BRITISH Eurovision star Martin Lee, whose band won the UK contest with an iconic song, has died aged 77.
Brotherhood of Man topped the competition in 1976 with Save Your Kisses For Me at the final in The Hague, Netherlands.
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Martin Lee dies aged 77 Credits: PA
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Brotherhood of Man members Lee Sheridan, Nicky Stevens, Sandra Stevens and Martin Lee in 1979. Credit: Getty
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Brotherhood of Man performs in Amsterdam 2015. Credit: Getty
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Lee (front) with his bandmates the same year they won EurovisionCredit: PA
The song topped the table with 164 points, more than 70 points ahead of second-placed Switzerland.
Save Your Kisses For Me went to number one in the UK Singles Chart that same year and was also number one in over 30 different countries.
The band’s statement read: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our great friend and Brotherhood Of Man colleague Martin Lee, who passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 29, 2024, from congestive heart failure following a short illness. Martin was 77 years old.”
Tony Hiller, the group’s manager, attributed the song’s success to their television appearances across France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland a year before the competition – and the record sold six million copies.
Hiller brought Lee into the group in 1972 as lead singer and guitarist – along with Lee Sheriden, Sandra Stevens and Nicky Stevens – after their initial line-up broke up.
His group’s Eurovision win followed their first European number one with Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby, prompting the group’s songwriters to begin composing a song to enter the contest.
Before joining Brotherhood Of Man, Lee had already released a solo single called Cry Jose and also played in the Johnny Howard Band.
Lee was born Martin Barnes on 26 November 1946 in Purley, London, but spent five years of his youth living in Australia.
‘LIGHT SHOW’
Despite his Eurovision success, in later years Lee described the modern competition simply as a “light show”.
Asked what he would change about it, he told the Express in 2022: “How much time do you have?”
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He added that the music had “slipped” out of the play.
“There’s no orchestra anymore. If you can’t sing with the orchestra anymore, what’s the point?”
“I feel like music has gotten away from me a little bit, being a songwriter.”
He added: “Eurovision has changed dramatically [since the 70s]. it is 1727813444 more like a light show.
“I like the light show, but the songs seem to have faded a bit in the modern age.”
WHAT IS THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST?
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual event that brings together nations from all over Europe and beyond to compete for the coveted crown.
Each nation submits a song from their home country to perform in the week before the grand final.
The competition is inspired and based on the Italian national music festival Sanremo, which has been held on the Italian Riviera since 1951.
Eurovision has been held every year since 1956 – except for 2020 due to restrictions caused by COVID-19, making it the longest-running international music competition on television and one of the longest-running television programs in the world.
The most famous winners of the competition were ABBA.
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Source: HIS Education