Brotherhood of Man, with Martin Lee (right) and his bandmates (Image: GETTY)
Singer-songwriter Martin Lee spoke exclusively to the Express about his 1976 Eurovision win for Save Your Kisses For Me before his death – and made it clear he’s no fan of the modern version of the contest.
Admitting that the event has “changed dramatically” since he first participated, he quizzed in 2022: “If you can’t sing with an orchestra anymore, what’s the point?” He added: “Songs are not songs anymore, they’re just sounds.”
Joining a host of other celebrities who have been critical of the “cheesy” contest, he explained: “I like the light show but the songs seem to have disappeared a bit in the modern era.” Martin also believed the emphasis had changed over the years from artistry and song-writing technique to special effects onstage.
It’s a topic that started trending after fan fury over Adele refusing to sing at her Las Vegas residency, cancelling all 34 dates because she felt her show wasn’t “ready” – even though her voice was better than ever. However, Martin wasn’t all negative about Eurovision.
It catapulted the song Save Your Kisses for Me to a worldwide audience – and it reached number one in more than 30 countries, becoming one of the best-selling Eurovision singles in the contest’s history. While he made it clear he preferred the original format than the modern version, he still urged new performers to take part.
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Martin Lee in 2019, when he was in his 70s (Image: PA)
“We should still participate because it’s the biggest show in the world,” Martin declared.
“It’s great for new songwriters, it’s a great extravaganza. What else do we have on TV other than the soaps? A billion [viewers] can’t all be wrong.”
That said, Martin was happy with his original 1976 win, when his group was more than 70 points ahead of Switzerland, which took second place.
He said he felt no need to repeat the experience as he’d already achieved the top spot and was said to have inspired songs by artists such as ABBA.
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Brotherhood of Man won Eurovision in the 1970s (Image: GETTY)
The sad news of Martin’s death was released this afternoon, after he suffered heart failure following a short illness.
A statement released on the band’s Facebook page confirmed their sadness, clarifying: “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.
“We have so many happy memories but now we are in total shock and cannot imagine a world without Martin Lee.”
The group had retired from performance in 2020 but Martin had continued to be active in the working world, and even wrote a huge 84 books for the brand The Butterfly Children, in honour of the popular musical which had been watched by the likes of Princess Margaret.