Brown's family moved to London when he was two and ran the Sulta… Read Full Bio ↴Career.
Brown's family moved to London when he was two and ran the Sultan public house in Grange Road, Plaistow. In 1956, Brown formed The Spacemen skiffle group, which lasted until the US led rock and roll invasion brought skiffle to a halt. In 1958 Brown was spotted by television producer Jack Good who hired him as lead guitarist in the orchestra of his new TV series, Boy Meets Girls.[2]
Brown signed a management agreement with impressario Larry Parnes and signed to Decca Records. Brown charted with "The Darktown Strutters Ball" in 1960 and had UK Top 10 hits on the Piccadilly label in 1962-63 with "A Picture Of You", "It Only Took A Minute" and "That's What Love Will Do". In April 1961, Piccadilly Records released Brown's "Crazy Mixed Up Kid" as its first single.[3] Brown's recording band was a collection of session musicians, and was named The Bruvvers by Good, to give Brown the identity of having his own backing band for record releases. It was in 1962 when he needed a band to tour with him that 'Joe Brown and the Bruvvers' was cemented, containing two members of the Spacemen, brothers Tony and Pete Oakman.
Brown was voted 'Top UK Vocal Personality' in the 1962 NME magazine poll.[1] In December 1963, What a Crazy World starring Brown and Marty Wilde, had its world premiere in London.[4] Brown appeared in films, pantomime and stage musicals, notably Charlie Girl in the West End. He presented the children's television series, Joe & Co, on BBC Television, and a daytime quiz show on ITV called Square One, and three series of The Joe Brown Show for ITV.
In 1972, he formed another band, Brown's Home Brew, which played rock and roll, country and gospel music and featured his wife, Vicki Brown, who died of cancer in 1991. Their daughter, Sam Brown, is also a singer and son Pete Brown[5] is a record producer, who produced all but one of Brown's nine most recent albums.
Brown plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, mandolin, fiddle and banjo.
George Harrison was best man at Brown's second marriage in 2000. Following Harrison's death from lung cancer on 29 November 2001, Brown appeared with his group at the Concert for George singing "Here Comes the Sun", "That's The Way It Goes" and "I'll See You in My Dreams", accompanying himself on the ukulele, for the latter. Brown had appeared on a track on Harrison's last album, Brainwashed, and on two songs on an earlier album, Gone Troppo.
Brown performs and makes occasional TV appearances. He is working on a musical, Don't You Rock Me Daddio, with songwriter Roger Cook. In December 2006, he was one of three guest hosts of Sounds of the 60s on BBC Radio 2 during the absence of host Brian Matthew, following on from Brown presenting two series on rock and roll for the same station.
In 2008 Brown's 50th anniversary celebrations included a UK gold album for sales over 100,000 Joe Brown - The Very Best Of, performed a 37 date spring tour, a concert at the Royal Albert Hall with Mark Knopfler, Jools Holland, Dennis Locorriere, Dave Edmunds, Sam Brown and Chas & Dave and a 36 date autumn/winter tour.
His latest album, More Of The Truth, was released in the UK on 13 October 2008, and early in 2009 the US musical instrument manufacturer, Kala, launched a series of 'Joe Brown' ukuleles. At the Mojo magazine's awards in London on 11 June 2009, Brown was presented with the lifetime award for outstanding contribution to music after 51 years' recording .
Brown was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.[6]
Joe Brown was asked by Rick Parfitt of Status Quo to support them for 10 nights of their UK Tour in late 2010. He agreed to do the support and will embark on his own UK Tour in 2011.
A Picture of You
Joe Brown & The Bruvvers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stars like jewels on the crown of a Queen
But the only sight I wanna view
Is that wonderful picture of you
On a Streetcar, or in the café
All of the evening, and most of the day
My mind is in a maze what can I do?
It was last summer, I fell in love
My heart told me what to do
I saw you there on the crest of a hill
An' I took a little picture of you
Then you were gone, like a dream in the night
With you went my heart, my love and my life
I didn't know your name, what could I do?
I only had a picture of you
Then you were gone, like a dream in the night
With you, went my heart, my love and my life
I didn't know your name, what could I do?
I only had a picture of you, oh yeah
That wonderful picture of you,
I'm left with a picture of, oh yeah
That wonderful picture of you
The song "A Picture of You" by Joe Brown is a ballad about the power and lasting impact of an image that captured the heart of the singer. The first stanza sets up the metaphor of the night sky as a majestic display of beauty, with stars like jewels on the crown of a Queen. However, despite all the wonder and majesty of the night, the only sight that truly matters to the singer is the picture of his beloved captured in his mind's eye. The second stanza expands upon the singer's obsession with this image, noting that it is constantly on his mind no matter where he is or what he is doing. He feels lost and entranced by the image, unable to escape its hold over him.
The third stanza reveals the backstory behind the picture of his beloved. The singer saw her last summer and immediately fell in love. He took a picture of her but couldn't find out her name. The final stanza reiterates the singer's pain and longing, outlining how she disappeared like a dream in the night, taking his heart, love, and life with her. All he has left is the picture of her that he took, a solitary artifact of a love that was never fulfilled.
It's clear from the lyrics that the picture is more than just a photograph, it's a symbol of a deep and abiding love that the singer never got to fully experience. The song has a wistful, melancholy tone that captures the singer's pain and regret, as well as the beauty and fragility of love.
Line by Line Meaning
In the night, there are sights to be seen
During the night, there are several beautiful things to see
Stars like jewels on the crown of a Queen
Stars shine brilliantly like jewels on a crown
But the only sight I wanna view
The only thing I want to see is
Is that wonderful picture of you
That lovely image of you
On a Streetcar, or in the café
Whether on a streetcar or in a café
All of the evening, and most of the day
Throughout the night and most of the day
My mind is in a maze what can I do?
I am confused and do not know what to do
I still see that picture of you
I still have that image of you in my mind
It was last summer, I fell in love
I fell in love last summer
My heart told me what to do
My heart knew what I should do
I saw you there on the crest of a hill
I saw you on the peak of a hill
An' I took a little picture of you
And I managed to take a photo of you
Then you were gone, like a dream in the night
Then you vanished, like a dream at night
With you went my heart, my love and my life
You took away my heart, love, and life
I didn't know your name, what could I do?
I didn't know your name, what else could I do?
I only had a picture of you
All I had was a photo of you
That wonderful picture of you
That amazing photo of you
I'm left with a picture of, oh yeah
I am only left with a photo of you
That wonderful picture of you
That delightful photo of you
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: John Beveridge, Peter Oakman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@davidharrison7853
My father passed away on the 24th Jan 2017 & this was played at his funeral on the 13th Feb 2017, he liked this & it's always reminded me of him whenever I heard it but now it will have a deeper feeling. R.I.P dad. You were a great father, I owe you so much.
@AnneSulikowski
This was the last song I listened to with my father 😭
@chucklewills
The 60s music was far more better than it is today love this record by Joe Brown.
@reginaldside4575
Well you say that but the 60s also included Val Doonican, The Tremeloes, The Bachelors, Engelbert Humperdinck and Mungo Jerry. It wasn't all like Joe Brown and the Bruvvers.
@lizwinser4418
AGREE SO
@colindant3410
@@reginaldside4575 I liked all the artistes you mentioned as well! Walk Tall, I Believe, Silence is Golden, Release Me.
@colindant3410
@@reginaldside4575 I omitted Mungo Jerry, but the only songs I remember from Mungo Jerry were in the 1970s, I think.
@royreed3659
Just a fantastic 60s song.
@willykutz67andrews34
This guy is brilliant and never got the credit he deserved
@conanhayle
I was a teenager then ,life was full of hope and wonder in those days!