Nicky Stevens

Nicky Stevens
Nicky Stevens in 1991
Background information
Born	3 December 1951 (1951-12-03) (age 59) Carmarthen, Wales United Kingdom
Genres	Pop music
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Pye, EMI, Dawn, Warwick

Nicky Stevens (born 3 December 1951, Wales) is a singer, famous as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.

Early career

Nicky Stevens began singing at an early age was classically trained. At 15 she toured the Continent as a singer performing in night clubs. Following this she went on to tour South Africa as well as clubs around the UK. She also held a residency in a Welsh night club.^[1] One of her early appointments was as a supporting act to Little and Large in 1970. Stevens worked mainly performing popular songs and found it a struggle at first to adapt her vocals from her classical roots. During this period she also took on a job as a telephone operator. This lasted for nine months and is the only job she has ever had outside the entertainment business.^[2]

Brotherhood of Man

In 1972, while working as a session singer, Stevens came to the attention of Tony Hiller, who was looking to recruit new members for his group Brotherhood of Man. Hiller was manager and songwriter for the group, but they had recently disbanded and keen to keep the name alive, which was still in demand for television work, he recruited Stevens alongside Martin Lee and Lee Sheriden. In 1973, signed to Deram Records, they released their first single, "Happy Ever After".

Later in the year another female singer was added to the group, Sandra Stevens (no relation) and as a four-piece, Brotherhood of Man went on to enjoy great success around the world. Scoring their first hit in 1974 and first No.1 the year after, the group entered and won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me".^[3][4][5] To date, she is the only Welsh person to win Eurovision. For the next three years, the group regularly hit the chart and scored two more No.1 singles in the UK, "Angelo" and "Figaro".^[6][7]

As well as a vocalist, Stevens can also play piano, although she has never considered herself good enough to play professionally, she did perform the piano accompaniment to an otherwise acappella recording of "Send in the Clowns" in 1978. It was featured on their Twenty Greatest album.

Later career and personal life

In 1988, while still with the group Stevens recorded some songs with Dutch singer Albert West.^[8] In the early 1990s she also recorded some songs with British rock band Aslan¹ as the lead singer.^[9]

Stevens still performs with Brotherhood of Man today in its unchanged line-up, taking in UK tours and television appearances throughout Europe.^[10][11]

In June 1976 Stevens married the group's guitarist, Alan Johnson.^[12] They have since divorced.^[13]

¹ Not to be confused with the Irish rock band of the same name.

References

1. ^ Look-In 1977 No.34 (page 15). "1977 feature in Look-in Magazine". Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/juniortvtimes2006/77No34/1977_no34_brotherhood1.htm&date=2009-10-26+01:05:30. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
2. ^ Brotherhood of Man - BBC Breakfast News interview, 24 May 2008
3. ^ Radio538, Netherlands. "Dutch charts - "Lady", 1974". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6811/. Retrieved 2008-12-02. 
4. ^ Brotherhood of Man Dutch website. "Brotherhood of Man World Chart history". http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953/charts.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
5. ^ The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. O'Connor, John Kennedy. Carlton Books 2007 ISBN 978-1844429943
6. ^ Chartstats. ""Angelo" at No.1". http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19770820. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
7. ^ Chartstats. ""Figaro" at No.1". http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19780211. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
8. ^ Brotherhood of Man Dutch website. "Brotherhood of Man discography (1988)". http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953/discogra.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
9. ^ Brotherhood of Man Dutch website. "Brotherhood of Man Biography". http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953/biograf-.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
10. ^ Official website. "Concert details". http://www.abrq49.hemscott.net/tours.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 
11. ^ Good Things Happening. "European concert appearance". http://groups.msn.com/brotherhoodofman/bomarticles.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=4&LastModified=4675650391834158308. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
12. ^ Look-In 1977 No.34 (page 18). "1977 Brotherhood of Man feature". Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/juniortvtimes2006/77No34/1977_no34_brotherhood3.htm&date=2009-10-26+01:05:33. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
13. ^ Metro. "Lee Sheriden interview". http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=325&in_page_id=11. Retrieved 2008-12-16. 

Persondata
Name	Stevens, Nicky
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1951-12-03
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death