"Nothing Less Than Brilliant" is the final single by British singer Sandie Shaw, and the second single from her '' Hello Angel'' album. Shaw initially became a star in the 1960s when she scored eight Top 10 singles in the UK alone, including three Number Ones (a first for a female), and became the first British act to win the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. She had semi-retired from public life in the early 1970s, after being dropped from Pye Records in 1972 after issuing a series of non-charting singles. Although she had released a handful of non-charting singles from 1977 on, she made a proper comeback in 1984 when

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

and

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

of The Smiths persuaded her to cover their song " Hand in Glove", which became her first top 40 chart hit in 15 years. More singles followed and in 1988 she released the '' Hello Angel'' album. "Nothing Less Than Brilliant" was remixed slightly and became the second and final single to be released from it. It was written by Shaw herself alongside Chris Andrews, who had written the vast majority of her 1960s hits. Shaw had lost confidence in herself due to bad experiences with the music industry in the past as well as the breakdown of her marriage to fashion designer Jeff Banks and subsequent bankruptcy, and one of the reasons for her comeback was the realisation that she still had fans out there, including people she had influenced musically (including The Smiths and

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

, with whom she had also become friends). The song described Shaw's portrayal of herself and others' portrayal of her. It later became the title of a 1994 compilation, and the single was re-issued as a result, and made number 66 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

{{authority control 1988 singles 1988 songs Sandie Shaw songs Songs written by Chris Andrews (singer) Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Rough Trade Records singles