Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me".
For other uses, see Brotherhood of Man (disambiguation).
Brotherhood of Man
London, England
1969–present
Tony Burrows
Sunny Leslie
Sue Glover
Roger Greenaway
John Goodison
Hal Atkinson
Russell Stone
Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initially an umbrella title for a frequently-changing line-up of session singers. Early on, they scored a worldwide hit with the song "United We Stand". By 1973 the concept had run its course and Hiller formed a definite four-member line-up consisting of Martin Lee, Lee Sheriden, Nicky Stevens and Sandra Stevens. This version of the group went on to score many hits around the world in the mid to late 1970s including "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby", "Angelo", "Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In)" and "Figaro". They achieved perhaps their biggest success in their native UK with three number one singles and four top twenty albums. The group under this line-up have continued into the 21st century performing shows throughout Europe. Altogether, they have released 16 studio albums, with worldwide sales topping 15 million records.
History[edit]
Original line-up[edit]
Brotherhood of Man was formed by record producer/composer Tony Hiller in 1969, and originally featured his co-writer John Goodison (who performed as Goodison but wrote under the pseudonyms Peter Simmons and Peter Simons) with Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie.[1] Greenaway was also a songwriter and had co-written hits such as "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" and "Melting Pot". Burrows was a well-known session singer, performing in various line-ups on hit singles such as the No.1 hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse.[2] The two female members, Glover and Leslie were an act in their own right, releasing singles as Sue and Sunny.[3]
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 January 1970) was a worldwide hit. "United We Stand" was heavily played on British radio, and broke into the American market. The single became a Top 20 hit in the UK, Canada, Australia and US. The song has since been used as the closing theme for television's Brady Bunch Hour and as an anthem for various causes.[4][5] Burrows left the group soon after and 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 the UK, Canada, 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.[6]
Over the next two years, the group continued in varied line-ups. Goodison 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 split after being dropped by their record company.[5]
Current line-up[edit]
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 a solo career. Lee 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, but their first single, "Rock Me Baby", to be released at the end of 1972, was cancelled due to the release of the song by David Cassidy.[7] Finally 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.[8]
Now signed to the Pye spin off label, Dawn, the quartet released their first single, "When Love Catches Up on You" in January 1974.[9] It failed to chart, but the follow-up single, "Lady" became a hit in Europe.[10] Encouraged by this, the group set about recording their debut album. The 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 it although failed to make an impression in the UK, it became a big hit in Europe, reaching Number one in Belgium and Number two in the Netherlands as well as top 10 placings in other countries.[11][12] 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".
Albums