"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by Scott English and Richard Kerr.[2] It was originally recorded by English in 1971 and reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.
"Brandy" was recorded by New Zealand singer Bunny Walters in 1972, but achieved greater success when released in the United States in 1974 by Barry Manilow. For Manilow's recording, the title changed from "Brandy" to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)". His version reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100. Later, it was recorded by many other artists. The song was a UK number one hit in 2003 for Irish boyband Westlife.
Scott English original recording
Under the title Brandy, the selection's original title, the song charted in 1971 for Scott English, one of its co-composers, whose version of it reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also released in the United States, where it was a minor hit, remaining in the lower portion of the Hot 100.
The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a favorite dog is apparently false. English later said that a reporter called him early one morning asking who "Brandy" was, and an irritated English made up the dog story to get the reporter off his back.[3] In a 2013 interview, he said the idea for the song title came while he was in France and someone tried to make a dirty joke saying "Brandy goes down fine after dinner, doesn't she" although in English, a drink does not actually have a grammatical gender, and the line does not have the intended double entendre. He later wrote the song in London. He said he hated the Manilow version because he took out part of a verse and made it a bridge, but he later loved it because it bought him houses. The song was inspired by his life, he said, the face in the window being his father.[4]
Record World said it was "just the sort of slightly uptempo pop ballad that should click on these shores."[5]
In 1972, Bunny Walters recorded "Brandy" and had a hit with it in New Zealand.[12] The backing vocals were by The Yandall Sisters. He later included the song on his album Very Best of Bunny Walters.[13]
In 1974, Barry Manilow recorded the song under the title name of "Mandy". The song was Manilow's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart, and his first gold single.
Following English's 1971 recording of "Brandy", Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" hit No. 1 in 1972. When Clive Davis suggested that Manilow record English's song, Manilow changed the title to "Mandy" to avoid confusion. Joe Renzetti arranged the record.[15]
In the Manilow version, the first two lines from the fourth verse, following the instrumental section, were omitted. They were:
"Riding on a country bus/ No one even noticed us."
The remaining lines were then used as a bridge instead.
Cash Box said "a lushly orchestrated ballad it is a classic love song with Barry doing some fine piano work."[16]Record World said that "Manilow's performance builds from his solo foundation to the rafters of Joe Renzetti's romantic strings."[17]
Irish boy bandWestlife covered "Mandy" in 2003 and released it as the second single from their fourth studio album, Turnaround (2003), in November 2003. The single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart to become the band's 12th number one single on the chart.[39] The single sold over 200,000 copies in the UK to earn a silver sales certification.[40] Westlife's version was the fifth-best-selling single of 2003 in Ireland. "Mandy" is the band's 16th-best-selling single in paid-for and combined sales in the UK as of January 2019.[41]
The music video was filmed in the United Great Lodge of England, Freemasons' Hall, London. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award, in under five years.[42] Their version is also the longest leap to the top (from 200 to 1) in UK music history.[43] In Westlife - Our Story the band said the idea to record and release the song was Simon Cowell's.[44]
^ abBreihan, Tom (June 21, 2019). "The Number Ones: Barry Manilow's "Mandy"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 21, 2023. In English's hands, it was a big and sweeping folk-rock ballad..."Brandy" was still a fairly cheesy '70s pop song.
^Mandy (UK CD2 liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG, S Records. 2003. 82876 570732.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
