By Madison Burgess Published: 08:43 EDT, 1 October 2024 | Updated: 09:04 EDT, 1 October 2024
Brotherhood of Man star Martin Lee, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1976, has died aged 77.The band were first formed in 1969 and Martin joined them three years later, singing lead vocals on their hit Save Your Kisses For Me.The band announced the news of Martin’s death with a post on Facebook on Tuesday.It read: ‘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 29th September 2024 from heart failure after a short illness. Martin was 77.’Martin sang lead vocals on the 1976 Eurovision Winner ‘Save your kisses for me’ which was number 1 in 31 countries and the guinness book biggest selling eurovision single of all time plus the biggest winner by percentage of vote. Brotherhood of Man star Martin Lee, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1976, has died aged 77 The band were first formed in 1969 and Martin (far right) joined them three years later, singing lead vocals on their hit Save Your Kisses For Me The band announced the news of Martin’s death with a post on Facebook on Tuesday’He was not only a wonderful singer but also co-wrote with band mate Lee Sheriden most of the Brotherhood of Man hits including the 3 number one records. ‘Other awards include 26 Platinum, Gold & Silver Discs, 3 Ivor Novello awards and an ASCAP Shield for writing a top 10 hit in the United States.’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. R.I.P.’Lee was married to fellow band member Sandra Stevens, who he began dating shortly after she joined the group in 1973. The band’s statement read: ‘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 29th September 2024.’ 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’ (pictured in 2019) The group split up in the 1980s for a few years, but reunited for a TV show in 1985 and have stayed in touch ever sinceBefore the Eurovision competition, which took place in The Hague, Brotherhod Of Man initially found success with their single United We Stand, which was also the name of their debut album.It became a top 20 hit in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US. They released some more successful singles, including Oh Boy (The Mood I’m In) and Angelo, as well as a second album called B for Brotherhood.The group split up in the 1980s for a few years, but reunited for a TV show in 1985 and have stayed in touch ever since.They have reunited a few times since their peak period of success and continued performing together, but officially retired from touring in 2022.
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Eurovision legend Martin Lee dies aged 77 as tributes pour in for Brit whose band won competition for UK