Noel Harrison
The Windmills of Your Mind.com
Welcome to thewindmillsofyourmind.com, the only site on the web dedicated to Noel Harrison, the man behind The Windmills of Your Mind.
The site covers all of Noel's career, from his first single in 1958 and his first album in 1960, right up to his last album in 2013.
News
Oldest known footage of Noel Harrison released
The oldest known surviving footage of Noel Harrison performing live has been released by the Ed Sullivan show.
In August 2024, the show's YouTube channel published Noel's performance of Padam, Padam from June 26, 1960.
The footage is two years older than the clip from Noel's appearance on the UK TV show Man of the World, which was previously the oldest known footage.
For more of Noel's appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, see is dedicated page.
Noel Harrison album re-released
In 2023, the 1966 album Noel Harrison was re-released in Japan by a company called Oldays Records.
The album comes in a lovely package with extensive Japanese liner notes. The sound quality of the album is possibly the best ever heard.
The CD also includes a copy of the 1967 album Collage, however this is of much lower audio quality and does not match what is available on streaming sites.
The Noel Harrison album has been re-released on CD in the past by Rev-Ola, but their version is now deleted. Collage has never been released on CD before.
The album is available to buy from Japan here.
News: New videos discovered
A treasure trove of videos showing Noel Harrison performing songs from his classic 1979 album Mount Hanley Song has been discovered.
The footage comes from two episodes of the 1977 series Makem and Clancy, which has been restored and published on YouTube by the Ward Irish Music Archives.
The footage includes the only known live recordings of Noel singing such classics as Wild Child, Southward Bound and Lilly from the Mount Hanley Song album.
Southward Bound is here, but to see all of the videos, go to the new Makem and Clancy page.
New recordings: The Ed Sullivan Show
Three new recordings of Noel Harrison performing on the Ed Sullivan Show have been released.
The first track of Noel's to be published on the Ed Sullivan Show's YouTube channel was a live recording of the music hall song Don't Dilly Dally on the Way. The second was a recording of Noel singing Bob Dylan's Mr Tambourine Man.
No archive recordings of this show have ever been released before, so this is the first time these recordings have been heard since they were first broadcast.
For more details, go to the show's new dedicated page.
New videos: The Mike Douglas Show
New footage of Noel Harrison's appearance on the February 2, 1970 edition of the Mike Douglas Show has been discovered.
In the episode of the long-running talk show, Noel performs his single Tin Wedding and his self-written song In My Time. He also discusses his career with Mike.
Featured here is Noel performing Tin Wedding. To watch all of Noel's appearance on the show, go to its new dedicated page.
News: Career spanning interview published
An excellent interview spanning virtually all of Noel Harrison's career has been published on the internet, 20 years after it was recorded.
The interview by American TV presenter, Joan Quinn, was uploaded to YouTube at the end of March 2020.
In the 16 minute film, Noel discusses the beginnings of his musical career, his time in the Girl from UNCLE, his stage acting and the reason behind his decision to move to Canada at the peak of his fame.
The interview with Noel is available below and a longer version of the programme, which also includes an interview with photographer Veronique Vial, is available on Joan's YouTube channel.
The interview was recorded as part of the Joan Quinn Profiles series, which has been running since 1993.
More information about Noel's stage acting can also be found on the new Theatre page of this website - along with several videos of Noel performing on stage.
News: Another 'new' song
A previously unreleased song recorded by Noel Harrison during the late 1960s has been discovered.
The track, Long Time, which appears to be an original Noel Harrison composition, was played for the first time on the Come to the Sunshine podcast, which is hosted by 1960s music expert, Andrew Sandoval.
Not much is known about the beautifully written song, other than it was recorded by Noel during his time at Reprise records between 1967 and 1969.
In the song, Noel refers to singing about 'Dylan's tambourine', presumably a reference to the song Mr Tambourine Man, which he had recorded on his 1966 album Noel Harrison.
Long Time was played by Sandoval as part of an hour-long podcast focused on Noel's music which included a number of rare tracks - but Long Time was the only previously unknown recording to be aired.
Sandoval, who is also a well known music compiler, engineer, journalist, songwriter and musician previously received a Grammy nomination for his compilation Where the Action is, a collection of songs from 1960s Los Angeles, which included Noel's song Life is a Dream.
To listen to Long Time, click on the player below. To listen to the whole podcast visit the Come to the Sunshine website.
News: 'New' recording discovered
Despite it being six years since he died, unknown records by Noel Harrison are still turning up on the market.
The latest discovery is a previously unknown EP called An Evening at the Blue Angel. The record features tracks by Noel Harrison as well as Blue Angel regular Peter Maxwell, and Julie Felix - who would break-out as a successful folk singer soon after this record was made.
An exact date for the recording is not known, but it is believed to come from 1964, shortly after Felix left America for the UK and before Noel left the UK for America the following year.
The record was made at London's Blue Angel club where Noel had recorded a live album in 1960 and it has a similar sound. Noel's only performance on the record is Glowworm, a song which dates back to the early 1900s but which had been re-worked by American lyricist Johnny Mercer in 1952.
The song, which was recorded live, has a jazzy feel and is a really good example of Noel's early work. You can listen to the track on the player below:
News: New recordings discovered
A collections of recordings made by Noel Harrison in England in 1971, but never released, has been discovered.
The white label pressing of the so-called Essex Tape was discovered by a fan of Noel's in a record store in America in 2017.
The record features five tracks, including Dog Beach, a song Noel wrote about the day he met his second wife, Margaret.
Other tracks on the record include cover versions of songs by Judy Collins and Micky Newbury.
The white label pressing of the Essex Tape is the only known recording of the songs.
Visit the Essex Tape page to find out more details and hear two of the tracks.
News: Noel's final concert released
A recording of the final concert ever performed by Noel Harrison has been released by his wife Lori.
Noel's final performance came in the village of Black Dog in Devon on October 19, 2013. Shortly after the show, he suffered a heart attack and later died in hospital.
As well as the final concert, Lori has also loaded several of Noel's album tracks and some previously unreleased tracks on Soundcloud so fans can download them for free.
Discussing her decision to make the recordings available, she said: "I’ve uploaded everything that was allowed and set it up for free downloads as I believe Noel would have liked to know anyone who wanted to hear his music could not only listen but download it as well.
"Noel was music and how lucky we are to have these recordings to remind us of that!"
The final concert, Tex & CP Live at Black Dog, features 23 tracks and includes Noel's final performance of his signature tune, The Windmills of Your Mind.
The highlight of the show however comes after the crowd demands an encore and Noel plays an emotionally charged version of Willie Nelson's 1975 hit, Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain.
To listen to Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain, click on the player below.
News: Official site
Following a request from Noel's wife, Lori, this site has now become the official Noel Harrison website.
The change comes after Lori made the decision to close Noel's own website, www.noelharrison.co.uk, following his death in October 2013.
In an email to this site, Lori said: "I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am that you are going to be taking all this over “officially” as I know it will go on with you at the helm."
Noel was also a big supporter of the site after its launch in 2008.
In one of his last emails to the site in June 2013, he said: "I was just on the website, I am so grateful and filled with admiration for all that you are doing/have done for me. There are singles there I don't even remember making!"
Despite becoming the official site, the ethos of thewindmillsofyourmind.com will not change - it will continue to be run voluntarily and not-for profit, with absolutely no advertising.
To read more about the site, click on the about us page.
Tribute to Noel Harrison
Devon-based community radio station, Soundart Radio, aired a tribute to Noel Harrison on March 23, 2014.
The special guest on the programme was Noel's son, Will, who reminisced about his childhood growing up with Noel and talked in depth about his father's career.
Will, who is a musician, also performed a number of songs live in the studio with Kat Black - the duo, who are pictured here - perform under the name The Time Travel Agents.
The full two-hour show, which was hosted by DJ John Elliott, is available to listen to on the radio page.
To hear just the hour of the programme which focused on Noel, click on the player below:
Last Word: Noel Harrison
BBC Radio 4's obituaries programme, Last Word, paid tribute to Noel Harrison on Sunday, October 27, 2013.
Using audio clips provided by thewindmillsofyourmind.com, the show highlighted Noel's appearances on programmes such as The Andy Williams Show and Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters as well as his music career.
The show also featured tributes to sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and comedian Felix Dexter. To listen to the full show, visit the BBC's website here.
Or, to listen just to the section of the programme about Noel, click on the player below.
News: Noel Harrison's final interview published
The last interview given by Noel Harrison before he died has been published in the November 2013 edition of the magazine, Devon Life.
In the two page article, which was printed just before news of Noel's death was announced, the singer looks forward to his 80th birthday and discussed his plans for a forthcoming album.
In his poignant final comment in the article, Noel said: "I look back on my life in general and feel quite happy about the way it's gone. I've been very lucky and done some wonderful things. But I'm not hung up on the past."
The article also includes wonderful pictures of Noel taken in his Devon home by photographer Matt Austin.
To read the article on-line, click here and turn to page 106.
Noel Harrison: 1934 - 2013
Celebrities and newspapers across the world paid tribute to Noel Harrison after he died aged 79 on Sunday, October 20, 2013.
The singer had a heart attack at his home in Ashburton, Devon on Saturday, October 19 after performing at the village of Black Dog in Devon earlier that night. He died several hours later after being taken to hospital.
The Press Association reported that Noel's wife, Lori, had told them his gig at Black Dog had been extremely successful, but that he had had a long drive home and was exhausted when he returned.
She added: "He will be loved and missed by more people than I ever knew.”
Reacting to the news on Twitter, Noel's Girl From UNCLE co-star, Stefanie Powers, said: "My darling friend Noel Harrison passed last night. Let us all light a candle to speed him on his way - he deserves to fly with the angels."
Music legend, Van Dyke Parks, who worked with Noel on the Murder in China Basin film soundtrack added: "Sad news, Noel Harrison has left us. Beloved friend."
The vast majority of Britain's national newspapers ran lengthy tributes to the singer after his death was announced.
Countless international newspapers and websites also wrote lengthy tributes. To read a selection, go to the cuttings archive.
News: New Windmills recording
A new live version of Noel Harrison performing his hit song, The Windmills of Your Mind, in 1969 has been acquired by thewindmillsofyourmind.com.
The tape is from the April 1, 1969 edition of the BBC music show, Scott, which was hosted by singer Scott Walker (pictured far right).
The live recording of the song is only the second known to exist from the 1960s.
Noel appeared on the fourth episode of Scott, which ran for a total of six weeks. Unfortunately, after broadcast, the BBC wiped the tapes, meaning no video of the show exists - but audio recordings were made.
Scott Walker originally found fame as one of the Walker Brothers, but later went on to have a successful solo career.
To listen to Noel's live performance of The Windmills of Your Mind from the show, and Scott's introduction, press the player here:
News: Magazine feature
A six page feature about Noel Harrison was included in the November, 2011 edition of Shindig magazine.
The article was written for the magazine, which specialises in music from the 1960s, in collaboration with thewindmillsofyourmind.com.
It features a number of new revelations about Harrison's life and music, including his view on how drugs impacted on his music and his move into script-writing for pornographic films in the 1990s.
The magazine was published on November 24, 2011. To read the feature, go here.
News: Noel Harrison live at Glastonbury 2011
Noel Harrison was recorded by the BBC at the Glastonbury festival on Saturday, June 25, 2011 performing his biggest hit, The Windmills of Your Mind. The performance was labelled 'delightful' by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Noel made two appearances during the festival, on the Spirit of 71 stage.
Discussing his Glastonbury appearance before the show, he said he hoped to pass on to the younger generation the spirit of the 1960s, which led to his decision to leave Hollywood and seek the simpler life in Nova Scotia.
He said: "I'm very honoured to be asked to do the festival. I only hope I can live up to it. There definitely will be a sense of the older generation passing on the flame to the younger one. I want to evoke the sense of idealism that led me to take off, trying to seek out a simpler life. I'd like to pass it on in what I sing and play."
News: Windmills back in the charts!
After being featured in a series of adverts for BT Vision in the UK, Noel Harrison's most famous song, 1968's The Windmills of Your Mind, re-entered the charts.
On January 4, 2011, the track was at number six in the iTunes Rock chart, just ahead of Hey Jude by The Beatles.
After hearing about the song's re-entry into the charts, Noel told thewindmillsofyourmind.com he was delighted it was proving to be popular again.
He said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to learn Windmills is back on the charts after more than 40 years."
Paying tribute to the song's writers, he added: "Michel LeGrand is brilliant and Marilyn and Alan Bergman are true poets."
The song was last in the British singles chart in 1969 when it peaked at number eight. To read more about the song, go to the Windmills of Your Mind page of this site.
To download the song go to Noel's page on iTunes.
