Every UK #1 Single of 1978 Discussion Thread.

Cerrone, with a truly freaky disco hit that did nothing in America, but should have been a big hit here, too. I never even heard of it until Goldfrapp referenced it in the 2000's.

As for "Three Times A Lady"? Zzzzzzzzzzz. I'm sad to hear it was omnipresent on both sides of the Atlantic.

It's not an awful song - I kinda love the bridge - but it just seemed so pedestrian apart from that, even at the time. And then it was overplayed into the ground.

If you want a Commodores ballad, I far prefer the slow build and grandiose sweep of "Sail On", with that incredible coda.

 

You're not kidding!

Buzzcocks and Jacksons with pretty appalling reviews for what are pretty epic records.

 

When Motown moved from Detroit to L.A. it signalled the end of a period of outstanding creativity........and nobody epitomised what was to replace that soulful stomp & grittiness, more than Lionel Richie. Soporific to the max, blander than a whole table full of blancmanges, Three Times A Lady oozes a gallon load of gloop. Horrible.

 

Three Times a Lady....
A smoochie that's done very well.....not my thing but a great pop song.
4/5

 

I think it’s that, “you’re once, twice, three times a lady” bit that causes me to dislike it. Just makes me want to give Lionel a smack. Unfortunately that’s the main ‘hook’ of the song!

 

At the time Three Times A Lady was number one, it was simply not on my radar - nowhere near. I didn't dislike it, but I had bought and was listening to, Jilted John, Siouxsie's long anticipated debut single, Picture This, Rezillos with the upbeat Top Of The Pops, Clout, The Who, Quo, The Jam with a great Kinks cover one of the double A-sides, Stranglers, Sham 69, X-Ray Spex, Sex Pistols, Like Clockwork, Life's Been Good, that song with the misprint and bizarrely, A Taste Of Honey and Sylvester.

A year later the world of parties and slow dances entered my world, and Three Times A Lady was a song that I possibly came to enjoy more than some on here! From that perspective, it is a beautiful record, but I didn't buy it, and wouldn't listen to it at home.

Fay Fife singing Top Of The Pops: I did listen to this.



That record with the misprint!

 

And in The Jacksons' case, they literally were on Epic Records.

 

Three Times A Lady, one of my favourite number ones of the year.

A single of simple grace and elegance.

Dylan was doing deservedly well on both the singles and album charts; basking in the Blackbushe glory. Looking forward to seeing him here next weekend.

 

Looking back at these singles now is in some ways very difficult, simply because nostalgia has well and truly kicked in, my appreciation of songwriters, singers, musicians and good old real musicians, playing real instruments, with feel, is far higher than when I liked a catchy tune as a youngster. I also would have heard them mostly on A.M. radio, which really doesn't do justice to the fantastic musicianship on these classic (from a time point of view) records.

You sum it up perfectly when you say, "not my thing but a great pop song".

My mate at work who starts early, selects a radio station, and it is nearly always one of the Classic, Smooth stations from the '70s. Excepting the massive repetition that occurs, I simply find myself liking songs I had no time for, or was ignorant towards 40 plus years ago.

I possibly smooched more to Three Times A Lady, than any other song! Of course it holds fond memories.

 

I don’t think my opinion of Three Times A Lady has changed much over the last 40 years.. I didn’t really care for it then or now. I can see it’s appeal, of course, but I prefer a lot of Lionel Richie’s other material.

 

I think with age, any filters on taste, has for me, gone!

 

Another Record Mirror singles page from this period.

 

And another one.

 

Great hits by the Electric Light Orchestra, Chris Rea (although it was more massive in the US than in the UK) and John Travolta (again, a Grease record meant another huge hit).

Notice that Charly records only waited two years to re-release Jungle Rock again. It was an unexpected hit in 1976.

 

Only three hits in this list. Elton John, Donna Summer (with a shortened version of Richard Harris's MacArthur Park) and Sham 69 with his "street punk".

BTW, there are lots of old faces in this review: Boston, John Paul Young, David Essex, The Kinks or a certain Davie Jones... oh, and Slade, who were in the wilderness years.

 

I'm absolutely wild about Rezillos' "Top Of The Pops", and livid that I didn't discover it until the '90s. My teenage self would've lost his mind.

Same for "Jilted John". I had a mate named Gordon back then and I'd have delighted in singing it at him. There was also a Julie or two but I don't think he fancied any of them.

 

Couldn't have said it better!

I'd been (and still am) a massive fan of their previous 3 hits - "Easy", "Brick House" and "Too Hot Ta Trot" - and remember thinking the DJ must've mis-identified the artist when it was featured on the "hot new tracks" show I religiously listened to.

But it was them! And then everyone started swooning and it was all over the damn airwaves for months - at least when they weren't busy spinning one or more of the Gibb brothers.

 

I bought The Rezillos, Top Of The Pops...great single.
Funny you mention Jilted John.
We had a Lecturer at College called Gordon. He was our Engineering Lecturer and everyone loved him.
In his mid 50's (like me now!!!!!!!) you'd never have guessed as he was one of the lads.
We went on a Surfing holiday in Cornwall and they had a disco where we we staying.
Cue...Gordan is a *****, chanted by all...when Jilted John was blasted out.
Happy days.

 

Blimey....didn't realise the word ***** would be blanked!!!!

 

Mary Whitehouse wasn’t this bad in the 70s.

 

I found out about the built in censorship when I tried to write that album Harry Nilsson made with John Lennon. So you censor yourself and have P***y Cats!

In Greased Lightnin', you could have tit but not s**t!

It is basically to stop some of @Bobby Morrow 's worst language being shown!

 

Yeah, its a tad over zealous shall we say.
Been involved in a few threads where certain subjects, which truth be told, were very innocuous...have been deleted, etc.
Its a minor gripe in a otherwise excellent forum.

 

To be honest, I much prefer the occasional minor intrusion to the aggressive nature of some forums, but discussing the Osmonds does tend to bring the worst out of people!

 

It makes a pleasant change to get some reasoned reviews, instead of the usual unreasoned thrashing which seemed to be there only to satisfy the ego of generally deluded lunatics.