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I want to teach the world their cup size: How New Seeker Eve Graham went from singing with the stars to fitting bras
Updated 12:00pm on 17 May 2008She was a global superstar in a band that sold 25million records, mixing with Bob Dylan, Henry Kissinger and Paul McCartney.
So when Eve Graham, lead singer of The New Seekers, left the group to pursue a solo career 30 years ago, she had every hope of a glittering future.
But Miss Graham has revealed that her dreams ended in tatters - and left her forced to take up a job fitting bras in Debenhams to make ends meet.
Miss Graham, now 65, said: "For a while I was angry and bitter about it, but in the end I decided I just wanted to get out of the house and try something else.
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Popular: Eve Graham (second from left) with The New Seekers in 1975 before her dream career ended in tatters and she became a bra fitter
Miss Graham in 1989, still recognisable 11 years after leaving the group
"I spent two years as a bra-fitter and I took pride in what I was doing. I think the same part of me that enjoyed being an entertainer enjoyed making women feel better about themselves."
The New Seekers, one of the most popular bands of the 1970s, represented the UK at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second with Beg, Steal Or Borrow. The following year they played at the inauguration ball for President Richard Nixon.
Hits included What Have They Done to My Song Ma? and Never Ending Song of Love, while I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing sold more than 12million records worldwide.
Miss Graham left the band in 1978 to go solo and marry fellow band member Kevin Finn. She claims not to have received a penny in royalties since 1973 because of a legal dispute over her contract, which is still ongoing.
She explained that the offers from record producers and agents dried up, leaving her no option but to pursue an alternative career.
"I saw an advert for a vacancy at Debenhams in Colchester, which is where we lived, and thought it would be good to give it a go.
"I know to fans it might sound like a very ordinary thing to do - but I am ordinary. Everybody has different phases in their life."
The singer may yet have a second shot at stardom after David Mackay, the producer of I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing, got in touch to talk about making an album. Miss Graham, who lives in Perthshire, is now again pursuing her singing career with the Scottish label Scotdisc.
Reader views (1)
I know what it's like to fall on hard times. Lyn Paul, now a star of musical theatre, may have been the best all-round entertainer in the New Seekers - but Eve was the best singer. With her 3-octave range, she reached some remarkably high notes in the band's breakthrough hit "Never Ending Song Of Love". In the ballad "Circles", however, she sang mainly in her warm, rich lower register. I also adored her kazoo solo in the New Seekers' live favourite, "(Ever Since You Told Me That You Loved Me) I'm A Nut" - it was highly syncopated and thus difficult to play unless you're a vocalist of Eve's calibre. Sadly, too many great singers and musicians are denied the recognition they merit.
- J J Bevan, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 21/05/2010 12:27
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