Martin Lee | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Martin Barnes |
Born | Purley, London, England | 26 November 1946
Genres | Pop music |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
Years active | 1973–present |
Labels | Pye Records |
Martin Lee (born Martin Barnes; 26 November 1946) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Brotherhood of Man. [1]
Lee was brought into Brotherhood of Man along with Lee Sheriden, Sandra Stevens, and Nicky Stevens by band manager Tony Hiller in 1972, when its original line up split up to pursue different music careers. The new version won the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with their song Save Your Kisses For Me. Lee has been a member of Brotherhood of Man since joining in 1972.
As well as guitarist, Lee is also the main lead vocalist for the group. He married Brotherhood of Man member Sandra Stevens.
Born in Purley, London as Martin Barnes, he spent five years of his early life in Australia. His mother died when he was young and with his father, he returned to the UK. [2]
Lee was born Martin Barnes in Purley, Surrey, but spent five years of his youth in Australia. As a teenager, he had a great interest in music and after learning to play guitar he formed his first band.
Prior to making it big in Brotherhood of Man, Lee had already released a solo single by this time, a song called "Cry José", but it failed to gain much interest. [3]
In the early 1970s, he came to the attention of songwriter and publisher Tony Hiller, while he was working as lead singer with the Johnny Howard Band. Hiller signed him up to his company, Tony Hiller Music initially as a writer. [4] On discovering that he could sing as well, he asked him to be part of the group he managed, Brotherhood of Man. The group, that originally consisted of John Goodison and Sue and Sunny and had scored a hit in 1970 with United We Stand, had recently disbanded and Hiller was keen to put a new line-up together. Along with Lee Sheriden and Nicky Stevens and later Sandra Stevens, the new line-up was born.
Working alongside Hiller and Sheriden, he began composing new songs for the group during 1972. The following year they released their first single and the year after, their first hit. Lee quickly emerged as the lead singer of the group, taking the lead on many of their songs, including that first hit "Lady". [5]
In 1975, Brotherhood of Man scored their first European No.1 with the song "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby", again with a Martin Lee lead vocal. Later that year, the writing team set about composing a song they would enter for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The song they came up with was "Save Your Kisses for Me" and featured Lee on lead vocals. The song went on to win the Eurovision and made No.1 in several countries including the UK, where it became a million seller. Lee received three Ivor Novello Awards for this composition. [6]
The group continued this run of success over the next three years with two more UK No.1 hits "Angelo" and "Figaro" - both co-written by Lee. [7] [8]
Brotherhood of Man regularly toured the UK and appeared on television throughout Europe. [9] until 20 October 2020 when they retired from the road.
Martin Lee has a daughter from his first marriage, born in 1973.
Soon after she joined the Brotherhood of Man in late 1973, Sandra Stevens began a relationship with Lee, and they were living together by the time of their Eurovision win in 1976. Lee married Stevens in August 1979. [10] They live in Surrey.
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.
"Angelo" is a song by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. Released as a single in June 1977, it became the group's second UK number one hit.
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.
Oh Boy! is the third album released by pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in 1977 and featured the UK top 10 hit, "Oh Boy ". It was released earlier in some European countries as Midnight Express.
Images is the fourth album by pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in 1977 and featured the No.1 hit, "Angelo".
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.
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.
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.
Nicky Stevens is a singer, famous as a 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.
The Butterfly Children is the title of a series of children's books created by husband and wife team Pat and Angela Mills. The books were published during the 1990s by Peter Haddock Ltd. In 1990 a musical based on the characters was staged featuring songs written by Martin Lee, Paul Curtis and David Kane. A corresponding album was recorded in 1992 by 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.
"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.