Editing Paper Lace

{{short description|English pop rock band}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Paper Lace
| image             = Paper Lace - TopPop 1974 04.png
| caption           = Paper Lace in 1974
| background        = group_or_band
| years_active      = 1967–present
| origin            = [[Nottingham]], England
| genre             = [[Pop rock]], [[power pop]], [[glam rock]]
| website           = {{URL|originalpaperlace.com}}
| label             = {{hlist|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[Parlophone|Bus Stop]]}}
| current_members   = *Phil Wright
*Dave Major
*Phil Hendricks
*Dale Corcoran
| past_members      = *Roy White
*Dave Manders
*Michael Vaughn
*Peter Oliver
*[[Jamie Moses]]
*Cliff Fish
Chris Morris
}}

'''Paper Lace''' is an English [[pop rock]] band formed in [[Nottingham, England|Nottingham]] in 1967. They achieved fame and success in 1974 when they had three UK [[Top 40]] hit singles, including the number one hit "[[Billy Don't Be a Hero]]". In the United States they are considered a [[one-hit wonder]], having had a lone US number one hit in 1974 with their signature song, "[[The Night Chicago Died]]".<ref name="The Original 70s PAPER LACE official Facebook">{{cite web |url=https://en-gb.facebook.com/-Original-70s-PAPER-LACE-1663775227197513/|title=Phil Wright's Original 70s Paper Lace|website=En-gb-facebook.com|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

==History==
The core of the band formed in 1967 as [[Music Box]]. Members Cliff Fish, Dave Manders, Roy White, and Phil Wright performed covers by the likes of the Beach Boys.<ref name="Phil Wright PAPER LACE interview">{{cite web |url=https://www.salfordradio.com/Tommyhugh/phil-wright-paper-lace-interview/|title=Phil Wright (Paper Lace) interview|website=Salfordradio.com|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref> In 1969 they changed their name to Paper Lace. They worked their way through small club [[concert|gigs]], a season at [[Rochdale]] club Tiffany's, and in 1971 at [[The Birdcage]] in [[Ashton-Under-Lyne]]. In 1972 Paper Lace released ''First Edition'', the first of two studio albums.

Despite some TV appearances, the band achieved no mainstream success until 1973 victories on ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'', a talent contest series, broadcasting at that time on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. The band had auditioned for the programme in 1970, but they were not called to appear until 1973. According to Phil Wright (then lead singer, now lead singer of Phil Wright's Original 70s Paper Lace), the band initially questioned whether they should go on the show, but with ''Opportunity Knocks''{{‘}}s weekly viewing figures of 7 million, they concluded that going on the programme was a 'no brainer'. Paper Lace won for five consecutive weeks.<ref name="Q&A with Phil Wright, drummer from Paper Lace">{{cite web |url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/q-phil-wright-drummer-paper-lace/story-28702516-detail/story.html|title=Q&A with Phil Wright, drummer from Paper Lace|website=Nottinghampost.com|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

On the basis of ''Opportunity Knocks'' performances, songwriters [[Mitch Murray]] and [[Peter Callander]] offered the band "[[Billy Don't Be a Hero]]", with the possibility of more songs if it took off. The song spent 14 weeks on the [[UK Singles Chart]], three weeks of them at [[Chart-topper|number one]]. It was followed by another Murray/Callander composition, the story song "[[The Night Chicago Died]]", which reached Number 3 in the UK in its 11 weeks on the chart. In late 1974, Murray and Callander’s third song for the band, "The Black-Eyed Boys", took Paper Lace to Number 37 in Canada and Number 11 during its 10-week UK run.<ref name=PL2003>[http://www.sonsandlovers.co.uk/PAPER%20LACE.htm "Paper Lace"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908035738/http://www.sonsandlovers.co.uk/PAPER%20LACE.htm |date=8 September 2006 }} [http://www.sonsandlovers.co.uk/ Sons and Lovers website], 2003. Retrieved 9 September 2006.</ref><ref name="Official Charts">{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14946/paper-lace/|title=Singles – Paper Lace|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Paper Lace - TopPop 1974 09.png|thumb|200px|left|Paper Lace, 1974]] 

In the United States, with the subject matter of "Billy Don’t Be a Hero" assumed to be about the [[Vietnam War]], it seemed logical that the song should become a hit there. But [[Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods]] were the first to release the song in the US, and Paper Lace's version did not catch on, peaking at number 96. However, their follow-up, "[[The Night Chicago Died]]", although a historically inaccurate tale of a violent battle between the forces of gangster [[Al Capone]] and Chicago police during the [[Prohibition era]], had no such competition. Despite contractual hassles preventing the band from performing the song in America, it topped the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] for one week. Having sold over three million copies, it was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[R.I.A.A.]] in August 1974.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/83 83]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/83
}}</ref>

Also in 1974, the band released its second of two studio albums, ''Paper Lace and Other Bits of Material'' (1974). The band line-up covering the three UK hit singles consisted of Philip Wright on drums/lead vocals, Mick Vaughan on lead and rhythm guitar, Cliff Fish on bass guitar, and Chris Morris on guitar and vocals.<ref name="Paper Lace 8438">{{cite web |url=http://www.memorabilia-uk.co.uk/p/paper-lace|title=Paper Lace Reference number: 8438 |website=Memorabilia-uk.co.uk|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref> Later that year, Carlo Paul Santanna joined Paper Lace on the advice of management as a fifth band member. This membership was very short-lived; in fact, it only lasted for six months<ref name="Carlo Paul Santanna">{{cite web |url=http://www.ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk/page/carlo_paul_santanna|title=Carlo Paul Santanna |website=Ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

Paper Lace were reportedly the most successful band Nottingham ever produced. Among other accolades, they were invited to perform on the [[Royal Variety Performance]] in front of [[the Queen Mother]].<ref name=PL2003 /> However, as musical tastes and styles evolved in the mid-1970s, the band's popularity waned, and by early 1976 Vaughan and Morris had left the band, replaced alongside Wright by [[Jamie Moses]] from 1975 to 1978 and Peter Oliver (previously with [[The New Seekers]]).

In 1978, the band re-surfaced briefly with a sing-along version of "[[We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands]]" with their local [[association football|football]] team, [[Nottingham Forest F.C.]] (Sendra, 2006). The [[7-inch single]], with "The Nottingham Forest March" as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]], spent six weeks on the UK chart and reached Number 24, but went [[Top 40|Top 10]] in the Netherlands.<ref name="60srr">{{cite web|url=http://60srocknroll.com/2016/08/13/paper-lace-band/|title=Paper Lace (Band)|website=60srocknroll.com|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

Paper Lace disbanded in 1984, but Phil Wright and Cliff Fish reformed the band in 2009.

In 1990, three original Paper Lace members, Philip Wright, Mick Vaughan, and Chris Morris, received financial backing to re-record "Billy Don't Be a Hero" with an up-to-date sound. However, it was never released because, when the [[Gulf War]] began, the BBC banned songs it deemed inappropriate to broadcast during wartime, and "Billy Don't Be A Hero" was among them.<ref name="Paper Lace">{{cite web |url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/paper-lace-discovered-going-power-beeb/story-17799404-detail/story.html#PF74F06lRs5IP27T.99|title=As Paper Lace discovered, 'there was no going against the power of the Beeb' | date=9 January 2013 | newspaper=Nottingham Post|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

In 1997, Wright joined the band Sons and Lovers but left in 2008. He continues to perform with the reformed Paper Lace, now known as Philip Wright's Paper Lace. The band members are Phil Wright (drums, lead vocal), Dale Corcoran (bass and vocals), Dave Major (keyboards and vocals), and Phil Hendriks (lead guitar and vocals). They released a new album of songs that are recently re-recorded songs from the hit album ''Paper Lace And Other Bits Of Material''.  The CD is entitled ''It's Worth It'' and is dedicated to the life and memory of original bassist Cliff Fish, who died from cancer on 14 April 2023 at the age of 73.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Duffy |first1=Carly |title=Paper Lace's Cliff Fish dies aged 73 after battling cancer with 'bravery and courage' |url=https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/breaking-paper-laces-cliff-fish-29723346 |access-date=16 April 2023 |publisher=Daily Star |date=16 April 2023}}</ref>

==Hit era band members==
*Phil Wright (born Philip Wright, 9 April 1948, [[St Ann's, Nottingham|St. Ann's]], Nottingham, England) — drums/lead vocals
*Mick Vaughan (born Robert Michael Vaughan, 27 July 1950, [[Sheffield]], Yorkshire) – lead/rhythm guitar/arranger/backing vocals
*Cliff Fish (born Clifford Victor Fish, 13 August 1949, [[Ripley, Derbyshire|Ripley]], [[Derbyshire]], died 14 April 2023) – bass guitar/backing vocals
*Chris Morris (born Christopher Morris, 1 November 1954, Nottingham, England) – rhythm/lead guitar/keyboards/backing vocals

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of albums, with chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;" | Album details
! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart<br />positions
|-
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | <small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]</small><br /><ref name="aus">{{cite book|last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition=illustrated |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |page=228}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | <small>[[Billboard 200|US]]</small><br />
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | <small>[[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]</small><br /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Volume+22+No.+10+-+October+26%2C+1974.pdf| title=RPM Magazine - October 26, 1974 - Page 12|website=Rpmimages.3345.ca}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''First Edition''
|
* Released: March 1972
* Format: [[LP album|LP]]
* Label: PHILIPS (6382 101)
| align="center" | -  || – || –
|-
! scope="row" | ''Paper Lace And Other Bits of Material''
|
* Released: June 1974
* Format: LP
* Label: BUS STOP (BUSLP 8001)
| align="center" | 32 || 124  || 74
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:40px;"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]
! style="width:40px;"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]
! style="width:40px;"| [[Irish Recorded Music Association|IRE]]<br /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement | title=The Irish Charts - All there is to know |website=Irishcharts.ie}}</ref>
! style="width:40px;"| [[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br /><ref name="aus" />
! style="width:40px;"| [[New Zealand Listener|NZ]]<br /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20rianz&qartistid=811#n_view_location|title=Flavour of New Zealand|website=Flavourofnz.co.nz|access-date=12 April 2023}}</ref>
! style="width:40px;"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/list.aspx?OCRText=Paper+Lace&ChartEn=Top+Singles&|title=RPM Top Singles, 1974-75|website=Bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref>
|-
| 1971
| "You Can't Touch Me"
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
| Concord CON 020
|-
| 1972
| "In the Morning (Morning of My Life)"
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
| Concord CON 021
|-
| 1973
| "Ragamuffin Man"
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
| Concord CON 027
|-
|rowspan=3| 1974
| "[[Billy Don't Be a Hero]]"
|align=center|96
|align=center|1
|align=center|1
|align=center|1
|align=center|3
|align=center|51
| Bus Stop Bus 1014
|-
| "[[The Night Chicago Died]]"
|align=center|1
|align=center|3
|align=center|5
|align=center|1
|align=center|1
|align=center|2
| Bus Stop Bus 1016
|-
| "[[The Black-Eyed Boys]]"
|align=center|41
|align=center|11
|align=center|7
|align=center|23
|align=center|—
|align=center|37
| Bus Stop Bus 1019
|-
|rowspan=2| 1975
| "[[Hitchin' a Ride (Vanity Fare song)|Hitchin' a Ride]] '75"
|align=center|—
|align=center|55{{Efn|Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".|name=fn2|group=upper-alpha}}
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|16
|align=center|—
| Bus Stop Bus 1024
|-
| "So What If I Am"
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|64
| Bus Stop Bus 1026
|-
| 1976
| "I Think I'm Gonna Like It"
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
| EMI EMI 2486
|-
| 1978
| "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands"
|align=center|—
|align=center|24
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
| Warner Bros K 171i7
|}

===CD releases===
*''Paper Lace and Other Material'' / ''First Edition'' (Double CD) – Cherry Red / 7t's Label Cat No. Glam Cdd 109; both albums, plus B-sides to all singles released until 1975<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 416}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-Band/The-Original-70s-PAPER-LACE-1663775227197513/ Official facebook page (Phil Wright's original 70s Paper Lace)]
* [http://paperlace.co/ Official website (current band with the Paper Lace name)]
* {{imdb name|2733380}}
* {{discogs artist|Paper Lace}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English pop music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Nottingham]]