United We Stand (song)

"United We Stand" is a song written by Tony Hiller and Peter Simons (writer's pseudonym for group member Johnny Goodison). It was first released in 1970 by the Brotherhood of Man in their original, pre-Eurovision line-up, consisting of Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie.^[2] It became the band's first hit, peaking at #13 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #10 in the U.K.^[3] The song spent 15 weeks on the charts, and is ranked as the 64th biggest U.S. hit of 1970.^[4] It also reached #8 in Australia.^[5]

"United We Stand"
Single by Brotherhood of Man
from the album United We Stand
B-side	"Say a Prayer"
Released	23 January 1970
Genre	Bubblegum pop[1]
Length	2:52
Label	Deram Records
Songwriter(s)	Tony Hiller / Peter Simons
Producer(s)	Tony Hiller
Brotherhood of Man singles chronology
"Love One Another" (1969) "United We Stand" (1970) "Where Are You Going to My Love" (1970)

Background

Reg Dwight, who would later become famous as Elton John, was an office boy at Mills Music, a Denmark Street music publishing house where Hiller worked.^[6] Hiller knew he could sing and had him record the original demo for "United We Stand."^[7]

The song was later included on an album of the same name and was followed by another hit "Where are You Going to My Love".^[8]

Reception

The song has often been used to promote unity and has been used as a football chant and by LGBTQ+ rights movements.^[9][10]

Billboard gave the song a favourable review on 14 March 1970 calling it a "strong production" and (correctly) predicting it would become a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.^[11]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1970) Peak position Australia KMR[5] 8 Canada RPM Top Singles[12] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 16 UK (OCC)[3] 10 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] 13 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[15] 15 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[16] 13

Year-end charts Chart (1970) Rank Australia[17] 52 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 64 U.S. Cash Box[19] 79

Cover versions

It has been recorded by over 100 different artists,^[9] including:

• A sound-alike cover appeared on the 1970 album Top of the Pops, Volume 10.^[20]
• Edison Lighthouse on their 1971 album, Already.^[21]
• Elton John on his 1994 LP, Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop.^[22]
• Sonny and Cher on their 1971 album All I Ever Need Is You.^[23]
• Liliane Saint-Pierre covered the song in French as "Nous resterons unis (We will remain united)".^[24]
• In Italy, Wess and Dori Ghezzi reached the top ten chart covering the song in Italian.^{[citation needed]}
• Mary Roos covered the song in Germany.^[25]
• Six recorded a version which appeared on their album in 2002.^[26]
• Phish closed out their three-night stand in 2015 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park with the song.^[27]
• On The Muppet Show, The Muppets covered the song with Lola Falana in her episode.^[28]

Popular culture

• In 1977, it was used as the closing theme song of the US variety show The Brady Bunch Hour.^[29]
• The song plays during the final moments of the 2021 TV series Station Eleven.^[30]

References

1. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "1970: Everything's Gone Gray". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
2. Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh (2010). 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857123602.
3. "united we stand - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
4. "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
5. Hung, Steffen. "australian-charts.com - Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
6. Hiller, Leigh (15 November 2018). "Obituary: Tony Hiller". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
7. Leigh, Spencer (6 September 2018). "Tony Hiller: Songwriter who helped pen Brotherhood of Man's Eurovision classic 'Save Your Kisses for Me'". The Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
8. "RPM Records : Brotherhood of Man". Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
9. Wiser, Carl (30 September 2011). "Tony Hiller and Brotherhood of Man : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
10. Ellis, James (27 October 2009). "Lee Sheriden". Metro.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
11. Billboard. 14 March 1970. p. 64. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
12. "RPM Top 100 Singles - July 11, 1970" (PDF).
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – United We Stand". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
14. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
15. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
16. "Cash Box Top 100 7/11/70". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
17. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
18. "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
19. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1970". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
20. Dave Thompson. "Top of the Pops, Vol. 10 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
21. Unterberger, Andrew (5 January 2022). "Streams Skyrocket For Edison Lighthouse's 'Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)' After 1970 Pop Hit Explodes on TikTok". Billboard. Brotherhood of Man ("United We Stand," No. 13, 1970)
22. Murray, Charles Shaar (22 February 1975). "The Life And Times Of Elton John, part 1". New Musical Express – via Rock's Backpages. Then I started doing all those cover-job dates. However, I did the original demo for The Brotherhood of Man's 'United We Stand' and then the cover-version for those Pye Marble Arch budget albums.
23. "Track 5: United We Stand". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
24. Lyrics by Claude François.
25. Lyrics by Michael Holm.
26. "United We Stand SIX" – via YouTube.
27. "Phish Surprises With Rare 'Harpua' Encore And Bust Outs Galore In Spectacular Dick's Tour Closer". Live for Live Music. 7 September 2015.
28. "Muppet Songs: Lola Falana - United We Stand" – via YouTube.
29. "Brady Bunch Variety Hour - Closing Theme: "United We Stand"". YouTube.
30. Kate Aurthur (13 January 2022). "'Station Eleven' Creative Team Breaks Down Its Heartbreaking — and Life-Affirming — Final Scenes". Variety. Retrieved 23 November 2023.

External links

• Lyrics of this song
• The Brotherhood of Man - United We Stand on YouTube