Lynne Hamilton
Encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Lynn HamiltonLynn HamiltonLynn Hamilton is an American actress who made her film debut in John Cassavetes' Shadows .She perhaps is best known for her role as "Donna Harris", a role she played on the hit NBC-TV sitcom Sanford and Son, from 1972 to 1977 as the Fred Sanford's girlfriend and fiancee, Donna.In addition to her...
.
Lynne Hamilton is a singer and Evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
minister.
Early life and career
Hamilton was born in LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the eldest of four children. Her career as a singer began as a teenager when she joined a backing group The Desperadoes. They appeared on the same bill as acts such as The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Freddy and the Dreamers and The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
. Lynne Hamilton knew the Beatles personally, having been signed with the same record labels and having been on the same TV shows and at the same parties and social promotional events for the record label for 4 years. Lynne and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
were close friends for some years - This was while Lynne was in her four year stint as a singer with The Caravelles
The Caravelles
The Caravelles, Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson , were a British duo girl band, best known for their 1963 hit single, "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry"....
, who successfully toured in the UK and across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with number 1 hits on the charts. In 1971 Hamilton moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where she variously owned and operated a car hire company and restaurants - later returning as a number one hit singer with the theme song of the TV series Prisoner.
"On The Inside" and Prisoner
In 1979 Lynne Hamilton was given the opportunity, having been a popstar in England with The Caravelles, to sing a song titled - "On the InsideOn the Inside (song)
"On the Inside" is the theme song for the Australian soap opera Prisoner . It was written by Allan Caswell and performed by Lynne Hamilton....
" - which launched her into the spotlight once again. She was chosen as the 'unknown' singer, in Australia, to record the theme tune for a new soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
set at a women's prison: Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
. The song, "On the Inside" was written by Allan Caswell
Allan Caswell
Allan Caswell is an Australian songwriter and performer, author, record producer, freelance journalist and teacher. He has had over 900 songs published and over 500 recordings of his songs worldwide in a career lasting over 30 years....
and was released as a single in Australia. It reached number one in the singles chart and sold in excess of 80,000 copies. Lynne appeared on many T.V shows, radio programmes and her song hit the heart of many Australians, particularly women, and the hit song became an Australian favourite. She was a star again. Her schedule again increased and many tours within Australia was the result.
Ten years after this initial success, the song was issued in the UK for the first time. To coincide with the series' first broadcast on UK television the single was rush-released and reached number 3 in the UK singles charts in 1989. Hamilton then performed "On the Inside" on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and similar TV programmes throughout the UK. A worldwide search had been initiated (in England) to find the 'lost' singer, because of the TV theme song's success in England, and eventually Hamilton was located in her new home in Queensland, Australia.
She also recorded and released "In Your Arms (Love song from "Neighbours")
In Your Arms (Love song from "Neighbours")
"In Your Arms ", is a single released by Lynne Hamilton, famous for performing the theme song to Prisoner, written by then-Executive producer Don Battye and Peter Pinne .The song was used as a love theme on the Australian soap opera Neighbours and used in several episodes in 1989...
", used in the soap Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Church Ministry
Although Lynne has recorded a number of albums and other songs, she will be forever associated with her only hit single - "On The Inside". Hamilton returned to her new career as an Evangelist Minister, although she still makes appearances in cabaret and on television. Lynne Hamilton is the Founder and Senior Minister of Forerunners International Ltd. and Gold Coast Prophets, a company of ministries being used by God to establish a Prophet/Apostolic stronghold on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia - which has wide influence within the Nation of Australia. Lynne Hamilton also has an Apostolic and Prophetic Church in Bath, England, which was founded in May 2005.Some other local churches can also be seen in the photos of Forerunners' web site's images section.
Lynne is mother of two sons, Brett and Scott Hamilton, and is married to her husband Tim Cassidy. Her son Brett Hamilton, has had one child, Madison Jordan who attends High School in Toowoomba where she now lives. Lynne's other son Scott has also had children. The first being Zack Hamilton who is 6 turning 7 and is starting his first year in Primary School. The other being Scott's newest, Ruby Hamilton who is only 4 days old.
Lynne continues as a gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
recording artist to this day, with plans to record another gospel album - of which she has made four.