The song became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in many countries, including the UK, where it became the biggest-selling song of the year. Overall, it remains one of the biggest-selling Eurovision winners ever, and the biggest such seller in the UK.[1][2]
Background
Conception
"Save Your Kisses for Me" was originally written by Brotherhood of Man's member Lee Sheriden in August 1974. On bringing the song in to the next songwriting session, others thought that the title was clumsy and reworked it into "Oceans of Love". Sheriden was unhappy with the changes and the song was shelved. A year later when it came to coming up with songs for their next album, they discovered that they needed one more song and Sheriden again put forth "Save Your Kisses for Me".[3] This time it was accepted, as he later recalled:
"I'd had a year to think about it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do on the arrangement, the glockenspiel on the beginning and the big 12-string acoustic guitar and the strings, and then came the day to record the song... It was about midnight and I sang it and it went well. I could see everyone behind the glass panel getting excited and I thought great, they all really like the song, and as I finished I was waiting for them to press the button so they could speak to me and say 'great, we've got a hit' or whatever, and the person pressing it said: 'Lee, we think Martin should sing this song'. But I didn't mind because Martin came in and sung it to perfection."[3]
The song's lyrics described the gently conflicted emotions of a man leaving his loved one in the morning as he goes to work. The song's final line provided a twist that the aforementioned loved one was his three-year-old daughter.[4]
Eurovision
Soon after, manager Tony Hiller was keen for the group to try for Eurovision, as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had changed its selection rules. Up till then, a singer was internally selected, but for 1976 it was opened up to different singers to enter their own songs. Brotherhood of Man put forward "Save Your Kisses for Me" and the BBC accepted it as one of the twelve finalists.[5]
On 25 February 1976, "Save Your Kisses for Me" competed in A Song for Europe 1976, the national final organized by the BBC to select its song and performer for the 21st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition, beating second-placed "Wake Up" by Co-Co by just two points, and becoming the British entry, and Brotherhood of Man the performers, for Eurovision.[5] The song was released as a single and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, two weeks before Eurovision.
Brotherhood of Man performing their winning reprise at Eurovision.
On 3 April 1976, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Nederlands Congresgebouw in The Hague hosted by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Brotherhood of Man performed "Save Your Kisses for Me" first on the evening, preceding Switzerland's "Djambo, Djambo" by Peter, Sue and Marc. The performance consisted of the two male singers wearing black and white suits, and the two females wearing white and red jumpsuits with matching berets, standing still and singing with minor arm and leg choreography. Alyn Ainsworth conducted the live orchestra in the performance of the British entry.[6]
At the close of voting, the song had received 164 points –being awarded the maximum twelve points by seven countries–, beating the second-placed French entry with 147 points, and being the second consecutive Eurovision winner that was performed first in the order of presentation.[7]
Aftermath
Brotherhood of Man, Hiller, and Ainsworth just after winning, with the songwriters holding their medals.
After winning the contest, the song reached No.1 in many countries across Europe and eventually sold more than six million copies.[8] In the UK, it stayed at No. 1 for six weeks and was certified platinum by the BPI in May 1976, becoming the biggest selling single of the year.[9][10] The song also hit number one in a number of other countries, such as France where it remained in the peak position for five weeks.[11] In the United States, the song was a moderate pop hit –No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100– but went all the way to No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart; it would be the only hit the band –in its post-1973 incarnation– would have in the US. The song is reported to be the biggest selling single for a winning entry in the history of the contest. It also still holds the record for the highest relative score under the voting system introduced in 1975 –which has been used in every contest since–, with an average of 9.65 points per jury.[8] It is still one of the best-selling singles of all time in the UK, with sales of over a million copies.[2][12] It also won four ASCAP awards in 1977.[13]
At the same time as the single was at No.1, the group released their latest album; Love and Kisses, which featured "Save Your Kisses for Me". The group followed this up with the similarly themed "My Sweet Rosalie", which was also a hit around Europe. The group continued to score hits in the UK, with two more chart toppers in the next two years; however, this was not the case in the United States, where "Save Your Kisses for Me" was the group's final chart entry –and only one under this lineup–.
Brotherhood of Man performed the song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen.[14] The song was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held on 22 October 2005 in Copenhagen. It was re-enacted by the group along with twelve dancers dressed in matching red, white, and black costumes with briefcases and a live orchestra as the original footage was shown in the background. It came fifth in the final voting.[15][16] They also performed the song in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held on 31 March 2015 in London.[17][18]
Brotherhood of Man have re-recorded the song twice as well as releasing a Spanish version titled "Tus besos son para mi" as a single in 1991.[19]
Track listing
"Save Your Kisses for Me" (Tony Hiller / Lee Sheriden / Martin Lee) 3:06
"Let's Love Together" (Hiller / Sheriden / Lee / Sandra Stevens) 2:57
"Save Your Kisses for Me" was notably covered by Margo Smith in 1976. Her version of the song was recorded in a country format and released as a single via Warner Bros. Records.
Smith cut "Save Your Kisses for Me" in her second studio session for Warner Bros. Records. The session took place at the Columbia Recording Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The session was produced by Norro Wilson. An additional session in March would yield songs that would later make up her second studio album Songbird.[49] Smith's cover version of the song was generally met with positive reception. Kurt Wolff of Country Music: The Rough Guide would later call the song one of the "sizeable hits" Smith would enjoy on the radio between 1976 and 1978.[51] Robert K. Oermann and Mary A. Bufwack of Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music stated the song represented Smith's "wholesome, homey image". This can be seen in Smith's other hits including "Take My Breath Away", "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You", and "It Only Hurts for a Little While". Two year after the song's release, Smith would identify more as a sexually-charged performer.[52]
"Save Your Kisses for Me" was released as a single in May 1976 via Warner Bros. Records. It was Smith's first single issued by the label, after previously recording for Sugar Hill and 20th Century Fox. The song reached the tenth position on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart in the fall of 1976. The single became Smith's second top-ten single on the country chart and would start a series of major hits for her.[53] In July 1976, the single was released on Smith's first studio album for Warner Bros. Records entitled Song Bird.[49] Margo Smith's version of the song is the most successful cover of "Save Your Kisses for Me" to date.[53]
In 2019, the Israeli singer Eden Alene released it as her debut single. She was due to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, however she did it in 2021 instead. Icelandic musician Daði Freyr, who was also meant to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and did so instead in 2021, included it in his second edition of JúróDaði, a video in which he covers past Eurovision songs.[58]
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 September 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Brotherhood of Man".
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