Save Your Kisses for Me
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| “Save Your Kisses for Me” | |||||
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| Single by Brotherhood of Man from the album " Love and Kisses from Brotherhood of Man" |
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| B-side | Let's Love Together | ||||
| Released | 1976 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 3:02 | ||||
| Label | Pye Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Tony Hiller / Lee Sheriden / Martin Lee | ||||
| Producer | Tony Hiller | ||||
| Brotherhood of Man singles chronology | |||||
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"Save Your Kisses for Me" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed for the United Kingdom by Brotherhood of Man in The Hague, Netherlands. The lyrics and music were written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, the latter two being members of the band. This was the third consecutive occasion on which a group had won the contest.
The performance consisted of the two male singers wearing a black and white suit respectively, and the two females wearing a white and red jumpsuit with matching berets standing still and singing, with minor arm and leg choreography. The bouncy jingle described the gently conflicted emotions of a young man leaving an adored loved-one in the morning as he leaves for work. The song's final line provided the twist: that he was leaving a three year old behind, ending with "Won't you save them for me...even though you're only three?".
It was awarded the maximum twelve points by seven countries, totalling 164 points compared to the second-placed French entry with 147 points. After winning the contest, the song was released and reached number one in more than thirty countries across Europe and eventually sold more than five million copies. In the U.K. it was the biggest-selling single of 1976. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, the song is the biggest selling single for a winning entry in the history of the contest. It also scored the highest relative score under the system introduced in 1975 and used in every contest since. [1]
The group followed the single up with the similarly themed "My Sweet Rosalie", which was also a hit around Europe, and was featured on the album, "Love and Kisses".
The song was succeeded in 1977 by Marie Myriam singing "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" for France.
Later in 1976, country singer Margo Smith from the United States covered the song and it went to number ten on the Country charts.
In 1978, British comedians Hylda Baker and Arthur Mullard recording the song as the B-side to their version of You're The One That I Want, which had been a top 40 hit for them.
The song was chosen in an internet poll conducted by the European Broadcasting Union in 2005 as one of the fourteen most popular songs in the history of the Eurovision, and was one of the entrants in the Congratulations fiftieth anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, held in October 2005. It was re-enacted by the group (who are still together) 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. Save Your Kisses For Me came fifth in the final voting.
| Preceded by "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" by Tina Charles |
UK number one single March 27, 1976 |
Succeeded by "Fernando" by ABBA |
| Preceded by Ding-A-Dong by Teach-In |
Eurovision Song Contest winners 1976 |
Succeeded by L'Oiseau et l'Enfant by Marie Myriam |
[edit] References
- ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
