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Louise Thomas
Editor
Martin Lee, who won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the pop group Brotherhood of Man, has died aged 77.
The group triumphed at that year’s contest, which was held in The Hague, Netherlands, with the now-famous song “Save Your Kisses For Me,” topping the points table with 164.
The song was already a hit in its own right in the UK having topped the singles chart two weeks before Eurovision.
It also became a number one in several other countries around the globe including Denmark, France, Ireland, Israel and Spain.
A statement from the band said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our great friend and colleague Brotherhood Of Man’s Martin Lee, who slipped peacefully away on the evening of Sunday, September 29, 2024, from heart failure after a short illness. Martin was 77.”
Tony Hiller, the group’s manager, put the song’s success down to their TV appearances across France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland the year before the contest – and the record sold six million copies.
Lee was brought into the group as their main vocalist and guitarist in 1972 – along with Lee Sheriden, Sandra Stevens and Nicky Stevens – by Hiller after their initial line-up disbanded.
His group’s Eurovision win came after they had their first European number one with “Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby”, which led the group’s songwriters to begin composing a song to enter the competition.
Prior to joining Brotherhood Of Man, Lee had already released a solo single called Cry Jose and had also played in the Johnny Howard Band.
Lee was born Martin Barnes, on November 26, 1946, in Purley, London, but had spent five years of his youth living in Australia.
He was married to Brotherhood Of Man bandmate Stevens for 45 years and also had a daughter from his first marriage, who was born in 1973.
Alongside Sheriden, Lee also wrote most of the group’s hits including their three number one singles Angelo, Figaro and Save Your Kisses For Me.
The group had eight UK top 75 singles with their second line-up and also had a UK top 10 album in the 1978 compilation “Twenty Greatest.”
With Lee they amassed 26 platinum, gold and silver discs along with three Ivor Novello Awards and an ASCAP Shield for writing a top 10 hit in the US.
In 2020, the band retired from performing having kept the same line-up which won Eurovision more than 40 years previously.
In the band’s statement about Lee, they added: “He will be sadly missed by his fellow band members Nicky Stevens, Lee Sheriden and especially Sandra Stevens to whom he had been married for 45 happy years.
“Over the past 50 years the four of us have toured the world together in harmony and have so many happy memories, but now we are in total shock and cannot imagine a world without Martin Lee RIP.”
Additional reporting by PA.
