70's US & UK Charts.

UK chart for WE 15th December 1973.

This was the first year I became a chart watcher. It's still one of my favourite years.

@bob60 How many of these do you love?

 

All those great Christmas songs! I was living in Germany and listening to Radio Luxembourg at this time, and remember being stunned the first time I ever heard "Gaudet". It's still one of my favorite seasonal songs and gets played regularly during that time of year.

 

I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg too. Full of ads and terrible reception here.

That 1973 chart is full of great pop songs.

 

And from this chart, I have #2, 4 - 7, 9, 13 - 16, and 28 - 30 (yes, "Ernie" did see U.S. release on Capitol 3272 - didn't do anything on the charts, but it was issued in the States).

 

I've got #15, 18, 20, 25, 33, 35 and 37 from this set.

 

I have 29 of that 40 ... although not all as 7" singles

 

Looking at this chart from early 1970 there is not one 'new' pop star in there, nothing that a 11/12/13 year old could relate to or want to buy. You can easily see why T.Rex exploded a few months later with Ride A White Swan and had total domination of the UK charts for the next two years, opening the way for Slade, Sweet, Bowie, Glitter, Cassidy, Osmonds, Alice Cooper, Roxy etc etc

 

Yeah, I have to say I've never heard of a lot of those records. I put it in for the folks who liked this era. For me, the charts of 1973 are the ones where it all began.

As you'll soon see.

 

From this chart, I have the albums numbered 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23 24, 25, 34, 35, 38, 43, 47, 52, 54, 58, 59, 60, 63, 66, 67, 71, 74 and 75. That makes 29 and not a bad showing at all although I have had more from here and should really have at least heard quite a number of others, looking at this. It has some of my all-time favourites in The Police's Outlandos D'Amour, Donna Summer's Bad Girls, Ian Dury's New Boots And Panties, Joe Jackson's Look Sharp, Dire Strait's s/t debut, The Sex Pistol's Never Mind The Bollocks and Gerry Rafferty's City To City - to name just a few.

And I remember as plain as day, the James Last one being advertised on tv at the time!

 

I remember Elton And Kiki being at #1 and seeing the 'video' for it on tv, on Noel Edmond's Multicoloured Swap Shop.

That's probably the first ever number one single I was aware of.

 

If they and Badfinger weren't included, I'm afraid I'd have to say my favourite one here would be Benny Hill's Ernie.

 

Ahem. Olivia's in that chart.

 

It was #1 about 6 weeks as I recall.

 

Ah - the theme to the tv detective series Vandervalk at #29. And that was backed by the one to Crown Court...



As you'll see from the clip, it debuted at the top slot too!

 

Has anybody tried listening to any songs they don't know from these charts on YouTube? You get some real surprises.

 

I can remember buying 'Eye Level' for my dad on his birthday.

 

Well yes I saw she is, but I've got the Benny Hill on a single (and CD as well - see below) and played it more times than is sane...

 

And he drove the fastest milk cart in the west!

 

Yes - it was a fair time and to me, back then that would have seemed like forever and a day.

 

I loved that song. It came out in that super-hot summer of 1976.

By the time the record had spent it's sixth week at #1, I was sick to death of it.

 

I just have to post the promo, in case anybody hasn't seen it (and actually wants to..! )



Nice to find the picture and sound quality are very good on this.

 

I may start an 80's chart thread. What years would you be interested in with regards to the UK singles chart?

 

My 'cut-off' (when I started discovering 'classic rock' albums in Woolworths...) was 1988ish but I was finding less and less the year before. I stopped listening to the charts and taking any interest in them, almost overnight.

I was buying loads of singles - at least a few a week - when I started work about May of '86, so if you have any for then and the rest of that year, I would be very interested in those.

But any from '80-'86 would be fantastic.

 

I'll see what I can do.

 

I have 19 of the albums on the first chart and 14 albums on the second chart. What sticks out to me is that I have nothing by Jim Croce, not even a greatest hits disc. I knew he was popular but I didn't know he was that big. If anyone has any suggestions on a couple albums to start out with I'd appreciate it.