Brother Beyond

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Brother Beyond was a British boy band / pop group, that saw some mainstream success in the late 1980s.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The band's musical career can be easily traced down by reading through most of late Eighties issues of popular British teen magazines, such as "Smash Hits" and "Number One", though the most authoritative source remains, of course, the lead singer's official Website. The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don Was from Was Not Was), and an early version of "Can You Keep a Secret?" (later on to be remixed and hit the charts, indeed), were all written by band members Eg White (then substituted by live session drummer Steve Alexander), or David Ben White in collaboration with Carl Fysh, and performed together by the band, ideally led by vocalist Nathan Moore (though he never took part to the composition process on any songs, nor could play any instrument himself). None of these early singles, out between 1986 and 1988 ever troubled the UK Top 50, but they were instead minor chart entries, in the UK Top 75 Singles Chart.

However, the songwriters and producers Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) auctioned off their services to charity, and Brother Beyond and label EMI won the auction. The first song to be released from this session was "The Harder I Try", a Number 2 hit, that was only kept off the top by the million-seller "A Groovy Kind of Love", by Phil Collins, in July 1988. "The Harder I Try" famously samples the drum intro to The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine", and indeed the song, as a whole, has a distinct Motown feel, as does its successor "He Ain't No Competition", getting to Number 6. The 12" version of the latter topped the Hi-NRG charts, in October 1988, where it stayed until it was knocked off by the Samantha Fox cover of "I Only Wanna Be with You", again produced by SAW. Their final significant hits were two remixed versions of album-tracks: "Be My Twin", which got to Number 14, and "Can You Keep a Secret?", hitting Number 22. All these singles were taken from the two different editions of their first album Get Even.

Subsequent releases delivered lesser returns, with "Drive On" hitting Number 39 - the first single from their second album, Trust, again completely self-written, which also bombed completely, in 1989 -, the title-track itself, "Trust", at Number 53, and a cover of the ballad by The Three Degrees, called "When Will I See You Again?", stalling at Number 43. After a year-long break, the band enjoyed some more success in the USA, with their very last tune, "The Girl I Used to Know", and a final UK chart-entry at Number 48, but no third follow-up album ever came out after this one single.

They released in fact only two albums, Get Even, in 1988, and Trust, in 1989, before disbanding, in 1991. In 2005, a collection was released, The Very Best of Brother Beyond, collecting all of the band's greatest hits, including the 1991 single, "The Girl I Used to Know", which was not previously available on any album.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Former members

[edit] Brother Beyond discography

[edit] Singles

  • "I Should Have Lied" (1987) [Did not chart in the UK Top 75]
  • "How Many Times" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 62]
  • "Chain-Gang Smile" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 57]
  • "Can You Keep a Secret?" (1988) [UK Singles Chart: Number 56]
  • "The Harder I Try" (1988) [UK Singles Chart: Number 2]
  • "He Ain't No Competition" (1988) [UK Singles Chart: Number 6]
  • "Be My Twin" (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 14]
  • "Can You Keep a Secret? (Re-mix)" (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 22]
  • "Drive On" (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 39]
  • "When Will I See You Again" (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 43]
  • "Trust" (1990) [UK Singles Chart: Number 53]
  • "The Girl I Used to Know" (1991) [UK Singles Chart: Number 48]

[edit] Albums

[edit] After the split

Lead singer Nathan Moore went on to sing with another boy band, called Worlds Apart, becoming huge in France in the mid-nineties, and worked as a manager to such acts as Jessica Garlick. He was also a contestant on ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time, and infamous for being part of Lisa Scott-Lee's Totally Scott-Lee programme set up on MTV. He recently recorded a duet with Kim Wilde, entitled "If There Was Love", which was never released, due to a general lack of interest from labels; it can be heard for free on his personal Website though.

Drummer Steve Alexander toured with Duran Duran for six years, before going solo. He has since worked with Jeff Beck and formed a musical collaboration called "Flashman"[1] with vocalist Renn.

Carl Fysh now works for a PR agency in London. He became manager to male duo Fierce Girl.

David White obtained a BA degree in Fine Arts, at Central St Martin's College, in London. He has shown his paintings all around England and Israel.

[edit] Eg and Alice

After leaving Brother Beyond, Eg White formed the duo Eg and Alice with artist Alice Temple. Their production was critically acclaimed, but a commercial failure, and none of their singles ever entered the UK Top 75. They released one album (which also didn't chart), for WEA Records, in 1991, before Eg eventually decided to go solo, covering the Jellyfish hit 'Stay Home'. Eg White won an Ivor Novello award, for writing Will Young's "Leave Right Now", and has written songs for a variety of artists, including Natalie Imbruglia and Joss Stone.

[edit] Eg and Alice discography

[edit] Singles

  • "Indian" (1991)
  • "Doesn't Mean that Much to Me" (1991)

[edit] Album

  • 24 Years Of Hunger (1991)

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Rockets"
  2. "In a Cold Way"
  3. "Mystery Man"
  4. "And I Have Seen Myself"
  5. "So High, So Low"
  6. "New Years Eve"
  7. "Indian"
  8. "Doesn't Mean that Much to Me"
  9. "Crosstown"
  10. "IOU"
  11. "I Wish"

[edit] References and external links

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