This is one of those bands whose biggest success came after another artist, Rod Stewart, covered one of their songs called Sailing.

It also came after a folky Scottish sibling duo (The Sutherland Brothers) merged with a rock group (Quiver), resulting in the unwieldy name The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. SBQ for short.

With its smooth harmonies and easy acoustic vibe, Arms Of Mary proved the perfect soundtrack for the early days of that long hot summer of 1976 when it gave them their only big hit, reaching no.5.

Its ascent was surely aided by Rod Stewart having taken another of their songs – Sailing – to the top of the charts the previous summer, putting them on the pop map at last.

Originally a folky duo named A New Generation, Gavin (bass) and Iain Sutherland (guitar, keyboards) released their first single in 1972, a song called Ain’t Too Proud that featured Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd playing a pedal steel guitar.

Their second was Sailing, which failed to make the charts for them – but became a huge hit for Rod a couple of years later, confirming his move away from England (hence the album title Atlantic Crossing) and the blues that inspired him to start singing.

The Sutherland Brothers enjoyed their only big hit a year later after changing labels and joining forces with Quiver, a local rock group who featured two of Bowie’s former backing band (Tim Renwick and John ‘Honk’ Lodge), as well as bassist Bruce Thomas, soon to join Elvis Costello in The Attractions, and future Pink Floyd sideman Willie Wilson.

They only had one more minor hit, Secrets, before breaking up and going their separate ways, leaving little more than a footnote in Seventies pop history.