Tony Burrows

Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist.[1] As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in the production of numerous transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of which were one-hit wonders, including "Let's Go to San Francisco" by the Flower Pot Men, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse, "United We Stand" by Brotherhood of Man, "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, "Gimme Dat Ding" by The Pipkins and "Beach Baby" by The First Class. During 1970, four singles by four different acts for whom he served as lead vocalist all charted at or near the top of the UK Singles Chart and additionally reached the top 20 in the United States.

Tony Burrows
Tony Burrows in concert, 17 May 2008
Background information
Born (1942-04-14) 14 April 1942
Exeter, Devon, England
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active1960s–present
Associated actsThe Kestrels, The Ivy League, The Flower Pot Men, White Plains, The Pipkins, Edison Lighthouse, The First Class, Brotherhood of Man

Career

Burrows was born in Exeter, Devon, England. In the early 1960s, he was a member of The Kestrels, a vocal harmony group which also included the future songwriting team Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook.[2] Subsequently, he joined the Ivy League, singing lead on their last hit "Willow Tree", which peaked at UK No. 50 in 1966. Burrows was still with them when they metamorphosed into the Flower Pot Men.[2] The Flower Pot Men had only one hit, "Let's Go to San Francisco", which reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in the autumn of 1967. However, Burrows had no involvement with the single, which was created in the studio by the band's producers. He did feature on a few later Flower Pot Men singles which were not hits. Two founding members of Deep Purple, Jon Lord and Nick Simper, were also part of this early band for live shows.

Later, Burrows sang the lead vocals on several other one-hit wonder songs under different group names, Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" (February 1970); White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" (March 1970); the Pipkins' novelty song "Gimme Dat Ding" (April 1970); and the First Class' "Beach Baby" (July 1974). He also sang lead vocals on Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand", which reached No. 10 on the UK chart and also reached No. 13 in the U.S.

A published interview with Burrows claims that he became the first (and still the only) recording artist to appear on BBC Television's Top of the Pops fronting three different group acts appearing almost sequentially in a single broadcast show: Edison Lighthouse (the No. 1 British-charted hit that week), White Plains, and Brotherhood of Man. However records show that this did not happen. He did, however, have two of his bands on the same Top of the Pops four times between 29 January and 26 February 1970. Appearing alongside Edison Lighthouse on the shows were Brotherhood of Man (29 January 1970 and 19 February 1970) and White Plains (12 February 1970 and 26 February 1970). The recordings of his appearances on 29 January, 5 February and 26 February 1970 are all still in existence.

Although he hit the top 40 as the lead singer of five different groups, he only managed to have one chart single as a solo artist in the US. In 1970, he hit the Billboard Hot 100 with "Melanie Makes Me Smile",[2] which peaked at No. 87. As well as fronting various hit-making acts, Burrows has also contributed vocals as a session singer to many other hits, claiming to have sung on 100 top 20 hits in the 1970s.[3]

He has also recorded as a session harmony singer with Elton John on the songs "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer", with Cliff Richard, and James Last. In 2011, Burrows was awarded the BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of his contribution to music.[4]

Discography

Singles
  • 1970: "Melanie Makes Me Smile" / "I'll Get Along Somehow Girl" (Bell 1103)
  • 1970: "I've Still Got My Heart, Jo" / "Every Little Move She Makes" (Bell 1124)
  • 1971: "The Humming Song" / "Recollections" (Bell 1140)
  • 1971: "I'll Always Come Up Smiling" / "Back Home" (Bell 1172)
  • 1971: "Hand Me Down Man" / "Country Boy" (Bell 1190)
  • 1971: "In The Bad Bad Old Days" / "In the Bad Bad Old Days" (Bell USA 45-116, promo)
  • 1972: "Rhythm of the Rain" / "Home Lovin' Man" (Bell 1235)
  • 1973: "Take Away the Feeling" / "Lazy Weekend" (Ammo 103)
  • 1974: "Have You Had a Little Happiness Lately" / "Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You" (Ammo 111)
  • 1975: "Run Joey Run" / "Girl I Used To Know" (RAK 216)
  • 1976: "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" / "Changing" (as Magic featuring Tony Burrows) (Bus Stop Records 1036)
  • 1976: "Oh My Jo" / "Girl You've Got Me Going" (Bus Stop 1039)
  • 1976: "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" / "What Ya Gonna Do About Him" (DJM 10718)
  • 1984: "Three Chord Trick" / "Wake Up America" (as Heart to Heart with Stephanie de Sykes) (EMI 5461)

References
  1. Jancik, Wayne (March 1998). The Billboard book of one-hit wonders. Billboard Books. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-8230-7622-2. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 374. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. "Tony Burrows". Alwynwturner.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. "Gold Badge Awards in pictures - M Magazine". M-magazine.co.uk. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
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