Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, Burrows was involved in the production of numerous transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of which were

one-hit wonders A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

, including "

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" is the debut single by Edison Lighthouse. The song reached the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 31 January 1970, where it remained for a total of five weeks. It also became the firs ...

" by

Edison Lighthouse Edison Lighthouse are an English pop band, formed in London in 1969. The band was best known for their 1970 hit single "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" recorded in late 1969. Career Before the name Edison Lighthouse, they were known as ...

, "

United We Stand United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

" by

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 initia ...

, "

My Baby Loves Lovin' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" was the top selling single for the British pop group White Plains (band), White Plains. The song was written by Roger Cook (songwriter), Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, recorded on 26 October 1969, and released on 2 January ...

" by White Plains, " Gimme Dat Ding" by

The Pipkins The Pipkins were a short-lived English novelty duo, best known for their hit single "Gimme Dat Ding" (written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood), which reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts, No. 7 in Canada ( ''RPM'' Top Singles), and No. ...

and "

Beach Baby "Beach Baby" is a song by the British band The First Class. Written by John Carter and his wife, Gillian (Jill) Shakespeare, the song became the band's only substantial hit. The subject of the lyrics is not holiday love, but a broken love relatio ...

" by

The First Class The First Class were a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter. They are best known for their hit song " Beach Baby," a top 20 hit in both the US and UK. Career The First Class was the ...

. During 1970, four singles by four different acts for whom he served as lead vocalist all charted at or near the top of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and additionally reached the top 20 in the United States.

Career

Burrows was born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. In the early 1960s, he was a member of The Kestrels, a vocal harmony group which also included the future songwriting team

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

and Roger Cook. Subsequently, he joined the Ivy League, singing lead on their last hit "Willow Tree", which peaked at UK No. 50 in 1966. Burrows was still with them when they metamorphosed into

the Flower Pot Men The Flower Pot Men were an English pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single, "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit in the autumn of 1967. The group's sound ...

. The Flower Pot Men had only one hit, "

Let's Go to San Francisco "Let's Go to San Francisco" is the only UK-charting single by the British pop group The Flower Pot Men. The song was written and produced by John Carter and Ken Lewis, engineered by John Mackswith and released in 1967 on 7" single format. Cart ...

", which reached No. 4 on the

in the autumn of 1967. However, Burrows had no involvement with the single, which was created in the studio by the band's producers. He did feature on a few later Flower Pot Men singles which were not hits. Two founding members of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

and

Nick Simper Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot Me ...

, were also part of this early band for live shows. Later, Burrows sang the lead vocals on several other

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

songs under different group names,

's "

" (February 1970); White Plains' "

" (March 1970);

the Pipkins The Pipkins were a short-lived English novelty duo, best known for their hit single "Gimme Dat Ding" (written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood), which reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts, No. 7 in Canada ( ''RPM'' Top Singles), and No. ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

" Gimme Dat Ding" (April 1970); and

the First Class The First Class were a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter. They are best known for their hit song " Beach Baby," a top 20 hit in both the US and UK. Career The First Class was the ...

' "

" (July 1974). He also sang lead vocals on

's "

", which reached No. 10 on the UK chart and also reached No. 13 in the U.S. A published interview with Burrows claims that he became the first (and still the only) recording artist to appear on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' fronting three different group acts appearing almost sequentially in a single broadcast show: Edison Lighthouse (the No. 1 British-charted hit that week), White Plains, and

. However records show that this did not happen. He did, however, have two of his bands on the same ''Top of the Pops'' four times between 29 January and 26 February 1970. Appearing alongside Edison Lighthouse on the shows were Brotherhood of Man (29 January 1970 and 19 February 1970) and White Plains (12 February 1970 and 26 February 1970). The recordings of his appearances on 29 January, 5 February and 26 February 1970 are all still in existence. Although he hit the top 40 as the lead singer of five different groups, he only managed to have one chart single as a solo artist in the US. In 1970, he hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with "

Melanie Makes Me Smile "Melanie Makes Me Smile" is a 1970 song written by Barry Mason and Tony Macaulay. It became a top 10 hit in Australia in early 1970 by the Strangers. Cover versions * The song became a minor hit in the U.S. (#87) and Canada when covered by To ...

", which peaked at No. 87. As well as fronting various hit-making acts, Burrows has also contributed vocals as a session singer to many other hits, claiming to have sung on 100 top 20 hits in the 1970s. He has also recorded as a session harmony singer with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

on the songs " Levon" and "

Tiny Dancer "Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album '' Madman Across the Water,'' and was later released as a single in 1972. It was ...

", with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, and

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

. In 2011, Burrows was awarded the

BASCA The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Gold Badge Award in recognition of his contribution to music.

Discography

Singles

*1970: "

" / "I'll Get Along Somehow Girl" (

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

1103) *1970: "I've Still Got My Heart, Jo" / " Every Little Move She Makes" (Bell 1124) *1971: "The Humming Song" / "Recollections" (Bell 1140) *1971: "I'll Always Come Up Smiling" / "Back Home" (Bell 1172) *1971: "Hand Me Down Man" / "Country Boy" (Bell 1190) *1971: " In The Bad Bad Old Days" / "In the Bad Bad Old Days" (Bell USA 45-116, promo) *1972: " Rhythm of the Rain" / "Home Lovin' Man" (Bell 1235) *1973: "Take Away the Feeling" / "Lazy Weekend" (Ammo 103) *1974: "Have You Had a Little Happiness Lately" / "Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You" (Ammo 111) *1975: "

Run Joey Run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

" / "Girl I Used To Know" ( RAK 216) *1976: "

Never Gonna Fall in Love Again "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" is a song co-written and recorded by American pop rock artist Eric Carmen. It was released as the second single from Carmen's self-titled debut solo album, the song peaked at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' H ...

" / "Changing" (as Magic featuring Tony Burrows) (

Bus Stop Records A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

1036) *1976: "Oh My Jo" / "Girl You've Got Me Going" (Bus Stop 1039) *1976: "

When My Little Girl Is Smiling "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" is a pop song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and first recorded by The Drifters in 1961. At the time of recording the song on October 26, 1961, the Drifters comprised Charlie Thomas (tenor), Rudy Lewis ...

" / "What Ya Gonna Do About Him" (

DJM DJM is a range of DJ mixers made by Pioneer Electronics. Mixers in the DJM series include the DJM-300, DJM-350, DJM-400, DJM-450, DJM-500, DJM-600, DJM-700, DJM-750, DJM-707, DJM-800, DJM-850, DJM-900 Nexus, DJM-900 Nexus 2, DJM-909, DJM-100 ...

10718) *1984: "Three Chord Trick" / "Wake Up America" (as Heart to Heart with Stephanie de Sykes) (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

5461)

References

External links

Tony Burrows interview

45cat discography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Tony 1942 births Living people English male singers English pop singers English session musicians Musicians from Exeter The Ivy League (band) members The Flower Pot Men members The Kestrels members Edison Lighthouse members White Plains (band) members The First Class members Brotherhood of Man members The Pipkins members