Culture Music Lynsey de Paul, singer-songwriter and Ivor Novello winner, dies aged 64

Esther Rantzen on Lynsey De Paul: ‘She was a renaissance woman. She could do everything.’ Photograph: Rex

Lynsey de Paul, singer-songwriter, Ivor Novello winner and TV personality, died in hospital on 1 October at the age of 64.
Although the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, she had complained of severe headaches and it is thought that she may have had a brain haemorrhage.
The singer scored a number of top 10 hits throughout her career, including her most well-known single Sugar Me, which landed in at No 5 in 1972. She became the first woman to win an Ivor Novello award for her hit Won’t Somebody Dance with Me, and represented the UK at the Eurovision song contest, teaming up with Mike Moran as the UK’s 1977 entry. They finished in second place with the track, Rock Bottom.
Aside from her career in pop, De Paul also wrote TV themes, such as for ITV sitcom No Honestly, which not only charted but won her a second Ivor Novello Award.
“Although she was small in stature, she was very big in positive personality. She was always so positive about everything,” her agent Michael Joyce said, adding that her family had requested privacy.
Broadcaster and friend Esther Rantzen – for whose TV series Hearts of Gold De Paul wrote the theme – said of the singer: “She was a renaissance woman. She could do everything: she could sing, she could compose, she was an immensely talented artist.
“She became a huge star but she was also a loyal and generous friend. It’s an absolutely tragic loss.”