Our classic 1970 song of the day is the third in a row with session ace Tony Burrows supplying vocals and the second in a row involving Tony’s mate Roger Greenaway. You know the song; it’s the majestic “United We Stand” by Brotherhood of Man. The single was released on January 23, 1970, and peaked the week of July 3 at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent a total of 15 weeks on the charts, which meant we all got to hear a lot of it back in the day.
“United We Stand” wasn’t written by Mr. Greenaway, who you might remember as the co-writer of yesterday’s classic song of the day, “My Baby Loves Lovin‘” by White Plains. The guys who wrote “United We Stand” were Tony Hiller and Peter Simons. Mr. Hiller was a songwriter and record producer who wrote or co-wrote tunes for Lulu, Cliff Richard, Bobby Vinton, Anne Murray, and, of course, Brotherhood of Man. His co-writer, Peter Simons, was Brotherhood of Man member Johnny Goodison writing under a pseudonym.
Brotherhood of Man, unlike other fake bands that used Tony Burrows as a lead vocalist, was a real group. It was composed of Mr. Burrows, Mr. Greenaway, Mr. Goodison, and sisters Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. Mr. Hiller brought them all together in 1969 and they scored big with “United We Stand,” their second single. Mr. Burrows left the group soon after that single and the group continued on as a quartet for a bit. They split up a few years later…
Or so we thought. In 1972, Mr. Hiller reformed the group with three completely new members (and none of the old). This new lineup added a fourth singer in 1973 and, in 1976, won the Eurovision Song Contest with their recording of “Save Your Kisses for Me,” yet another song co-written by Tony Hiller.
“United We Stand” had a life of its own beyond its original chart success. It was adopted as an anti-war song during the Vietnam War and became a a patriotic anthem in the U.S. following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It’s also been used as a chant for various football (soccer) clubs and as a gay rights anthem. It’s because the lyrics are universal and inspiring:
For united we stand, divided we fall
And if our backs should ever be against the wall
We’ll be together, together, you and I
Mr. Hiller describes the appeal of the song across generations:
“The inspiration for the song was definitely in the title, ‘United We Stand.’ It was during the time of Flower Power, the Vietnam War, the founding of lots of movements, including gay liberation and civil rights. It was in fact immediately taken up and used as the rallying call for the US Democratic Party presidential campaign. Over the years, ‘United We Stand’ has been recorded by upwards of 150 artists worldwide. So you can see, that something that started out as a pure love song went on to become an important anthem of our times, and helped so many people to heal their pain and suffering after the 9/11 attacks. This is the Brotherhood of Man song of which I am most proud.”
A brief bit of trivia for you. When Tony Hiller was recording the demo for “United We Stand” he enlisted an office boy at his publishing house to sing lead. That boy was named Reg Dwight, although you probably know him better as Elton John. And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.
And, just for fun, here’s the original incarnation of Brotherhood of Man, complete with both Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway, miming “United We Stand” on the BBC’s Top of the Pops program on February 7, 1970. They sure do look groovy, don’t they?
