"My mum said it would be lovely if Gilbert wrote a song about me, so he did"

Clair Mills - 1997

The Daily Mail Weekend Supplement - June 21,1997

hen Clair Mills was three years old, she inspired singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan to write his first hit single, Clair. It went to number one and stayed there for 14 weeks. Clair, whose father, Gordon, was Gilbert's manager, lost touch with the star after he and her father were involved in an acrimonious battle over publishing rights. The high court decided that Gordon had to compensate the singer in full, which led to the collapse of the Mills Empire and the break-up of her parent's marriage. Her father died a few years later of cancer. Clair, a 28-year-old single mother, now lives with her own mother in Weybridge, Surrey, England.

My childhood was idyllic. We lived in a fabulous house near Weybridge, with incredible gardens and a huge swimming pool for my mother, who was a former champion diver. She was also a former model and there were lots of parties. Dad had a private zoo in the grounds. It was a wonderful upbringing. My father was a record producer and managed Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink. When Raymond O'Sullivan turned up, Mum pushed Dad to listen to his work and he was impressed, although he insisted that Ray change his name to Gilbert.

We installed him in a cottage in our grounds, near the zoo. I was only three and to me 'Uncle Ray' was just my new baby-sitter. He was lovely- tall and slim with nice eyes. He was always very happy and I liked to him a lot.

I remember him coming into one of our lounges, where there was a beautiful piano, and playing to us. We had everything in that house - somewhere to write and play, and recording studios.

The strongest memory I have of Ray is standing on his feet and dancing around the room with him. I can't remember conversations but I recall him having meals with us. I used to sit in the lounge and watch play the piano. I don't remember proposing to him, as it says in the song, but maybe I did want to marry him, possibly because Dad was very busy and not around a lot of the time. My Mum noticed our closeness and told Ray she'd love it if he wrote a song about me, which is exactly what he did.

I can remember the night he finished it. He telephoned the house and although it was past my bedtime we went to his cottage. It was dark and there was a little light on near the piano. He played Clair to us and, although I was to young to know the significance of it, I really loved it.

"The song is beautiful and it means that Ray will always be special to me"

My parents were very excited and my Dad could obviously tell that it was a great song. He took Ray into the studio the next day and recorded it. Then they needed me to do a laugh at the end of it. I remember them taking me out of the pool and into the studio. I was fed up because everybody else was having a great time swimming. Mum was drying me with towels and my parents stood on either side of me. Uncle Ray was there and they all started tickling me. That's how they got the laugh.

I don't remember anything about the court case. It happened in the mid - Seventies and I was still quite young. I remember that Dad had been out of the country for a while. We were having a barbecue by the pool when he turned up and was very upset. I don't think he realised how bad things were until he came back to Britain to go to court.

Despite what happened. I would love to see Ray again. He lives in Jersey now with his wife and two teenage daughters, and although we have set up meetings a few times, something has always happened at the last minute, which meant that either he or I couldn't make it.

We'll get together this year, definitely. The song is beautiful and it means that Ray will always be special to me. It's a shame what happened and a shame that we lost contact. I really can't wait to see him again.