Martin Brammer | |
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Born | Seaham, County Durham, England | 13 May 1957
Occupations |
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Years active | 1980s–present |
Children |
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Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Martin Brammer (born 13 May 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the pop trio Kane Gang. Brammer later developed his songwriting abilities to pen many successful tracks for a variety of notable musicians. [1]
Brammer has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award, and has been involved in the making of records that have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. [2] [3] He is currently the manager of the British punk rock band Vant. [4]
Brammer was born in Seaham, County Durham, England. Part of a trio of local North East musicians, Brammer was a founding member of the Kane Gang, which started in late 1982. [1] Brammer was their main songwriter and penned their smooth ballad "Closest Thing to Heaven", a UK top 20 chart hit in 1984. He also wrote other chart successes for them, including "Smalltown Creed" (1984), "Gun Law" (1985) and "Motortown" (1987). [5] [6] [7] Kane Gang broke up in 1991. [1]
Brammer then continued his career as a songwriter to the present day. Songs he has written or co-written have been recorded by Tina Turner, James Morrison, Marco Mengoni, Josh Kumra, James Bay, Olly Murs, Nolwenn Leroy, Julian Velard, Melanie C, Urszula, Mr Hudson, Jack McManus, Beverley Knight, Rachel Stevens, Nick Carter, Lighthouse Family, Roland Gift, Sheena Easton, Mark Owen, Reigan Derry, Foxes and Stevie McCrorie. [8] In addition, Brammer has contributed as record producer on various albums including Good Things Come to Those Who Don't Wait (Josh Kumra); [9] Olly Murs [10] and In Case You Didn't Know [11] (Olly Murs); plus Now or Never [12] (Nick Carter).
He also sang backing vocals on a 1994 album by Opus III ( Guru Mother ). [8] [13]
Brammer has his own recording studio in which he both writes and records, and favours using microphones manufactured by sE Electronics. [14] Brammer's most recent work includes writing material for John Newman, Ella Eyre, Joel Compass, Karen Harding and Luke Friend. [2]
Brammer has an ex-wife, Alia, and two daughters, Salma and Ella. [15] He told BBC Radio 2 that he does not employ a manager. [16]
Apart from those written for Kane Gang, Brammer's songwriting credits include:
Year | Musician | Song(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Sheena Easton | "Time Bomb" | What Comes Naturally |
1995 | Lighthouse Family | "Lifted" "Loving Every Minute" | Ocean Drive |
1996 | Mark Owen | "Child" "Are You With Me" | Green Man |
1997 | Lighthouse Family | "Raincloud" | Postcards from Heaven |
2002 | Roland Gift | "Flown" | Roland Gift |
2002 | Nick Carter | "My Confession" "Is It Saturday Yet?" | Now or Never |
2003 | Rachel Stevens | "Funky Dory" | Funky Dory |
2004 | Tina Turner | "Open Arms" | All the Best |
2007 | Beverley Knight | "Everytime You See Me Smile" "Why Me, Why You, Why Now" "Tell Me I'm Wrong" "Trade It Up" | Music City Soul |
2007 | James Morrison | "Undiscovered" "The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore" | Undiscovered |
2008 | Jack McManus | "Bang on the Piano" "You Can Make It Happen" "She's Gone" | Either Side of Midnight |
2008 | James Morrison | "If You Don't Wanna Love Me" "Fix the World Up for You" " "Love Is Hard" | Songs for You, Truths for Me |
2009 | Mr Hudson | "Stiff Upper Lip" | Straight No Chaser |
2010 | Urszula | "Skacze Na Dach" | Dziś już wiem |
2010 | Olly Murs | "Busy" "I Blame Hollywood" | Olly Murs |
2011 | Olly Murs | "Oh My Goodness" "I've Tried Everything" "I Need You Now" | In Case You Didn't Know |
2011 | Julian Velard | ""Love Again for the First Time" | Mr. Saturday Night |
2011 | James Morrison | "I Won't Let You Go" "6 Weeks" "Say Something Now" "Beautiful Life" | The Awakening |
2011 | Melanie C | "Stupid Game" | The Sea |
2012 | Nolwenn Leroy | "Limitless" | Ô Filles de l'Eau |
2013 | Josh Kumra | "The Answer" "Reckless Love" "Keep on Walking" "Lost Again" | Good Things Come to Those Who Don't Wait |
2013 | James Bay | "Clocks Go Forward" | The Dark of the Morning (EP) |
2013 | Marco Mengoni | "Evitiamoci (La Soluzione)" | prontoacorrere |
2013 | Sarah & Pietro | "Slow Lightning" | Dream Team |
2014 | Reigan Derry | "All of the Pieces" | All of the Pieces (EP) |
2015 | James Morrison | "Reach Out" "Just Like a Child" | Higher Than Here |
2016 | Foxes | "Amazing" | All I Need |
2016 | Ronan Keating | "Time of My Life" | Time of My Life |
2016 | Bobby Bazini | "Summer Is Gone" | Summer Is Gone |
2016 | The Shires | "My Universe" | My Universe |
2016 | Stevie McCrorie | "Take Our Time" | Big World |
2018 | Maty Noyes | "Perspective" | Love Songs from a Lolita |
2019 | Zucchero Fornaciari | "Freedom" "My Freedom" | D.O.C. |
2019 | James Morrison | "Ruins" | You're Stronger Than You Know |
The Kane Gang were an English pop trio formed in Seaham in 1982. The group comprised Martin Brammer, Paul Woods and Dave Brewis. They scored several UK and US hits in the 1980s. Named alluding to the movie Citizen Kane, the trio recorded for the record label Kitchenware, which was also home to Prefab Sprout.
Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including "World of Our Own" and "Flying Without Wings".
"Oh My Goodness" is a song by English singer-songwriter Olly Murs, from his second studio album, In Case You Didn't Know (2011). Written by Murs, Adam Argyle and Martin Brammer, it was released by Epic Records as the album's third and final single on 1 April 2012. The song, a "love at first sight" story, is a pop beat, with lyrics about a man falling for an attractive girl and wanting to be with her. It garnered a positive reception from critics for having upbeat catchability along with colourful instrumentation.
Julian Velard is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer born and raised in New York City.
Now or Never is the debut solo album by Nick Carter, best known as a member of the Backstreet Boys, released on October 29, 2002 by Jive Records. The album debuted at #17 in its first week on the Billboard 200, selling some 70,000 copies during first week in U.S. It fell out of the top 50 in its second week, but sold well enough to be certified Gold by the RIAA in December 2002. Two singles were released from the album, neither of which had any impact on the US charts. The first single, "Help Me", did reach #9 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "I Got You" was a major hit in Europe and Southeast Asia. A sneak preview of the album was attached to the end of the fourth album of Carter's younger brother Aaron, Another Earthquake.
Mich Hedin Hansen, known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen.
Lindy Robbins is an American songwriter from Los Angeles, whose songs include Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper", Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me", David Guetta's "Dangerous" featuring Sam Martin, MKTO's "Classic", Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight, Tonight", Jason Derulo's "It Girl" and Astrid S' "Hurts So Good", as well as songs recorded by Dua Lipa, Jennifer Hudson, and One Direction.
Oliver Stanley Murs is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He was a contestant on the sixth series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2009, which he finished as runner-up. Following the show, Murs was signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records in the United States.
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"Busy" is a pop song performed by British singer-songwriter Olly Murs, taken from his debut studio album, Olly Murs. It was written by Murs, Adam Argyle, Martin Brammer, and was released as the fourth and final single from the album on 27 May 2011. It was his second single to not be accompanied by a physical CD single. The song was also Murs' first single release to fail to reach the UK Top 40.
Josh Kumra is an English singer and songwriter.
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Lorne Alistair Tennant, better known as Ali Tennant, is a British singer, songwriter and vocal producer/mentor from London signed to BMG Chrysalis.
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Maegan Cottone is an American songwriter, singer, vocal producer and vocal arranger. In 2012, Cottone signed to British publishing company Phrased Differently and managed by Wide Awake Music. She achieved international songwriting success in the US, France, UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Four of her songs have been top ten singles in the UK.
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