Save Your Kisses for Me

Infobox Single
Name = Save Your Kisses for Me
Type = Single
Artist = Brotherhood of Man
from Album = Love and Kisses from Brotherhood of Man
B-side = "Let's Love Together"


Released = 1976
Genre = Pop
Length = 3:02
Label = Pye Records
Writer = Tony Hiller / Lee Sheriden / Martin Lee
Producer = Tony Hiller
Last single = "Kiss Me, Kiss Your Baby"
(1975)
This single = "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976)
Next single = "My Sweet Rosalie" (1976)
Misc =Infobox ESC entry
song = flagicon|United Kingdom "Save Your Kisses for Me"


caption =
year = 1976
country = United Kingdom
artist = Brotherhood of Man
as =
with =
language = English
languages =
composer = Tony Hiller,
Lee Sheriden,
Martin Lee
lyricist = Tony Hiller,
Lee Sheriden,
Martin Lee
conductor = Alyn Ainsworth
place = 1st
points = 168
lyrics = [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1976uk from Diggiloo Thrush]
clip =
prev = Let Me Be the One
prev_link = Let Me Be the One (Eurovision song)
next = Rock Bottom
next_link = Rock Bottom (Eurovision song)

"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. [O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3]

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 from Brotherhood of Man."

The song was succeeded in 1977 by Marie Myriam singing "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" for France.

Among many cover versions, country singer Margo Smith had a number ten hit on the Country charts in 1976, while Bobby Vinton had a Billboard top 100 hit in the same year with his version. 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. It came fifth in the final voting.

"Save Your Kisses for Me" is still one of the top 100 selling singles of all time in the UK. [ [http://ukcharts.20m.com/bestsell.html UKCharts.com - Best selling UK singles] ]

Chart performance

References