Brian Potter, British songwriter behind hits for Glen Campbell, Take That and more, dies aged 87

One of the most versatile and successful songwriters of his generation … Brian Potter. Photograph: Courtesy of the Potter Family View image in fullscreen One of the most versatile and successful songwriters of his generation … Brian Potter. Photograph: Courtesy of the Potter Family Brian Potter, British songwriter behind hits for Glen Campbell, Take That and more, dies aged 87 Versatile Essex-born hitmaker known for Rhinestone Cowboy, It Only Takes a Minute and many more had been living with Alzheimer’s disease Brian Potter, one of the most versatile and successful British producers and songwriters of his generation, has died aged 87. He had been living with Alzheimer’s disease in recent years, his daughter told Billboard. Working with American songwriting partner Dennis Lambert, the Essex-born Potter was behind an astounding array of 1970s hits spanning pop, soul, soft rock, country and beyond. The best-known include Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy, a US No 1 in 1975; It Only Takes a Minute, a barnstorming disco hit for Tavares and later Take That; Player’s super-smooth Baby Come Back, another US No 1; and Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got), one of the biggest hits for soul-poppers the Four Tops. Potter was born and raised in Essex and trained as a drummer, though he had his first success as a lyricist for Small Faces, co-writing their 1965 hit Whatcha Gonna Do About It. He met Lambert when the latter was visiting London, and Potter moved to the US to help deepen their creative partnership. One of their early songs together was One Tin Soldier, its fairytale-like structure containing bitterly angry lyrics about the Vietnam war: “Go ahead and hate your neighbour / Go ahead and cheat a friend / Do it in the name of heaven / Justify it in the end”. It charted with Canadian band the Original Caste, then more successfully for the American band Coven, with their version used as the theme song for the film Billy Jack. In 1971 Potter had a major US hit in the form of the symphonic pop song Don’t Pull Your Love, which reached No 4 when performed by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, and was later covered by Campbell. In 1973, Potter and Lambert helped reinvent the Four Tops, who were on a new label after their split from Motown Records. By pivoting them away from peppy pop and towards a smoother R&B sound, Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got) gave the Four Tops their biggest post-Motown hit, taking them back into the US top five for the first time since 1967. Potter and Lambert also helmed the Four Tops album Keeper of the Castle, and the title track became another US Top 10 hit. They collaborated again on the follow-up album Main Street People which included another hit song, Are You Man Enough. The band have paid tribute, writing: “We are so grateful for his contribution to the world of music and to the legacy of the Four Tops.” Potter continued to deftly make hits in the world of African American music as the disco craze began in the mid-1970s, b