| B for Brotherhood | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 June 1978 | |||
| Genre | Pop, MOR | |||
| Length | 38:31 | |||
| Label | Pye | |||
| Producer | Tony Hiller | |||
| Brotherhood of Man chronology | ||||
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| Singles from B for Brotherhood | ||||
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B for Brotherhood is the fifth album by pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in June 1978 and released on Pye Records. The album featured the UK No.1 single "Figaro" and top 20 hit "Beautiful Lover". On the UK albums chart it reached No.18 and was certified silver for sales of over 60,000 copies.
The album was released on Pye Records in June 1978 and featured the singles "Figaro" and "Beautiful Lover", which were hits in Europe, reaching No.1 and No.15 respectively in the UK. [1] The album was TV advertised and reached No.18 in the UK Charts, their highest charting album to this point. [1] It was certified silver with sales of over 60,000 on 1 September 1978. [2]
The songs on the album were in the group's now full-fledged pop mould, after experimenting with differing styles on their earlier albums. The tracks were mostly sung by the female members of the group and were often commented upon by the media on their similarity in style to ABBA. Like the group's other albums, the tracks were produced by manager Tony Hiller. Member Lee Sheriden was the musical director on six of the songs (including the two singles), while Colin Frechter performed this task on the other six. Sheriden later recalled that the recording sessions would work as follows; "Ten o'clock to one o'clock, we would put down the rhythm section - the guitar, the bass, the piano, drums, percussion and everything. Then in the afternoon the strings would come in and we'd put on all the brass and woodwind. And then in the evening the singers would come in, they'd been in bed all day, while I'd been working, but the idea is the voices would be warmer, you can sing a bit better at night. Recording sessions would then wrap up around midnight". [3]
Track "Greatest Love" is referred to on the label as "The Greatest Love I've Ever Known". Track "People Over the World" was also recorded by pop group Guys 'n' Dolls in early 1978 for an intended single release, but ultimately shelved. [4] It was later covered by duo Peters and Lee and released as a single in 1979. [5] Music videos were recorded for the tracks "Beautiful Lover" and "I'll Never Let You Down", despite the latter never being released as a single. [6]
The front cover of the album does not feature the group's name, although the back cover gives the title as: B for Brotherhood of Man. The album cover depicts the group in an autumn forest and reviews at the time made mention of the sophisticated look of the album. On closer inspection however, it is clear that the forest is merely a photographic backdrop.
The album has never been released on Compact disc, but was released as a digital download in July 2019. It was released along with the following album Higher Than High and several bonus tracks. [7]
All tracks composed by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee
Side One
Side Two
Note* On the cassette version of the album "When Summer's Gone" and "Much Better Than You" were switched in order to even out the lengths of sides
| Release date | Single title | UK Chart position | South African Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1978 | "Figaro" | 1 | 12 |
| May 1978 | "Beautiful Lover" | 15 | |
| Release date | Album title | UK Chart position | |
| June 1978 | B for Brotherhood | 18 |
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".
"Save Your Kisses for Me" is a song recorded by British group Brotherhood of Man, written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee –the latter two being members of the band–. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 held in The Hague, winning the contest.
"Figaro" is a song by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released as a single in January 1978 and became the group's third and final number one hit in the UK.
Martin Lee is an English singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Good Things Happening is the first album released by the new lineup of pop group Brotherhood of Man. This lineup consisted of Martin Lee, Lee Sheriden, Nicky Stevens and Sandra Stevens and was to be the main lineup of the group's history and would hold for the next ten albums. It contains their first European hit "Lady" which was a hit in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Images is the fourth album by pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in 1977 and featured the No.1 hit, "Angelo".
Twenty Greatest is the sixth album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man and their first compilation. It was released in 1978 and became their biggest selling album, peaking at No.6 in the UK and being certified gold. As the title suggests, it is a collection of twenty songs, including their three number one hits, "Save Your Kisses for Me", "Angelo" and "Figaro" alongside their current single release, "Middle of the Night".
Higher Than High is a 1979 album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in June and contained four singles.
Singing a Song is a 1979 album by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in December and was their final album for Pye Records after several years with the label.
Good Fortune is a 1980 album by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. The album was recorded on manager Tony Hiller's label, Dazzle Records, but went unreleased in the UK. The album did get a release however in Australia and New Zealand on RCA Records. Today the album is virtually impossible to get hold of and is considered to be the 'holy grail' among fans.
Sing 20 Number One Hits is the tenth album by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was the first of two consecutive cover version albums by them. Released in 1980, it became the group's second biggest-selling album.
20 Disco Greats / 20 Love Songs is a double album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man which was released as two separate albums, but sold together as a 'buy one get one free' package, as was the popular trend at the time.
Lightning Flash is the 12th album by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. Released on EMI Records in 1983, it remains their final commercially released studio album.
Sandra Stevens is an English singer and member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Lee Sheriden is an English singer/songwriter and musical director, best known as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
We're the Brotherhood of Man is the second album by British pop group The Brotherhood of Man in their early incarnation on Deram Records. It was released in April 1972 and featured the US hit "Reach Out Your Hand".
Greenhouse is a 1997 album by British pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Love and Kisses from Brotherhood of Man is the second album released by the new line-up of British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in the UK the day before their 1976 Eurovision win with "Save Your Kisses for Me", which the album contained. In some European countries the album was released in October 1975 with a slightly different track listing.
The Seventies Story is the 16th and most recent album by pop group Brotherhood of Man, released in 2002. It is based on a live stage show the group had undertaken at the time.
"My Sweet Rosalie" is a 1976 song by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released as the follow-up single to the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest winner, "Save Your Kisses for Me". The song was written by band members Martin Lee and Lee Sheriden with producer Tony Hiller.
