Hits & Kisses
34 songs from the UK’s answer for Abba, winners of the 1976 Eurovision song contest with ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ (included here). Featuring the band’s own hits & a selection of classic 70s songs popularized by Boney M, The Bee Gees, Manhattan Transfer and David Soul. Recall/Snapper. 2000.
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They were originally formed in 1969, before Abba and well before that group took Eurovision by storm with Waterloo - however, they were disbanded and re-formed with a completely different line-up in 1976 and (with the exception of United we stand, a top 20 hit in Britain and America), all the tracks here were recorded by that second line-up. So, although the original group was inspired by American group the Fifth dimension, this compilation is really about the Abba-inspired 1975 reincarnation. Kiss me kiss your baby is from 1975 and was a hit in several European countries, but not the UK.
I never liked Save your kisses for me (a song covered by American country singer Margo Smith, who had a top ten country hit with it), the song with which Brotherhood of Man won Eurovision, but I enjoy listening to their subsequent releases. My sweet Rosalie was a similar type of song to Save your kisses for me, but not as sickly. After that came a string of brilliant singles - Oh boy (the mood I’m in), Angelo, Figaro. Beautiful lover and Middle of the night. Angelo and Figaro (like Save your kisses for me) both topped the British charts, but nothing else even got into the top ten.
From 1976, they released six albums of original material, each better than the one before, but the later ones didn’t yield successful singles. After that, they recorded an album of covers and that album is used as the basis for filling out this collection. Like others who have reviewed various Brotherhood of man compilations, I would like to see a compilation of entirely original material, but I do enjoy their covers, even though they do not improve on the originals.
Unless and until a compilation of exclusively original material is released, this album is the best Brotherhood of man compilation you are likely to find - and I’ll be pleasantly surprised if the kind of compilation I really want ever gets released.