''B for Brotherhood'' is the fifth album by pop group
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".
Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initi ...
. It was released in June 1978 and released on
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...
. 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.
Background
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.
The album was TV advertised and reached No.18 in the UK Charts, their highest charting album to this point.
[ It was certified ]silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
with sales of over 60,000 on 1 September 1978.
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
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...
. Like the group's other albums, the tracks were produced by manager Tony Hiller
Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (19 ...
. Member Lee Sheriden
Lee Sheriden (born Roger Pritchard; 11 April 1944 in Horfield, Bristol) is an English singer/songwriter and musical director, best known as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Early career
As a child, Roger Pritchard learned the piano and ...
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".
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. It was later covered by duo Peters and Lee
Peters and Lee were a successful British folk and pop duo of the 1970s and 1980s, comprising Lennie Peters (22 November 1931 – 10 October 1992, Enfield, Middlesex) and Dianne Lee (born February 1949).
Background
Lennie Peters (AKA Gary Hall; ...
and released as a single in 1979. 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.
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
''Higher Than High'' is a 1979 album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. It was released in June and contained four singles.
Background
The album was released in June 1979 on Pye Records. It featured four singles, "Middle of the ...
'' and several bonus tracks.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee
Side One
# " Figaro" – 2:57
# "Broken Hearted Avenue" – 3:08
# "Cinderella" – 3:33
# "When Summer's Gone" – 3:22*
# "I'll Never Let You Down" – 3:15
# "In Love" – 3:52
Side Two
# "Beautiful Lover" – 3:27
# "I'm in a Dancing Mood" – 3:11
# "Much Better Than You" – 2:41*
# "Roulette" – 2:56
# "Greatest Love" – 3:08
# "People Over the World" – 3:01
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
Personnel
* Martin Lee
Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He ...
– Lead vocals on "People Over the World"
*Lee Sheriden
Lee Sheriden (born Roger Pritchard; 11 April 1944 in Horfield, Bristol) is an English singer/songwriter and musical director, best known as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Early career
As a child, Roger Pritchard learned the piano and ...
– Lead vocals on "Broken Hearted Avenue"
*Nicky Stevens
Nicky Stevens (born Helen Maria Thomas in Carmarthen, Wales, 3 December 1949) is a singer, famous as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man. She is the only Welsh person to have won the Eurovision Song Contest.
Early career
Nicky Stevens be ...
and Sandra Stevens
Sandra Stevens (born 23 November 1944, Leeds, Yorkshire) is an English singer and member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
Early career
Sandra Stevens first entered into a singing career in the 1960s when she joined the club band, The Track (w ...
– Joint lead vocals on "Figaro", "Cinderella", "When Summer's Gone", "I'll Never Let You Down", "Beautiful Lover", "I'm In a Dancing Mood", "Much Better than You", "Roulette"
*Tony Hiller
Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (19 ...
– Producer
* Lee Sheriden – Musical Director on tracks 1,3,5,6,7,11
* Colin Frechter – Musical Director on tracks 2,4,8,9,10,12
*Terry Evennett – Engineer
*Simeon Skolfield – Engineer
*Simon Fowler and Paul Canty / LFI – Photography
*Angela Joyner – Sleeve design
Chart performance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:B For Brotherhood
1978 albums
Brotherhood of Man albums
Albums produced by Tony Hiller
Pye Records albums