John Paul Young
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John Paul Young (born June 21, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland) is an Australian singer.
Young moved to Sydney as a child and by the early 1970s had become the lead singer with the Sydney rock band Elm Tree. In early 1972 he was selected for the role of 'Simon Zealotes' in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar and he remained with the production until it closed in 1974.
Visiting producer-manager Simon Napier-Bell heard him singing with his group in a pub in Newcastle and persuaded him to sign as a solo artist to Albert Productions, (the company that had produced Australia's top Sixties group The Easybeats). Napier-Bell then produced Young's first hit single, Pasadena, at Armstrong Studios in Melbourne. The song was co-written by George Young and Harry Vanda of the Easybeats together with British actor David Hemming who was a partner in Napier-Bell's UK record label, SNB Records.
When George and Harry returned to Australia, they took over as Young's producers and began writing and producing songs for him. A string of hits followed in Australia including Yesterday's Hero, St. Louis, The Love Game, Here We Go, Keep On Smiling, Where The Action Is, I Hate The Music and I Wanna Do It With You. In addition to his Australian success, he achieved hit singles in Europe, Asia and South Africa. Yesterday's Hero also became a minor hit in the US.
In 1978 he released a disco song titled Standing In The Rain which became a major hit throughout Europe. Its successor, Love Is In The Air, became his only worldwide hit, peaking at #2 on the Australian charts, #7 in the US, and #5 in the UK. Subsequent singles such as The Day That My Heart Caught Fire and Heaven Sent continued the disco style but did not find an audience. He turned to a more contemporary rock style in the 1980s and had his final Top 10 hit in Australia in 1983 with the single Soldier of Fortune.
He ceased recording new music and concentrated on a second career as a radio disc jockey until the film Strictly Ballroom was released in 1992. Featuring a new version of Love Is In The Air the film was a success throughout the world, and Young's single once again peaked at number 2 on the Australian charts, and was a minor hit in the UK.
In 2000 he played to his largest audience as a featured performer at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics.