Paul Martin Layton (born 4 August 1947) is an English musician and former child actor. He is the bassist and vocalist of the group

The New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would hav ...

Biography

Acting

Layton studied acting, leaving school at fourteen to train at the Aida Foster Stage School. As a teenager he had parts in the films ''

I Could Go On Singing ''I Could Go On Singing'' is a 1963 British-American musical drama film directed by Ronald Neame, starring Judy Garland (in her final film role) and Dirk Bogarde. Originally titled ''The Lonely Stage'', the film was renamed so that audiences wo ...

'' (with

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

), and '' Beckett''; and television appearances in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' and ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's fi ...

'' amongst the three hundred in which he had acted in by the age of seventeen.

Music

Layton secured a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

in 1969, and released his first single "Mister Mister". The single was produced by

Ossie Byrne Oswald Russell "Ossie" Byrne (1926 – December 1983) was an Australian record producer, best known for producing the early recordings of The Bee Gees, including their first international hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941". The youngest of ...

, who was responsible for bringing the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

over to the UK from Australia. "Mister Mister" was a minor success in the Netherlands. Byrne was told by

Marty Kristian Marty Kristian (born Martins Vanags on 27 May 1947) is a German-born, British-based musician. He grew up, and started his musical career, in Australia, as a solo artist. He is a singer-song writer-guitarist and, in the 1970s, he became a heartt ...

that

were looking for a bass guitarist, and informed Layton who was accepted into the group. The New Seekers were about to begin a summer season at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

in 1970, when original group members Sally, Chris and Laurie decided to leave. New recruits Layton,

Lyn Paul Lyn Paul (born Lynda Susan Belcher; 16 February 1949) is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group the New Seekers in the early 1970s. She has more recently found success and criti ...

and Peter Doyle rehearsed for a fortnight with their musical director, Colin May. Layton originally auditioned for guitarist, but was chosen as their new bass guitarist instead. The New Seekers

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

of "What Have They Done to my Song Ma?" was selling well in the US having been recorded prior to the change in line-up. The three new performers began life with the group as it entered a successful and busy period, splitting their time between visits to the States and Europe. Layton played on a number of television programmes in the US, such as ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' and ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

''. He has remained a member of The New Seekers since 1977.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Paul 1947 births English male child actors English pop singers English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1972 Living people English male film actors English male television actors People from Beaconsfield The New Seekers Alumni of the Aida Foster Theatre School