Brandy (Scott English song)

For the 1919 Irving Berlin song, see Mandy (1919 song).

"Mandy" is a song made famous by Barry Manilow in 1974. However the song was originally entitled "Brandy" and had been a minor hit in 1971 for Scott English. The song was co-written by Scott English himself and Richard Kerr. Later on, "Mandy" was recorded by many artists with most notable cover versions by Andy Williams in 1975 and Johnny Mathis in (1997). Westlife had a British #1 with it in 2003.

Scott English version

"Brandy"
Song
B-side	"Lead Me Back"

"Brandy" (the song's original name) was a hit in 1971 for Scott English. It reached number 12 in the UK Singles Charts. It was also released in the United States was was not a successful hit.

The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a favorite dog is apparently an urban legend. English has 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 1972, Bunny Walters recorded "Brandy" and had a hit with it in New Zealand reaching #4.

Barry Manilow version

"Brandy"
Song
B-side	"Something's Comin' Up"

In 1974, recorded by Barry Manilow as "Mandy", the song was Manilow's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.

In the three years between English's 1971 recording and Manilow's, Looking Glass had a hit song with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in 1972. Therefore, to avoid confusion, when Manilow decided to make his record, he changed the title to "Mandy". It was Clive Davis who suggested that Manilow record the song. Manilow originally recorded it as an up-tempo bubblegum pop tune similar to English's original, but he and his producer Ron Dante reportedly hated the way it turned out; thus, he sang it as a ballad and was much more pleased with the results. It was Manilow's first hit single and the first song on Clive Davis' Arista Records label (formerly Bell Records) to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

Charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	19
Irish Singles Chart	6
New Zealand Singles Chart	30
UK Singles Chart	11
US Hot 100 Singles Chart	1

Westlife version

"Brandy"
Song

"Mandy" was covered by the band Westlife in 2003 and was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Turnaround. The single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart to become the band's twelfth number-one single on the chart. The single sold over 190,000 copies in UK.

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "Mandy" (Single Remix) - 3:19
2. "You See Friends (I See Lovers)" - 4:11
3. "Greased Lightning" - 3:19
4. "Mandy" (Video) - 3:19
5. "Mandy" (Making Of The video) - 2:00

UK CD2

1. "Mandy" (Single Remix) - 3:19
2. "Flying Without Wings" (Live) - 3:41

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	16
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	50
Danish Singles Chart	2
Dutch Singles Chart	27
German Singles Chart	14
Irish Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	15
Swedish Singles Chart	4
Swiss Singles Chart	30
UK Singles Chart	1

End of year charts

End of year chart (2003)	Position
UK Singles Chart	32

Other versions

"Mandy" has been covered many times.

Notable cover versions include

• Andy Williams (1975)
• Richard Clayderman (1994)
• Johnny Mathis (1997)
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (1997)
• Bradley Joseph (2005)
• Donny Osmond (2007)

In popular culture

• The Simpsons parodied this in the episode in which Homer feels torn between his attractive new co-worker (Mindy) and his own wife. They were in a hotel room together, and a turkey slips behind the bed. Later, when Homer brings Marge to the room, he starts singing to her, "Oh, Margie, you came and you found me a turkey."

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1975 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)

• List of number-one singles of 2003 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)