Brandy (Scott English song)


"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by Scott English 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 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 ". His version reached the top of the US Hot 100 Singles Chart. 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 #12 in the UK Singles Charts. 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 an urban legend. 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.

Charts

Bunny Walters version

In 1972, Bunny Walters recorded "Brandy" and had a hit with it in New Zealand. The backing vocals were by The Yandall Sisters. He later included the song on his album Very Best of Bunny Walters.
Chart Peak
position
New Zealand Singles Chart4

Barry Manilow version

In 1974, Barry Manilow recorded the song under the title name of "Mandy". The song was Manilow's first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.
In the three years between English's and Manilow's recordings, Looking Glass's "Brandy " had hit #1 in 1972. When Clive Davis suggested that Manilow record the selection, the singer changed the title to "Mandy" to avoid confusion. Joe Renzetti 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.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Westlife version

"Mandy" was covered by Irish boy band Westlife in 2003 and was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Turnaround. The single peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart to become the band's twelfth #1 single on the chart. The single sold over 200,000 copies in the UK. The single was released on Monday, November 17, 2003. 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. Their version is also considered as the single with the longest leap to the top in UK music history. It is the band's seventeenth most streamed song, sixteenth best selling single in paid-for sales category and in best selling single combined sales category in the United Kingdom as of January 2019. Westlife's version was the fifth best-selling single of 2003 in Ireland.

Tours performed at

;UK CD1
  1. "Mandy" – 3:19
  2. "You See Friends " – 4:11
  3. "Greased Lightning" – 3:19
  4. "Mandy" – 3:19
  5. "Mandy" – 2:00
;UK CD2
  1. "Mandy" – 3:19
  2. "Flying Without Wings" – 3:41

    Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Other versions

"Mandy" has been covered many times. Notable cover versions include: