I REMEMBER...
28 • DECEMBER 2021
and a bit of German so he must have
been quite useful to them....I WAS RELIEVED WHEN MY
PARENTS DIVORCED. I was 12 when
it happened and they’d had a rather
tempestuous marriage. When you
grow up in that environment,
particularly as an only child, it has a
real impact so I was happy when they
decided to call it a day. I lived with my
mum until I was about 16, then I went
to live with my grandma. My father
nicknamed her Fighting Wyn because
she was quite domineering. He had
nicknames for everybody. He called
my mother The Ogre....I WASN’T VERY ACADEMIC BUT
I LOVED SINGING. I gave my first
performance in a school dance when
I was 15 and sang “Good Luck
Charm” by Elvis Presley. The girls
seemed to find me more attractive,
which, when you’re that age, is a real
plus. Changing my surname from
Beuselinck to Dean, I formed a band
called Paul Dean & The Dreamers.
We supported Screaming Lord Sutch’s
band The Savages and he recruited
me as their singer and pianist....DAVID BOWIE WROTE ONE OF
MY EARLY SINGLES. After going solo
in the mid-1960s and changing my
name again to Paul Oscar, I met with
Bowie and he wrote this song called
“Over The Wall We Go” about people
breaking out of prison, which wasfilms like Easter Parade which
brought a splash of colour to what
was otherwise a rather black-and-
white existence. I was told that when
I came home I’d practise tap dancing
on the lino.
...MY MOTHER WORKED FOR
THE BOARD OF TRADE and my
father was studying to be a lawyer.
He’d go across to the local park
with his books to study in peace
and eventually he qualified as an
entertainment and showbusiness
solicitor. Prior to that, during the
war, he told me he worked for MI6.
He spoke Flemish, a bit of French