The guitarist of the successful band passed away at 77 last year. Now fans can purchase his guitars, including the one he played when winning Eurovision
The guitars of Martin Lee, member of the band Brotherhood of Man, which won the 1976 Eurovision with the song “Save your Kisses for Me” are being auctioned for charity. Lee passed away last year at the age of 77. His widow, Sandra Stevens, also a member of the band, decided to sell the guitars at a public auction and announced that the proceeds will go to the BHF, which supports medical research in cardiology.
Eurovision Memories
Stevens vividly remembers the performance that brought the band victory at Eurovision: “It’s the best thing that can happen in your life – except me marrying Martin, that is. It was a wonderful thing to represent our country”.
She told BBC Radio Wiltshire that they had been warned that the judges would be watching one of the rehearsals, though they did not know which one. As a result, the band made sure to wear matching costumes each time.
After achieving victory at Eurovision 1976, the song “Save your Kisses for Me” became a massive worldwide hit, selling six million copies and topping the charts in many countries. It remains one of the most iconic songs in Eurovision history to this day.
Continuing the Legacy
The guitars will go under the hammer on Tuesday at the Gardiner Houlgate auction house in the town of Corsham, Wiltshire. Stevens explained that each guitar is accompanied by its original case. One of them, a Gibson model, is covered in stickers from tours. All the guitars were played by Lee on stage throughout his career, ranging from models produced in the 1970s to guitars as recent as 2015.
“It just came to me – his guitars were still in the cupboard in his office. I thought well, I’m never going to play them myself”, said Ms Stevens. “I miss him everyday. He was absolutely the best. He loved the stage, loved Brotherhood of Man”.
United Kingdom at Eurovision 2025
The song “What The Hell Just Happened?” was performed by the girl group Remember Monday, representing the United Kingdom at Eurovision. The group finished 19th in the Grand Final with 88 points – all from the juries. While the juries ranked the group 10th, the public gave the Unoted Kingdom zero points, placing the song last.
Despite the United Kingdom’s storied Eurovision history, in the past 25 years, it has managed to reach the Top 10 only three times – in 2002, 2009 and 2022.
Eurovision 2025: This was the 67th participation of the United Kingdom in Eurovision. The United Kingdom joined the competition in 1957 and has won it five times over the years. The United Kingdom’s last victory was in Eurovision 1997 with the song ‘Love Shine A Light’ performed by the band ‘Katrina and the Waves’.
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Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
