Lee Sheriden | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Roger Pritchard |
Born |
Bristol, England |
11 April 1949
Genres | Pop music |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, music director |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1973–present |
Labels | Pye Records |
Lee Sheriden (born Roger Pritchard, 11 April 1949, Horfield, Bristol) is a British singer/songwriter and musical director, best known as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.
As a child, Roger Pritchard learned the piano and later took up the guitar when he joined his first group at the age of 14. This group appeared on a television talent show but he soon found his way into other groups. After he left school he became a resident musician at the Top Rank club in Bristol (now renamed The Works) for four years. In the early 1970s he embarked on a career as a songwriter. This brought him to the attention of Tony Hiller, who was looking for songwriters for his publishing company. Sheriden signed up with Tony Hiller Music and soon after Hiller, aware that Sheriden could also sing, asked him to be a part of the new Brotherhood of Man line-up.
Sheriden agreed and along with Martin Lee and Nicky Stevens, appeared on various television and radio shows. While Sheriden released a solo single in January 1973 called "Sweetest Tasting Candy Sugar", Hiller began composing songs with Sheriden and Lee with the view to putting together an album.
In 1973 the group released two singles "Happy Ever After" and "Our World of Love", but neither charted. In late 1973 they were joined by singer Sandra Stevens and the now four-piece group secured a record deal with the Pye spin-off Dawn Records. Sheriden along with Hiller wrote the first single "When Love Catches Up on You", but it was the second release "Lady" which gained them attention by becoming a hit in Europe.
With an album completed and released before the end of 1974, the group scored their next big hit with "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby". According to Sheriden, during writing sessions for their second album, he came up with a song called "Save Your Kisses for Me", which the others rejected initially. He then presented it to them again as Hiller was looking for a song to enter in the following year's Song for Europe. This time they went with it and after some rewriting the song won the contest in 1976. It went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest and became a No. 1 in many countries, selling over a million copies in the UK alone.