Angelo (song)

"Angelo"
Single by Brotherhood of Man
from the album Images
B-side	"All Night"
Released	21 June 1977
Genre	Pop
Length	3.15
Label	Pye Records
Writer(s)	Tony Hiller / Lee Sheriden / Martin Lee
Producer(s)	Tony Hiller
Brotherhood of Man singles chronology
"Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In)" (1977) "Angelo" (1977) "Highwayman" (1977)

"Angelo" is a song by British pop group Brotherhood of Man. Released as a single in June 1977, it became the group's second UK number one hit.

Background

Written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee and produced by Hiller, it was the band's second UK number one single (after their Eurovision winner, Save Your Kisses for Me the previous year), spending a single week at the top in August 1977. The song remained on the UK Chart for 12 weeks - 10 of them in the Top Ten - and was the 9th biggest selling single of the year.^[1] It was awarded a gold disc in August 1977 by the BPI.^[2] The song also was a number one hit in Ireland, Japan and South Africa (for two weeks).^[3][4][5][6] It featured on the group's album Images, which was released later in the year.

Despite being one of the biggest selling singles of the decade, the song has often been criticised in its similarity to "Fernando" - an earlier single released by pop group ABBA, who were seen as Brotherhood of Man's main competition in the UK. Member and co-writer Sheriden denies any attempts to 'copy', stating that they "were simply writing in the style of the day". Other male member and co-writer, Lee also denies the allegation, but admits that "they were pretty close".^[7]

The song tells of a shepherd in Mexico who falls in love with a rich girl, but he is met with resistance from her family. Both aware that her family would never allow the union, they run away together and commit suicide.^[8] According to co-writer Hiller, the lyrics were based on "Romeo and Juliet - the great love story. The idea was to create a modern day Romeo and Juliet romance".^[9]

The song is sung by the two female members of the group, Sandra Stevens and Nicky Stevens, although Sandra sings the opening lines alone. "Angelo" was performed by the group at the Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala in November 1977 in front of Queen Elizabeth II.^[10]

UK comedy group The Barron Knights parodied this song on their "Live in Trouble" single, a top ten hit in 1977.^[11][1]

Track listing

1. "Angelo" (3:15)
2. "All Night" (2:59)

French and German version:

1. "Angelo" (3:15)
2. "Circus" (3:20)

All tracks written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee

Chart performance

Country	Peak position
UK[1]	1
Ireland[3]	1
Japan[4]	1
South Africa[5]	1
Germany	14
Belgium	2
France [12]	70
The Netherlands [13]	4
New Zealand [14]	27

References

1. "Brotherhood of Man - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
2. BPI. "Statistics - Certified Awards - Brotherhood of Man". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
3. Irish charts.ie. ""Angelo" Irish Chart details". Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
4. Billboard Magazine, 15 October 1977 - Hits of the World
5. Rock.co.za. ""Angelo" South African chart details". Retrieved 2008-11-14.
6. Rate your Music. "South African Number Ones". Retrieved 2009-02-23.
7. I Love 1976, Channel 4 Television
8. Gary Hart. ""Angelo" song lyrics". Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
9. Tony Hiller interview with Michael Heatley, 1995
10. BFI. "Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala". Retrieved 2008-10-01.
11. Listology. "Barron Knights parody". Retrieved 2009-01-21.
12. Infodisc. ""Angelo" French Chart details". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
13. Radio 538, Netherlands. ""Angelo" Dutch Chart details". Retrieved 2008-12-12.
14. Charts.org. ""Angelo" New Zealand Chart details". Retrieved 17 September 2011.