Mandy (English and Kerr song)
"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr.[1]
"Brandy" was a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand, but achieved greater success when covered in 1974 by Barry Manilow in the US with the title changed to from "Brandy" to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)". His version reached the top of the US Hot 100 Singles Chart. Later on, it was recorded by many other artists. Irish boyband Westlife had a UK number one with their version in 2003.
Scott English version
| "Brandy" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Scott English | |||||||
| B-side | "Lead Me Back" | ||||||
| Released | 1971 | ||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||||
| Recorded | 1971 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||
| Label |
Trojan/Horse/Fontana (UK) Janus (U.S.) | ||||||
| Writer(s) |
Scott English Richard Kerr | ||||||
| |||||||
Under the title Brandy, the selection's original title, the song charted in 1971 for Scott English, one of its co-composers, whose version of it reached number 12 in the UK Singles Charts. It was also released in the United States, where it was a minor hit, reaching the lower ends of the Hot 100.
The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a favorite dog is apparently an urban legend. English has said that a reporter called him early one morning asking who "Brandy" was, and an irritated English made up the "dog" story to get the reporter off his back.[2]
Charts
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 12 |
| US Billboard Singles Chart | 91 |
Bunny Walters version
| "Brandy" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bunny Walters | |||||||
| Released | 1972 | ||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||||
| Recorded | 1972 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Scott English, Richard Kerr | ||||||
| |||||||
In 1972, Bunny Walters recorded "Brandy" and had a hit with it in New Zealand.[3] The backing vocals were by The Yandall Sisters. He later on included it in his album Very Best of Bunny Walters.[4]
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 4 |
Barry Manilow version
| "Mandy" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Barry Manilow | |||||||
| from the album Barry Manilow II | |||||||
| B-side | "Something's Comin' Up" | ||||||
| Released | October 7, 1974 | ||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||||
| Recorded | 1974 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||
| Length |
3:15 (single version) 3:32 (album version) | ||||||
| Label | Bell | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Scott English, Richard Kerr | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Barry Manilow, Ron Dante | ||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | ||||||
| Barry Manilow singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
In 1974, Barry Manilow recorded it under the title name of "Mandy", the song was Manilow's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.
In the three years between English's and Manilow's recordings, Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" had hit number-one in 1972. Therefore, to avoid confusion, when Manilow decided to record the selection, he changed the title to "Mandy". It was Clive Davis who suggested that Manilow record the selection. Joe Renzetti arranged the record.[5]
In the Manilow version, the first two lines from the fourth verse following the instrumental section, were omitted, being:
"Riding on a country bus/
No one even noticed us."
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
| Chart (1974-75) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM | 1 |
| Germany | 19 |
| Ireland | 6 |
| New Zealand | 30 |
| UK | 11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1975) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 [6] | 35 |
| US Cash Box [7] | 17 |
| Canada | 12 |
Westlife version
| "Mandy" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Westlife | |||||||
| from the album Turnaround | |||||||
| Released | November 17, 2003 | ||||||
| Format | CD single | ||||||
| Recorded |
Rokstone Studios, London Olympic Studios, London 2003 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||
| Length | 3:19 | ||||||
| Label | BMG | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Steve Mac | ||||||
| Westlife singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
"Mandy" was covered by Irish boyband Westlife in 2003 and was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Turnaround. The single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart to become the band's twelfth number-one single on the chart.[8] The single sold over 190,000 copies in the UK.[9] The single was released on Monday, November 17, 2003.
Track listing
- UK CD1
- "Mandy" – 3:19
- "You See Friends (I See Lovers)" – 4:11
- "Greased Lightning" – 3:19
- "Mandy" (video) – 3:19
- "Mandy" (making of the video) – 2:00
- UK CD2
- "Mandy" – 3:19
- "Flying Without Wings" (live) – 3:41
Charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Chart successions
| Preceded by "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by Elton John |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Barry Manilow version) January 18, 1975 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Please Mr. Postman" by The Carpenters |
| Preceded by "Me Against the Music" by Britney Spears featuring Madonna |
Irish IRMA number one single (Westlife version) November 22, 2003 - December 6, 20003 (three weeks) |
Succeeded by "Shut Up" by The Black Eyed Peas |
| Preceded by "Crashed the Wedding" by Busted |
Scottish Singles Chart (Westlife version) November 23, 2003 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Leave Right Now" by Will Young |
| Preceded by "Crashed the Wedding" by Busted |
UK number-one single (Westlife version) November 29, 2003 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Leave Right Now" by Will Young |
Other versions
"Mandy" has been covered many times. Notable cover versions include:
- Bunny Walters in 1972 (as "Brandy" as in the original)
- Andy Williams (1975)
- Johnny Mathis (1975)
- Kai Hyttinen (1975) sung as "Leena" with Finnish text by Vexi Salmi.
- Claude François (1976) sung the French version (Mandy as well)
- Karel Gott (1977) sung as "Jsou svátky" with Czech text by Zdeněk Borovec.
- Richard Clayderman (1994)
- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (1997)
- Box Car Racer (2002)
- Helmut Lotti (2003)
- Westlife (2003)
- Bradley Joseph (2005)
- Clay Aiken (2005)
- Donny Osmond (2007)
- Jang Keun-suk (2011)
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1975 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles of 2003 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
References
- ↑ "Mandy (legal title) - BMI Work #955340". Repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ Quoted in The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits.
- ↑ "Brandy - BUNNY WALTERS (1972) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s". Pop Archives. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Very Best of Bunny Walters". Newzealandcds.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ Huey, Steve. "Mandy - Barry Manilow | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/1975YESP.html
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 692. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Westlife: Official Top 20". Mtv.co.uk. October 28, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Westlife – Mandy" (in French). Ultratip.
- ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. "Billboard". Retrieved December 13, 2003.
- ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/20031123/41/
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||