The most familiar line-up included Eve Graham, Lyn Paul, Marty Kristian, Peter Doyle and Paul Layton. In addition to having several big hits, the group represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, finishing in second place. Author & Historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, that they got the biggest cheer of the night from the live audience in Edinburgh. They were hot favourites to represent the UK again in 1980 (albeit with only Paul & Marty still in the line up) with the song "Tell Me" but it was disqualified shortly before the televised final of A Song for Europe. Had they appeared in the 1980 UK contest, the group would have been up against their former lead singer Danny Finn who had recently married Eve Graham and was now the lead singer of the winning group Prima Donna. In addition, Mick Flynn and Donna Jones, two members of the current (2007) line up of The New Seekers were also in the field, competing under the group name Pussyfoot.
Their hit single "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", adapted from an advertising jingle for Coca-Cola, appeared 81st on the list of the UK's best-selling singles issued in 2002. It sold just under one million copies in the United Kingdom alone. The version used in the Coca-Cola television commercials was credited to The Hillside Singers, as many people of various backgrounds and cultures sang the song, holding Coca-Cola bottles on a hillside in the commercial. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was so firmly connected with the Coca-Cola product that it eventually became known as "The Coke Song". The song was relaunched in Coca-Cola commercials in 2005.
Other hit singles by The New Seekers included "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma", "Beautiful People" and "The Nickel Song", all of which were written by Melanie Safka. The New Seekers went on to sell over 35 million records worldwide, equalling the eight UK Top Twenty entries by The Seekers. Indeed, they released four albums during 1972 alone.
They also performed the title track to the now-legendary Marlo Thomas television special, "Free to Be... You and Me", a landmark program designed to teach kids how to express themselves and be independent through a series of vignettes which was rebroadcast on the cable network TV Land in late 2006 as a special add-on to their initial run of the classic series, THAT GIRL. Since the special was first broadcast in 1973 the song itself has since become a pop cult classic in its own right.
The New Seekers have continued to perform over the decades with an inevitable personnel changes which included Peter Oliver, Danny Finn, Caitriona Walsh, Nicola Kerr and Vikki James. The New Seekers toured in 2006 and 2007 with the established line up of: Paul Layton, Donna Jones, Francine Rees, Mick Flynn and Mark Hankins. A CD of the 2006 tour was released which includes all of the group's hits along with covers of 'Reflections', 'Run to Me' and 'Strangest Dream'. 2006 was completed with a Royal Variety performance at St. James Palace, London for HRH Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and an appearance on ITV's This Morning. The group are currently managed by Nic Culverwell.
The group's official website is at www.thenewseekers.com and myspace at www.myspace.com/thenewseekersofficial
One By One
The New Seekers Lyrics
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Led astray by the northern chaos gods
Calm before the storm we came from the north
Horses roamed in the open landscaped
The scald sang to their kings
Only he who battle wins
The scald sang to their kings
Tremble with fear for the banner of our kings
War now calls heed to the battle
Hear our swords clinging in the wind
Men cast from their saddles horses roar and scream
Descendants of wrath and the kingdoms of fear
The might we possess burn like fire
The will remain in our northern hearts
More scalps to be won, an eye for an eye
Aeons ago the legends tell we rode onward
Led astray by the northern chaos gods
One by one by the northern tribe you fall
One by one, die by the strongest of them all
Still there's only greatness sunged in those who fell
Who battled strong to win these wars
One by one we took your lives
Grey mist swirl across the meadows
Where battles once ruled the steps
Where the ancient armours of bronce
Are buried and corrored by time
Strong where those who won the war
And the legends tell only of wrath
As brothers of the northern tribes
They guarded the horders of chaos
We leave this Battlefields ground
Red where the rivers of blood
Unforgotten by the ones
Born of strength and glory
Tremble with fear for the banner of our kings
War now calls heed to the battle
Hear our swords clinging in the wind
Men cast from their saddles horses roar and scream
The lyrics of The New Seekers's song One by One contains themes of war, battles and conquest. The lyrics describe the legends of the northern chaos gods and how they led the northerners to war. The lyrics also depict the battlefield scenes with horses roaming, swords clanging and men cast from their saddles. The scalds sang to their kings, depicting the glory of battles won. The legends speak of the great warriors descended from wrath who fought strong and won the wars one by one. The lyrics give a slight reflection of the aftermath of war, with the meadows now covered in grey mist and ancient armours buried in time. The song ends with a hint of respect for the ones born of strength and glory.
The song One By One by The New Seekers was released in 1974. The song was originally recorded by The Wackers in 1971. The New Seekers's version was written by Hank Marvin, the lead guitarist of The Shadows. The song was not released as a single but was included in their album 'Together Again'.One by One was also covered by other artists including Susie Allanson and the Golden Bough in the Celtic Sunset album.
The New Seekers's band members included Eve Graham, Lyn Paul, Peter Doyle, Marty Kristian and Paul Layton. The band was formed in 1969 and was known for their harmonies and pop-folk sound. In 1972, they represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision song contest and placed second. Before joining the New Seekers, Eve Graham was a jazz singer, and Lyn Paul was a member of the pop group The Fortunes.
The song One By One was not a chart success for The New Seekers. They had a total of 8 top 40 hits in the UK and top 20 hits in the US. The band disbanded in 1974 but re-formed with various lineups, and they continued to perform until the early 2000s.
The New Seekers had a popular hit with the song 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing' in 1971. The song was originally an advertising jingle for Coca-Cola. The New Seekers's version of the song was included in their album 'We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'. The song became very popular and was included in the band's subsequent albums.
Chords: Unfortunately, the chords to One by One by The New Seekers are not publicly available.
Line by Line Meaning
Aeons ago the legends tell we rode onward
A long time ago, according to the legends, we rode forward
Led astray by the northern chaos gods
The northern chaos gods led us astray
Calm before the storm we came from the north
We came from the north when there was peace before the upcoming storm
Horses roamed in the open landscaped
The horses wandered around the open landscape
The scald sang to their kings
The scald poet sang to their kings
Only he who battle wins
The only way to win is to fight
Let the battle he fought to the won
Let him fight and win the battle
Tremble with fear for the banner of our kings
Feel afraid for our kings' banner
War now calls heed to the battle
It is time to fight the war
Hear our swords clinging in the wind
Listen to the sound of our swords clashing in the wind
Men cast from their saddles horses roar and scream
Soldiers fall off their saddles while horses scream and roar
Descendants of wrath and the kingdoms of fear
We are the offspring of anger and fear's rule
The might we possess burn like fire
Our power burns like fire
The will remain in our northern hearts
Our determination will stay in our northern hearts
More scalps to be won, an eye for an eye
There are more victories to be achieved, and revenge is sought
One by one by the northern tribe you fall
You fall one by one by our northern tribe
One by one, die by the strongest of them all
You die one by one by the strongest among us
Still there's only greatness sunged in those who fell
Only greatness is remembered in those who have fallen
Who battled strong to win these wars
Those who fought fiercely to win these wars
One by one we took your lives
We took your lives one by one
Grey mist swirl across the meadows
Gray mist swirls over the meadows
Where battles once ruled the steps
Where battles once dominated the landscape
Where the ancient armours of bronce
Where the old bronze armor
Are buried and corrored by time
Are buried and corroded over time
Strong where those who won the war
Those who won the war were strong
And the legends tell only of wrath
The legends speak only of anger
As brothers of the northern tribes
As brothers of the northern tribespeople
They guarded the horders of chaos
They protected the hoards of chaos
We leave this Battlefields ground
We leave this battlefield
Red where the rivers of blood
The rivers of blood have turned red
Unforgotten by the ones
One is not forgotten
Born of strength and glory
Born of strength and honor
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: OLVE EIKEMO, REIDAR HORGHAGEN, HARALD NAEVDAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Frye
I feel this is Priceless, THANKS to all of You in this Group for the Song. Love it.
Marie Piekarski
Beautiful song, B side to Beg Steal Or Borrow, I loved since childhood. x
Neil Reading
Hi Marie, me too. I heard it before I was a teenager and I'm now 57 !
Teresa Buley
Lovely song
Patrick Farrell
One of my favourites 👏👏
Paula Hunt
Lovely song RIP dear Peter it was the 16th anniversary of your passing 13-10-17 xox missed so much and loved by so many xox
David Reed
Loved the new seekers since 1971 with never ending song of love and peter doyle, marty kristian, paul layton , even graham, lyn paul , peter oliver were my idols i was up set when peter doyle left the group i got to like peter oliver but sadley the group were to break up 9 later to return 2 years later in 1976 but the best line up was gone they tryed in 1978 EVE AND DANNY FINN LEFT the group Marty kristian, paul layton , kathy anne rae stayed on donna jones replaced eve no charts hits since 1978 RIP PETER DOYLE , DANNY FINN, KATHY ANNE RAE
shazzer43
Beautiful was one of my favourites, should have been an A side, rather appropriate with what is happening with Russia and Ukraine at the moment.
Peter Sutton
Anti war song
blackmore4
Good verse, horrible chorus.