All the UK #2 Hits of 1976 (& some of 1977) Poll/Discussion Thread

A companion piece to this:

All the UK #1 Singles of 1976 (and some of 1977) Poll. Pick Your Favourites & Discuss.



Do you prefer the hits that didn’t make the top spot? Perhaps you don’t care either way?!

Pick as many as you like.

Our Kid for the win? That’d show Paul McCartney!

 

I'm going with both Wings songs, Leo Sayer and Stevie Wonder.

 

By and large, I prefer these no.2's (big exception for Dr Hook's 'A Little Bit More' which really is a massive steaming pile of no.2).

I could have sworn Laurel and Hardy made no.1.

 

Laurel & Hardy were stuck behind Queen.

 

Picked a few here:

GREG LAKE - I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS - Very clever. Morose to the point of cynical lyrically yet a jaunty, festive melody. A real Christmas classic.

LAUREL & HARDY - TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE - It's maybe nostalgia but this is such a blast of childhood pleasure. The genius of L & H vever fails to cheer me up.

SAILOR - A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE - Massive, exuberant and great, great fun!

LEO SAYER - YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING - Leo does disco and does it brilliantly. He can still hit the high notes live but only for the opening line.

BONEY M - MA BAKER - Second only to the mighty Rasputin in the Boney M pantheon of super-villains.

SHOWADDYWADDY - YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES - Uptempo, singalong with just the right of cheese.

SPACE - MAGIC FLY - One of the great instrumental hit single.

A bunch I haven't heard here, including Our Kid. Have to try & look 'em up.

Edit: Just looked up Our Kid. New faces has a lot to answer for!

 

Our Kid were a kids band who won New Faces.

They were tipped for big things, but this single proved to be it.

 

GSTQ (although it really was a No1)

 

Bet Bobby didn't vote for it!

It was number one in either Sounds / Melody Maker or NME, possibly more than one - I can't remember.

The chart that really counts, somehow managed to "lose" a lot of returns that week: allegedly!!!

 

Typical of the UK in 1976/77. A great mix of classics and WTF! moments.

I've gone for 1 WTF! and 3 classics that deserved to reach the top:

The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine - Laurel & Hardy

Silly Love Songs - Wings

The Killing Of Georgie - Rod Stewart

Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder

 

Great post, and I confess to buying a few of those, including Laurel & Hardy - yes, a blast of childhood pleasure.

My brother bought Convoy.

I couldn't help but vote for all the singles. Even the Macca ones are excellent this time!!

On a ******* theme, I love the Killing Of Georgie, parts 1 & 2.

The melody to part 2 does seem very familiar!

 

I might have known it was you who voted for Our Kid.

Surprised the Rod song isn’t doing better.. Though I suppose it’s early days yet.

 

I didn't know that Billy Ocean was a 'thing' in '77.

I'm also surprised that 'Sir Duke' made it that high there. Shocked that 'Silly Love Songs' didn't get to #1.

Also surprised that Rod Stewart made it that high with that song, it would've gotten to #1 in our Tumblr/SJW era probably, sorry Rod, 40 years to early.

And lastly 'Ma Baker' is another incredible song by Boney M.

 

I know you love your Boney M.

Billy Ocean had a handful of hits around 1976/7 only to disappear until the early 80s when he got his second wind.

 

The list is only partially familiar to me here in the US but:
both Wings
ELP
Greg Lake
Stevie Wonder
Heatwave
Leo Sayer

Rod - not one my favorites of his from this period. Its alright.

 

OK -- somebody explain to the US folks reading this thread -- why did the Laurel & Hardy song chart so high? Was it in a commercial or something?

(I find the songs/bands that charted so high in the UK that never charted in the US to be fairly fascinating...)

 

Oh dear!

Boogie Nights is the only one that I like. I didn't find out what it was until a couple of years ago.

Keep these threads coming!

 

Two recap videos of all UK top 5 singles in 1976:

 

The most epic song of 1976 only peaked at #3...

 

Two of McCartney's very worst hits--banal and uninspired. And yet, they're both near the head of the pack. I love McCartney, but I can tell the difference between the wheat and the chaff.

I went for three:

Sailor: Glass of Champagne (fantastic pop song)
Greg Lake: Father Christmas (overblown, but hey, it's a Christmas song)
Stevie Wonder: Sir Duke

 

Glass of Champagne, Silly Love Songs, Love Really Hurts Without You, Sir Duke, Ma Baker and Magic Fly are all great.

Ma Baker is probably my favourite one, the best Boney M. song ever (though 'Ra-Ra-Rasputin' is a close second)



Like most Boney M. songs, the song was a remake, in this case of a traditional Tunisian folkloric tune.

 

Liking 76 list over 77. That’s a surprise to me due to liking 77 lps over 76. But overall these songs show why we needed
Sex Pistols. God save them indeed

 

L & H very popular on TV in the 70s - especially during the school holidays. Also, it's a great performance:

 

Silly Love Songs and Let Em In

 

We need a 1978 chart Bobby, with lots and lots of Boney M.