"United We Stand" is a song written by Tony Hiller and Peter Simons (writer's pseudonym for group member Johnny Goodison). It was first released in 1970 by the Brotherhood of Man in their original, pre-Eurovision line-up, consisting of Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. It became the band's first hit, peaking at #13 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #10 in the U.K. The song spent 15 weeks on the charts, and is ranked as the 64th biggest U.S. hit of 1970. It also reached #8 in Australia.

Background

Reg Dwight, who would later become famous as Elton John, was an office boy at Mills Music, a Denmark Street music publishing house where Hiller worked. Hiller knew he could sing and had him record the original demo for "United We Stand." The song was later included on an album of the same name and was followed by another hit "Where are You Going to My Love".

Reception

The song has often been used to promote unity and has been used as a football chant and by LGBTQ+ rights movements. Billboard gave the song a favourable review on 14 March 1970 calling it a "strong production" and (correctly) predicting it would become a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

It has been recorded by over 100 different artists, including:

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