"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by

Scott English Sheldon David "Scott" English (January 10, 1937 – November 16, 2018) was an American songwriter, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of "Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. The song became a No. 1 hit fo ...

and Richard Kerr. It was originally recorded by English in 1971 and reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. "Brandy" was recorded by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

singer

Bunny Walters Bunny Te Kokiri Miha Waahi Walters (31 May 1953 – 14 December 2016) was a New Zealand singer who had a number of New Zealand hits during the 1970s. He is best known for the hits "Brandy" and "Take the Money and Run". Walters represented New Z ...

in 1972, but achieved greater success when released in the United States in 1974 by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. For Manilow's recording, the title changed from "Brandy" to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with

Looking Glass A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

's "

Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" is a 1972 song by American pop rock band Looking Glass from their debut album, '' Looking Glass''. It was written by Looking Glass lead guitarist and co-vocalist Elliot Lurie. The single reached No. 1 on both the ...

". His version reached the top of the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100. Later, it was recorded by many other artists. The song was a UK number one hit in 2003 for Irish boyband

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

Scott English original recording

Under the title ''Brandy'', the selection's original title, the song charted in 1971 for

, 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. 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. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said it was "just the sort of slightly uptempo pop ballad that should click on these shores."

Charts

Bunny Walters version

In 1972,

recorded "Brandy" and had a hit with it in New Zealand. The backing vocals were by

The Yandall Sisters The Yandall Sisters were a popular New Zealand-born Samoan all-female singing group of the 1970s, who made a major contribution to music in New Zealand. The members of the group were Caroline, Mary and Adele Yandall, and later younger sister Pauli ...

. He later included the song on his album ''Very Best of Bunny Walters''.

Barry Manilow version

In 1974,

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 Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart, and his first gold single. Following English's 1971 recording of "Brandy",

's "

" 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 Joseph Renzetti is an American film composer and session musician. He scores for films and television, currently active in scoring indie films, he composes works for orchestra, chamber groups, and solo artists. Career Born in Philadelphia, Renz ...

arranged the record. 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 ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "a lushly orchestrated ballad it is a classic love song with Barry doing some fine piano work." ''

'' said that "Manilow's performance builds from his solo foundation to the rafters of

's romantic strings." In "

Judgment Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context of a legal trial ...

," the season 2 premiere of ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'', the eponymous protagonist sings "Mandy" at Lorne's Caritas

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

bar in exchange for information.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Westlife version

Irish

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

covered "Mandy" in 2003 and released it as the second single from their fourth studio album, '' Turnaround'' (2003), in November 2003. The single entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart on the 23rd November 2003, to become the band's 12th number one single, thus also becoming the group's 16th consecutive UK top 5 hit. The single sold over 200,000 copies in the UK to earn a silver sales certification. 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. The music video was filmed in the United Great Lodge of England,

Freemasons' Hall, London Freemasons' Hall in London is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England, as well as being a meeting place for many Masonic Lodges in the London area. It is located in G ...

. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award, in under five years. Their version is also the longest leap to the top (from 200 to 1) in UK music history. In ''Westlife - Our Story'' the band said the idea to record and release the song was

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

's.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Mandy" – 3:19 # "You See Friends (I See Lovers)" – 4:11 # " Greased Lightning" – 3:19 # "Mandy" (video) – 3:19 # "Mandy" (making of the video) – 2:00 UK CD2 # "Mandy" – 3:19 # "

Flying Without Wings "Flying Without Wings" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 18 October 1999 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album (1999). It is the band's fourth-best-selling single on both paid-for and combined sales in t ...

" (live) – 3:41

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Other versions

"Mandy" has been covered many times. Notable

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s include: *

(1974) *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

(1975) *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

(1975) *

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

& The Singers (1975) *

Patty Pravo Nicoletta Strambelli (born 9 April 1948), known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in p ...

(1975) in Italian as "Rispondi" on her ''Incontro'' album. *Kai Hyttinen (1975) sung as "Leena" with Finnish text by

Vexi Salmi Veikko Olavi "Vexi" Salmi (; 21 September 1942 – 8 September 2020) was a Finnish lyricist. He wrote the lyrics to numerous popular songs for several prominent artists, including Irwin Goodman, Jari Sillanpää, and Katri Helena. His career as ...

. *

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

(1976) sang the French version ("Mandy" as well) *

Jimmy Castor James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", and ...

did a mostly instrumental version on his album ''Maximum Stimulation'' in 1977. *

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

(1977) sung its Christmas version as "Jsou svátky" with Czech text by

Zdeněk Borovec Zdeněk is a Czech male given name derived from the Latin name Sidonius. contested the relation with the Latin name, and an alternative etymology is a diminutive of Zdeslav.Jan Svoboda, Staročeská osobní jména se základem sd , sdě-, :Onom ...

. *

Drop Nineteens Drop Nineteens is an American shoegaze band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1990. The band was formed by Boston University classmates Greg Ackell (vocals, guitar) and Chris Roof (drums), who recruited Paula Kelley (vocals, guitar), Motohi ...

(1992) *

Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman (; born Philippe Pagès , 28 December 1953 in Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville, Olivier Toussaint and Marc Minier, instrumental renditions of popu ...

(1994) *

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to MFGG or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, C. J. Ramone, Joey Cape, Pinch and John Reis. ...

(1997) *

Yuki Koyanagi is a Japanese pop singer. She released her first single, "Anata no kisu o kazoemashô – You Were Mine" on September 15, 1999. This song was a huge hit in Japan and made the 17-year-old a sensation overnight. Her second album, ''Expansion'', s ...

(2000) *

Box Car Racer Box Car Racer was an American punk band formed in San Diego, California, in 2001. The band was a side-project of Blink-182 members Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, with David Kennedy of Hazen Street completing the band's studio lineup. A bassist ...

(2002) *Mandy & Randy (2003) *

Helmut Lotti Helmut Lotti (born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers; 22 October 1969), is a Belgian tenorGoldsmith B (2009)Belgian tenor Helmut Lotti wants to find his own style '' WDEZ''. Retrieved 23 April 2010. and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in ...

(2003) *

Bradley Joseph Bradley Joseph (born 1965) is an American composer, arranger, and producer of contemporary instrumental music. His compositions include works for orchestras, quartets, and solo piano pieces. He has been active professionally since 1983, and has ...

(2005) *

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor and political activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, '' Me ...

(2005) *

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

(2007) *

Jang Keun-suk Jang Keun-suk () is a South Korean singer and actor. He is best known for starring in the Korean television dramas '' Beethoven Virus'' (2008), '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), '' Marry Me, Mary!'' (2010), '' Love Rain'' (2012), ''Bel Ami'' (2013) ...

(2011) *

The Bad Plus The Bad Plus is an American jazz group from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, formed in 2000. They were originally a piano trio, but became a quartet in 2021: founding members Reid Anderson on bass and David King on drums, as well as guit ...

(2016) *

Joe Pernice Joseph T. Pernice (born July 17, 1967) is an American indie rock musician and writer, who has fronted several bands, including the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline, The New Mendicants and the Pernice Brothers. Early life Pernice wa ...

(2020)

References

External links

Songfacts: Mandy by Barry Manilow
* {{authority control 1971 songs 1971 singles 1974 singles 2003 singles Barry Manilow songs Bunny Walters songs Westlife songs Me First and the Gimme Gimmes songs Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Songs written by Richard Kerr (songwriter) Songs written by Scott English Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Pop ballads Fontana Records singles Bell Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles 1970s ballads Sony Music singles RCA Records singles Syco Music singles Trojan Records singles

Scott English original recording

Charts

Bunny Walters version

Barry Manilow version

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Westlife version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Other versions

See also

References

External links