Brother Beyond
| Company type | Pop ensemble / Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Brother Beyond was a British pop ensemble prominent in the late 1980s, recognized for their distinctive pop rock style.
Initial releases and debut album
The group’s first four singles—"I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don Was), and an early rendition of "Can You Keep a Secret?"—were collaboratively written by Eg White, David Ben White, and Carl Fysh, featuring lead vocals by Nathan Moore. These tracks, released from 1986 to 1988, experienced modest placements on the UK Singles Chart.
Brother Beyond achieved significant commercial success after securing production services from the acclaimed team Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) through a charity auction. Their initial SAW-produced single, "The Harder I Try," climbed to No. 2 on the UK charts, followed by "He Ain't No Competition," which reached No. 6. Later singles from their debut album Get Even did not break into the UK Top Ten.
Sophomore album
After a brief pause, the band issued "Drive On" in late 1989, taken from their second album Trust, which peaked at No. 39 in the UK. Their rendition of The Three Degrees’ ballad "When Will I See You Again?" attained No. 43, while the self-composed title track "Trust" reached No. 53.
In 1990, Trust was launched in the United States via EMI America, incorporating two additional songs with a more Americanized sound to appeal to that market. The lead single for the US audience, "The Girl I Used to Know", achieved No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nathan Moore later revealed that the band invested £100,000 as part of a payola campaign to promote airplay in the US.
The subsequent single "Just a Heartbeat Away" was released in Australia and promoted across the US but did not chart. "The Girl I Used to Know" was also issued as a non-album single in Europe, peaking at No. 48 in the UK. The band dissolved in 1991, with Moore moving on to join boyband Worlds Apart.
In January 2011, an expanded version of Get Even was reissued, featuring the original tracks alongside four additional remixes and extended versions of key singles.
Members
- Nathan Moore (vocals) – born Nathan Marcellus Moore on 10 January 1965 in Stamford Hill, London
- David White (guitar) – born David Benjamin White on 6 June 1965 in Highbury, London
- Carl Fysh (keyboards) – born Carl Anthony Fysh on 25 January 1963 in Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Steve Alexander (drums) – born Steven Alexander on 20 November 1962 in Ystradgynlais, Powys
- Eg White (bass) – born Francis Anthony White on 22 November 1966
Albums
- Get Even (1988) – Reached No. 9 on UK Albums Chart, No. 89 in Australia, and No. 63 in Germany
- Trust (1989) – Peaked at No. 60 in the UK
- The Very Best of Brother Beyond (compilation, 2005)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | BEL (FLA) | GER | IRE | NED | NZ | SWI | US | US Dance | |||
| 1986 | "I Should Have Lied" | 166 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Get Even |
| 1987 | "How Many Times" | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1987 | "Chain-Gang Smile" | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Can You Keep a Secret?" | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "The Harder I Try" | 2 | 78 | 20 | 32 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 13 | — | — | |
| 1988 | "He Ain't No Competition" | 6 | 53 | 32 | 39 | 4 | — | 19 | — | — | — | |
| 1989 | "Be My Twin" | 14 | — | — | 53 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 10 | |
| 1989 | "Can You Keep a Secret? (1989 Mix)" | 22 | 157 | — | — | 18 | — | 31 | — | — | — | |
| 1989 | "Drive On" | 39 | — | — | — | — | 74 | — | — | — | — | Trust |
| 1989 | "When Will I See You Again" | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Trust" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "The Girl I Used to Know" | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Just A Heartbeat Away" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Following the separation
Nathan Moore, the lead vocalist, became a member of the boy band Worlds Apart, which gained popularity in France during the mid-1990s. Subsequently, he transitioned into artist management, working with talents such as Jessica Garlick. Moore also made appearances on ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time and took part in Lisa Scott-Lee's MTV series Totally Scott-Lee.
Steve Alexander, the drummer, spent six years touring with Duran Duran before embarking on a solo path. He collaborated with Jeff Beck and created the musical project Flashman alongside vocalist Renn. His most recent initiative is a partnership with bassist Simon Little under the name Little Alex.[1]
Eg and Alice
Following his time with Brother Beyond, Eg White established the duo Eg and Alice together with artist Alice Temple. Although their 1991 album released by WEA and accompanying singles received favorable reviews, they did not achieve chart success. Eg White later pursued a solo career, including a cover of Jellyfish's "Stay Home." He earned an Ivor Novello award for penning Will Young's chart-topping track "Leave Right Now" and has contributed songwriting to performers such as Natalie Imbruglia, Joss Stone, and Adele.
Eg and Alice discography
- Album
- 24 Years of Hunger (1991)
- Singles
- "Indian" (1991)
- "Doesn't Mean That Much to Me" (1991)
- ↑ "Little Alex". Facebook. Retrieved 4 May 2012.