Brotherhood of Man

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Brotherhood of Man

---

Img_capt = Brotherhood of Man in the 1990s
Background = group_or_band
Origin = United Kingdom
Instruments = Vocals, Guitars
Genre = Pop, MOR, Soul
Years_active = 1969–present
Label = Pye, EMI, Dawn, Deram, Dazzle, Warwick
URL =
Current_members = Martin Lee
Lee Sheriden
Sandra Stevens
Nicky Stevens

Brotherhood of Man are a British pop groupwho won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with "Save Your Kisses for Me".

Managed by songwriter Tony Hiller, the group were formed in 1969 and scored a worldwide hit with "United We Stand" the following year under. By 1974 the line-up had changed to the quartet Brotherhood Of Man would become most famous for. The group became successful in Europe, before returning to do the same in the UK. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976, Brotherhood of Man enjoyed three years of hit singles and albums.

Following a decline in sales, the group split, but reformed two years later and are still together today, performing shows throughout Europe. They remain a successful live act in the UK and have occasionally released independently-produced albums.

History

Early line-up

The group was formed by record producer / composer, Tony Hiller in 1969, and originally featured his co-writer John Goodison with Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. [ [http://www.emusic.com/artist/1171/11711781.html Emusic - Early line-up info] ] Burrows was an experienced session singer by this point and Greenaway was a well-known songwriter, while Glover and Leslie were known in music circles collectively as Sue and Sunny.

Greenaway as a songwriter had co-written songs such as Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" and went on to co-write "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by The New Seekers and "Melting Pot" by Blue Mink. Burrows meanwhile was a well-known singer, not in his own right, but by singing vocals in various line-ups on hit singles such as the No.1 hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse. (He famously appeared three times on one edition of Top of the Pops - each time in a different group). Leslie had a solo hit in 1974 (as "Sunny") with "Doctor's Orders" , and Glover became a well-known session singer.cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 540
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5] Together, as Sunny and Sue, they provided backing vocals for both UK entrants, Lulu and Vikki Watson, at the Eurovision Song Contests in 1969 and 1985 respectively, as well as German entrant Joy Fleming (alongside Madeline Bell of Blue Mink) in 1975. Glover attempted to represent the UK herself in 1981 with the group Unity, but finished last in the heat. [ [http://nulpoints.150m.com/wide3.htm Nul Points - A Song for Europe] ]

The group came together in 1969 and began recording some songs with Hiller. Their first single "Love One Another" failed to chart, but the follow-up "United We Stand" (released in early 1970) turned their fortunes around. "United We Stand" was heavily played on British radio, and broke the American market. The single became a Top 20 hit in both the UK and US. The song has since been used as an anthem for anti-war, gay rights movements and by football supporters and is still well-known today. [ [http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/artists/brotherhoodofman.htm RPM (C)CherryRed] ] After the success of the single, Goodison elected to leave the group, but would continue to work with Hiller as a songwriter. [ [http://www.tonyhiller.com/photo5.html TonyHiller.com - Early Line-up] ] As a four-piece, The Brotherhood of Man followed "United We Stand" with another hit, "Where Are You Going To My Love". The song charted in both the UK and US and has since been covered by Olivia Newton John and The Osmonds among others. A début album " United We Stand" followed soon after. [ [http://www.alexgitlin.com/bom.htm Review by John Tracey, 1995] ]

Over the next couple of years, the group continued to record as The Brotherhood of Man in varied line-ups. Burrows left the group at the beginning of 1971 and was replaced by American singer Hal Atkinson, Greenaway left soon after and was replaced by Russell Stone. They had one more minor hit in the US (1971's "Reach Out Your Hand"), but experienced no further success in the UK and were eventually dropped by Deram. [ [http://www.tonyhiller.com/photo5.html TonyHiller.com - Early Line-up] ]

Main line-up

Keen to keep the established name alive, Hiller set about putting a new line-up together. In 1972 he got together a trio of session singers, Martin Lee, Nicky Stevens and Lee Sheriden.

Sheriden was already known to Hiller as a songwriter and had recorded a solo single. Lee also had a solo single to his name and was a budding songwriter. Stevens had been classically trained, but had since adapted her vocals and was performing as a cabaret singer. The trio began recording together and their first two singles "Happy Ever After" and "Our World Of Love" were released in 1973. Neither single charted and soon after, another female vocalist was added to the line-up, Sandra Stevens. Stevens (no relation to Nicky) had been performing as a big-band singer since a teenager in the late 1960s. She had sung with the Joe Loss big band and alongside Eve Graham (of The New Seekers) in club group, The Nocturnes. [ [http://www.lynpaulwebsite.org/Then-1966.htm The Nocturnes info on Lyn Paul website] ]

Now signed to the Pye spin off label, Dawn, the quartet released their first single, "When Love Catches Up On You" in January 1974. [ [http://www.vinylnet.co.uk/label-discography.asp/label/36/Dawn-records-discography.html Vinylnet records. Dawn discography] ] It failed to chart, but the follow-up single, "Lady" became a hit in Europe. [ [http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6811/ Radio 538, Netherlands, Dutch Charts 1974] ] Encouraged by this, the group set about recording their debut album. "Good Things Happening" was released later in the year along with two more singles, but none of these found success. Before the record label folded, Brotherhood of Man released one more single in the Summer of 1975. This was the upbeat "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby" and although failed to make an impression in the UK, became a big hit in Europe, reaching No.1 in Belgium and No.2 in Holland as well as top 10 placings in other countries. [ [http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6832/ Radio 538, Netherlands, Dutch Charts 1975] ] [ [http://austriancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Brotherhood+Of+Man&titel=Kiss+Me%2C+Kiss+Your+Baby&cat=s austrian charts.at] ] Brotherhood of Man toured extensively in Europe, honing their stage act and harmonies, while Hiller, Sheriden and Lee worked on composing songs for their second album. Among them was a song Sheriden had largely written called "Save Your Kisses For Me".

Eurovision victory

In early 1976, Hiller was keen for Brotherhood of Man to make an impact in the UK and decided to put "Save Your Kisses For Me" forward to the Song For Europe Competition. This year saw a change to the Contest in that up till now, one specific artist had performed all the songs (eg. Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Lulu etc), but 1976 was the first year that any artist was eligible to enter. "Save Your Kisses For Me" made it to the final twelve songs and on 25 February, Brotherhood of Man took the title, beating the second placed act, Co-Co by a mere two points. [ [http://www.songs4europe.com/20.html song4europe.com. Author - Gordon Roburgh] ] Now signed to Pye Records, "Save Your Kisses For Me" was released as a single in March and hit the No.1 spot two weeks before the Eurovision itself. [ [http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk/1976WEEK13MARCH27.htm yearsofgold.org.uk - 27 March 1976] ] On April 3, the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest was staged in Holland and Brotherhood of Man took the title with an overwhelming victory. [ [http://www.keithm.utvinternet.ie/SAYK.htm 1976 Eurovision overview] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4459511.stm#lee bbc.co.uk] ]

The song became a major hit around the world and made No.1 in many countries and returned the group to the US Charts. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3070896&cdi=8871823&cid=07%2F10%2F1976 billboard.com] ] The song eventually sold six million copies worldwide and is still the highest selling Eurovision winner ever. [ [http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20263&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=125] ukmix.org (zeus555, sales confirmation] [The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. O'Connor, John Kennedy. Carlton Books 2007 ISBN 978-1844429943] In the UK, the song stayed at No.1 for six weeks and earned them a platinum disc. [ [http://www.wwwk.co.uk/music/hit-singles/years/1976.htm wwwk.co.uk - No.1s of 1976] ] It ended up the top selling single of the year and is currently one of the top 100 selling songs ever in the UK. [ [http://www.everyhit.co.uk/bestsellingsingles.html everyhit.co.uk- UK's best selling singles] ] [ [http://ukcharts.20m.com/bestsell.html ukcharts.com - additional confirmation] ]

Post Eurovision success

The group had already recorded a second album and had been released in several countries a year previously. Following their victory, Pye released the album with "Save Your Kisses For Me" added. Entitled "Love and Kisses from Brotherhood of Man," the album was a success in the UK, reaching the top 20, as well as other countries, gaining a No.6 position in Norway for instance. [ [http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Brotherhood+Of+Man&titel=Love+And+Kisses+From%2E%2E%2E&cat=a norweigian charts.com. "Love and Kisses" chart info] ] Soon after this, a follow-up single was released. Eager to cash in on their success, Pye decided against releasing anything from the album, as the earlier material had been more soul-based than the pop they were now successful with. The group instead released "My Sweet Rosalie" - almost a carbon copy of the previous hit. The song failed to chart highly, only reaching No.30 in the UK, but fared better in other countries, particularly Belgium where it made No.2. Concerned by the lack of success for the single, the record company didn't release anything else in the UK for the rest of 1976, despite the fact that in Europe a new album of material was released along with singles in various countries: "I Give You My Love" in Germany, Spain and others and "New York City" in France. [ [http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953/indexen.html#Discography European singles discography] ]

Early in 1977, the group released their next single, "Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In)". The song was a change to their previous hits in that it was female-led and much more in a contemporary pop style. The song was a hit in the UK, reaching the top 10 and fared well in Europe also. [ [http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk/1977WEEK16APRIL16.htm years of gold.org.uk - 16 April 1977] ] The album which had been released in Europe the previous year was now released in the UK with the new single added. The album, now titled " Oh Boy!", didn't follow their last album into the charts however.

By now the public were picking up on their similarity to ABBA who were currently dominating the charts around the world, this perception was cemented with the release of their next single, " Angelo". Criticized by many of its similarity to ABBA's " Fernando", the song was released in the Summer of 1977 and was an instant success. The song rose to No.1 in the UK Charts and became one of the biggest hits of the year as well as ending up among the 50 best selling singles of the decade. [ [http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/Best%20of%20UK/uk77.htm onmc.iinet.net.au] ] [ [http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk/1977WEEK34AUG20.htm yearsofgold.org.uk - 20 August 1977] ] The group were invited to appear at the 1977 Royal Variety Performance, where they elected to sing "Angelo". [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/729915?view=cast Royal Variety Performance 1977] ] Despite this success, the group's next single "Highwayman" and accompanying album " Images" both failed to make the UK Charts (although the former was a hit in Europe).

The group battled on into 1978 with the release of " Figaro", which brought them back into vogue and became their third UK No.1 single. [ [http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk/1978WEEK6FEB11.htm yearsofgold.org.uk - 11 February 1978] ] Many critics argued however that this song was simply cashing in on the success of "Angelo", but although their titles are similar, there is little evidence to support this, as the two songs are very different. In May "Beautiful Lover" was released and another hit, reaching the UK top 20, and spending three months in the charts. An album was released soon after, "B for Brotherhood." The record company took no chances with this album, given the failure of their previous two, and so with a TV advertising campaign, the album entered the UK Charts, eventually peaking at No.18 - their most successful album so far. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=4411 chartstats - "B for Brotherhood" (1978)] ]

As the year drew to a close another single, "Middle Of The Night" was released along with a greatest hits compilation" Twenty Greatest." Apart from featuring all their own hits and a smattering of album tracks and new songs, the group re-recorded both "United We Stand" and "Where Are You Going To My Love" for the album. "Twenty Greatest" became Brotherhood Of Man's most successful album, reaching No.6 in the UK Charts and spending fifteen weeks in the top 75. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=4445 chartstats - "20 Greatest" (aka. "Brotherhood of Man") (1978)] ]

Chart decline

1979 saw the group going into decline as the hits dried up. Three singles released in the first six months of the year all failed to make the charts as did their next album, "Higher Than High". This was despite regular TV appearances and radio play, although the group remained popular on the live circuit. As Pye Records were due to fold at the end of the year, one more album was released in December to fulfill their contract. The album "Singing a Song" was made up of unreleased songs mixed with new material, but no singles were released from the collection.

Manager Tony Hiller set up his own record company in 1980, Dazzle Records. Brotherhood of Man released the first single on the label, "Honey Don't Throw Our Love Away" which also didn't chart, nor did the follow-up a cover of the 60s hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". An album was recorded but went unreleased, except for in Australia. [ [http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953/indexen.html fortunecity.com - "Good Fortune" details] ] Towards the end of the year, the group were offered a deal with Warwick Records to make an album of cover versions. Released in November "Sing 20 Number One Hits" was the group's take on 20 number one UK hits from recent years. The album hit the charts and over Christmas became a big seller, peaking at No.14 -their first chart action for two years. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=5173 chartstats.com "Sing 20 Number One Hits" chart info (1980)] ] The album was awarded a gold disc.

Keen to release a follow-up, Warwick offered them a double album deal the following year. Released as a 'buy one get one free' package, "20 Disco Greats / 20 Love Songs" - again, a collection of recent chart hits, came out in late 1981. This album didn't match the success of the first and missed the UK Charts. Tracks from these albums appear frequently on CD releases of the group, interspersed with their own hit singles.

In early 1982, Sheriden opted to leave the group to study for a degree in music. Hiller took on 28 year old Barry Upton, an up and coming songwriter. [ [http://www.tonyhiller.com/photo5.html tonyhiller.com - Barry Upton] ] Upton was later to write hits for many artists including Sonia and Steps. The previous year, the UK had won the Eurovision Song Contest (the first time since Brotherhood of Man) with the two-boy two-girl pop act Bucks Fizz. Within twelve months they had chalked up three number one singles and encouraged by their popularity, Hiller set about reviving Brotherhood of Man's fortunes. In 1982, Brotherhood of Man signed a deal with EMI in the hope that the new pop revival would encompass them. Armed with a new single "Lightning Flash", written by Hiller, Lee and Upton, the group were relaunched with a new contemporary image and sound. The song became a minor hit, reaching No.67 in the summer of 1982 - their first hit single for nearly four years.". [British Hit Singles - 8th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-941-2 ] A follow-up, "Cry Baby Cry" failed to capitalise on this, but nevertheless, the group began working on a new album.

In 1983, the songwriting team of Hiller, Lee and Upton entered a song for the Song For Europe. Their composition, "When The Kissing Stops" made it to the final eight, but although initially tempted, the group decided not to perform the number themselves. Hiller formed a male/female trio under the name "Rubic" to represent the song on 24 March 1983. The group lost out to another male/female trio, Sweet Dreams and ended up in fifth place. [ [http://www.songs4europe.com/26.html songs4europe|1983 Song For Europe] ] Despite the song's failure, Brotherhood of Man recorded the song and released it as the next single. Released in the Summer of 1983, alongside their new album "Lightning Flash," neither record made the UK Chart and this brought to an end their contract with EMI. "When The Kissing Stops" remains Brotherhood of Man's final single release. Brotherhood of Man continued to perform in concert throughout the UK and Europe, but less than a year later, Upton elected to leave to work on other projects and the group decided to split. This ended their twelve-year working relationship with Hiller.

Reformation

In 1985, Brotherhood of Man reunited for a one-off TV appearance and they discussed getting back together. Over the next year, and now back with Sheriden in place of Upton, the group decided to manage themselves and begin performing again. In late 1986, the group were back on the live circuit, but decided against attempting a chart comeback. [ [http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Brotherhood-Of-Man.html oldies.com - Brotherhood of Man biography ] ]

In 1990, Martin Lee got together with songwriters Paul Curtis and David Kane to compose a musical based on the "Butterfly Children" books by Angela and Pat Mills. [ [http://www.esctoday.com/annual/songinfo.php?contest=292&song=1 esctoday.com ("Butterfly Children" info)] ] The musical had its world premiere at the Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow, to open the 1990 Glasgow City of Culture and ran for a month and was performed by the Mitchell Theatre For Youth. Just three months later, the show transferred to the larger Kings Theatre in Glasgow and ran for two weeks.The show transferred in late 1992 to London's West End. Brotherhood of Man recorded the songs themselves and the 19 track collection, available on cassette only, was available to buy at the theatre. The album was never commercially released, although some tracks did make it onto tie-in cassettes to go with the books a few years later. "The Butterfly Children", essentially a children's show, featured many differing styles of music from rap to rock and country and western to the more familiar pop the group were known for. The show's run ended after a short season, and has not been performed since.

In 1991, the group went back into the recording studio and made an album of re-recorded hits and some new material with Dutch producer Eddy Ouwens. Not only was this their first recording for eight years, but it was their first without Hiller. The album remained unreleased however.

The group continued to perform live throughout the nineties mainly on the cabaret circuit and Holiday Camps such as Butlins. In 1997, they recorded another album, based on their live show. Again, the album contained re-recordings of their hits as well as cover versions that they perform in concert, such as "1999" by Prince and "Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner. The album contained one new song, the title track "Greenhouse", rescued from the 1991 sessions. Like the previous album, this was never commercially released and was only available to buy at their shows.

was released, featuring TV performances of many of their singles.

To date, the group still do occasional shows with both "The Seventies Story" and with their own material. [ [http://www.abrq49.hemscott.net/tours.htm Official website - Concert details] ] Most recently they have teamed up with the current incarnation of Bucks Fizz and together they perform as a two-part show. [ [http://www.abrq49.hemscott.net/together_in_concert.htm Official website - Bucks Fizz and Brotherhood of Man tour] ] They frequently play to sold out houses, "The Seventies Story" being particularly successful in receiving good reviews. [ [http://www.abrq49.hemscott.net/reviews.htm Official website - Concert reviews] ] [ [http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/news/content.php?page=story&ID=922 "Seventies Story" review] ]

Brotherhood of Man still find themselves in demand on both the Nostalgia and gay circuit. They have appeared a number of times at London's G-A-Y theatre and regularly appear on TV both in the UK and abroad, mostly around Eurovision time each year. [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/455172?view=credit BFI - Brotherhood of Man filmography] ] In 2006, they appeared at the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest gala held in Denmark, where they were voted in the top 5 Eurovision songs of all time - the highest of any UK entry. [ [http://www.myledbury.co.uk/eurovision/eurovision_50anniversary.asp myledbury.co.uk - Eurovision 50 years anniversary special] ]

Members

* John Goodison "(1969 - 70)"
* Tony Burrows "(1969 - 71)"
* Roger Greenaway "(1969 - 71)"
* Sue Glover "(1969 - 72)"
* Sunny Leslie "(1969 - 72)"
* Hal Atkinson "(1971 - 72)"
* Russell Stone "(1971 - 72)"
* Martin Lee "(1972 - present)"
* Lee Sheriden "(1972 - 81, 1986 - present)"
* Nicky Stevens "(1972 - present)"
* Sandra Stevens "(1973 - present)"
* Barry Upton "(1982 - 84)"

Brotherhood of Man discography

Albums

*"United We Stand" (Deram, 1970)
*"We're the Brotherhood of Man" (Deram, 1972)
*"The World of the Brotherhood of Man" (Deram, 1973)
*"Good Things Happening" (Dawn, 1974)
*"Love and Kisses" (Pye, 1976)
*"Oh Boy!" (Pye, 1977)
*"Images" (Pye, 1977)
*"B for Brotherhood" (Pye, 1978)
*"Twenty Greatest" (K-tel/Pye, 1978)
*"Higher Than High" (Pye, 1979)
*"Singing a Song" (Pye, 1979)
*"Good Fortune" (Dazzle, 1980)
*"Sing 20 Number One Hits" (Warwick, 1980)
*"20 Disco Greats / 20 Love Songs" (Warwick, 1981)
*"Lightning Flash" (EMI, 1983)
*"The Butterfly Children" (1992)
*"Greenhouse" (1997)
*"The Seventies Story" (2002)

Awards and achievements

* Winners of the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest
* As songwriters Tony Hiller, Martin Lee and Lee Sheriden have won three Ivor Novello Awards for Most Performed Work, Best Selling British Record and International Hit Of The Year (all for "Save Your Kisses For Me" in 1976) [ [http://www.tonyhiller.com/catalog.html tonyhiller.com- Ivor Novello award info] ]
* "United We Stand" has been covered by over 100 artists
* First No.1 single was in Belgium in 1975 for "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby"
* Top selling single of 1976 in the UK with one million sales
* Three UK No.1 singles
* Over 10 million singles sold worldwide
* Performed at the Royal Variety Show in 1977
* Performed for the Queen at the Silver Jubilee Gala in 1977
* Received over 30 Platinum, Gold and Silver discs
* Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee have together composed over 100 recorded songs
* Main line-up's recording career has spanned 30 years (1972- 2002)

References

External links

* [http://www.brotherhoodofman.co.uk/ Brotherhood of Man Official Website]
* [http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/953 Dutch Brotherhood of Man Fan Website]
* [http://groups.msn.com/brotherhoodofman Fan website]
* [http://www.tonyhiller.com/ Official Tony Hiller Website]