Every UK #1 Single Of 1974 Discussion Thread

Following on from @Bobby Morrow 's excellent threads

Every UK #1 Single Of 1972 Discussion Thread

and

Every UK #1 Single Of 1973 Discussion Thread

we move forward to 1974.

1974 was the year that I got into music, buying several singles and saving up for my first LP. Top Of The Pops (TOTPs) became my favourite program and Tom Browne's Top Twenty chart countdown on Sunday nights, essential listening.

1974 was also the year I started buying Record Mirror, and I'm certain that some of the chart scans will bring back many fond memories for me, and hopefully many others too.

The first number one of 1974, was Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody, and the scan below shows the last of the five weeks that it held the top spot.


As Merry Xmas Everybody has been discussed, and Bobby already posted record and sleeve scans, for anyone that missed them, the Slade Christmas single thread started on this page: Every UK #1 Single Of 1973 Discussion Thread

Enjoy!

 

20 out of 50 albums, would love to have had them at the time, as it were my brother had The Beatles Red album and my parents had the Max Bygraves.

 

“Next week” had me confused for a bit. I couldn’t remember a 16 track Cliff Greatest Hits Album in the mid 70s. Just the double album 40 Golden Greats.

 

Finally replacing the Christmas classic that was Happy Xmas Everybody, the first new number one of 1974, where it stayed for a single week.

You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me is a 1973 single by British pop group The New Seeker's. Written by Tony Macaulay and Geoff Stephens, arranged by Gerry Shury and produced by Tommy Oliver.

Featuring lead vocals by member Lyn Paul (the first time she had sung lead on a single), the song became the group's biggest hit for two years as it remained in the top five over Christmas 1973. "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" went on to be the band's second and final number-one single in the UK Singles Chart, spending a single week at the top of the chart in January 1974. The song was included on the group's final album as an active band, Together, as they announced their decision to split a month later.





And the B side

 

The UK charts from the week The New Seekers were number one.

Interesting new entry at number 10 in the singles chart, and whilst Slade would never have another UK single #1, the album chart shows that they had lost none of their popularity.

 

The B side of You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me, this one featuring Eve Graham!





The German sleeve showing the vocal credit split, loud and proud.



The French sleeve showing a more united group - until their bubble burst!

 

You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me was a single I liked. Though not enough to buy. I kind of had it anyway on the miserable Top Of The Pops album I’d received for the Christmas of 1973. A pretty dismal version it was too. I love the fact that the New Seekers having had their biggest hit in years immediately broke up. Apparently there were lots of financial and personal issues that drove the band apart. Peter Doyle, the male ‘voice’ of the band had left in 1973 before Fool came out and was replaced with the David Essex-ish Peter Oliver. Ms Paul had been ‘knocking boots’ with Peter Doyle and like him, wanted to start a solo career.

The group would release one more single in the Spring of 1974. I Get A Little Sentimental Over You reached #5 and was, for me, a better song than Fool. Though they were cut from the same cloth. Given what happened with Mr Doyle and Ms Paul’s solo careers, perhaps they’d have been better off staying put in the New Seekers for a few more years...

Fool was perhaps a strange choice for #1 when the public finally tired of Slade... I’d bought the Leo Sayer single, which I assumed at the time was a comedy record for some reason. Really Leo should have gotten to the top with that.

 

I won't ask which Max Bygraves LP your parents had, and this being the Steve Hoffman forum, assume you preferred 62-66.

The only album we had at the time was Simon & Garfunkel, Greatest Hits, which used to belong to my father! For some reason, he has never borrowed my Quo and Sabbath albums, but I did lend him Bridge Over Troubled Water, a few months ago.

I really wouldn't have appreciated half of that album chart back in January 1974, but a year later, I would - there are so many excellent albums there.

 

The B-side is pleasant enough. Kind of sounds like one of the 6 songs the UK public had to pick a Eurovision entry from. Then again, many of the New Seekers songs sounded like Eurovision cast-offs. They got what they were given.

Note Peter Doyle is pictured on the French picture sleeve. Even though he wasn’t on the single... The big-haired Peter Oliver (pictured below) was in the band by that time.

 

I have 16 of those top 20 albums. 15 of them purchased over the last 40-odd years. Bet you can’t guess which one I did buy in 1973!

 

YWFAFLM could have been done by Tony Orlando and Dawn - it has that old timey vaudeville sing-along feel to it. It's nice enough but it wouldn't be anything I'd buy at the time. The highest charting record I had on that list is Radar Love - which shows you where my head was at!

I own 17 out of those 50 albums, several bought back in 74.

 

I think they had both...

 

That's a good Top 10 but the #1 which is kicking off 1974 is rather bland, typical song made for applying to all ages (I agree that Leo Sayer's Show Must Go On should've taken the top spot). The New Seekers' most notable success in my home country the Netherlands was Beg, Steal Or Borrow (UK's 1972 Eurovision entry), and to this day I'm wondering why they're called "New" Seekers. Was there actually a connection with the original australian The Seekers?

 

From this chart, in my 45 collection are #9, 23, 25, 26, 33, 36, 37, 39, 42 and 50; LP's, #3, 8, 19, 21, 39 and 40; US soul, #1, 2, 6 and 8; and "Breakers," "Star" and "After The Goldrush." The 1973 thread had the U.S. labels for those two.

 

Since late 1972/early 1973, U.S. issues of New Seekers product had come out first on Verve(!), then MGM. There were two issues of this. A "regular" issue of this came out on K 14683, with a cover of the Four Tops' hit "Reach Out I'll Be There" as the flip:

Notice the "Featuring" on each side comes before the artist name here.

Then an "export" issue of the European coupling, given a U.S. number of K 14691, was pressed; here is a "solid center" pressing:

 

Keith Potger of The Seekers, formed The New Seekers after the original band split up.

Keith appeared on The New Seekers' second album.



I was bought up on The Seekers courtesy of my dad, and together with the (3) Simon & Garfunkel, bought him a Seekers, Herb Albert and two Spinners (English Folk) albums.

 

What kind of connection did the New Seekers have to The Seekers?
Funny how the latter's first big hit was "I'll Never Find Another You", and the former's last with the similarly named "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me"

 

See post above yours.

 

Whoops! Thanks!

 

Thanks for the info. However, Keith Potger apparantly disappeared from view just before the start of New Seekers' successful period. What happened? He was thrown out of his own band by the newcomers, who as a parting shot also kept the brandname of Keith's old group while none of 'em were part of the original Seekers? That's seems pretty crass. (Or was it all a conspiracy by the manager?).

 

The New Seekers were one of those acts who despite being young and attractive, dressed and made music for your parents. Within a couple of years ABBA would largely wipe groups like this out.

 

After the New Seekers broke up, three members formed a trio making a couple of singles and an album. The best thing about them was that they were called Peter, Paul & Marty.




This was the album.

 

I liked some of their very early singles. I had started listening to the radio during school holidays and weekends and remember they always seemed to be on.
I wonder how Lyn Paul managed to bag a featuring name check on this single?

 

It was the first lead vocal Lyn had on a NS single. It must have been something the group did as Eve Graham had a ‘featuring’ credit on one of their other 1973 singles, IIRC. It’s a bit unnecessary to me as they were both in the group so it didn’t matter who sang what..

 

I like all of the Top 5 singles. Plus, the Top 2 albums are among my all-time favourites.

Though I had never heard of Yes back in 1974, I was aware of ELP, as the NME flexi disc sampler of Brain Salad Surgery somehow found its way into our house, though my Dad and older brother have no recollection of it and I have been unable to locate it! Anyway, it left enough of an impression on me for me to buy the CD in 2001. It was only my second ever "full on" prog album - the first being a cheap Rick Wakeman compilation the previous year.
Since then I've acquired an extensive prog collection and it's now my favourite genre of music.