Great to see Sparks "Something For The Girl With Everything" on there. Hmm I wonder what she "had" on the song's narrator.
It’s one of the more unusual songs on that comp. Usually, if they feature a Sparks song it’s This Town Ain’t Big Enough…
I think, with this new thread, from time to time I shall be giving updates from January 1970 to December 1979 of three-month intervals as to what was #1 on "other" charts (which, to the end of February 1971, also included Top Pops / Music Now). @tim_neely has done this on my thread of 1990's country #1's, so I think it fair to do so in this case. Here, until MN's demise, songs which made two of the three "other" charts will be designated in bold underline; those which only topped one of the charts will be in bold, and those that made #1 on all other charts will be bold italic. In this period, all "official" #1's (which will be shown in regular) all made the top of the "other" charts except for "Wand'rin' Star" which was kept out of the top of the Top Pops & Music Now! charts by The Jackson 5. First up, the period January-March 1970 (all that year except where noted): New Musical Express #1 hits 20 Dec 1969: "Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris 31 Jan: "Reflections Of My Life" by The Marmalade (BMRB #3) 7 Feb: "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse 28 Feb: "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 (BMRB #2) 7 Mar: "Wand'rin' Star" by Lee Marvin (TP/MN #2) 28 Mar: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel Melody Maker #1 hits 20 Dec 1969: "Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris 31 Jan: "Reflections Of My Life" by The Marmalade 7 Feb: "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse 28 Feb: "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 7 Mar: "Wand'rin' Star" by Lee Marvin 28 Mar: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel Top Pops & Music Now! #1 hits (publication became Music Now on 21 March) 20 Dec 1969: "Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris 31 Jan: "Reflections Of My Life" by The Marmalade 7 Feb: "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse 28 Feb (last #1 as TP/MN): "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 21 Mar (first #1 as MN): "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
One thing I noticed about the British music market (which isn't a particular 1970s thing) is how unusually harder is for native female singers to establish local careers. It seems that if they don't break out internationally, their careers are basically over after their second album. Kate Bush might be a notable exception, of course. I was thinking about it while listening to this song by Lynsey de Paul, which followed this pattern in the 1970s.
Had Ms. De Paul come on the scene a few years before this, she could well have been a fixture of the U.S. variety show circuit such as Ed Sullivan and The Hollywood Palace. So she emerged after that door slammed shut. True, as of 1972 there was still Dean Martin - and Gilbert O'Sullivan even put in an appearance, duetting with Dino on "Gentle On My Mind" - but yeah . . .
There were of course a number of different charts published each week during the 60s 70s and beyond continuing to the present. The hard truth is that the only chart that the industry/artists and 99% of the public regarded was the BBC/Music Week chart. Every local commercial station featured their own chart. Luxembourg broadcast the Top 30 on Tuesdays- it was usually a week or two ahead of the BBC chart in terms of entries and placings. NME & Melody Maker published charts too. From the late 1960s the BBC was considered THE UK chart and has been the "go to" source for all statistics for decades. The sheer clout of the BBC national radio & TV network ensured the dominance of their chart in the national conscious. No band or artist were ever introduced as being "No1 on the Luxembourg/NME/MM Chart this week" The pirate radio stations broadcast charts in the 60s. Few if any other than the BBC/Music Week were "scientific" and dealt with hard sales data. The conspiracy theories around the Sex Pistol's God Save The Queen are just that - conspiracy theories. Punk bands although making a very striking visual and controversial cultural impact did not transfer automatically into massive sales of records. Given the shops that were on the chart survey it's hardly likely that it could every achieve the No1 position. In 2022 we have charts that are updated almost live. We constantly hear the term No1 on the I-tunes chart- a term that is kinda meaningless- I-tunes is just one small section of the market. They would be as well saying No1 this week in Milton Keynes! The Official Chart we have today is a strange beast that has so many restrictions and quota's applied that it is obviously no longer fit for purpose. The singles chart is probably far less important in our pop culture than in previous decades. It has become the Ed Sheerin/Adele playlist.
Look at the chart stats for the 60s and 70s and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Female artists had a much harder time. Women in general had a much harder time in our society. Female artists were always considered 2nd division or fluff not to be taken seriously- only men could be real pop/rock stars. Some of the greatest female artists of the period struggled to keep their heads above water despite their talents and quality of material they recorded. The female artists who achieved a consistent run of chart success in the 60s were Dusty, Cilla and the Supremes. All the others struggled to maintain a long chart run- Shirley Bassey, Pet Clark, Lulu, Sandie Shaw has short runs and big hits. Other terrific female artists like Kiki Dee took years to find a hit. Barbra Streisand had 1 top 20 UK hit in the entire period of the 60s. Measure their success against some of todays dubious talents that regularly top the UK singles chart- there is no comparison. We are not measuring like with like and of course it gets worse when you factor in any black or minority artists from the pervious decades where the system was stacked against them. I always have a chuckle when I watch any TV drama that's set in the 60s and we hear the sound of classic R&B music such s Etta James on the radio playing in the background- THAT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN BACK IN THE DAY PRIOR TO THE PIRATE STATIONS! The fact is ALL charts should be approached with great caution!
Every record was a struggle for Lynsey. A few years down the line she’d have terrible management/record company issues to deal with too. She did have some nice, quirky singles though. I have her first 3 albums, but I don’t think many other people in the U.K. bought them.
And of course, this is why when there were "Every UK #1 Hits..." threads, I tried valiantly to dredge up which ones made the top o' the "other" charts. Because it ain't "every" without them.
Since the UK Singles Chart doesn't include airplay data, during the digital single era it was de facto a iTunes ranking. Nowadays iTunes is basically dead, and official charts seem to be losing relevance compared to Spotify's top, which is indeed uploaded daily.
And the charts today are full of what Spotify wants you to play. Their playlists especially at Christmas, determine the chart. Harry Styles placed 3 songs on the chart last week. Those same 3 songs also charted in Ireland. How does it happen that the populations in 2 different countries choose to play the same 3 previously unheard songs ahead of all the others? Because Spotify tells them to. Anyway.. getting off track
semantics- good luck in tracking down all the local radio charts from the decade and of course Luxembourg! You are about to disappear down a very deep rabbit hole! You are a very brave person!
Substitute was their No2 UK hit. The song was originally recorded by the Righteous Brothers a later version by Gloria Gaynor was released just after Clout had their UK and Europe wide hit. DJ's flipped Gloria's version in favour of the B Side which was 'I Will Survive". The rest... is history
MM was only a music rag, they could say and do whatever they liked with their charts, which nobody took seriously anyway. And of the 'big three' weeklies, MM was by far the most resistant to punk. Huge features on ELP during the summer of 77, lmfao. MM hated punk, and in return, we hated MM.
Very hard for female acts to build up a fanbase here. One hit was usually followed by three flops and album sales were virtually zero. Most of them were reliant on appearances on TV variety shows to help them along. Even someone like Lulu who worked like a dog had hardly any record success in the 70s.
Well, that about sums it up. I confess I had no idea at all who Heart were in the U.K in the 70s. It wasn’t until the self titled album in 1985 that they became known here.
Then how, in 1980, do you explain Splodgenessabounds' "Two Pints Of Lager (And A Packet Of Crisps Please)" hitting #1 on MM while only getting to #7 "officially" and #5 on NME?
ABBA had more chart success in the States than Heart had in the UK in the '70's, that's for sure. And "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" was the only ABBA single in the States that actually performed better on the charts than in the UK. Imagine.
My interest has always been the "national." It is way different, as you can no doubt attest, from tracking U.S. local radio stations' charts and comparing them with Billboard, Cash Box, Music Vendor (later Record World), and Radio & Records.