Brooks was a London-based vocal pop group active in the late 1970s. Despite much hype and a number of single releases, the band failed to achieve any chart success. Two of the members however went on to achieve fame independently of each other:

Mike Nolan Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive c ...

, of

Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were an English pop group, that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and c ...

, and Chris Hamill, a.k.a.

Limahl Christopher Hamill (born 19 December 1958), known professionally as Limahl ( , an anagram of Hamill), is an English pop singer. He was the lead singer of the pop group Kajagoogoo beginning in 1982, before embarking on a solo career, garnering t ...

, of

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo ( ) were an English Pop music, pop band. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed ...

History

The group was put together in 1976 by manager Freya Miller and husband Peter Pereira. Miller had previously worked with

The New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...

, and Pereira had been a member of pop band Co-Co. They recruited singers Mike Nolan, Chris Hamill, and Ricky Gallahad through ads in ''

The Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publication ...

'' and ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

'', to complete the line-up with Pereira. In 1978 Hamill was replaced by John Humphreys. Shortly after, the group signed a contract with

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. Tony Eyers, who had worked with the group

5000 Volts 5000 Volts is the name of a British disco recording act that achieved success throughout Europe during the 1970s. The group consisted of vocalists Tina Charles and Martin Jay, with a changing group of session musicians. Career They released ...

, was hired as producer. The first single, released in 1979, was "The Sound of Your Love", with Pereira singing the lead. Nolan's voice was featured in the second single, "Cry (Till My Eyes Run Dry)". Both singles were arranged by Steve Gray. Despite television appearances on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

's ''The Saturday Morning Show'', ''

The Dick Emery Show ''The Dick Emery Show'' is a British sketch comedy show starring Dick Emery. It was broadcast on the BBC from 1963 to 1981. It was directed and produced by Harold Snoad. The show was broadcast over 18 series with 166 episodes. The show experien ...

'', and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Lena Zavaroni Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer. At the age of 10, with her debut album '' Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person to have had an album in the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Lat ...

and Music'', neither of the group's first singles made an entry into the pop charts.

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook and Tony Burrows. His compositions have included " You've Got Your Troubles" and the ...

took over as producer for the group in late 1979. Greenaway had written a string of hits with Roger Cook, including " Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and "

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song (originally known as "True Love and Apple Pie") by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten by the ...

". Brooks' next single was "What a Great Night For Making Love", a Greenaway/Barry Mason composition. The

expressed reservations over the title and lyrics, so the single was re-recorded as "What a Great Night for ''Falling'' in Love". Once again, Nolan sang the lead. By 1980, singer Gallahad had been replaced by Ben Ellison. The group released two more singles written and produced by Greenaway; "Don't You Know a Lady (When You See One)?", featuring Nolan, and "We Are United", with Humphreys taking the lead. The single "Don't You Know a Lady" was also released by former

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

lead singer,

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 10 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and di ...

. In the end, neither artist made much progress with it in the charts. During this time, the group continued to promote themselves with television appearances and radio interviews. The members appeared individually on the covers of ''Oh Boy!'' magazine. In 1980, the group travelled to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

as the UK entry in the Ljubljana '80 song festival, which was telecast over most of Europe. Despite these efforts, none of the group's later singles fared any better than their previous offerings, when it came to breaking into the charts.

Split and aftermath

After considerable investment, and two years without a hit, Polydor declined to take up the options on their contract. Miller's interest in Brooks waned after she split with Pereira, and began managing

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although ...

. The members had little in common musically or personally, and without their contractual obligations holding them together, they split. Mike Nolan went on to success with

, winning the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in 1981, with "

Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz with music composed by John Danter and lyrics written by Andy Hill. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earl ...

". Chris Hamill, transformed into

, had a worldwide hit with "

Too Shy "Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by the British band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''White Feathers'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two ...

", with

in 1983, as well as with his solo record "

The NeverEnding Story ''The Neverending Story'' () is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series and a television series. Plot T ...

", the theme song to the film of the same name. Ben Ellison returned to his acting career, appearing on stage and television, and in film. His best-known work is his lead role in the 1989 film ''

Looking for Langston ''Looking for Langston'' is a 1989 British black-and-white film, directed by Isaac Julien and produced by Sankofa Film & Video Productions. It combines authentic archival newsreel footage of Harlem in the 1920s with scripted scenes to produce a ...

''. John Humphreys performed at folk clubs and on radio with "Home and Colonial" before returning to his native Canada in 1981.

Discography

Singles: (all released on

) *March 1979: "Sound of Our Love" *May 1979: "Cry (Till My Eyes Run Dry)" *November 1979: "What a Great Night for Making Love" *March 1980: "Don't You Know a Lady (When You See One)?" *September 1980: "We Are United"

References

{{Reflist English pop music groups