Lead singer and co-composer of Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man, Martin Lee, has passed away aged 77.
Lee brought his significant songwriting and singing abilities to the band in 1972, often collaborating with band mate Lee Sheriden with whom he penned three UK numbers ones: Angelo, Figaro and their eventual ESC winner.
Prior to joining Brotherhood of Man, Lee had also released a solo single called Cry Jose, and had also played in the Johnny Howard Band.
Save Your Kisses for Me stormed Eurovision 1976 in The Hague, Netherlands, finishing a full 70 points ahead of closest competitor Switzerland with 164 points.
The song was one of the band’s many hits associated with Lee’s lead vocals and writing credits, claiming the 1976 Eurovision top spot and hitting number 1 on the charts in seven European nations. The band's biggest hit, it also reached 27 on the US Billboard chart.
In the UK, the runaway success of the song saw it outsell Dancing Queen by ABBA and Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee 1976, finishing the year as its most popular song.
Downunder, Save Your Kisses for Me reached number five on our own charts. Lee had a special connection to Australia, spending five years of his youth here. Brotherhood of Man enjoyed significant Aussie chart success with songs Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby, Angelo and Beautiful Lover between 1975 and 1978. Prior to Lee's joining, the band’s earlier hit, United We Stand, also reached number eight in the Aussie charts.
Speaking to The Guardian about Brotherhood of Man’s post-Eurovision success in 2022, Lee said “it’s funny because we’d had hits in Europe before Eurovision. ABBA had sent us Mamma Mia to record.”
“We knew it was a potential smash but left it for the next recording session because we wanted to do Save Your Kisses for Me,” he said. “Of course, ABBA then did it themselves. Who knows what might have happened but Save Your Kisses for Me worked out well enough for us.”
In 2020, the band retired from performing having kept the same line-up which won Eurovision more than 40 years previously.
In their statement, the band said “it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our great friend and colleague Martin Lee, who slipped peacefully away on the evening of Sunday, September 29, 2024.”
“He will be sadly missed by his fellow band members Nicky Stevens, Lee Sheriden and especially Sandra Stevens to whom he had been married for 45 happy years.”
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