The U.K. 70s Singles & Albums Chart General Discussion Thread.

Aye, well... Um...

 

A really enjoyable instrumental that probably sold about three copies was "Thunderbolt" by The Brian Bennett Band on DJM from around 1976. It took the core Shadows sound and gave it a 1970s production twist.

It was every bit as exciting as earlier Shadows hits such as "The Savage" and "The Frightened City" but with even tighter production values. It didn't fit 1970s pop radio and pop sensibilities, however, and that was that!

 

The Heywoods later tried to make lightning strike a third time in that department by covering Mud's cover of "Oh Boy" - and with the same Chinnichap production team (and apparently, same backing track), yet. Didn't work.

 

Looking back, glam rock quickly disappeared from the charts…

 

And it took a strike of a TV show to do it. Imagine . . .

 

Hats off. Didn't realise it was a cover. Thanks. Bet Wind were gutted.

 

It was a throwaway B-side in the USA.

The A-side marked the beginning of Tony Orlando's journey towards his second career with Dawn.

 

Not sure why this popped up in my Youtube feed but the video supporting this great track from 1979 is certainly 'of its time'!

 

According to Wiki (t)it only reached number 20 in the UK but went as high as number 3 in the German charts (presumably because of this tasteful video)?

They had a US number 1 in 1981 with 'A Little Bit of Jazz' which I re-call at all.

 

Best thing I've seen...this morning!!!!!!

 

I remember this one well. I used to like it.

 

With the exception of Bowie though his glam rock phase was soon to transform into US soul.
Slade were still making the top 5 but started to fade badly around 1975

 

And the biggest casualty? T. Rex . . .

 

Marc Bolan reminds me of the saying -

Those who shine the brightest burn the fastest

 

T.Rex were the pioneers and the first to break huge, so of course they would peak before the others.
Plus for some reason Marc Bolan announced in an interview that glam rock is dead and that their current single, The Groover, would be their last in that style, and indeed it was.
In 73 T.Rex seemed to be going into a more hard rock style with 20th Century Boy and The Groover, both top 5 hits. He then released Truck On Tyke which was a bit of a change in direction and not in a good way.

Things quickly went downhill, original drummer Bill Legend was replaced, producer Tony Visconti quit after the sessions for the new album were completed. Worse still Marc Bolan suddenly decided to release a soul/gospel album. Quality control fell of a cliff with Zinc Alloy and most young fans could only hear what Bolan obviously could not, a druggy mess of an album were every track was spoiled by screaming caterwauling backing vocals. Soul music this was not. It’s no exaggeration to say that the album would have made a great EP.

When I bought bought Zinc Alloy I kept playing it over and over trying to convince myself that I really did like it, but I only had to play The Slider released only 18 months earlier to see and hear the difference. I would still swear that zinc Alloy must be at least a double album crammed onto a single LP. I would sit in my bedroom playing it on my small plastic record player and look around at the walls covered in pictures of T.Rex with Marc looking young, beautiful, androgynous and stylish. But the numerous Polaroid pictures in the Zinc inner sleeve showed a bloated and sweaty Bolan looking out of it.

Still, never mind how it all ended, he was one of the best pop stars ever for a couple of years, and T.Rex were the first group to rise to the heights of the Beatles.

Happy 75th birthday Marc Bolan. I hope that one day pop music will once again be as exciting as you made it for a generation of kids in the early 7o’s

 

Marc as well as Bowie and Ferry were the holy trinity of glam acts for the young new wave/romantic bands coming up

 

You nailed it with "screaming caterwauling". It ruined so much of that album. He REALLY needed someone tough enough to stand up to him saying "Marc, she's crap. This is crap....." but no one ever did. Architect of his own musical destruction there.
(Although I still love 'The Mighty Slug').

 

Was the "screaming caterwauling" perchance from the one who did the original recording of "Tainted Love" way back in 1964-65? I suppose it's a good thing that, say, Merry Clayton or Clydie King - let alone a certain Ms. Franklin - never worked with Mr. Bolan . . .

And again, as a producer, as evidenced in the last few posts, Marc Bolan was definitely no Tony Visconti. Not by any stretch or even the loosest definition of the word.

 

But let us get back to when T. Rex were still at something resembling a zenith: This week in 1972, we shall see how the UK and U.S. fared in terms of what everyone was listening to and buying. Of course, as always, since this is a UK thread, 'Eton' comes first:

Week Ending 07 October 1972

04 - 01 - 01 - David Cassidy - HOW CAN I BE SURE
04 - 02 - 02 - T Rex - CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
04 - 04 - 03 - Lieutenant Pigeon - MOULDY OLD DOUGH
05 - 06 - 04 - The Sweet - WIG-WAM BAM
04 - 05 - 05 - Donny Osmond - TOO YOUNG
03 - 18 - 06 - Peter Skellern - YOU'RE A LADY
06 - 03 - 07 - Slade - MAMA WEER ALL CRAZEE NOW
03 - 14 - 08 - Gary Glitter - I DIDN'T KNOW I LOVED YOU (TILL I SAW YOU ROCK AND ROLL)
13 - 07 - 09 - Faron Young - IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING
07 - 09 - 10 - The Drifters - COME ON OVER TO MY PLACE
02 - 21 - 11 - Elvis Presley - BURNING LOVE
07 - 17 - 12 - Judge Dread - BIG SIX
08 - 08 - 13 - Michael Jackson - AIN'T NO SUNSHINE
06 - 16 - 14 - Dandy Livingstone - SUZANNE BEWARE OF THE DEVIL
08 - 10 - 15 - Roxy Music - VIRGINIA PLAIN
07 - 12 - 16 - Cliff Richard - LIVING IN HARMONY
03 - 25 - 17 - 10C.C. - DONNA
02 - 49 - 18 - Python Lee Jackson - IN A BROKEN DREAM
07 - 20 - 19 - Jr. Walker And The All Stars - WALK IN THE NIGHT
04 - 23 - 20 - David Bowie - JOHN I'M ONLY DANCING
08 - 15 - 21 - Lynsey De Paul - SUGAR ME
03 - 30 - 22 - O'Jays - BACK STABBERS
09 - 11 - 23 - Rod Stewart - YOU WEAR IT WELL
11 - 13 - 24 - Jackie Wilson - I GET THE SWEETEST FEELING
09 - 19 - 25 - Blackfoot Sue - STANDING IN THE ROAD
1 - NEW - 26 - Johnny Nash - THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
02 - 35 - 27 - Carpenters - GOODBYE TO LOVE
02 - 40 - 28 - Bread - THE GUITAR MAN
06 - 24 - 29 - Hurricane Smith - WHO WAS IT?
03 - 37 - 30 - Family - BURLESQUE
12 - 26 - 31 - Hot Butter - POPCORN
03 - 36 - 32 - The Pearls - YOU CAME, YOU SAW, YOU CONQUERED
09 - 22 - 33 - Mott The Hoople - ALL THE YOUNG DUDES
1 - NEW - 34 - Alice Cooper - ELECTED
1 - NEW - 35 - Simon And Garfunkel - AMERICA
05 - 32 - 36 - Elton John - HONKY CAT
09 - 28 - 37 - Bill Withers - LEAN ON ME
17 - 33 - 38 - Donny Osmond - PUPPY LOVE
06 - 48 - 39 - The Hollies - LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS
03 - 39 - 40 - Lindisfarne - ALL FALL DOWN
11 - 27 - 41 - Little Eva - THE LOCO-MOTION
09 - 29 - 42 - Derek And The Dominos - LAYLA
05 - 34 - 43 - The Seashells - MAYBE I KNOW
06 - 47 - 44 - Andy Williams - LOVE THEME FROM "THE GODFATHER" (SPEAK SOFTLY LOVE)
04 - 31 - 45 - Parchment - LIGHT UP THE FIRE
1 - NEW - 46 - Chairmen Of The Board - ELMO JAMES
15 - 41 - 47 - Hawkwind - SILVER MACHINE
1 - NEW - 48 - The Animals - THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
1 - NEW - 49 - Neil Sedaka - OH CAROL / BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO / LITTLE DEVIL
1 - NEW - 50 - Archie Bell And The Drells - HERE I GO AGAIN

And then for what the 'Yanks' were consuming:

Week Ending 07 October 1972

15 - 01 - 01 - Mac Davis - BABY DON'T GET HOOKED ON ME*
10 - 05 - 02 - Michael Jackson - BEN*
12 - 04 - 03 - O'Jays - BACK STABBERS*
13 - 06 - 04 - The Main Ingredient - EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL**
15 - 07 - 05 - Raspberries - GO ALL THE WAY**
07 - 08 - 06 - Bill Withers - USE ME**
08 - 09 - 07 - Elvis Presley - BURNING LOVE*
09 - 02 - 08 - Three Dog Night - BLACK AND WHITE**
08 - 13 - 09 - Chuck Berry - MY DING-A-LING*
13 - 10 - 10 - Hot Butter - POPCORN*
09 - 12 - 11 - Neil Diamond - PLAY ME**
10 - 14 - 12 - The Moody Blues - NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN*
10 - 03 - 13 - Chicago - SATURDAY IN THE PARK**
10 - 15 - 14 - Rick Springfield - SPEAK TO THE SKY**
11 - 19 - 15 - Rick Nelson And The Stone Canyon Band - GARDEN PARTY*
06 - 26 - 16 - Leon Russell - TIGHT ROPE**
07 - 21 - 17 - Rod Stewart - YOU WEAR IT WELL*
07 - 24 - 18 - Donny Osmond - WHY* / LONELY BOY**
09 - 23 - 19 - James Brown - GET ON THE GOOD FOOT - PART 1**
11 - 22 - 20 - Arlo Guthrie - THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS**
08 - 25 - 21 - Curtis Mayfield - FREDDIE'S DEAD (THEME FROM "SUPERFLY")**
19 - 20 - 22 - Daniel Boone - BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY*
06 - 27 - 23 - Danny O'Keefe - GOOD TIME CHARLIE'S GOT THE BLUES**
06 - 31 - 24 - The Doobie Brothers - LISTEN TO THE MUSIC*
13 - 29 - 25 - Mel And Tim - STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN**
06 - 28 - 26 - Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose - DON'T EVER BE LONELY (A POOR LITTLE FOOL LIKE ME)**
17 - 18 - 27 - Gilbert O'Sullivan - ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY)*
09 - 17 - 28 - Elton John - HONKY CAT*
06 - 34 - 29 - Chi Coltrane - THUNDER AND LIGHTNING**
04 - 35 - 30 - Eagles - WITCHY WOMAN**
04 - 37 - 31 - The 5th Dimension - IF I COULD REACH YOU**
14 - 11 - 32 - Joe Simon - POWER OF LOVE**
05 - 43 - 33 - Johnny Nash - I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW*
11 - 16- 34 - Bee Gees - RUN TO ME*
09 - 41 - 35 - Gallery - I BELIEVE IN MUSIC**
04 - 44 - 36 - Joe Cocker And The Chris Stainton Band - MIDNIGHT RIDER**
10 - 46 - 37 - Michael Murphey - GERONIMO'S CADILLAC**
08 - 38 - 38 - Jerry Wallace - IF YOU LEAVE ME TONIGHT I'LL CRY**
05 - 47 - 39 - Sam Neely - LOVING YOU JUST CROSSED MY MIND**
08 - 51 - 40 - The [Detroit] Spinners - I'LL BE AROUND**
05 - 48 - 41 - David Cassidy - ROCK ME BABY*
10 - 42 - 42 - Millie Jackson - MY MAN, A SWEET MAN*
04 - 49 - 43 - Nilsson - SPACEMAN**
03 - 60 - 44 - Lobo - I'D LOVE YOU TO WANT ME*
07 - 45 - 45 - Emerson, Lake And Palmer - FROM THE BEGINNING**
07 - 58 - 46 - Helen Reddy - I AM WOMAN**
07 - 57 - 47 - Gladstone - A PIECE OF PAPER**
05 - 52 - 48 - Chér - DON'T HIDE YOUR LOVE**
11 - 39 - 49 - Uriah Heep - EASY LIVIN'**
04 - 59 - 50 - The Band - DON'T DO IT**

And finally, what crossovers there were on each chart from both sides o' the pond:

#11 UK = #7 U.S.
#22 UK = #3 U.S.
#23 UK = #17 U.S.
#31 UK = #10 U.S.
#36 UK = #28 U.S.
(#33 UK = #60 U.S.)
(#34 UK = #67 U.S.)

And also:
- Slade's "Take Me Bak 'Ome" is at #97.
- Whilst "America" by Simon & Garfunkel is at #35 in the UK, its flip, "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her," is at #53 in the U.S.

Meanwhile, a bonus - #45 this week in the U.S. (would peak at #39, their biggest U.S. hit):

 

Always enjoy the inclusion of the American charts as a contrast. For this particular month/year have probably have 90% of the English chart, but maybe only 25%(ish) of the American one. I know I've joked before that I'm only a few years away from retirement age. Seems like that might be a good time to hit youtube to finally get to hear all the Yank material I'm unfamiliar with.

 

Singles were released on Fridays in the UK and albums were released on Mondays?

 

You know, I’m not sure. I was a kid in the 70s and it seemed like all new releases came out on Fridays.

By the 80s, I think both albums and singles were released on Mondays. Tuesdays in America.

 

Bought this comp last week. Nice breakdown of the hits of that year. A few duds scattered about though. There’s a Now ‘79 Extra set out next month that features most of the singles you wished they’d put on this one.

 

I didn't buy this one because I've got everything on it. The 'Extra' will have the Kate Bush single version of 'Them Heavy People', though. The next in the series is going to be 1985.

 

The 1985 one is pretty good. If you’re a fan of 1985.