosong in 1995, along with Barry Mason, Lonnie Donegan and Debbie Wiseman.
[224] She also appeared on the BBC program Breakfast on 4 October 2007 talking about the loss of her friend and colleague Ronnie Hazlehurst, specifically the TV themes he penned and his conducting of the orchestra with rolled up umbrella for de Paul and Moran at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, where he was dressed in a pin-striped suit and a bowler hat.
1 featured de Paul singing her song "Words Don't Mean a Thing", as well as other classic British artists such as Boy George, Peter Gabriel, KT Tunstall, Brian May, The Pretenders, Robin Gibb and Cliff Richard.
[237] From 2013 until her death, de Paul was a regular guest newspaper reviewer for BBC Radio London 94.9 FM on the Simon Lederman Show, commenting on the day's news and current affairs.
[240][241] Also that month, de Paul appeared as a guest on The Ken Bruce BBC Radio 2 programme, "Tracks of my Years", where she selected some of her favourite songs from other artists such as John Lennon, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lee Ann Womack and R.
[250] The PRS Foundation announced the 2018 winners of the Lynsey de Paul Prize on 27 September 2018, with soul singer-songwriter Amahla receiving the top bursary and five other (Bianca Gerald, Dani Sylvia, Fiona Lee, Rebekah Fitch and Harpy) being runners up.
[256] Bilal performed the song "Certified" which incorporates a looped sample of Klaus Wunderlich's version of "Sugar Me" and resulted in a writing credit for de Paul and Blue on Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol.
[300] In an interview with Drew Tosh from Northern Soul about female singer-songwriters, Bronté Barbé said "In the early 70s UK musical landscape, Lynsey de Paul was the only British woman to achieve major success with her own work.
In his book Settling Down, James Whitaker, the Daily Mirror's royal editor, wrote, "Fellow guests that night sat entranced as the Prince grew more and more friendly towards Lynsey, clearly bowled over by the diminutive singer's looks and bubbly personality".