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Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th January 2024, 01:46 PM

5th January 1974

It's Cher grabbing her second solo Retro chart-topper as the dark Dark Lady enters at 1, the gypsy strains and the woman-scorned mystery murder ballad was never as big as Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves in the UK, but was a monster US hit, much to my pleasure. The post-christmas lull makes the charts a little light on new stuff, but The Chi-Lites' drop Homely Girl in the States, but it was to be a much bigger hit in the UK, as were the Chi-Lites from hereon. New in at 14 and still better than the UB40 reggae cover.

10cc make it 6 top 20's, Johnny Nash gets his first one in 18 months, and Candlewick Green cover the Jigsaw album track, and future fab Saint Etienne hit in the 90's, Who Do You Think You Are. It's still pretty good and new at 36. John Holt has his new reggae album of covers of recent songs (for the most part) out, 1000 Volts Of Holt, which would get more chart notice late in 1974 when Help Me Make It Through The Night becomes a hit - so I'm charting it early as I dont want to wait and there's not much new in the way of singles out this week.

That leaves The Allman Brothers Band replacing Gregg Allman in the chart, and Jessica debuts at 73. It's a well-known instrumental theme tune these days but passed everybody by in the UK at the time, despite being a US hit. Appropriately Cher would marry Gregg Allman in 1975, what with both of them entering together at either end of the rundown.


1 ( NEW ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
2 ( 1 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
3 ( 4 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
4 ( 2 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
5 ( 5 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
6 ( 6 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
7 ( 8 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
8 ( 7 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
9 ( 10 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
10 ( 9 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7

11 ( 3 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
12 ( 11 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
13 ( 12 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
14 ( NEW ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 14
15 ( 27 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
16 ( 13 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
17 ( 18 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 17
18 ( 14 ) MRS. VANDEBILT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
19 ( 17 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
20 ( 34 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20

21 ( 16 ) WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW - Melanie # 14
22 ( 19 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
23 ( 28 ) BLACK CAT WOMAN - Geordie # 23
24 ( 21 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
25 ( 24 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
26 ( 20 ) I THINK I’M OVER (GETTING OVER YOU) - Peter Noone # 10
27 ( 32 ) STAR - Stealers Wheel # 27
28 ( 25 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
29 ( 30 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 29
30 ( 15 ) IT’S ALL OVER - Jackie Wilson # 15

31 ( 36 ) RAISED ON ROBBERY - Joni Mitchell # 31
32 ( 26 ) JOLENE - Dolly Parton # 5
33 ( 22 ) DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - Cozy Powell # 4
34 ( 33 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
35 ( 29 ) ROLL AWAY THE STONE - Mott The Hoople featuring Thunderthighs # 7
36 ( NEW ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 36
37 ( 49 ) BLUEBIRD - Paul McCartney & Wings # 37
38 ( 31 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue # 1
39 ( 23 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY - Wizzard # 3
40 ( 47 ) I WILL - Ruby Winters # 40

41 ( 52 ) MAMUNIA - Paul McCartney & Wings # 41
42 ( 37 ) MY COO CA CHOO - Alvin Stardust # 2
43 ( 42 ) GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Elton John # 1
44 ( 43 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
45 ( NEW ) HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Holt # 45
46 ( 35 ) A LITTLE BIT OF SOAP - The Pioneers # 35
47 ( 58 ) TEENAGE LAMENT ’74 - Alice Cooper # 47
48 ( 39 ) YOU’RE SIXTEEN - Ringo Starr # 19
49 ( 62 ) SATISFACTION - Bubblerock aka Jonathan King # 49
50 ( 44 ) DYNA-MITE - Mud # 5

51 ( 48 ) I SHALL SING - Garfunkel # 48
52 ( 50 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1
53 ( 51 ) THE BALLROOM BLITZ - The Sweet # 1
54 ( 55 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
55 ( 45 ) HELEN WHEELS - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
56 ( 38 ) STEP INTO CHRISTMAS - Elton John # 18
57 ( 57 ) JULIE ANN - White Plains # 57
58 ( 46 ) POOL HALL RICHARD - The Faces # 37
59 ( 66 ) REMEMBER (SHA LA LA) - Bay City Rollers # 59
60 ( 60 ) SPEED KILLS - 10cc # 1

61 ( 59 ) MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS - Maria Muldaur # 5
62 ( 63 ) SHOW AND TELL - Al Wilson # 5
63 ( 61 ) COME LIVE WITH ME - Ray Charles # 12
64 ( 53 ) MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY - Slade # 18
65 ( 40 ) JUNGLE BOOGIE - Kool & The Gang # 30
66 ( 67 ) YESTERDAY MAN - The Hotshots # 66
67 ( 65 ) COME AND GET YOUR LOVE - Redbone # 3
68 ( 68 ) AFTER THE GOLDRUSH - Prelude # 19
69 ( 71 ) ALL OF MY LIFE - Diana Ross # 69
70 ( 72 ) STOP TO START - Blue Magic # 70

71 ( 64 ) YOU WON’T FIND ANOTHER FOOL LIKE ME - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 40
72 ( 54 ) BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON - Lou Christie # 17
73 ( NEW ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 73
74 ( 74 ) DOO DOO DOO DOO (HEARTBREAKER) - The Rolling Stones # 74
75 ( 41 ) DON’T LET ME DOWN AGAIN - Buckingham Nicks # 29


5th January 1974 Wot I Liked That Actual Week Then

It's a third week on top for Roy Wood as I turn sweet 16, and I definitely got record tokens for Xmas and birthday as I will be spending them next week. 50 years later I got itunes vouchers as a generous retirement gift from workmates, considerably more than the 50p or so I got then. Back to school, back to working towards GCE and CSE exams. And I was back onto full-time personal charting again for the next 50 years too, only expanded to allow non-charting tracks, albums and oldies that had been reissued.

Getting instant Radio 1 airplay were the new Chinn-Chapman Glam Rock stompers from The Sweet and Mud, both of them coming off number ones for me, and The Sweet seemed like the most immediate classic, Teenage Rampage new at 3, with Mud's Tiger Feet in at 9 and also boosting Dynamite ahead of it dropping out of my chart. Stevie Wonder gets his highest charting single at 2 in 5 years of big hits, Living For The City, and Jonathan King keeps the top 10's going as Bubblerock.

In the post-christmas static charts and lack of new releases, the rest of the chart jostles about a bit with the Xmas singles dropping hard.


1 ( 1 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood
2 ( 5 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder
3 ( NEW ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet
4 ( 22 ) DYNAMITE - Mud
5 ( 6 ) ROLL AWAY THE STONE - Mott The Hoople
6 ( 7 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music
7 ( 3 ) DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - Cozy Powell
8 ( 13 ) MY COO CA CHOO - Alvin Stardust
9 ( NEW ) TIGER FEET - Mud
10 ( 23 ) (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION - Bubble Rock

11 ( 16 ) HELEN WHEELS - Paul McCartney & Wings
12 ( 9 ) REMEMBER (SHA LA LA LA) - The Bay City Rollers
13 ( 17 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue
14 ( 4 ) THE SHOW MUST GO ON - Leo Sayer
15 ( 2 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY - Wizzard
16 ( 14 ) BLACK CAT WOMAN - Geordie
17 ( 11 ) LOVE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP - Robert Knight
18 ( 19 ) TRUCK ON (TYKE) - T.Rex
19 ( 15 ) POOL HALL RICHARD - The Faces
20 ( 10 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY - Slade

21 ( 26 ) WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW - Melanie
22 ( 24 ) THE LOVE I LOST - Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
23 ( 8 ) STEP INTO CHRISTMAS - Elton John
24 ( 12 ) LITTLE SAINT NICK - The Beach Boys
25 ( 29 ) ROCKIN' ROLL BABY - The Stylistics
26 ( 28 ) RADAR LOVE - Golden Earring
27 ( RE ) SORROW - David Bowie
28 ( 25 ) LAMPLIGHT - David Essex
29 ( 21 ) I LOVE YOU LOVE ME LOVE - Gary Glitter
30 ( 18 ) AMOUREUSE - Kiki Dee

Posted by: Sven10 14th January 2024, 10:36 AM

Hey John,

Great oldies Top 75 chart with a lot of SOUL and Paul McCartney tracks

In the Top 30 i liked the Sweet, Mud, Golden Earring (no in Holland), Bay City Rollers, Roxy Music, Barry Blue, Leo Sayer, David Bowie and the Christmas tracks.
Slade made it to no

I loved Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The Stylistics and Stevie Wonder

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th January 2024, 12:47 PM

Hey Sven, thanks for dropping in!

Yes I'm a bit of a soul boy still, and it tends to stay with you as you get older, more so than Glam which was great fun but doesnt have the emotional impact, but great at parties. In the current combined 1974 chart for this week on another website (people posting their own charts) Radar Love just took over from Wizzard as the top track - though I charted it earlier in 1973 when Holland did. It still sounds exciting. Glad you like so many!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th January 2024, 04:07 PM

12th January 1974

It's straight in on top for a 4th number one in a row for The Sweet, as the Chinn-Chapman glamwagon keeps on rolling, Teenage Rampage ramping up the manic rock just as Mud hit their Chinn-Chapman peak with Tiger Feet entering at 5 for 4 top 5's in a row. My brother bought Teenage Rampage and I bought Tiger Feet, and so far this is mirroring how both records did in my original charts. The Chi-Lites meanwhile make it 6 top 10's as Homely Girl is up to 9.

David Bowie, were this 2024, would be lead artist featuring Lulu on The Man Who Sold The World and the B side Watch That Man, at 11 and 74 respectively, so I've given him a featuring credit - he wrote, produced, arranged and sang on both tracks, but really it's Lulu who is featuring, and looking oh so cool on Top Of The Pops. That's 7 years of retro charting and she's still only 25 or so at the time with a decade of hit singles.

Down the lower end, The Four Tops also keep the chart entries coming for a 7th year, with I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind new at 69, John Denver is into year 4 with Sunshine On My Shoulders, a UK flop, but one I knew. A lad in my class who was cool and self-confident and sporty, once absent-mindedly started singing "Sunshine" and stopped. So I finished the line and he was impressed I knew it, which made me feel cool by association as John Denver had yet to have a hit record in the UK.

Bette Midler's back, covering Glen Miller's In The Mood in a 1940's style, as she becomes an overnight sensation in the UK any week on the Parkinson chat show - funny, self-confident, brassy and sexy, and so so sharp and quick-witted in conversation. Instant fan here. That leaves The Detroit Spinners into a 5th year of charting, with Mighty Love, another UK flop, but it's not up to recent standards and hints at more out and out discofunk rather than smooth Philly grooves.




1 ( NEW ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
2 ( 1 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
3 ( 2 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
4 ( 3 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
5 ( NEW ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 5
6 ( 5 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
7 ( 6 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
8 ( 4 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
9 ( 14 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 9
10 ( 7 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7

11 ( NEW ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 11
12 ( 9 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
13 ( 10 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
14 ( 8 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
15 ( 15 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
16 ( 17 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 16
17 ( 16 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
18 ( 12 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
19 ( 11 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
20 ( 20 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20

21 ( 22 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
22 ( 36 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 22
23 ( 24 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
24 ( 18 ) MRS. VANDEBILT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
25 ( 13 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
26 ( 26 ) I THINK I’M OVER (GETTING OVER YOU) - Peter Noone # 10
27 ( 31 ) RAISED ON ROBBERY - Joni Mitchell # 27
28 ( 29 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 28
29 ( 28 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
30 ( 21 ) WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW - Melanie # 14

31 ( 27 ) STAR - Stealers Wheel # 27
32 ( 23 ) BLACK CAT WOMAN - Geordie # 23
33 ( 25 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
34 ( 34 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
35 ( 41 ) MAMUNIA - Paul McCartney & Wings # 35
36 ( 45 ) HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Holt # 36
37 ( 32 ) JOLENE - Dolly Parton # 5
38 ( 19 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
39 ( 47 ) TEENAGE LAMENT ’74 - Alice Cooper # 39
40 ( 51 ) I SHALL SING - Garfunkel # 40

41 ( 33 ) DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - Cozy Powell # 4
42 ( 30 ) IT’S ALL OVER - Jackie Wilson # 15
43 ( 40 ) I WILL - Ruby Winters # 40
44 ( 37 ) BLUEBIRD - Paul McCartney & Wings # 37
45 ( 44 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
46 ( 35 ) ROLL AWAY THE STONE - Mott The Hoople featuring Thunderthighs # 7
47 ( 43 ) GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Elton John # 1
48 ( 39 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY - Wizzard # 3
49 ( 53 ) THE BALLROOM BLITZ - The Sweet # 1
50 ( 52 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1

51 ( 38 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue # 1
52 ( 54 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
53 ( 42 ) MY COO CA CHOO - Alvin Stardust # 2
54 ( 57 ) JULIE ANN - White Plains # 54
55 ( 59 ) REMEMBER (SHA LA LA) - Bay City Rollers # 55
56 ( 50 ) DYNA-MITE - Mud # 5
57 ( 63 ) COME LIVE WITH ME - Ray Charles # 12
58 ( 60 ) SPEED KILLS - 10cc # 1
59 ( 62 ) SHOW AND TELL - Al Wilson # 5
60 ( 66 ) YESTERDAY MAN - The Hotshots # 60

61 ( 55 ) HELEN WHEELS - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
62 ( 48 ) YOU’RE SIXTEEN - Ringo Starr # 19
63 ( 69 ) ALL OF MY LIFE - Diana Ross # 63
64 ( 73 ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 64
65 ( 74 ) DOO DOO DOO DOO (HEARTBREAKER) - The Rolling Stones # 65
66 ( 46 ) A LITTLE BIT OF SOAP - The Pioneers # 35
67 ( 70 ) STOP TO START - Blue Magic # 67
68 ( 49 ) SATISFACTION - Bubblerock aka Jonathan King # 49
69 ( NEW ) I JUST CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND - The Four Tops # 69
70 ( 61 ) MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS - Maria Muldaur # 5

71 ( NEW ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 71
72 ( 56 ) STEP INTO CHRISTMAS - Elton John # 18
73 ( NEW ) IN THE MOOD - Bette Midler # 73
74 ( NEW ) WATCH THAT MAN - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 74
75 ( NEW ) MIGHTY LOVE (PART 1) - The Detroit Spinners # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th January 2024, 01:09 PM

19th January 1974

That's right, that's right, that's right, it's Mud on top for a 3rd chart-topper out of 4, a party classic guaranteed to get grandad on the floor dancing and doing the Mud shoulder-dance. That also makes 2 Chinn-Chapman creations in a row at number one with another classic new at 6 for Suzi Quatro, now on her 5th chart entry and her greatest Glam track, Devil Gate Drive, well come on! Meanwhile Who Do You Think You Are still sounds great for the Jigsaw cover and future Saint Etienne goodie, up to 7.

In at 17 with a third single outside The Strawbs, Hudson-Ford's Burn baby Burn revisits the sound of Part Of The Union for a great singalong that's been all but forgotten these days, and future UK chart-topper Billy Don't Be A Hero keeps up the dark story songs along with Seasons In The Sun and Dark Lady, the song from the Murray/Callander hit songwriting team who'd notched up UK chart-toppers in the 60's for Georgie Fame and others, and kick-starting Nottingham band Paper Lace's short chart career, after winning Opportunity Knocks on TV. They were robbed of a US number one by a quick inferior Bo Donaldson cover, but happily got it with their second single.

Other new entries: Graham Nash has his new album out, and future mellow folk single On The Line enters early for the ex-Hollies member, just beating his old band to the new entries on time-out from Crosby and Stills. So 8 years of retro charting then for Graham. Songwriter Paul Williams also returns with his typically classy 1920's ragtime ballad style on new track Inspiration at 51 fresh off his starring as an orang utan in Battle For The Planet Of The Apes.

Smokey Robinson drops his first official solo record, the very First Nation/Native American-sounding Just My Soul Responding, one I liked at the time, but a UK flop as per usually the case in 1974 for many US tracks (see above new entries). Slip & Slide gives Medicine Head a 4th, The Main Ingredient debut with a future UK soul hit, I Just Don't Want To Be Lonely, and future 80's Freddie McGregor hit cover, and The Sutherland Brothers make it 3 chart entries as they merge with Quiver on Dream Kid.

Carly Simon is knocking up the entries with her cover of Mockingbird, as already seen by Charlie & Inez Fox, but she duets with hubbie James Taylor bringing him back after 2 years AWOL chart-wise. Rhapsody In White is the title of the new Barry White/Love Unlimited/Orchestra album, and this instrumental gives Bazza 3 on the chart as he gears up on his solo stuff shortly. Marvin Gaye's UK single is from Let's Get It On, Come Get To This pretty much unknown, and new to me as it got no airplay at the time. Cilla, OTOH, got a lot of plugs on her TV show for Baby We Can't Go Wrong, which was nice but nothing special as a way to end to her singles chart career, bar one duet with Dusty in the 80's.


1 ( 5 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
2 ( 1 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
3 ( 2 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
4 ( 3 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
5 ( 4 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
6 ( NEW ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 6
7 ( 22 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
8 ( 9 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
9 ( 6 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
10 ( 7 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1

11 ( 11 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 11
12 ( 8 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
13 ( 14 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
14 ( 12 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
15 ( 13 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
16 ( 10 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
17 ( NEW ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 17
18 ( 15 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
19 ( 28 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 19
20 ( 19 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3

21 ( NEW ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 21
22 ( 16 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 16
23 ( 17 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
24 ( 21 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
25 ( 23 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
26 ( 18 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
27 ( 24 ) MRS. VANDEBILT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
28 ( 25 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
29 ( 26 ) I THINK I’M OVER (GETTING OVER YOU) - Peter Noone # 10
30 ( 31 ) STAR - Stealers Wheel # 27

31 ( 20 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20
32 ( 36 ) HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Holt # 32
33 ( 39 ) TEENAGE LAMENT ’74 - Alice Cooper # 33
34 ( 33 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
35 ( 34 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
36 ( 35 ) MAMUNIA - Paul McCartney & Wings # 35
37 ( 29 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
38 ( 71 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 38
39 ( 38 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
40 ( 44 ) BLUEBIRD - Paul McCartney & Wings # 37

41 ( 45 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
42 ( 27 ) RAISED ON ROBBERY - Joni Mitchell # 27
43 ( 32 ) BLACK CAT WOMAN - Geordie # 23
44 ( 40 ) I SHALL SING - Garfunkel # 40
45 ( 30 ) WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW - Melanie # 14
46 ( 37 ) JOLENE - Dolly Parton # 5
47 ( 41 ) DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - Cozy Powell # 4
48 ( 64 ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 48
49 ( NEW ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 49
50 ( 50 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1

51 ( NEW ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 51
52 ( 51 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue # 1
53 ( 49 ) THE BALLROOM BLITZ - The Sweet # 1
54 ( 52 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
55 ( 47 ) GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Elton John # 1
56 ( 46 ) ROLL AWAY THE STONE - Mott The Hoople featuring Thunderthighs # 7
57 ( 60 ) YESTERDAY MAN - The Hotshots # 57
58 ( NEW ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 58
59 ( 69 ) I JUST CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND - The Four Tops # 59
60 ( 63 ) ALL OF MY LIFE - Diana Ross # 60

61 ( 57 ) COME LIVE WITH ME - Ray Charles # 12
62 ( 53 ) MY COO CA CHOO - Alvin Stardust # 2
63 ( 58 ) SPEED KILLS - 10cc # 1
64 ( 59 ) SHOW AND TELL - Al Wilson # 5
65 ( NEW ) SLIP AND SLIDE - Medicine Head # 65
66 ( 43 ) I WILL - Ruby Winters # 40
67 ( 65 ) DOO DOO DOO DOO (HEARTBREAKER) - The Rolling Stones # 65
68 ( 67 ) STOP TO START - Blue Magic # 67
69 ( NEW ) I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY - The Main Ingredient # 69
70 ( 48 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY - Wizzard # 3

71 ( 55 ) REMEMBER (SHA LA LA) - Bay City Rollers # 55
72 ( 54 ) JULIE ANN - White Plains # 54
73 ( NEW ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 73
74 ( NEW ) MOCKINGBIRD - Carly Simon & James Taylor # 74
75 ( NEW ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 75
76 ( NEW ) COME GET TO THIS - Marvin Gaye # 76
77 ( 75 ) MIGHTY LOVE (PART 1) - Detroit Spinners # 75
78 ( 73 ) IN THE MOOD - Bette Midler # 73
79 ( 74 ) WATCH THAT MAN - Lulu ft David Bowie # 74
80 ( NEW ) BABY WE CAN’T GO WRONG - Cilla Black # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2024, 02:33 PM

26th January 1974

It's straight in on top for The Hollies' version of the Albert Hammond song, The Air That I Breathe, which brings Allan Clarke and the gang back on form with an amazing ballad and second Retro chart-topper after 1969's He Ain't Heavy. That soaring guitar and Allan's vocals and harmonies are at the heart of it, while former bandmate Graham Nash is up to 36 with his gentle country song On The Line. That blocks a third Chinnchap number as Devil Gate Drive is at 2 for Suzi Quatro, her second top 3 after Can The Can hit the top spot.

New in at 11, taken from his new album, Ian "Woodstock" Matthews is back with his cover of Jackson Browne's mature teenage-written-debut-song These Days, previously charted by Nico in 1968. This version looks to be the inspiration for the heartbreaking Glen Campbell version in the 00's, which was brilliant, the lyrics suiting an older person with alzheimers more than say, a wistful teenager (who actually wrote it). I'd never heard this version before yesterday. Glen Campbell, meanwhile, returns with the very Jimmy-Webb sounding Houston (I'm Coming To See You) at 51 taken from his latest album which I happen to have on vinyl.

New at 20, Alvin gets his follow-up, the very Elvis Glam-styled Jealous Mind, who together with Mud, was showing the sort of things Elvis could have been doing rather than his largely tedious actual stuff (which fails to make my chart this week). New at 30, the late Canadian folkie Gordon Lightfoot debuts his fab Sundown, a US chart-topper and UK flop, while Marc Bolan abruptly changes style for the sprawling ballad Teenage Dream. The glory days were very much over for T. Rex, but the B side sneaks in at 80.

Neil Sedaka keeps his UK run going with his rock'n'roll throwback A Little Lovin' as he gears up to be signed to Elton John's Rocket label to win back his homeland on an album showcasing the best of his first 2 UK-only albums - which will pay dividends for the unassuming, talented family man who in no way looked like a pop star in the 70's. The music was everything. Gilbert's also back with one I didn't like at the time, but Happiness Is Me & You sounds OK 50 years later, and the very annoying Ma He's Making Eyes At Me isn't actually that bad, and the TV talent show child star Lena Zavaroni didn't deserve to die young from anorexia, so the track is kinda sad these days. She was about 10 and far too young for the music biz and the accompanying media attacks.


1 ( NEW ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
2 ( 6 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
3 ( 2 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
4 ( 1 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
5 ( 3 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
6 ( 9 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
7 ( 5 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
8 ( 4 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
9 ( 11 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
10 ( 10 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1

11 ( NEW ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 11
12 ( 7 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
13 ( 17 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
14 ( 8 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
15 ( 14 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
16 ( 21 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16
17 ( 12 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
18 ( 13 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
19 ( 19 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 19
20 ( NEW ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 20

21 ( 16 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
22 ( 15 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
23 ( 20 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
24 ( 23 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
25 ( 22 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 16
26 ( 24 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
27 ( 28 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
28 ( 31 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20
29 ( 33 ) TEENAGE LAMENT ’74 - Alice Cooper # 29
30 ( NEW ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 30

31 ( 38 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 31
32 ( 18 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
33 ( 25 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
34 ( 26 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
35 ( 29 ) I THINK I’M OVER (GETTING OVER YOU) - Peter Noone # 10
36 ( 49 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 36
37 ( 27 ) MRS. VANDEBILT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
38 ( 34 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
39 ( 35 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
40 ( NEW ) TEENAGE DREAM - T. Rex # 40

41 ( 51 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 41
42 ( 48 ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 42
43 ( 59 ) I JUST CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND - The Four Tops # 43
44 ( 39 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
45 ( 32 ) HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Holt # 32
46 ( 36 ) MAMUNIA - Paul McCartney & Wings # 35
47 ( 41 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
48 ( 30 ) STAR - Stealers Wheel # 27
49 ( 37 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
50 ( 50 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1

51 ( NEW ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 51
52 ( 54 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
53 ( 57 ) YESTERDAY MAN - The Hotshots # 53
54 ( 73 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 54
55 ( 52 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue # 1
56 ( 58 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 56
57 ( 53 ) THE BALLROOM BLITZ - The Sweet # 1
58 ( 44 ) I SHALL SING - Garfunkel # 40
59 ( 46 ) JOLENE - Dolly Parton # 5
60 ( 61 ) COME LIVE WITH ME - Ray Charles # 12

61 ( 62 ) MY COO CA CHOO - Alvin Stardust # 2
62 ( 40 ) BLUEBIRD - Paul McCartney & Wings # 37
63 ( 63 ) SPEED KILLS - 10cc # 1
64 ( 55 ) GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Elton John # 1
65 ( 65 ) SLIP AND SLIDE - Medicine Head # 65
66 ( 75 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 66
67 ( 56 ) ROLL AWAY THE STONE - Mott The Hoople featuring Thunderthighs # 7
68 ( 69 ) I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY - The Main Ingredient # 68
69 ( 47 ) DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - Cozy Powell # 4
70 ( 64 ) SHOW AND TELL - Al Wilson # 5

71 ( 76 ) COME GET TO THIS - Marvin Gaye # 71
72 ( 74 ) MOCKINGBIRD - Carly Simon & James Taylor # 72
73 ( 77 ) MIGHTY LOVE (PART 1) - The Detroit Spinners # 73
74 ( 80 ) BABY WE CAN’T GO WRONG - Cilla Black # 74
75 ( NEW ) A LITTLE LOVIN’ - Neil Sedaka # 75
76 ( 60 ) ALL OF MY LIFE - Diana Ross # 60
77 ( NEW ) HAPPINESS IS ME AND YOU - Gilbert O’Sullivan # 77
78 ( 78 ) IN THE MOOD - Bette Midler # 73
79 ( NEW ) MA HE’S MAKING EYES AT ME - Lena Zavaroni # 79
80 ( NEW ) SATISFACTION PONY - T. Rex # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th February 2024, 04:54 PM

2nd February 1974

It's an album track I'd never heard until a week ago on top, Ian Matthews going three places higher than he did with Woodstock in 1970's Retro charts - and like that one, it's a terrific version of a great song. Heresy to say it, but it's way better than the Jackson Browne version released a few months earlier where he did a cover of a blues cover version as opposed to Nico's cover of his original unreleased song. This is more Nico, and sets up the definitive version from Glen Campbell in the mid 2000's. Talking of Glen, he's up into the 30 along with a bunch of other folk-ey/country-styled climbers, and T.Rex.

Alvin gets a second top 3 with Jealous Mind, I must say I'd never noticed the 10CC Rubber Bullets beat nicked before, hidden as it is amongst a lot of 50's throwback touches. Still sounds fresh. Disco has now formally arrived (though it'll take another 6 months to burst into the charts) with Howard K.C. Casey and his Sunshine Band new in at 10 with their 2nd UK hit single Sound Your Funky Horn out in the USA - his Rock Your Baby song-production gifted to George McRae really is Disco Ground Zero in chart-terms in the UK. Talking of disco, The First Queen Of Disco (until Donna Summer stole the title) was Gloria gaynor, and she debuts with Honey Bee at 73.

New at 33, The Trem's are back for an 8th Retro year in a row - Do I Love You wasn't a hit of course but it was on Lift Off With Ayshea I expect as I charted it at the time, and turns out 50 years on it sounds better than it did at the time. Joni Mitchell is also back to extend her retro run as lovely ballad Help Me, off newly-released Court And Spark (a fab album), is in at 38, and she's only just gone and finally appeared at the Grammy's 50 Years later. Hooray!

Roy Wood was Popstar Number One in Feb 1974, and Radio 1 had just done an interview/career span for the Move/ELO/Wizzard/solo/hit songwriter - I know this cos Roy gave a very early play of his latest future single Going Down The Road. He'd bought some bagpipes, and learned to play enough for a Scottish Reggae single (all instruments and voices Roy as per usual) and it had debuted instantly in my top 10 of the time 50 years ago this week. So, it might not be officially released, but it was played, I heard it, I loved it, I charted it, so it's here early too just as I would now for any track I heard ahead of release.

Pink Floyd make it a 4th retro chart entry with Dark Side track Us And Them, out in the USA, and composer Marvin Hamlisch charts Scott Joplin's 1920's ragtime piano tune, The Entertainer, courtesy of his soundtrack to hit movie The Sting - Robert Redford & Paul Newman back together again. 50 years ago this week, though, I was more interested in Mel Brook's US release of his Western parody Blazing Saddles, a 4th-wall-breaking, hip, madcap, social-commentating, naughty, rule-breaking, brilliant comedy masterpiece. Written by Richard Prior, he had an accident and couldn't star in the movie, which was great news for Cleavon Little who got the lead role as the black sheriff, bringing a lowkey charming cool to the part along with Gene Wilder's lowkey restrained gunfighter. Everything else was manic, it didn't need two manic leads! The theme tune will chart soon!

That leaves Gladys Knight dropping Best Thing That Ever Happened 18 months ahead of it's UK hit release, hitting in the USA now, and Lieutenant Pigeon popping back again for a Stavely Makepeace spin-off cover of the ancient Irish standard I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen. Also on Lift Off With Ayshea, I think, as I charted it briefly at the time and I don't recall Radio 1 playing it!


1 ( 11 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
2 ( 1 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
3 ( 20 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
4 ( 2 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
5 ( 3 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
6 ( 4 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
7 ( 6 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
8 ( 7 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
9 ( 5 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
10 ( NEW ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 10

11 ( 10 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
12 ( 8 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
13 ( 9 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
14 ( 12 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
15 ( 13 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
16 ( 16 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16
17 ( 15 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
18 ( 19 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18
19 ( 17 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
20 ( 14 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8

21 ( 21 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
22 ( 22 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
23 ( 31 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 23
24 ( 36 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
25 ( 40 ) TEENAGE DREAM - T. Rex # 25
26 ( 30 ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 26
27 ( 51 ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 27
28 ( 41 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 28
29 ( 23 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
30 ( 18 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1

31 ( 24 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
32 ( 26 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
33 ( NEW ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 33
34 ( 28 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20
35 ( 27 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
36 ( 56 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 36
37 ( 34 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
38 ( NEW ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 38
39 ( 25 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 16
40 ( NEW ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 40

41 ( 33 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
42 ( 32 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
43 ( 54 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 43
44 ( 43 ) I JUST CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND - The Four Tops # 43
45 ( 42 ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 42
46 ( 39 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
47 ( 38 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
48 ( 47 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
49 ( 44 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
50 ( 35 ) I THINK I’M OVER (GETTING OVER YOU) - Peter Noone # 10

51 ( 52 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
52 ( 29 ) TEENAGE LAMENT ’74 - Alice Cooper # 29
53 ( 49 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
54 ( 37 ) MRS. VANDEBILT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 14
55 ( 45 ) HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Holt # 32
56 ( 50 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1
57 ( NEW ) US AND THEM - Pink Floyd # 57
58 ( 65 ) SLIP AND SLIDE - Medicine Head # 58
59 ( 68 ) I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY - The Main Ingredient # 59
60 ( 66 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 60

61 ( 71 ) COME GET TO THIS - Marvin Gaye # 61
62 ( 60 ) COME LIVE WITH ME - Ray Charles # 12
63 ( 63 ) SPEED KILLS - 10cc # 1
64 ( NEW ) THE ENTERTAINER - Marvin Hamlisch # 64
65 ( 55 ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE - Barry Blue # 1
66 ( 57 ) THE BALLROOM BLITZ - The Sweet # 1
67 ( 72 ) MOCKINGBIRD - Carly Simon & James Taylor # 67
68 ( 75 ) A LITTLE LOVIN’ - Neil Sedaka # 68
69 ( 77 ) HAPPINESS IS ME AND YOU - Gilbert O’Sullivan # 69
70 ( 74 ) BABY WE CAN’T GO WRONG - Cilla Black # 70

71 ( NEW ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - Gladys Knight & The Pips # 71
72 ( 73 ) MIGHTY LOVE (PART 1) - The Detroit Spinners # 72
73 ( NEW ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 73
74 ( 79 ) MA HE’S MAKING EYES AT ME - Lena Zavaroni # 74
75 ( NEW ) I’LL TAKE YOU HOME AGAIN KATHLEEN - Lieutenant Pigeon # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 18th February 2024, 05:21 PM

9th February 1974

It's back up one place for a second week on top for The Hollies and the fab Air That I Breathe, with abrand new Philly disco breakthrough for The Three Degrees, on their 3rd retro chart entry, the fab Gamble & Huff Year Of Decision new in at 3. The new Supremes for the 70's basically. K.C. is up to 5, the first of many to do that no doubt, and bang in at 6 the movie of 1974, give or take the odd James Bond or Disaster movie, Blazing Saddles also being the movie theme of the year, forget The Sting, The Way We Were and even The Man With The Golden Gun - it's veteran Frankie Laine poker-faced belting out a 50's styled Western theme unaware it was a pisstake, and a very naughty one at that. Brilliant.

Bowie drops his next musical morph at 17, and it's a Mick Ronson wicked riff, Rebel Rebel not a fave of mine at the time - the sudden style change was grating, much more Rolling Stones than Glam, but oddly I had no problem with Plastic Soul a year later, where most Bowie fans went apoplectic. It's a great single though. Barry White keeps pumping 'em out, his 4th on the rundown, with solo Honey Please Can't Ya See, a UK flop but I always liked it, new in at 46, while Sunny (of The Pearls, original Brotherhood Of Man, and backing singer for (deep breath) Dusty, Elton, Love Affair, Lulu, Mott The Hoople, Bowie, T.Rex, Tom Jones, Joe Cocker - see With A Little Help From My Friends - and 60's teen singer, Eurovision stage support to Lulu, and several other acts over the years into the 80's) finally egst a solo hit single with Doctor's Orders at 51.

The Staple Singers are back for a 5th or 6th time with a good track I didn't know before today, Touch A Hand at 60, Carpenters dip into Hank Williams' Jambalaya territory as they go off the boil a bit for me, at 70, Opportunity Knocks comedian Freddie Starr has a UK hit with It's You, a bit maudlin, but my Aunty Norma loves it, so I bunged it on a CD for her last year - not available anywhere to buy! She went to see him back in the day, and he was lead singer of 60's band The Midniters before he started making headlines "eating hamsters" and that sort of tat. Great at imitations of Elvis and the like in those days though.

Junior Walker returns for probably the last time with another sax-driven soul track new to me, and Ricky Wilde returns with another dad-created pre-teen track kiddie-pop oriented, Mrs. Malinski, which I liked at the time on one hearing, charted, and then never heard again for 50 years until today. It's OK, but a way better track is on the way!


1 ( 2 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
2 ( 1 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
3 ( NEW ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 3
4 ( 3 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
5 ( 10 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 5
6 ( NEW ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
7 ( 7 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
8 ( 4 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
9 ( 5 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
10 ( 6 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1

11 ( 9 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
12 ( 8 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
13 ( 12 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
14 ( 14 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
15 ( 15 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
16 ( 11 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
17 ( NEW ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 17
18 ( 13 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
19 ( 17 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
20 ( 20 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8

21 ( 23 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
22 ( 22 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
23 ( 19 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
24 ( 24 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
25 ( 33 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 25
26 ( 26 ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 26
27 ( 27 ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 27
28 ( 28 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 28
29 ( 16 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16
30 ( 18 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18

31 ( 21 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
32 ( 38 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 32
33 ( 30 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
34 ( 32 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
35 ( 36 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 35
36 ( 40 ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 36
37 ( 43 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 37
38 ( 25 ) TEENAGE DREAM - T. Rex # 25
39 ( 29 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
40 ( 35 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12

41 ( 31 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
42 ( 57 ) US AND THEM - Pink Floyd # 42
43 ( 34 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20
44 ( 47 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
45 ( 37 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
46 ( NEW ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 46
47 ( 49 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
48 ( 59 ) I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY - The Main Ingredient # 48
49 ( 58 ) SLIP AND SLIDE - Medicine Head # 49
50 ( 46 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1

51 ( NEW ) DOCTOR’S ORDERS - Sunny # 51
52 ( 45 ) JESSICA - The Allman Brothers Band # 42
53 ( 51 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
54 ( 42 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
55 ( 41 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
56 ( 48 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
57 ( 60 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 57
58 ( 39 ) HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE - The Isley Brothers # 16
59 ( 56 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1
60 ( NEW ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 60

61 ( 61 ) COME GET TO THIS - Marvin Gaye # 61
62 ( 71 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - Gladys Knight & The Pips # 62
63 ( 44 ) I JUST CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND - The Four Tops # 43
64 ( 64 ) THE ENTERTAINER - Marvin Hamlisch # 64
65 ( 69 ) HAPPINESS IS ME AND YOU - Gilbert O’Sullivan # 65
66 ( 73 ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 66
67 ( 70 ) BABY WE CAN’T GO WRONG - Cilla Black # 67
68 ( 68 ) A LITTLE LOVIN’ - Neil Sedaka # 68
69 ( 67 ) MOCKINGBIRD - Carly Simon & James Taylor # 67
70 ( NEW ) JAMBALAYA (ON THE BAYOU) - Carpenters # 70

71 ( 53 ) SEASONS IN THE SUN - Terry Jacks # 9
72 ( NEW ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 72
73 ( 75 ) I’LL TAKE YOU HOME AGAIN KATHLEEN - Lieutenant Pigeon # 73
74 ( NEW ) DON’T BLAME THE CHILDREN - Junior Walker & The All Stars # 74
75 ( NEW ) MRS MALINSKI - Ricky Wilde # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th February 2024, 12:04 PM

16th February 1974

It's a new entry at 1 for Queen's second chart entry, and the first of 3 acts who would turn up in 1974 and become long-term greats 50 years later and confounding the music critics of the time. ABBA and Sparks being the other two. Seven Seas Of Rhye got a slot on Top Of The Pops and it was a "wow" moment for me, instant number one. The THree Degrees are held off at 2, with another newie, their 4th, new in at 28 as lead act on the MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother) Sound Of Philadelphia orchestra.

Barry Blue makes it a 4th chart entry with his 3rd top 20, the 50's teen pastiche ballad School Love which has a great melody and throwback appeal, Barry setting up his stall as intending to make each single very different from his previous singles - and anticipating the sort of ballads from Grease (charts-wise) musical which was already out and not making headlines. At 44 the third track off On The Third Day debuts for ELO at 44, new single Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, as they rock out, and so too, does Let Me Roll It for Wings on the 8th track from Band On The Run to chart here, new at 45.

Albert Hammond keeps the chart entries going with his US hit, I'm A Train at 71, and Elton John debuts the biggest-selling record of all-time. Sort of. It's Candle In The Wind, the original and better version, but B Side Bennie & The Jets has already hit number one here and will do so in the USA shortly, with Candle relegated to the B side. It's marginally maudlin, but not as much as the 1997 version for Princess Diana. I will stick with the Marilyn Monroe version, but I never rated it at the time and still don't. 50 years on I'm still pissed off Bennie wasn't the A side, until they re-issued it in 1976 as an oldie and got a minor hit out of it when it should have been a top 10 smash in 1974. Candle would also come back to haunt the charts in a live version.


1 ( NEW ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
2 ( 3 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
3 ( 1 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
4 ( 5 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 4
5 ( 2 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
6 ( 6 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
7 ( 7 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
8 ( 4 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
9 ( 10 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
10 ( 9 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1

11 ( 11 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
12 ( 8 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
13 ( 13 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
14 ( 17 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
15 ( 14 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
16 ( 25 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
17 ( NEW ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 17
18 ( 18 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
19 ( 19 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
20 ( 12 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1

21 ( 21 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
22 ( 27 ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 22
23 ( 22 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
24 ( 20 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
25 ( 28 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 25
26 ( 46 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 26
27 ( 23 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
28 ( NEW ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 28
29 ( 15 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
30 ( 32 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 30

31 ( 24 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
32 ( 31 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
33 ( 33 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
34 ( 30 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18
35 ( 16 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
36 ( 36 ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 36
37 ( 37 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 37
38 ( 34 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
39 ( 39 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
40 ( 29 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16

41 ( 51 ) DOCTOR’S ORDERS - Sunny # 41
42 ( 38 ) TEENAGE DREAM - T. Rex # 25
43 ( 26 ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 26
44 ( NEW ) MA-MA-MA BELLE - Electric Light Orchestra # 44
45 ( NEW ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 45
46 ( 35 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 35
47 ( 44 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
48 ( 72 ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 48
49 ( 47 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
50 ( 41 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4

51 ( 50 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
52 ( 45 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
53 ( 53 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
54 ( 57 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 54
55 ( 54 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
56 ( 65 ) HAPPINESS IS ME AND YOU - Gilbert O’Sullivan # 56
57 ( 60 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 57
58 ( 40 ) HALF A MILLION MILES FROM HOME - Albert Hammond # 12
59 ( 56 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
60 ( 62 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - Gladys Knight & The Pips # 60

61 ( 68 ) A LITTLE LOVIN’ - Neil Sedaka # 61
62 ( 43 ) LOVING YOU - Johnny Nash # 20
63 ( 55 ) STREET LIFE - Roxy Music # 3
64 ( 42 ) US AND THEM - Pink Floyd # 42
65 ( 66 ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 65
66 ( 49 ) SLIP AND SLIDE - Medicine Head # 49
67 ( 48 ) I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY - The Main Ingredient # 48
68 ( 61 ) COME GET TO THIS - Marvin Gaye # 61
69 ( 70 ) JAMBALAYA (ON THE BAYOU) - Carpenters # 69
70 ( 59 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR - Bob Dylan # 1

71 ( NEW ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 71
72 ( 64 ) THE ENTERTAINER - Marvin Hamlisch # 64
73 ( 67 ) BABY WE CAN’T GO WRONG - Cilla Black # 67
74 ( 74 ) DON’T BLAME THE CHILDREN - Junior Walker & The All Stars # 74
75 ( NEW ) CANDLE IN THE WIND - Elton John # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th March 2024, 05:22 PM

23rd February 1974

It's a brand new entry on top of the pile as Hot Chocolate notch up a 5th number one in 4 of the last 5 calendar years -only missing out on 1972, though You'll Always Be A Friend came within a whisker of a 6th. As per the norm, with Errol Brown and Tony Wilson, they like to change direction musically, this time it's a stark dark ballad with haunting descending guitar segments. It's pretty hard to get darker than this, but it's fab anyway. Meanwhile Barry Blue makes it 2 top 10's in a row with his charming 50's teen pastiche, and The New Seekers grab a first top 20 track in just over a year with the great little song I Get A Little Sentimental - it's old-time singalong style, and as usual not the greatest of productions from their team, but the tune is fab for their final hit song in this line-up.

New at 47, one I liked at the time from Radio Luxembourg plays, but I never got to tape it or buy a copy - 50 years on it turns out to be a great little Phil Spector pastiche courtesy of Vi from TV regulars The Flirtations. So good to hear it again, it's fresh! At 52, The Bee Gees got solidly ignored again in 1974 as the music scene was in the dying throes of Glam and the break-through of Disco, and the Gibbs were still 60's balladeers, by and large. That'll change, but in the meantime Mr. Natural was a good single that deserved more than the couple of radio plays it got. I also never managed to tape that, so had to resort to buying the album of the same name in the 90's as it never appeared on any compilations.

Big in the USA but bizarrely not the UK, Dancing Machine is in at 60, another one I liked and didn't get to tape but got it on a vinyl album a few years later. Still sounds funky. I blame Radio One for not picking up on it enough. At 62, another one that got a few plays on Radio One as a huge US hit, but still flopped in the UK, Grand Funk's stomping upbeat rock version of Carole King's Loco-motion hit for Little Eva, a UK hit in 1962 and 1972 - possibly why this one didn't register, it had only just charted again. The song will back again in the 80's.

New at 65 and 70 it's a double for The Stylistics - the US has opted for the slow ballad You Make Me Feel Brand New, the UK decided on the more upbeat Only For The Children as the A side - cue a huge US hit and a flop UK hit for the B side track. I know it was the lead track in the UK cos I charted it in my charts of the time after it got airplay, so the Wikipedia discography is wrong in omitting it and I can't be arsed to correct it. They reissued it as the B side to the US A side a few months later, but I always preferred the UK track to the monster ballad.

At 69, fresh from huge US success, the BBC had chosen Olivia Newton-John to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, and we were duly offered 6 new tracks on her TV show to vote for. As usual the British voting public went for the jolly oompah oompah pop track, Long Live Love, and felt so comfortable in that decision she was on Top Of The Pops the next week, plugging like mad, and our voting jury highly suspiciously not giving any points to the Ultimate Eurovision Song. Which is why the public is always right, even when they opt for tat. Juries can be rigged! Anyway, it was the 4th best song in the contest and came 4th, so justice was served and Olivia moved to America to record some decent ballads and become a film star for a while.

There's an episode of Top Of The Pops from 1974 that still exists because Bill Haley was on it singing Rock Around The Clock, a hit all over again in 1974. Even the old git who decided on saving any episodes at the BBC due to musical history recognised that one as a keeper. Not me, I had known it all my life and was never really a fan. A singalong once in a while was enough, I didn't need it on the radio a lot. That leaves some flop singles in the UK from Helen Reddy (her US hit Keep On Singing), Jimmy Ruffin (going Al Green-style with Tell Me What You Want - but he'll be back before year-end with huge oldies), Earth Wind & Fire (too funky for the UK just yet on Mighty Mighty), Ringo Starr (his 3rd single off the album, and Oh My My it was a bit too dreary to sell) and Jimmy helms on his 3rd single, the rather good There'll be Another Night. I'm basing this on a 50-year-old memory, as I charted it, I heard it, I know I Liked it, and the Record Mirror singles review was pretty positive. Sadly, it's not on any streaming site whatsoever so there's no way of ever hearing it again unless I buy a copy off Ebay if I can find one. Doh! Please post a youtube video someone. Jimmy? You must have one!



1 ( NEW ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
2 ( 1 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
3 ( 3 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
4 ( 4 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 4
5 ( 2 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
6 ( 5 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
7 ( 17 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
8 ( 7 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
9 ( 6 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
10 ( 11 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1

11 ( 8 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
12 ( 9 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
13 ( 13 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
14 ( 14 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
15 ( 12 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
16 ( 28 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 16
17 ( 10 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
18 ( 20 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
19 ( 15 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
20 ( NEW ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 20

21 ( 18 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
22 ( 26 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 22
23 ( 16 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
24 ( 24 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
25 ( 25 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 25
26 ( 23 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
27 ( 30 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 27
28 ( 27 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
29 ( 19 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
30 ( 31 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24

31 ( 21 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
32 ( 33 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
33 ( 36 ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 33
34 ( 35 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
35 ( 29 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
36 ( 37 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 36
37 ( 44 ) MA-MA-MA BELLE - Electric Light Orchestra # 37
38 ( 32 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
39 ( 45 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 39
40 ( 38 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2

41 ( 57 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 41
42 ( 48 ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 42
43 ( 22 ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 22
44 ( 34 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18
45 ( 40 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16
46 ( 43 ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 26
47 ( NEW ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 47
48 ( 54 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 48
49 ( 39 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
50 ( 47 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1

51 ( 50 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
52 ( NEW ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 52
53 ( 46 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 35
54 ( 71 ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 54
55 ( 53 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
56 ( 52 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
57 ( 51 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
58 ( 65 ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 58
59 ( 59 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
60 ( NEW ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 60

61 ( 60 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - Gladys Knight & The Pips # 60
62 ( NEW ) THE LOCO-MOTION - Grand Funk # 62
63 ( 69 ) JAMBALAYA (ON THE BAYOU) - Carpenters # 63
64 ( 49 ) A LOVE SONG - Anne Murray # 16
65 ( NEW ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW - The Stylistics # 65
66 ( 42 ) TEENAGE DREAM - T. Rex # 25
67 ( 61 ) A LITTLE LOVIN’ - Neil Sedaka # 61
68 ( 41 ) DOCTOR’S ORDERS - Sunny # 41
69 ( NEW ) LONG LIVE LOVE - Olivia Newton-John # 69
70 ( NEW ) ONLY FOR THE CHILDREN - The Stylistics # 70

71 ( 55 ) THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD - 10cc # 15
72 ( NEW ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK - Bill Haley & His Comets # 72
73 ( 56 ) HAPPINESS IS ME AND YOU - Gilbert O’Sullivan # 56
74 ( 74 ) DON’T BLAME THE CHILDREN - Junior Walker & The All Stars # 74
75 ( 75 ) CANDLE IN THE WIND - Elton John # 75
76 ( NEW ) KEEP ON SINGING - Helen Reddy # 76
77 ( NEW ) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Jimmy Ruffin # 77
78 ( NEW ) THERE’LL BE ANOTHER NIGHT - Jimmy Helms # 78
79 ( NEW ) MIGHTY MIGHTY - Earth Wind & Fire # 79
80 ( NEW ) OH MY MY - Ringo Starr # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th March 2024, 05:28 PM

2nd March 1974

It's a very quiet debut in the world of 1974 for future disco anthem Rock The Boat, sometimes taken as the birth of the disco genre as such, and it certainly was released ahead of the one that topped the UK chart and started the ball rolling. The Hues Corporation party dance track, though, took almost 6 months to break through! Number One here, in the meantime. The New Seekers get a first top 10 since Circles 2 years earlier, giving them a 6th top 10. New in at 13 is Robert Knight's revived Everlasting Love, which charted in my 1968 retro charts 6 years ago and peaked at 11, meanwhile the strings hook for the Love Affair cover of the song was nicked by Jeff Lynne for Daybreaker (see 48).

Anne Murray drops her Love Song from the chart, but adds at 40 her Beatles cover, hot off her new album and a US single shortly - You Won't See Me got a fair amount of airplay in the UK in the summer but didn't chart. She had more US luck, and with me (top 5 in my charts of the time). The Temptations have a sudden change of style, pure 50's-ish lush ballad Heavenly, never heard it before but I rather like it, new at 47.

T. Rex drop new album Zinc Alloy (etc.) which my mate Ian bought and played to me a lot, so I got to know it pretty well in 1974, and two of the tracks drop in, Liquid Gang at 70, and the one that should have been a single at 52, Venus Loon. It's more commercial than any of the 3 actual singles Marc released that year, as he was very much on a diminishing set of returns with each single until New York City in 1975. Cat Stevens is back with US hit Oh Very Young, a decent later Cat effort, and The Ragtimers do a more upbeat cover of Marvin Hamlisch's version of Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, for a cash-in hit and a new film-related title with added banjo.


1 ( NEW ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
2 ( 1 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
3 ( 4 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
4 ( 20 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
5 ( 2 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
6 ( 5 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
7 ( 7 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
8 ( 3 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
9 ( 8 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
10 ( 6 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1

11 ( 16 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 11
12 ( 9 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
13 ( NEW ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 13
14 ( 13 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
15 ( 15 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
16 ( 14 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
17 ( 18 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
18 ( 12 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
19 ( 22 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 19
20 ( 10 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1

21 ( 11 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
22 ( 19 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
23 ( 21 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
24 ( 52 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 24
25 ( 27 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 25
26 ( 26 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
27 ( 29 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
28 ( 17 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
29 ( 39 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 29
30 ( 25 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 25

31 ( 24 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
32 ( 31 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
33 ( 32 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
34 ( 34 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
35 ( 48 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 35
36 ( 28 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
37 ( 37 ) MA-MA-MA BELLE - Electric Light Orchestra # 37
38 ( 47 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 38
39 ( 35 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
40 ( NEW ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 40

41 ( 23 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
42 ( 42 ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 42
43 ( 30 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
44 ( 36 ) DREAM KID - The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver # 36
45 ( 41 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 41
46 ( 40 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
47 ( NEW ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 47
48 ( 38 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
49 ( 44 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18
50 ( 45 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16

51 ( 60 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 51
52 ( NEW ) VENUS LOON - T. Rex # 52
53 ( 69 ) LONG LIVE LOVE - Olivia Newton-John # 53
54 ( 54 ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 54
55 ( 50 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
56 ( 33 ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 33
57 ( 58 ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 57
58 ( 62 ) THE LOCO-MOTION - Grand Funk # 58
59 ( 55 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
60 ( 59 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6

61 ( 57 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
62 ( 43 ) HOUSTON (I’M COMIN’ TO SEE YOU) - Glen Campbell # 22
63 ( 46 ) SUNDOWN - Gordon Lightfoot # 26
64 ( 49 ) SHE’S GONE - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 3
65 ( 51 ) LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder # 4
66 ( 70 ) ONLY FOR THE CHILDREN - The Stylistics # 66
67 ( 53 ) JUST MY SOUL RESPONDING - Smokey Robinson # 35
68 ( 77 ) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Jimmy Ruffin # 68
69 ( 63 ) JAMBALAYA (ON THE BAYOU) - Carpenters # 63
70 ( NEW ) LIQUID GANG - T. Rex # 70

71 ( 65 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW - The Stylistics # 65
72 ( 72 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK - Bill Haley & His Comets # 72
73 ( 56 ) FOREVER - Roy Wood # 7
74 ( 74 ) DON’T BLAME THE CHILDREN - Junior Walker & The All Stars # 74
75 ( NEW ) OH VERY YOUNG - Cat Stevens # 75
76 ( 76 ) KEEP ON SINGING - Helen Reddy # 76
77 ( 75 ) CANDLE IN THE WIND - Elton John # 75
78 ( 61 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - Gladys Knight & The Pips # 60
79 ( 79 ) MIGHTY MIGHTY - Earth Wind & Fire # 79
80 ( NEW ) THE STING - The Ragtimers # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th March 2024, 07:00 PM

9th March 1974

It's straight in on top for new release Sugar Baby Love, a future UK number one in a few months and one I charted soon as I heard it in 1974, so it had 2 runs in my charts but never quite topped in either run, and The Rubettes' never had a personal chart-topper despite some great records in a variety of styles, not just this 50's vs Four Seasons retro-sounding Glam monster. New in at 3, The Isley Brothers gorgeous cover of Seals & Croft's Summer Breeze, the guitar work alone makes it the definitive version even without Ronald Isley on vocal. So that's 8 years of retro charting for the Brothers.

There's a lot of new entries pushing some tracks unfairly down or even out, but Robert Knight gets the second version of Everlasting Love to go top 5 after this record fell short of the top 10 in the 1968 retro rundown, and Three Degrees replace themselves in the top 10 with TSOP. The Glitter Band have basically been having hits since Rock & Roll Part 2, and they step out on their own with the fab Angel Face new at 17. Who needs Gary Glitter, and it's way better than his rubbish croon Remember Me This Way out to promote his ego-fest movie at the cinema.

Neil Sedaka has his 2nd UK-based UK-only album out, Laughter In The Rain, and the lead track charts at 21, with the song about John Lennon at 33, The Immigrant. Both would be huge US hits in 1975 as Neil finally hits in his home again, and both are great ballads I rated in 74 and 75 respectively. There's loads of reactivated 50's and 60's tracks about in 1974, on a weekly basis pretty much, and a few I charted in my own charts, this week Buddy Holly's classic posthumous UK number one It Doesn't Matter Anymore entered my actual charts, one I loved, and as I havent ever done Retro 50's charts, it can qualify for my 1974 charts again, new at 27.

At 28 Dolly Parton follows Jolene with her signature tune, I Will Always Love You though was not a hit, it wasn't even played on UK radio at the time, it took a movie slot in 1983 or so (Best Little Whorehouse In Texas I think) to get noticed, and a cover version from Whitney to send it into orbit. The original is the best, by far, though. Tender and touching. Don Downing returns with one it took me 40 years to buy, Dream World, a decent slice of Northern Soul, while Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye drop the 3rd charting version of You Are Everything, after The Stylistics and The Pearls. It's slowed-down quite a bit, but good.

Steely Dan are back with cool, jazzy Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Nazareth grab a 4th with Shanghai'd In Shanghai, one I've no heard in 50 years, and it's pretty good actually. Jimmy Osmond gets his 3rd and last charting hit, another cover, the kiddie-aimed I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door, Carly Simon follows-up Mockingbird with her 7th track I think, but I haven't Got Time For The Pain of checking. Ike & Tina also return with at least a 5th, Sweet Rhode Island Red I also bought about 10 years ago.


1 ( NEW ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
2 ( 2 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
3 ( NEW ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 3
4 ( 1 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
5 ( 13 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 5
6 ( 11 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
7 ( 3 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
8 ( 4 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
9 ( 7 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
10 ( 8 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1

11 ( 9 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
12 ( 5 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
13 ( 10 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
14 ( 6 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
15 ( 12 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
16 ( 40 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 16
17 ( NEW ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 17
18 ( 17 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
19 ( 24 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 19
20 ( 25 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 20

21 ( NEW ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 21
22 ( 14 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
23 ( 15 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
24 ( 18 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
25 ( 20 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
26 ( 21 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
27 ( NEW ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 27
28 ( NEW ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 28
29 ( 29 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 29
30 ( 27 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2

31 ( 26 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
32 ( 23 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
33 ( NEW ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 33
34 ( 47 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 34
35 ( 38 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 35
36 ( 22 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
37 ( 31 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
38 ( 28 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
39 ( 19 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 19
40 ( 33 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1

41 ( 36 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
42 ( 45 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 41
43 ( 37 ) MA-MA-MA BELLE - Electric Light Orchestra # 37
44 ( 16 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
45 ( 32 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
46 ( 42 ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 42
47 ( 52 ) VENUS LOON - T. Rex # 47
48 ( 34 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
49 ( 30 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 25
50 ( 51 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 50

51 ( 70 ) LIQUID GANG - T. Rex # 51
52 ( 54 ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 52
53 ( 46 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
54 ( 41 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
55 ( 43 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
56 ( 39 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
57 ( 53 ) LONG LIVE LOVE - Olivia Newton-John # 53
58 ( 57 ) HONEY BEE - Gloria Gaynor # 57
59 ( NEW ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 59
60 ( 50 ) BILLY DON’T BE A HERO - Paper Lace # 16

61 ( 75 ) OH VERY YOUNG - Cat Stevens # 61
62 ( NEW ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 62
63 ( 68 ) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Jimmy Ruffin # 63
64 ( 58 ) THE LOCO-MOTION - Grand Funk # 58
65 ( 55 ) SHOWDOWN - Electric Light Orchestra # 1
66 ( 59 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John # 1
67 ( 48 ) DAYBREAKER - Electric Light Orchestra # 7
68 ( 60 ) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL - Charlie Rich # 6
69 ( 61 ) PHOTOGRAPH - Ringo Starr # 1
70 ( 72 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK - Bill Haley & His Comets # 70

71 ( 71 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW - The Stylistics # 65
72 ( 66 ) ONLY FOR THE CHILDREN - The Stylistics # 66
73 ( 49 ) BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks # 18
74 ( 56 ) GOING DOWN THE ROAD (A SCOTTISH REGGAE SONG) - Roy Wood # 33
75 ( NEW ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER - Steely Dan # 75
76 ( NEW ) SHANGHAI’D IN SHANGHAI - Nazareth # 76
77 ( 35 ) RHAPSODY IN WHITE - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 35
78 ( NEW ) I’M GONNA KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR - Little Jimmy Osmond # 78
79 ( NEW ) HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN - Carly Simon # 79
80 ( NEW ) SWEET RHODE ISLAND RED - Ike & Tina Turner # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 27th March 2024, 04:27 PM

16th March 1974

It's up to the top for a 3rd Isley Brothers number one, following on from This Old Heart Of Mine and Behind A Painted Smile in my 60's retro charts, just holding off Dolly Parton from her first chart-topper and second top 5 in a row, with I Will Always LOve You. Neil Sedaka's ode to John Lennon and the US immigrant tradition (of invading the land and taking it from the original residents, if one is cynical) bringing irony to the current anti-immigrant feeling of immigrants and ancestors of immigrants. Neil's other fab ballad goes top 20.

50 years ago, ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest, ABBA dropped their second album named after their entry Waterloo. I was babysitting for cash when they won, won my heart, and became an instant fan, buying the record and entering my chart at 1 in April of 1974. 50 years on it's been a constant presence to the extent that it doesn't sound fresh to me anymore, but it enters at 9 anyway with another 7 tracks listed lower down. I bought all of their singles, and in later years the albums, so expect ABBA invasions from Benny Bjorn Agnetha and Anni-Frid from now until 2032. That's marginally longer than The Beatles chart career.

Apart from ABBA, Mott The Hoople are back for their last hit, The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll - their will be loads more tracks in 1974 with rock/rock 'n' roll in the title as 50's nostalgia goes into overdrive, and Mott get their 6th chart entry in my charts with one more to come. ZZ Top debut at 63 a full 10 years early for their classic hitmaking era, but La Grange is great swamp rock boogie. Stevie Wonder gives Rufus and Chaka Khan a helping hand to US hitdom, Tell Me Something Good, one of his many giveaway songs.

That leaves minor entries for the original version of the 1975 Glen Campbell monster Rhinestone Cowboy, Etta James dropping her version of future Tom Jones movie cover from The Full Monty in the 90's, Leave Your hat On, Lois Fletcher's cover of Greyhound's UK reggae hit I Am What I Am, and Al Green's Let's Get Married, none of them having been heard by me before this week. That leaves Mungo Jerry's latest hit, Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black, sneaking in, but probably my least-fave Ray Dorset record to date at the time and still.


1 ( 3 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
2 ( 28 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
3 ( 2 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
4 ( 5 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
5 ( 1 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
6 ( 4 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
7 ( 6 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
8 ( 33 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 8
9 ( NEW ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 9
10 ( 11 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1

11 ( 10 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
12 ( 13 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
13 ( 17 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
14 ( 27 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
15 ( 12 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
16 ( 16 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 16
17 ( 7 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
18 ( 19 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 18
19 ( 18 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
20 ( 21 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 20

21 ( 9 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
22 ( 14 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
23 ( 15 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
24 ( 8 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
25 ( 22 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
26 ( 24 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
27 ( 29 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 27
28 ( 34 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 28
29 ( NEW ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 29
30 ( 35 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 30

31 ( 30 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
32 ( 26 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
33 ( 31 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
34 ( 25 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
35 ( 32 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
36 ( 36 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
37 ( NEW ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 37
38 ( 23 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
39 ( 47 ) VENUS LOON - T. Rex # 39
40 ( 20 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 20

41 ( 38 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
42 ( 37 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
43 ( 51 ) LIQUID GANG - T. Rex # 43
44 ( 40 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
45 ( 59 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 45
46 ( 41 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
47 ( 45 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
48 ( NEW ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 48
49 ( NEW ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 49
50 ( 42 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 41

51 ( 52 ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 51
52 ( 48 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
53 ( 53 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
54 ( 44 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
55 ( 54 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
56 ( 39 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 19
57 ( NEW ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 57
58 ( 55 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
59 ( 49 ) INSPIRATION - Paul Williams # 25
60 ( 43 ) MA-MA-MA BELLE - Electric Light Orchestra # 37

61 ( NEW ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 61
62 ( 62 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 62
63 ( NEW ) LA GRANGE - ZZ Top # 63
64 ( 56 ) BURN BABY BURN - Hudson-Ford # 13
65 ( 50 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 50
66 ( 46 ) IT’S YOU - Freddie Starr # 42
67 ( 76 ) SHANGHAI’D IN SHANGHAI - Nazareth # 67
68 ( 57 ) LONG LIVE LOVE - Olivia Newton-John # 53
69 ( 63 ) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Jimmy Ruffin # 63
70 ( NEW ) WATCH OUT - ABBA # 70

71 ( 61 ) OH VERY YOUNG - Cat Stevens # 61
72 ( 71 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW - The Stylistics # 65
73 ( 79 ) HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN - Carly Simon # 73
74 ( 75 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER - Steely Dan # 74
75 ( NEW ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 75
76 ( 78 ) I’M GONNA KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR - Little Jimmy Osmond # 76
77 ( NEW ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 77
78 ( 80 ) SWEET RHODE ISLAND RED - Ike & Tina Turner # 78
79 ( 70 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK - Bill Haley & His Comets # 70
80 ( NEW ) SUZY-HANG-AROUND - ABBA # 80

81 ( NEW ) LONG LEGGED WOMAN DRESSED IN BLACK - Mungo Jerry # 81
82 ( NEW ) LEAVE YOUR HAT ON - Etta James # 82
83 ( NEW ) I AM WHAT I AM - Lois Fletcher # 83
84 ( NEW ) REMEMBER ME THIS WAY - Gary Glitter # 84
85 ( NEW ) LET’S GET MARRIED - Al Green # 85

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd April 2024, 03:59 PM

23rd March 1974

It's new on top and a debut for Billy Ocean on a romping rockpop stomper that flopped twice in 1974, under the name Scorched Earth. On The Run eventually got covered by Billy in the 80's to minor chart success, but this is the only version that matters - it got a lot of play on Radio Luxembourg in 1974, and I eventually bought it after it had flopped and ended up in the bargain bins. Billy gives an amazing vocal performance to boot, and he's still got it. The other new top 10 track is The Bee Gees Mr. Natural, also a flop, but I bought the album in Cairns, Australia in 1995, along with a compilation Livin' In The 70's, with a mix of UK/US hits and Australia-only hits - including Skydiver, new at 85 for Daniel Boone, big in Aus 2 years after his UK/US hits had died out.

There's loads of ABBA climbing, causing a lot of chart drops, with 6 tracks inside the top 40, headed by Waterloo at 9 - and shockingly not at 1 yet. The late Steve Harley gets a second chart entry with Cockney Rebel's engagingly quirky Judy Teen at 23, and Limmie & The Family Cooking grab a 3rd chart hit here with A Walkin' Miracle, very 60's and cookie and crazy, to quote the lyrics new at 36. MIke Batt wombles in for a follow-up hit, Remember You're A Womble, songwriting from Mike and Chris Spedding (future hitmaker and session guitar virtuso) and with Clem Cattini on drums, 60's drummer of many a hit song. The Wombles, against all expectations, would get a long run of diverse and beautifully-Batt-produced hits.

Slade's first big ballad is in at a lowly 70, Everyday was never a favourite at the time, and signalled the end of their chart-topping run, but it's very Beatles-ey and pretty decent 50 years on. The O'Jays For The Love Of Money wasnt a hit in the UK. got zero airplay, but got sampled on Grandmaster Melle Mel's Step Off in the 80's and many others since. Also the first of 2 more Gamble & Huff tracks on the list, as the sound of Philadelphia continues to rule, with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes at 79 with Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Stevie Wonder has another album track debut (edited down a bit for the single release) on the jazzy Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing, a hit in the 90's for Incognito, I think, and Aretha gets a second on the list with I'm In Love at 81.



1 ( NEW ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
2 ( 1 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
3 ( 6 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
4 ( 5 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
5 ( 3 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
6 ( 2 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
7 ( 4 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
8 ( 8 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 8
9 ( 9 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 9
10 ( 18 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 10

11 ( 12 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
12 ( 7 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
13 ( 13 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
14 ( 14 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
15 ( 16 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15
16 ( 22 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
17 ( 11 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
18 ( 10 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
19 ( 20 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 19
20 ( 48 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 20

21 ( 37 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 21
22 ( 28 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 22
23 ( NEW ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 23
24 ( 19 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
25 ( 15 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
26 ( 49 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 26
27 ( 29 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 27
28 ( 17 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
29 ( 26 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
30 ( 21 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7

31 ( 45 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 31
32 ( 24 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
33 ( 23 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
34 ( 30 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 30
35 ( 25 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
36 ( NEW ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 36
37 ( 33 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
38 ( 38 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
39 ( 36 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
40 ( 57 ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 40

41 ( 31 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
42 ( 32 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
43 ( 35 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
44 ( 34 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
45 ( 62 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 45
46 ( 42 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
47 ( 61 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 47
48 ( 27 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 27
49 ( 40 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 20
50 ( 43 ) LIQUID GANG - T. Rex # 43

51 ( 44 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
52 ( 63 ) LA GRANGE - ZZ Top # 52
53 ( 67 ) SHANGHAI’D IN SHANGHAI - Nazareth # 53
54 ( 50 ) TOUCH A HAND (MAKE A FRIEND) - The Staple Singers # 41
55 ( 41 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
56 ( 39 ) VENUS LOON - T. Rex # 39
57 ( 47 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
58 ( 80 ) SUZY-HANG-AROUND - ABBA # 58
59 ( 46 ) IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE (BUT IN MY HEART IT’S SPRING) - Love Unlimited # 1
60 ( 52 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1

61 ( 53 ) MIND GAMES - John Lennon # 2
62 ( 58 ) ON THE LINE - Graham Nash # 24
63 ( 75 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 63
64 ( 54 ) REBEL REBEL - David Bowie # 14
65 ( 56 ) HONEY PLEASE CAN’T YA SEE - Barry White # 19
66 ( 70 ) WATCH OUT - ABBA # 66
67 ( NEW ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 67
68 ( 55 ) DO I LOVE YOU - The Tremeloes # 16
69 ( 69 ) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Jimmy Ruffin # 63
70 ( NEW ) EVERYDAY - Slade # 70

71 ( 74 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER - Steely Dan # 71
72 ( 73 ) HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN - Carly Simon # 72
73 ( NEW ) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O’Jays # 73
74 ( 77 ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 74
75 ( 51 ) I’M A TRAIN - Albert Hammond # 51
76 ( 78 ) SWEET RHODE ISLAND RED - Ike & Tina Turner # 76
77 ( 85 ) LET’S GET MARRIED - Al Green # 77
78 ( 76 ) I’M GONNA KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR - Little Jimmy Osmond # 76
79 ( NEW ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 79
80 ( NEW ) DON’T YOU WORRY ‘BOUT A THING - Stevie Wonder # 80

81 ( NEW ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 81
82 ( 82 ) LEAVE YOUR HAT ON - Etta James # 82
83 ( 83 ) I AM WHAT I AM - Lois Fletcher # 83
84 ( 81 ) LONG LEGGED WOMAN DRESSED IN BLACK - Mungo Jerry # 81
85 ( NEW ) SKYDIVER - Daniel Boone # 85

Posted by: Popchartfreak 9th April 2024, 10:52 AM

30th March 1974

It's new in top for Art Garfunkel as previews of next week's Eurovision Song Contest start on TV 50 years ago this week. Travelin' Boy is a gorgeous Paul Williams song, impeccably done by Art, giving him a first solo retro Number 1 and his 3rd in total. It's far and away the best thing he ever did in his solo career but was inexplicably not a UK hit. That leaves Mud entering at 3 with the Glam forgotten party anthem The Cat Crept In, which is in a Tiger Feet vein, but it's still fab and keeps the top 5 run going for a 5th record.

New at 11, William De Vaughan carries on from where Timmy Thomas left off on his Why can't We Live Together, another laid-back jazz-vibes moody gospel-soul slice of fabulousness, on the great Be Thankful For What You've Got. The Jackson 5 re-enter with Dancing Machine at a new peak as it starts to really sound cool funky on replay, at 46, while Don Covay debuts with his deliciously fun and upbeat It's Better To Have at 50. Alan Price has been away from the retro chart for 5 years, but grabs his 4th with Jarrow Song and a home-area Geordie-based song new at 52.

Carpenters return with a 1972-charted retro song, as it gets a belated UK release, a Hot Chocolate B side pushes up the funk and signals a sign of the future disco-era smashes, Makin' Music at 71. Chairmen Of The Board return for a 5th year in a row with a new track (to me) the edited version of the very long Life And Death In G & A, Bill Withers makes it 4 years of retro charting, Olivia Newton-John ditto, and Ray Stevens is on 6 years with his future UK chart-topper as streaking becomes global news, the new rage was to strip naked at public events, run like crazy, and get famous for 2 minutes. So Ray popped on his comedy-persona, grabbed the moment and annoyed everybody for a few weeks as the novelty song eventually out-stayed it's welcome.

New band Merlin popped up on Lift Off With Ayshea (or some other kids-programmed music-based show) with Let Me Put My Spell On You, which I took a shine to - but it got little radio play. I bought their album in the bargain bins a few years later, by which time I was largely over the record. That leaves Nilsson on a 7th year of charting, this time a vampire movie song, Daybreak, which was quite engagingly quirky but another UK flop.



1 ( NEW ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
2 ( 1 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
3 ( NEW ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
4 ( 4 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
5 ( 2 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
6 ( 8 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 6
7 ( 9 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 7
8 ( 3 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
9 ( 5 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
10 ( 6 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2

11 ( NEW ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 11
12 ( 19 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 12
13 ( 20 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 13
14 ( 14 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
15 ( 13 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
16 ( 7 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
17 ( 22 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17
18 ( 18 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
19 ( 11 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
20 ( 21 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 20

21 ( 17 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
22 ( 31 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 22
23 ( 23 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 23
24 ( 10 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 10
25 ( 27 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25
26 ( 26 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 26
27 ( 12 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
28 ( 16 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
29 ( 24 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
30 ( 36 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 30

31 ( 15 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15
32 ( 34 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 30
33 ( 40 ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 33
34 ( 39 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
35 ( 25 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
36 ( 28 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
37 ( 35 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
38 ( 32 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
39 ( 29 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
40 ( 37 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7

41 ( 38 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
42 ( 30 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
43 ( 47 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 43
44 ( 52 ) LA GRANGE - ZZ Top # 44
45 ( 33 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
46 ( RE ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 46
47 ( 45 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 45
48 ( 53 ) SHANGHAI’D IN SHANGHAI - Nazareth # 48
49 ( 41 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
50 ( NEW ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 50

51 ( 42 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
52 ( NEW ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 52
53 ( 51 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
54 ( 46 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
55 ( 63 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 55
56 ( 66 ) WATCH OUT - ABBA # 56
57 ( 48 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 27
58 ( 58 ) SUZY-HANG-AROUND - ABBA # 58
59 ( 81 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 59
60 ( 55 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1

61 ( 71 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER - Steely Dan # 61
62 ( 44 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
63 ( 67 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 63
64 ( 43 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9
65 ( 70 ) EVERYDAY - Slade # 65
66 ( 72 ) HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN - Carly Simon # 66
67 ( 73 ) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O’Jays # 67
68 ( 49 ) HELP ME - Joni Mitchell # 20
69 ( 77 ) LET’S GET MARRIED - Al Green # 69
70 ( NEW ) I WON’T LAST A DAY WITHOUT YOU - Carpenters # 70

71 ( NEW ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 71
72 ( 80 ) DON’T YOU WORRY ‘BOUT A THING - Stevie Wonder # 72
73 ( 74 ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 73
74 ( 57 ) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - John Denver # 21
75 ( 76 ) SWEET RHODE ISLAND RED - Ike & Tina Turner # 75
76 ( NEW ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 76
77 ( 79 ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 77
78 ( 60 ) SEBASTIAN - Cockney Rebel # 1
79 ( 50 ) LIQUID GANG - T. Rex # 43
80 ( 85 ) SKYDIVER - Daniel Boone # 80

81 ( NEW ) THE SAME LOVE THAT MADE ME LAUGH - Bill Withers # 81
82 ( NEW ) LET ME PUT MY SPELL ON YOU - Merlin # 82
83 ( NEW ) THE STREAK - Ray Stevens # 83
84 ( NEW ) DAYBREAK - Nilsson # 84
85 ( NEW ) IF YOU LOVE ME - Olivia Newton-John # 85

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th April 2024, 03:18 PM

6th April 1974

It's springtime, it's ABBA about to win Eurovision, and I'm about to buy Waterloo 50 years ago (and the ABBA follow-up's)...and 50 years later there's an ABBA invasion going on, but it's Paul Williams' gorgeous Travelin' Boy still on top for Art Garfunkel in my retro chart. Neil Sedaka has 2 future US monsters in the top 10, and the highest new entry is the 5th Wizzard single, the under-rated Rock 'n' Roll Winter at 9. That's 4 top 10's in a row for Wizzard, plus one for solo Roy Wood.

Ricky Wilde drops his 3rd retro chart entry at 58, the Glam-sounding Teen Wave, far and away his best record and clearly an influence on sister Kim's 80's Pop New Wave sound, as mastered by Ricky and dad Marty. Bet Kim was bopping along to this in her bedroom. Jim Stafford follow-up his Spiders & Snakes in the US with My Girl Bill, a whimsical country-ish ballad with lyrics that sounded ahead of their time till the end of the song. I recall Elton John doing guest new single reviews in Record Mirror (I think it was) and this one cropped-up with Elton saying he got all excited at the thought of two men about to ravish each other, and then the final comma, My Girl, Bill, went and ruined it. Giving us clues even in 1974, eh Elton?

Blue Mink are about to disband this time 50 years ago due to a problem manager, so Roger Cook said this Saturday, which explains why their final album got no PR, and the single Get Up flopped with no promo. Shame as it's catchy, and was part borrowed by The Rimshots' in 1975 for a minor hit. New at 78 following on from Madeline Bell's concert at London's Cadogan Hall on Saturday - I was there, Madeline's vocals are as wonderful as ever at the age of 81, and we were treated to a walk through the UK recording industry of the 60's and 70's - with Roger Cook also onstage for some hit songs, Paul Gambaccini on interview duties, Sheila Ferguson listed as part of the choir, an orchestra, songwriter Roger Greenaway in the audience, (aka David & Jonathan with Cook) and a Blue Mink stage get together with Herbie Flowers and Alan Parker. That means several UK number one songs collectively, and significant contributions to, ooh Dusty Springfield's back catalogue, Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side bassline, Bowie's Rebel Rebel riff, and a Country Music Songwriter Hall Of Fame among many other kudos and plaudits. A wonderful evening.


1 ( 1 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
2 ( 2 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
3 ( 3 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
4 ( 7 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
5 ( 5 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
6 ( 6 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 6
7 ( 10 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
8 ( 9 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
9 ( NEW ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 9
10 ( 12 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 10

11 ( 11 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 11
12 ( 13 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
13 ( 8 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
14 ( 18 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
15 ( 4 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
16 ( 20 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
17 ( 26 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 17
18 ( 23 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 18
19 ( 22 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 19
20 ( 16 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4

21 ( 32 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 21
22 ( 30 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 22
23 ( 15 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
24 ( 24 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 10
25 ( 19 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
26 ( 25 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25
27 ( 52 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 27
28 ( 17 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17
29 ( 21 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
30 ( 31 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15

31 ( 35 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
32 ( 14 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
33 ( 38 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
34 ( 34 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
35 ( 27 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
36 ( 28 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
37 ( 36 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
38 ( 29 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
39 ( 59 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 39
40 ( 43 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 40

41 ( 37 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
42 ( 41 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
43 ( 76 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 43
44 ( 46 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 44
45 ( 71 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 45
46 ( 50 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 46
47 ( 39 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
48 ( 45 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
49 ( 56 ) WATCH OUT - ABBA # 49
50 ( 40 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7

51 ( 49 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
52 ( 53 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
53 ( 54 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
54 ( 55 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 54
55 ( 33 ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 33
56 ( 47 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 45
57 ( 42 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
58 ( NEW ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 58
59 ( 51 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
60 ( 65 ) EVERYDAY - Slade # 60

61 ( 63 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 61
62 ( 57 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 27
63 ( 44 ) LA GRANGE - ZZ Top # 44
64 ( 48 ) SHANGHAI’D IN SHANGHAI - Nazareth # 48
65 ( 67 ) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O’Jays # 65
66 ( 58 ) SUZY-HANG-AROUND - ABBA # 58
67 ( 61 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER - Steely Dan # 61
68 ( 66 ) HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN - Carly Simon # 66
69 ( 60 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
70 ( 64 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9

71 ( 72 ) DON’T YOU WORRY ‘BOUT A THING - Stevie Wonder # 71
72 ( NEW ) MY GIRL BILL - Jim Stafford # 72
73 ( 73 ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 73
74 ( 81 ) THE SAME LOVE THAT MADE ME LAUGH - Bill Withers # 74
75 ( 69 ) LET’S GET MARRIED - Al Green # 69
76 ( 84 ) DAYBREAK - Nilsson # 76
77 ( 77 ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 77
78 ( NEW ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 78
79 ( 85 ) IF YOU LOVE ME - Olivia Newton-John # 79
80 ( 82 ) LET ME PUT MY SPELL ON YOU - Merlin # 80

81 ( 80 ) SKYDIVER - Daniel Boone # 80
82 ( NEW ) DON’T STAY AWAY TOO LONG - Peters & Lee # 82
83 ( 83 ) THE STREAK - Ray Stevens # 83
84 ( 62 ) DARK LADY - Cher # 1
85 ( NEW ) SEVEN DEADLY FINS - Eno # 85

Posted by: Last Dreamer 22nd April 2024, 10:11 AM

All three singles from Waterloo era were # 1s in my chart.

Honey Honey is SOTY.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd April 2024, 04:01 PM

I like them all, adored Waterloo at the time and a number one, but didnt hear the other two until 1976 on their Greatest Hits album, but Sweet Dreams' cover of Honey Honey did well for me in 1974. Ring Ring (re-vamped version) was our next single which went top 20 for me, I think, and So Long top 5. I heard Waterloo 3 times over the weekend on TV, there's just no getting away from it, ever! These days I'd rather hear the other tracks in my retro chart from the Waterloo album. Watch Out would have charted as the B side if my chart had been a top 75 at the time, though

Posted by: Last Dreamer 22nd April 2024, 07:41 PM

John, do you chart any tracks from Mamma Mia movie in 2008 year (or maybe later) ?

Amanda Seyfried cover of "Honey Honey"spent 5 weeks on the top of my chart.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd April 2024, 09:10 AM

Hi Alex, yes I charted meryl streep's Slipping Through My Fingers (top 10), as she did a lovely job on it. I also charted I've Been waiting For You from mamma Mia 2 (peak 26) and Cher's Fernando (49). I tend to go for lesser known songs. Honey Honey was a nice version though, among the best cover versions in the first film I thought

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th April 2024, 11:26 AM

13th April 1974

It's straight in at 1 for Sparks' 2nd retro-chart entry as they grab the second USA Glam-Act slot with the fabulous This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us. I went big on the record after one hearing in 1974, it was like "OMG what on Earth is that!" and I bought it as soon as it was in the shops. 50 years on and Sparks are even more revered and current as ever, influencing many, copying few. Like ABBA and Queen, my love was immediate and long-lasting from 1974 onwards. They still sound like no-one else.

It's post-Eurovision and there are 3 acts debuting, Mouth & MacNeal's I See A Star was my 2nd-fave track on the night, it came 3rd and became a UK top 10 hit for Holland. It's also the duo's 3rd retro chart entry at 67. At 84, and second in the contest, it's the wonderful Gigliola Cinquetti with her Italian number one, Alle Porte Del Sole - her English-language version of Si will be out in a few weeks and that's the version I got to know and love, so Si is absent at the mo, but it's very nearly as good as her classic 1964 winner Non Ho L'Eta Per Amarti, a childhood fave, and still the best Eurovision winner. Probably. yet I didnt rate it that much on the night, and was glad ABBA just pipped her to the victory. That leaves Radio Luxembourg playlisted Bye Bye I Love You at 85 for Irene Sheer, which almost made the UK charts, for a 5th hit from one contest, a record until the 21st century.

Allan Clarke joins his Hollies smash with a second solo entry, Sideshow, a great song and future hit covered by the Chanter Sisters, new at 65, and at 71 a song that hasn't been heard since Radio Luxembourg stopped playing it, The Man Who Turned On The World, a sort of Christian Congregation-styled hit from Friends Of St. Francis. You wont find it on any streaming platform or download site, but it still sounds pretty good on Youtube and I havent heard it in 50 years! The Rollers are back for a 3rd year of retro chart entries, with their forthcoming TV show anthem as young girls went hysterical over them. The more hysterical they got the more I went off them, but Shang-A-Lang is singalong fluff, s'OK.

The Four Tops' hits have dried up now, but the music is still good, One Chain Don't make No Prison the latest at 75, and at 77 Andy Williams follows-up his smash Solitaire with Getting Over You, a decent version of Peter Noone's much-better 1973 original single version that went top 10 here. Finally, that leaves Christopher Rainbow at 83 who got some plays on the Johnnie Walker Radio 1 show with Solid State Brain - he had a few goes at breaking through into the charts, but never quite made it.


1 ( NEW ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
2 ( 1 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
3 ( 6 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
4 ( 9 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 4
5 ( 5 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
6 ( 2 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
7 ( 7 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
8 ( 3 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
9 ( 11 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
10 ( 10 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 10

11 ( 14 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
12 ( 4 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
13 ( 39 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 13
14 ( 19 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 14
15 ( 8 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
16 ( 21 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
17 ( 13 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
18 ( 15 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
19 ( 27 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 19
20 ( 12 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12

21 ( 18 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 18
22 ( 22 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 22
23 ( 16 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
24 ( 20 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
25 ( 29 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
26 ( 25 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
27 ( 17 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 17
28 ( 40 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 28
29 ( 23 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
30 ( 32 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14

31 ( 30 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15
32 ( 33 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
33 ( 44 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 33
34 ( 28 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17
35 ( 41 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
36 ( 36 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
37 ( 35 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
38 ( 46 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 38
39 ( 58 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 39
40 ( 31 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1

41 ( 43 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 41
42 ( 45 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 42
43 ( 38 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
44 ( 24 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 10
45 ( 37 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
46 ( 26 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25
47 ( 50 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
48 ( 48 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
49 ( 54 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 49
50 ( 51 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2

51 ( 52 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
52 ( 57 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
53 ( 42 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
54 ( 34 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
55 ( 55 ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 33
56 ( 60 ) EVERYDAY - Slade # 56
57 ( 53 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8
58 ( 56 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 45
59 ( 72 ) MY GIRL BILL - Jim Stafford # 59
60 ( 61 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 60

61 ( 47 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
62 ( 78 ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 62
63 ( 49 ) WATCH OUT - ABBA # 49
64 ( 65 ) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O’Jays # 64
65 ( NEW ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 65
66 ( 59 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
67 ( NEW ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 67
68 ( 73 ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 68
69 ( 69 ) TEENAGE RAMPAGE - The Sweet # 1
70 ( 62 ) LET ME ROLL IT - Paul McCartney & Wings # 27

71 ( NEW ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 71
72 ( NEW ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 72
73 ( 77 ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 73
74 ( 74 ) THE SAME LOVE THAT MADE ME LAUGH - Bill Withers # 74
75 ( NEW ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 75
76 ( 71 ) DON’T YOU WORRY ‘BOUT A THING - Stevie Wonder # 71
77 ( NEW ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 77
78 ( 82 ) DON’T STAY AWAY TOO LONG - Peters & Lee # 78
79 ( 76 ) DAYBREAK - Nilsson # 76
80 ( 70 ) THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - Lulu featuring David Bowie # 9

81 ( 79 ) IF YOU LOVE ME - Olivia Newton-John # 79
82 ( 80 ) LET ME PUT MY SPELL ON YOU - Merlin # 80
83 ( NEW ) SOLID STATE RAINBOW - Christopher Rainbow # 83
84 ( NEW ) ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE - Gigliola Cinquetti # 84
85 ( NEW ) BYE BYE I LOVE YOU - Irene Sheer # 85

Posted by: Last Dreamer 24th April 2024, 01:11 PM

I have seven ESC entries in 1974 charts (all-time record) and it was only top 20.

Possibly on ESC week top 7 was five entries (Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom) with two European ABBA singles (Nina, Pretty Ballerina, Hasta Manana), both were # 1s.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th April 2024, 04:56 PM

My biggest Eurovision through to the 2000's was 1974, no question, too: Sweden, UK, Holland, Italy and Luxembourg charted for me. I watched it again for the first time in 50 years, there were a few other decent ones (like Germany) but the one I didnt remember that I liked best was Switzerland

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th April 2024, 09:23 AM

20th April 1974

It's a quiet week for new tracks so Art Garfunkel pops back to the top spot for a 3rd week, such a great song, and Neil Sedaka almost gets 2 top 5's from his latest (UK-only) album ahead of breaking the US big-time, while another track drops in at 85. Don Downing gets a second top 10 with the forgotten fab Northern Soul-ish Dream World, and Aretha makes it two top 10's in a row with I'm In Love, and her vocal range at the climax of the song is jaw-dropping. 7 years of retro chart biggies and counting.

Straight in at 12, Gigliola Cinquetti won the 1964 Eurovision with the timelessly wonderful Non Ho L'Eta Per Amarti, and had the misfortune to come up against ABBA with her 2nd fab ballad Si, and had to settle for runner-up. It took the English-language version to convince me it was fab, but I was convinced and that makes 5 1974 Eurovision charting tracks (both in my charts of the time, and Retro) while her Italian & Brazilian chart-topper is also up to 63.

Ricky Wilde goes top 20, and Kim really should do a cover of it (with amended lyrics) for her next project. Chairmen Of The Board almost go top 20 with a 9-minute funk-workout that doesn't let up, and The Four Tops are top 40 with another UK flop - the hits had dried up, but the quality hadn't. Blue Magic's sweet soul Sideshow is new at 46 (not the same song as Allan Clarke's, but like him it would be a hit for a later cover act - Barry Biggs in this case), and Paper Lace get a second US-history-based hit, The Night Chicago Died at 58.

Alvin Stardust gets his hat-trick as Red Dress pops in at 61 for some Glam fun, The Eagles return for a 3rd year of charting, Already Gone at 80, Kiki Dee drops her new album Loving And Free, the title track wouldn't become a chart hit until she'd topped the charts with Elton in 1976, but it's really 1974 so here it is at 81. Quo are back for 6 years of chart action with Break The Rules, more of a throwback to 1970-era Quo, at 82.


1 ( 2 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
2 ( 1 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
3 ( 4 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
4 ( 3 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
5 ( 5 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
6 ( 10 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 6
7 ( 6 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
8 ( 14 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 8
9 ( 8 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
10 ( 13 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10

11 ( 11 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
12 ( NEW ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 12
13 ( 9 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
14 ( 19 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 14
15 ( 39 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 15
16 ( 21 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16
17 ( 22 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 17
18 ( 7 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
19 ( 15 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
20 ( 18 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1

21 ( 17 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
22 ( 41 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 22
23 ( 33 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 23
24 ( 23 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
25 ( 28 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 25
26 ( 16 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
27 ( 26 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
28 ( 25 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
29 ( 24 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
30 ( 12 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4

31 ( 20 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
32 ( 38 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 32
33 ( 36 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
34 ( 29 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
35 ( 42 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 35
36 ( 43 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
37 ( 30 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
38 ( 75 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 38
39 ( 27 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 17
40 ( 34 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17

41 ( 32 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
42 ( 37 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
43 ( 65 ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 43
44 ( 45 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
45 ( 40 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
46 ( NEW ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 46
47 ( 47 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
48 ( 35 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
49 ( 51 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
50 ( 48 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6

51 ( 50 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
52 ( 60 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 52
53 ( 67 ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 53
54 ( 72 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 54
55 ( 53 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
56 ( 71 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 56
57 ( 46 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25
58 ( NEW ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 58
59 ( 59 ) MY GIRL BILL - Jim Stafford # 59
60 ( 52 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7

61 ( NEW ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 61
62 ( 31 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15
63 ( 84 ) ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE - Gigliola Cinquetti # 63
64 ( 54 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
65 ( 77 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 65
66 ( 73 ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 66
67 ( 56 ) EVERYDAY - Slade # 56
68 ( 62 ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 62
69 ( 83 ) SOLID STATE RAINBOW - Christopher Rainbow # 69
70 ( 57 ) HOMELY GIRL - The Chi-Lites # 8

71 ( 61 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
72 ( 66 ) JEALOUS MIND - Alvin Stardust # 3
73 ( 44 ) MR. NATURAL - The Bee Gees # 10
74 ( 74 ) THE SAME LOVE THAT MADE ME LAUGH - Bill Withers # 74
75 ( 55 ) GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG - ABBA # 33
76 ( 49 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY - Larry Weiss # 49
77 ( 64 ) FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - The O’Jays # 64
78 ( 78 ) DON’T STAY AWAY TOO LONG - Peters & Lee # 78
79 ( 58 ) YOU ARE EVERYTHING - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 45
80 ( NEW ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 80

81 ( NEW ) LOVING AND FREE - Kiki Dee # 81
82 ( NEW ) BREAK THE RULES - Status Quo # 82
83 ( 68 ) TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 68
84 ( 85 ) BYE BYE I LOVE YOU - Irene Sheer # 84
85 ( NEW ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 85

Posted by: Last Dreamer 30th April 2024, 09:31 AM

John, which # 1 is more official for you, from old or revamped version ?

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th April 2024, 11:30 AM

Well, my "official" chart is the original one because that's what I liked when it was all fresh and new to me, the retro chart is mainly to clarify in my head how I feel about tracks now and eventually to compile an all-time fave chart for each year, and of all-time for the 60's and 70's (and 80's and beyond if I live long enough!). I'm nearly done on chart points/sales for retro 1973 (just a few tracks still hanging around my 1974 charts) so I can compare my top 100 of the time with what I love now and see which have dropped and which have climbed. I very much seem to rate emotional ballads as I get older, thats prob an age thing

Posted by: Popchartfreak 7th May 2024, 04:23 PM

27th April 1974

It's straight in at 1 for possibly the greatest-ever Northern Soul record, Motown's R. Dean Taylor finally charts in the UK with his 1967 flop classic, There's A Ghost In My House. One of the few white acts on Motown (along with Kiki Dee who is at 76) R. Dean has already topped my retro charts with Gotta See Jane, both if which topped my original charts in 1974 - I'd bought his budget album of Greatest Hits which came out before his revival, though the version (to my dismay) of Ghost was an alternate inferior version. Gigliola Cinquetti gets her first retro top 10, the second 1974 Eurovision track to do it, with her Italian chart-topper at 48. Ricky Wilde meanwhile gets his only Retro top 10 with Teen Wave having to do until his comeback with sister Kim's Kids In America in 1981.

Two late Glam Rock acts debut this week: Showaddywaddy fresh off the TV variety competition show New Faces bring back rock'n'roll Teddy Boy outfits and a glam stomping chant on Hey Rock 'n' Roll, new at 20 and kicking off 7 years of hits, while Arrows debut at 47 with a Chinn-Chapman Touch Too Much track. American lead singer Alan Merrill, sadly late, managed to grab a huge smash along with band member Jake Hooker in 1982 courtesy of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' cover of their B Side I Love Rock 'n' Roll. I'd assume that brought in a lot more cash then Arrows 2 hits did! Mind you, they did have their own kids-hour TV music show on ITV as Lift Off With Ayshea got the chop, and The Bay City Rollers also got the same TV kiddie-aimed treatment.

Lynyrd Skynyrd take offence at Neil Young's Southern Man and in reply come up with the standard Sweet Home Alabama, the album out this week in the US, and 61 here. David Essex tries for hit number 3, and drops America - not quite as catchy as the first two - new in at 67, while Howard Werth debuts Lucinda at 72, one I rated a lot at the time as much played by Johnny Walker on his lunchtime radio show while I was listening as I revised for my CSE's and O Level exams - having done about half the syllabus after changing schools in September of 1973, so I was never going to get A's and B's as I missed out on loads of relevant lessons. Thus is the life of an RAF child. Plus side: loads of Radio 1 for the rest of the summer, so these records meant a lot to me.

The Jackson 5 follow-up UK-flopping Dancing Machine with another flop - The Boogie Man, another I bought in the 5p bargain bin later in the year, Lucinda took quite a few years to find a copy of though. Buffy Sainte-Marie I had to wait until the download era to get a copy of, Can't Believe The Feeling decent enough at 81, and her 3rd retro entry. David Cassidy meanwhile covered a standard ballad from lone before my time, If I Didn't Care, which I really didn't care about at the time, no If about it, but it sounds mildly pleasant these days to me. That leaves Nemo returning without Jonathan King's Sun Has Got His Hat On fun-parody, to his lesser parody of a better song, Paper Moon had not only been the title of a hit Ryan O'Neal movie, but it was featured in shows like MASH and others, so It's Only A Paper Moon was quite well known standard to say the least having been huge in the 30's and much-covered since. This version is not amongst the best, though....!



1 ( NEW ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
2 ( 1 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
3 ( 2 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
4 ( 3 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
5 ( 6 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
6 ( 5 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
7 ( 12 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 7
8 ( 15 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
9 ( 4 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
10 ( 8 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 8

11 ( 7 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
12 ( 9 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
13 ( 14 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
14 ( 13 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
15 ( 10 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
16 ( 11 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
17 ( 18 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
18 ( 20 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
19 ( 25 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 19
20 ( NEW ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 20

21 ( 16 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16
22 ( 17 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 17
23 ( 21 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
24 ( 58 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 24
25 ( 24 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
26 ( 22 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 22
27 ( 19 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
28 ( 56 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 28
29 ( 61 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 29
30 ( 38 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 30

31 ( 29 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
32 ( 26 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
33 ( 35 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 33
34 ( 46 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 34
35 ( 43 ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 35
36 ( 28 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
37 ( 30 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
38 ( 32 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 32
39 ( 33 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
40 ( 27 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1

41 ( 36 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
42 ( 34 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
43 ( 37 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
44 ( 31 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
45 ( 44 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
46 ( 41 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
47 ( NEW ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 47
48 ( 63 ) ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE - Gigliola Cinquetti # 48
49 ( 39 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 17
50 ( 52 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 50

51 ( 53 ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 51
52 ( 40 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17
53 ( 54 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 53
54 ( 47 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
55 ( 45 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
56 ( 49 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
57 ( 42 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
58 ( 51 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
59 ( 50 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
60 ( 57 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25

61 ( NEW ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 61
62 ( 68 ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 62
63 ( 48 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
64 ( 55 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
65 ( 65 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 65
66 ( 23 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 23
67 ( NEW ) AMERICA - David Essex # 67
68 ( 80 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 68
69 ( 69 ) SOLID STATE RAINBOW - Christopher Rainbow # 69
70 ( 66 ) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes # 66

71 ( 62 ) YOU WON’T SEE ME - Anne Murray # 15
72 ( NEW ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 72
73 ( 60 ) SCHOOL LOVE - Barry Blue # 7
74 ( 74 ) THE SAME LOVE THAT MADE ME LAUGH - Bill Withers # 74
75 ( 71 ) TIGER FEET - Mud # 1
76 ( 81 ) LOVING AND FREE - Kiki Dee # 76
77 ( 59 ) MY GIRL BILL - Jim Stafford # 59
78 ( 78 ) DON’T STAY AWAY TOO LONG - Peters & Lee # 78
79 ( NEW ) THE BOOGIE MAN - The Jackson 5 # 79
80 ( 82 ) BREAK THE RULES - Status Quo # 80

81 ( NEW ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 81
82 ( 64 ) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Candlewick Green # 7
83 ( 85 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 83
84 ( NEW ) IF I DIDN’T CARE - David Cassidy # 84
85 ( NEW ) PAPER MOON - Nemo aka Jonathan King # 85

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th May 2024, 01:45 PM

4th May 1974

It's 2 weeks on top for R. Dean Taylor as another Northern Soul track also climbs to 7 for Don Downing, both are great club tracks, Wigan or not Wigan. Showaddywaddy grab a Glam top 10 before they move into Retro Singalonga Rock'n'Roll, and the highest new entry comes from Cher, her latest melodrama Train Of Thought in at 31 and sounding good after not hearing it for decades.

The biggest-climber is Sweet Home Alabama, I might not agree with the lyrics entirely but it's certainly a Souther Rock classic, and The Setroit Spinners pop back again with a lesser known song, I'm Coming Home at 73 was one I don't recall from the the time. Tom The Peeper is one I did know, but didn't chart and had forgotten all about. It's pretty decent considering the subject matter wouldn't get radio play these days for risk of offending.

Cliff's country ballad bored me a lot that summer, but it's not too bad actually and (You Keep Me) Hanging On is in at 81, while Kool & The Gang, the now-late Melanie and The Jackson 5 B side all add to their growing list of Retro Chart entries.


1 ( 1 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
2 ( 3 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
3 ( 2 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
4 ( 4 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
5 ( 5 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
6 ( 7 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6
7 ( 10 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7
8 ( 11 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
9 ( 8 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
10 ( 20 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10

11 ( 9 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
12 ( 6 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
13 ( 28 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 13
14 ( 18 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
15 ( 12 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
16 ( 29 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 16
17 ( 24 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 17
18 ( 26 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 18
19 ( 13 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
20 ( 16 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1

21 ( 23 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
22 ( 14 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
23 ( 21 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16
24 ( 17 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
25 ( 15 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
26 ( 33 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 26
27 ( 27 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
28 ( 47 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
29 ( 25 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
30 ( 30 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 30

31 ( NEW ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 31
32 ( 61 ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 32
33 ( 34 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 33
34 ( 31 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
35 ( 36 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
36 ( 32 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
37 ( 51 ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 37
38 ( 35 ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 35
39 ( 42 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
40 ( 22 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 17

41 ( 40 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
42 ( 39 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
43 ( 44 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
44 ( 48 ) ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE - Gigliola Cinquetti # 44
45 ( 72 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 45
46 ( 43 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
47 ( 41 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
48 ( 19 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 19
49 ( 45 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
50 ( 38 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 32

51 ( 37 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
52 ( 53 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 52
53 ( 46 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
54 ( 67 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 54
55 ( 62 ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 55
56 ( 56 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
57 ( 58 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
58 ( 65 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 58
59 ( 59 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
60 ( 63 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1

61 ( 55 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
62 ( 57 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
63 ( 49 ) HASTA MANANA - ABBA # 17
64 ( 81 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 64
65 ( 69 ) SOLID STATE BRAIN - Christopher Rainbow # 65
66 ( 60 ) MY MAMA SAID - ABBA # 25
67 ( 54 ) WHEN THE MORNING COMES - Daryl Hall & John Oates # 7
68 ( 68 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 68
69 ( 50 ) REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE - The Wombles # 50
70 ( 52 ) HEAVENLY - The Temptations # 17

71 ( 83 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 71
72 ( 84 ) IF I DIDN’T CARE - David Cassidy # 72
73 ( NEW ) I’M COMING HOME - The Detroit Spinners # 73
74 ( 78 ) DON’T STAY AWAY TOO LONG - Peters & Lee # 74
75 ( 76 ) LOVING AND FREE - Kiki Dee # 75
76 ( 85 ) PAPER MOON - Nemo aka Jonathan King # 76
77 ( 64 ) DEVIL GATE DRIVE - Suzi Quatro # 2
78 ( 80 ) BREAK THE RULES - Status Quo # 78
79 ( 79 ) THE BOOGIE MAN - The Jackson 5 # 79
80 ( NEW ) TOM THE PEEPER - Act One # 80

81 ( NEW ) (YOU KEEP ME) HANGING ON - Cliff Richard # 81
82 ( 66 ) DANCING MACHINE - The Jackson 5 # 23
83 ( NEW ) HOLLYWOOD SWINGING - Kool & The Gang # 83
84 ( NEW ) LOVE TO LOSE AGAIN - Melanie # 84
85 ( NEW ) DON’T LET YOUR BABY CATCH YOU - The Jackson 5 # 85

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st May 2024, 01:27 PM

11th May 1974

It's straight in on top for Bryan Ferry's re-imagining of Dobie Gray's 60's minor classic, The In Crowd, back now with massive horns underpinning the Glam stomp to give Bryan a second chart-topper after Virginia Plain did the biz for Roxy Music 2 years ago. Disco, though annnounces the forthcoming scene change via George McCrae's Rock Your Baby entering at 3 as it debuts in the US R'n'B/soul charts. Written & Produced by Howard Casey aka KC & his Sunshine Band, it really did light the blue-touch-paper of genre change of disco ruling.

New at 6, Central Park Arrest was written by Lynsey De Paul, specifically for Thunderthighs, the UK trio of singers who had already hit the charts with Lou Reed (Walk On The Wild Side) and Mott The Hoople (Roll Away The Stone), and it's a lush monster dramatic sound of TV cop themes, and sounds, based around a fictional arrest of a flasher in New York. Deserved to be much bigger than it was, and it would turn up on the B side of No Honestly for Lynsey in a few months. Meanwhile, she drops in herself on Barry Blue's disco album track cover of Neil Sedaka's One Way Ticket - obviously the inspiration for Eruption's future disco hit cover in 1979. There are 4 Neil Sedaka songs now in the chart.

Alvin Stardust makes it 3 top 10's in a row, and Cozy Powell gets his second intrumental banging drum rock track, The Man In Black at 16, while another Philadelphia classic debuts quietly at 49 for The Three Degrees, their 3rd on the current chart and 5th to date - When Will I See You Again will be huge everywhere, but it was never as good as Year Of Decision to me. The Pearls have been dropping minor UK hits for 2 years, but finally get the big one with Guilty, new at 69, and their 5th charter here, but again not as good as their earlier stuff for me.

Slade do their best Beatles tribute to date, and Noddy's had a fair old go before with his John Lennon soundalikes, but really go the whole hog on When The Lights Are Out, the best track on Old New Borrowed And Blue album - my brother bought it so I got to hear it a few times, and this one was my fave. C.C.S. grab a 6th single placing with Hurricane Coming - not one I remember hearing at the time, but it's good, and they get a 5th consecutive year of charting.


1 ( NEW ) THE IN CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
2 ( 1 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
3 ( NEW ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 3
4 ( 2 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
5 ( 3 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
6 ( NEW ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 6
7 ( 6 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6
8 ( 4 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
9 ( 7 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7
10 ( 16 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10

11 ( 9 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
12 ( 5 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
13 ( 15 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
14 ( 14 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
15 ( 8 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
16 ( NEW ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 16
17 ( 13 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 13
18 ( 10 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
19 ( 12 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
20 ( 11 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3

21 ( 20 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
22 ( 21 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
23 ( 19 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
24 ( 25 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
25 ( 24 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
26 ( 30 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 26
27 ( 31 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 27
28 ( 17 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 17
29 ( 23 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16
30 ( 27 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1

31 ( 45 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 31
32 ( 32 ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 32
33 ( 28 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
34 ( 35 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
35 ( 34 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
36 ( 29 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
37 ( 71 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 37
38 ( 36 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
39 ( 68 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 39
40 ( 38 ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 35

41 ( 33 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 33
42 ( 43 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
43 ( 18 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 18
44 ( 37 ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 37
45 ( 39 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
46 ( 52 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 46
47 ( 42 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
48 ( 41 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
49 ( NEW ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 49
50 ( 22 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9

51 ( 54 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 51
52 ( 40 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 17
53 ( 26 ) MAKIN’ MUSIC - Hot Chocolate # 26
54 ( 47 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
55 ( 56 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
56 ( 51 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
57 ( 53 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
58 ( 58 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 58
59 ( 64 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 59
60 ( 49 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3

61 ( 60 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
62 ( 57 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
63 ( 46 ) IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE - Buddy Holly # 14
64 ( 62 ) T.S.O.P. (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA) - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 6
65 ( 65 ) SOLID STATE BRAIN - Christopher Rainbow # 65
66 ( 59 ) BLAZING SADDLES - Frankie Laine # 6
67 ( 48 ) THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Mott The Hoople # 19
68 ( 50 ) IT’S BETTER TO HAVE (AND DON’T NEED) - Don Covay # 32
69 ( NEW ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 69
70 ( 75 ) LOVING AND FREE - Kiki Dee # 70

71 ( 44 ) ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE - Gigliola Cinquetti # 44
72 ( 55 ) GET UP - Blue Mink # 55
73 ( 61 ) SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE - Queen # 1
74 ( 81 ) (YOU KEEP ME) HANGING ON - Cliff Richard # 74
75 ( 72 ) IF I DIDN’T CARE - David Cassidy # 72
76 ( 76 ) PAPER MOON - Nemo aka Jonathan King # 76
77 ( 73 ) I’M COMING HOME - The Detroit Spinners # 73
78 ( 78 ) BREAK THE RULES - Status Quo # 78
79 ( NEW ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 79
80 ( NEW ) HURRICANE COMING - C.C.S. # 80

81 ( NEW ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 81
82 ( 83 ) HOLLYWOOD SWINGING - Kool & The Gang # 82
83 ( 84 ) LOVE TO LOSE AGAIN - Melanie # 83
84 ( 79 ) THE BOOGIE MAN - The Jackson 5 # 79
85 ( 80 ) TOM THE PEEPER - Act One # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th May 2024, 11:04 AM

18th May 1974

It's a disco climb to the top spot for George McCrae with his game-changing global smash, as Cozy Powell makes it 2 top retro 10's in a row with The Man In Black up to 6. Highest new entry is John Denver's only big UK hit, Annie's Song at 7, but he's had quite a few retro faves already by this stage, not least Rocky Mountain High. I rate John WAY higher than I did at the time, his body of work has aged very well - just ask Lana Del Ray.

Cher makes it another retro top 10 with Train Of Thought, another drama goodie, her 4th solo top tenner, with another 2 or 3 with Sonny. Elton John is back again new at 22, this time with future UK chart-topper (with George Michael in the 90's) Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, one I didn't like much at the time before getting into it in the early 90's on a CD re-issue, before the George Michael duet ruined it again - it just got over-played.

It's a quite week for newies, so the chart gets chopped down to 80, and there's a little cluster down the bottom end, The Scaffold's Liverpool Lou brings a first retro (and actual UK) chart for them since 1969, another one I wasnt fussed about (it's no Lily The Pink) but it's all but vanished from existence since it was a hit. Bad Company is basically Free's Paul Rodger's on vocals and drummer Simon Kirke, Mott's Mick Ralph on guitar, and King Crimson's Peter Grant on bass - and Can't Get Enough isn't as good as any of those bands best work. Didn't like it at the time, and it hasn't aged that well either, but it sneaks in along with 2 flop obscurities that I liked at the time, then they sank without trace.

1 ( 3 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
2 ( 2 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
3 ( 1 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
4 ( 6 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
5 ( 4 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
6 ( 16 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
7 ( NEW ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
8 ( 5 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
9 ( 27 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
10 ( 7 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6

11 ( 11 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
12 ( 10 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
13 ( 8 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
14 ( 13 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
15 ( 15 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
16 ( 14 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
17 ( 9 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7
18 ( 19 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
19 ( 31 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 19
20 ( 18 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10

21 ( 22 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
22 ( NEW ) DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - Elton John # 22
23 ( 37 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 23
24 ( 21 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
25 ( 20 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
26 ( 12 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
27 ( 25 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
28 ( 24 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
29 ( 28 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 17
30 ( 32 ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 30

31 ( 30 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
32 ( 34 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
33 ( 35 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
34 ( 49 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 34
35 ( 23 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
36 ( 39 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 36
37 ( 41 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 33
38 ( 58 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38
39 ( 46 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 39
40 ( 17 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 13

41 ( 26 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 26
42 ( 59 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 42
43 ( 42 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
44 ( 36 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
45 ( 33 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
46 ( 38 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
47 ( 45 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
48 ( 51 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 48
49 ( 50 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
50 ( 29 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16

51 ( 40 ) SIDESHOW - Allan Clarke # 35
52 ( 69 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 52
53 ( 55 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
54 ( 57 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
55 ( 81 ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 55
56 ( 65 ) SOLID STATE BRAIN - Christopher Rainbow # 56
57 ( 56 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
58 ( 47 ) YEAR OF DECISION - The Three Degrees # 2
59 ( 79 ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 59
60 ( 77 ) I’M COMING HOME - The Detroit Spinners # 60

61 ( 83 ) LOVE TO LOSE AGAIN - Melanie # 61
62 ( 48 ) THESE DAYS - Ian Matthews # 1
63 ( 44 ) I SEE A STAR - Mouth & MacNeal # 37
64 ( 62 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
65 ( 61 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
66 ( 54 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
67 ( 70 ) LOVING AND FREE - Kiki Dee # 67
68 ( 60 ) SOUND YOUR FUNKY HORN - K.C. & The Sunshine Band # 3
69 ( 52 ) A WALKIN’ MIRACLE - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 17
70 ( 74 ) (YOU KEEP ME) HANGING ON - Cliff Richard # 70

71 ( 76 ) PAPER MOON - Nemo aka Jonathan King # 71
72 ( 80 ) HURRICANE COMING - C.C.S. # 72
73 ( 75 ) IF I DIDN’T CARE - David Cassidy # 72
74 ( 78 ) BREAK THE RULES - Status Quo # 74
75 ( 43 ) LIFE AND DEATH IN G & A PARTS 1 & 2 - Chairmen Of The Board # 18
76 ( NEW ) LIVERPOOL LOU - The Scaffold # 76
77 ( 82 ) HOLLYWOOD SWINGING - Kool & The Gang # 77
78 ( NEW ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH - Bad Company # 78
79 ( NEW ) MIDNIGHT FORTUNE - Tranquility # 79
80 ( NEW ) SEE YA LATER (LITTLE BABY LOVE) - Smiffy # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 1st June 2024, 04:03 PM

25th May 1974

It's straight in at 1 for 10cc and their classic Wall Street Shuffle, still relevant. for a 3rd number one, and the entirety of their second album Sheet Music also enters the chart, bar the next single and the previous single: that means the menacing Baron Samedi at 7, the portentous and sadly beautiful Old Wild Men at 13, the track that should have been single number 3, Hotel, at 26, and the track that will crop up again as the intro to I'm Mandy Fly Me, Clockwork Creep at 49. Other tracks sneak in lower down, it's a brilliant album, but as people don't like smart-arses with a sense of humour and complex song construction, it's not regarded as a 70's essential, and it should be.

In at 3, another UK records hit soon, it's The First Class with their 60's Beach Boys wall-of-sound/Summer Of Love throwback, Beach baby. A great production, the band was created by John Carter, of 60's hitmakers The Ivy League, The Flowerpot Men and New Vaudeville Band, and Chas Mills, and featured songs co-written by Carter & his wife Jill Shakespeare, while they brought old buddy lead singer Tony Burrows. Burrows also featured as singer in The Ivy League, The Flowerpot Men, Brotherhood Of Man, The Pipkins, White Plains, and Edison Lighthouse - so Beach baby is his last Retro chart hurrah after a 7-year run including a number one with Love Grows in 1970, and it equals the number 3 peak of Let's Go To San Fransisco in my 1967 Retro charts.

Debuting at 17, synth/soul funk instrumental classic Machine Gun gives The Commodores a first untypical hit. Suffice to say, Lionel Richie will be dominating the band output inside 3 years. Lynsey De Paul enters for a 3rd chart year in a row with the 60's Girl Group retro charm of Ooh I Do at 39 - which gives her three on the chart, as co-writer of Central Park Arrest, and co-singer of album track One Way Ticket with Barry Blue. Terry Jacks follows-up his monster cover with another cover - the Jacques Brel song already charted by Dusty Springfield. It's nowhere near as good.

The Whispers announce an early presence a good 6 years ahead of a UK hit, but Bingo is pretty good 70's disco at 72.


1 ( NEW ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
2 ( 2 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
3 ( NEW ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 3
4 ( 3 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
5 ( 5 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
6 ( 1 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
7 ( NEW ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
8 ( 7 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
9 ( 4 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
10 ( 9 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9

11 ( 6 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
12 ( 8 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
13 ( NEW ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 13
14 ( 14 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
15 ( 12 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
16 ( 10 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6
17 ( NEW ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 17
18 ( 13 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
19 ( 16 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
20 ( 17 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7

21 ( 18 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
22 ( 22 ) DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - Elton John # 22
23 ( 23 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 23
24 ( 11 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
25 ( 15 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
26 ( NEW ) HOTEL - 10cc # 26
27 ( 21 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
28 ( 28 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
29 ( 34 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 29
30 ( 25 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3

31 ( 31 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
32 ( 27 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
33 ( 42 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 33
34 ( 19 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 19
35 ( 20 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
36 ( 39 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 36
37 ( 24 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
38 ( 35 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
39 ( NEW ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 39
40 ( 26 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5

41 ( 37 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 33
42 ( 36 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 36
43 ( 48 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 43
44 ( 43 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
45 ( 33 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
46 ( 32 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
47 ( 45 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
48 ( 44 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
49 ( NEW ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 49
50 ( 52 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 50

51 ( 38 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38
52 ( 55 ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 52
53 ( 46 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
54 ( 56 ) SOLID STATE BRAIN - Christopher Rainbow # 54
55 ( 29 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 17
56 ( 53 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
57 ( 66 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
58 ( 47 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
59 ( 54 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
60 ( 30 ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 30

61 ( 59 ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 59
62 ( 60 ) I’M COMING HOME - The Detroit Spinners # 60
63 ( 49 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT - William De Vaughan # 9
64 ( NEW ) IF YOU GO AWAY - Terry Jacks # 64
65 ( 41 ) ONE CHAIN DON’T MAKE NO PRISON - The Four Tops # 26
66 ( 64 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
67 ( 57 ) WATERLOO - ABBA # 4
68 ( 50 ) JUDY TEEN - Cockney Rebel # 16
69 ( 61 ) LOVE TO LOSE AGAIN - Melanie # 61
70 ( 65 ) BAND ON THE RUN - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1

71 ( 72 ) HURRICANE COMING - C.C.S. # 71
72 ( NEW ) BINGO - The Whispers # 72
73 ( 40 ) THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD - The Friends Of St. Francis # 13
74 ( 79 ) MIDNIGHT FORTUNE - Tranquility # 74
75 ( 76 ) LIVERPOOL LOU - The Scaffold # 75
76 ( 70 ) (YOU KEEP ME) HANGING ON - Cliff Richard # 70
77 ( NEW ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 77
78 ( NEW ) OH EFFENDI - 10cc # 78
79 ( NEW ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 79
80 ( NEW ) THE SACRO-ILIAC - 10cc # 80

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th June 2024, 11:27 AM

1st June 1974

It's up to the top spot for The First Class and the retro surf 60's delight of Beach Baby, it even fades out to Let's Go To San Fransisco, their previous hit under the name The Flowerpot Men, outdoing that track by 2 Retro Chart places and giving Tony Burrows a second retro chart-topper, after lead-singing 1970's Love Grows from Edison Lighthouse. Talking of 60's tracks, R.Dean Taylor holds at 2 with his Motown masterpiece, and two former retro chart-toppers return at 3 and 4: Young Girl now giving Gary Puckett top billing, and The Monkees' I'm A Believer from 1968 and 1967 respectively, both massive faves in my 1974 record collection. Young Girl had just topped (or was about to top) Radio One's All-Time Listener's Poll - how times change - while the Monkees classic was their only entry on the top 100 list, and had been re-issued along with their garage rock-sounding TV theme tune on the B side. All 3 made my charts of the time and so return now, with Monkees Theme debuting at 15.

Ronnie Lane returns with his 2nd UK hit, the gentle folksy The Poacher at 19, and that Glitter man is back after flopping with the rubbish ballad here, Always Yours a return to upbeat Glitter Rock form, in at 20. The Drifters return with a 2nd new hit, and which sounds pretty much like their several 60's reissues, bar the rock lift from Live And Let Die, in at 72, leaving Leo Sayer with a modest 3rd retro entry at 74 - One Man Band.


1 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
2 ( 2 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
3 ( NEW ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
4 ( NEW ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 4
5 ( 1 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
6 ( 5 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
7 ( 4 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
8 ( 6 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
9 ( 7 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
10 ( 9 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4

11 ( 13 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 11
12 ( 8 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
13 ( 12 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
14 ( 17 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
15 ( NEW ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 15
16 ( 11 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
17 ( 10 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
18 ( 26 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
19 ( NEW ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 19
20 ( NEW ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20

21 ( 23 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 21
22 ( 22 ) DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - Elton John # 22
23 ( 15 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
24 ( 19 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
25 ( 21 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
26 ( 14 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
27 ( 39 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 27
28 ( 27 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
29 ( 29 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 29
30 ( 16 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6

31 ( 37 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
32 ( 25 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
33 ( 31 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
34 ( 32 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
35 ( 30 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
36 ( 18 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
37 ( 20 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7
38 ( 24 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
39 ( 28 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
40 ( 50 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 40

41 ( 46 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
42 ( 44 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
43 ( 45 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
44 ( 48 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
45 ( 35 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
46 ( 38 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
47 ( 40 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
48 ( 49 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 48
49 ( 61 ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 49
50 ( 34 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 19

51 ( 51 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38
52 ( 52 ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 52
53 ( 33 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 33
54 ( 47 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
55 ( 43 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 43
56 ( 56 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
57 ( 41 ) SIDESHOW - Blue Magic # 33
58 ( 57 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
59 ( 42 ) ALREADY GONE - The Eagles # 36
60 ( 72 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 60

61 ( 53 ) JOHNNY AND THE JUKEBOX - Pearly Gates # 16
62 ( 64 ) IF YOU GO AWAY - Terry Jacks # 62
63 ( 36 ) SHANG-A-LANG - Bay City Rollers # 36
64 ( 62 ) I’M COMING HOME - The Detroit Spinners # 60
65 ( 66 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
66 ( 58 ) ANGEL FACE - The Glitter Band # 13
67 ( 60 ) SWEET HOME ALABAMA - Lynyrd Skynrd # 30
68 ( 55 ) THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace # 17
69 ( 71 ) HURRICANE COMING - C.C.S. # 69
70 ( 77 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 70

71 ( 59 ) I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU - The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul # 4
72 ( NEW ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 72
73 ( 79 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 73
74 ( NEW ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 74
75 ( 78 ) OH EFFENDI - 10cc # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th June 2024, 01:29 PM

8th June 1974

50 years ago CSE's were out the way and I was well into O' Level GCE revising and exams. Beach baby never quite topped my personal charts of the time, but half a century on it goes one spot higher for a second week at 1 for The First Class. My chart then was very 60's at the top end, and it is still now, for that week. 10cc replace themselves in the top 10 with the touching Old Wild Men, still on the tour setlist in 2024.

Ronnie lane gets a first solo top 10, Charles Aznavour does what he failed to do at the time - make my charts, and high to boot new in at 17 with She, the theme tune to an ITV drama I never watched, something like Seven Faces Of Woman, and the song really annoyed me. After Elvis Costello covered it for the Notting Hill movie, I had a complete turnabout on the original - it's lovely! Neil Sedaka makes it 3 top 20's inside 2 months, meanwhile.

If there was one word to represent 1974 charts that word would be Rock - it was in every bloody hit record, seemingly, and not in the musical genre way half the time. Andy Kim, for example, wants to be rocked gently in a Neil Diamond stylee at 28: but Andy totally deserved a massive hit by this time - he'd had many US middling hits in his solo career of the late 60's and early 70's before hitting it big with Rock Me Gently, but he;d also written many songs for others, not least loads for bubblegum cartoon group The Archies (I've bought them all, pretty much) and most-famously Sugar Sugar.

Hudson-Ford are on hit number 4, with the gentle folky Floating In The Wind, 5th if one counts The Strawbs Part Of The Union, while Roberta Flack adds to her tally with the gentle sultry jazzy Feel Like Makin' Love at 55, and Rupert Holmes debuts at 57 with Our National Pastime. Rupert will hit it big in 1979, but I was an early convert to his whimsical tunes, buying this single in late 1974 - it's basically the American dating game set to a laid-back version of the US National Anthem tune, both amusing and sweet.

It's the final single for this line-up of The New Seekers, Sing Hallelujah unexpectedly flopped, despite being a film theme tune. I didn't rate it at the time, but it's got more than a hint of Greek instruments about and it's surprisingly not bad at all, after all. New at 63. That leaves a few down t'bottom end of the chart: Mott The Hoople's final single, Foxy Foxy, Robert Knight's final chart single (in my charts), his 4th, The Wombles on hit number 3 as Mike Batt goes calypso, Banana Rock. The Wombles have an unreleased surf track from the vaults out at the moment (June 2024). Finally, Bowie's back with a new single and album, Diamond Dogs. I was not impressed. Still aren't. Roll on Plastic White Soul Bowie I say!


1 ( 1 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
2 ( 4 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
3 ( 2 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
4 ( 3 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
5 ( 5 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
6 ( 6 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
7 ( 19 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
8 ( 7 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
9 ( 8 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
10 ( 11 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 10

11 ( 10 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
12 ( 12 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
13 ( 13 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
14 ( 15 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 14
15 ( 9 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
16 ( 14 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
17 ( NEW ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 17
18 ( 21 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 18
19 ( 29 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 19
20 ( 20 ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20

21 ( 27 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 21
22 ( 18 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
23 ( 17 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
24 ( 16 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
25 ( 24 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
26 ( 25 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
27 ( 23 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
28 ( NEW ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 28
29 ( 28 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
30 ( 26 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3

31 ( 30 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6
32 ( 40 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 32
33 ( 34 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
34 ( 32 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
35 ( 31 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
36 ( 48 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 36
37 ( 41 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
38 ( 43 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
39 ( 47 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
40 ( 42 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12

41 ( 44 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
42 ( 36 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
43 ( 39 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
44 ( 38 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
45 ( 35 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
46 ( NEW ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 46
47 ( 74 ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 47
48 ( 45 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
49 ( 22 ) DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - Elton John # 22
50 ( 33 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1

51 ( 56 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
52 ( 51 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38
53 ( 53 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 33
54 ( 60 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 54
55 ( NEW ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 55
56 ( 70 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 56
57 ( NEW ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 57
58 ( 54 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
59 ( 52 ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 52
60 ( 62 ) IF YOU GO AWAY - Terry Jacks # 60

61 ( 49 ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 49
62 ( 37 ) DREAM WORLD - Don Downing # 7
63 ( NEW ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 63
64 ( 73 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 64
65 ( 72 ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 65
66 ( 50 ) LUCINDA - Howard Werth # 19
67 ( 58 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
68 ( 65 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
69 ( 46 ) JARROW SONG - Alan Price # 13
70 ( 55 ) AMERICA - David Essex # 43

71 ( 69 ) HURRICANE COMING - C.C.S. # 69
72 ( NEW ) FOXY FOXY - Mott The Hoople # 72
73 ( NEW ) BANANA ROCK - The Wombles # 73
74 ( NEW ) DIAMOND DOGS - David Bowie # 74
75 ( NEW ) BETTER GET READY FOR LOVE - Robert Knight # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th June 2024, 03:14 PM

15th June 1974

It's 50 years ago and the weather was hot, exams were almost done, and there's two new entries at the top as the music scene otherwise quietens down with not a lot of new stuff of quality coming out. Debuting with their greatest record (and flop) it's Pilot and Just A Smile - they'd have a UK number one inside 7 months but this sound came out of nowhere, excited me, and this was the better song than anything that came afterward, and they had a pretty good run of singles. In at 2, it's Johnny Bristol, with his soul smash Hang On In There Baby, what a great song and performance - and as covered in the 90's by Curiosity (Killed The Cat). Johnny was a long-time songwriter grabbing his moment of fame, and he'd be back very soon with a big song recorded by a boy band. More than once.

Charles Aznavour is up to 5 with the wonderful She, The Monkees get a double-sided double in the top 10, and the lead singer of The Rubettes (on Sugar Baby Love only) follows up the smash with his forgotten, ball-splitting vocal performance on the pretty fine Your Baby Ain't Your Baby Anymore - Paul Da Vinci at 21. If looks weren't important in the music biz, he'd have had more hits, but it was the remaining Rubettes that had the session-musician and songwriting talent (after they dumped the forthcoming hit machine pop smash songwriters) and the looks, by and large.

Meanwhile Abba's Honey Honey gets covered by Polly Brown and Tony Jackson, both hitmakers in other guises, and joins ABBA in the chart for Sweet Dreams at 58. It was, needless to say, the first version I heard of the song, and I rather liked it a lot. Finally Suzi Q is back with a less poppy rock track, Too Big something of an odd decision for a single I always felt.



1 ( NEW ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
2 ( NEW ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 2
3 ( 1 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
4 ( 3 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
5 ( 17 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
6 ( 5 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
7 ( 6 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
8 ( 4 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
9 ( 2 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
10 ( 14 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 10

11 ( 9 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
12 ( 10 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 10
13 ( 12 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
14 ( 13 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
15 ( 7 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
16 ( 8 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
17 ( 16 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
18 ( 22 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
19 ( 21 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
20 ( 11 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4

21 ( NEW ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 21
22 ( 15 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
23 ( 24 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
24 ( 20 ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20
25 ( 28 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 25
26 ( 25 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
27 ( 36 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 27
28 ( 18 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 18
29 ( 29 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
30 ( 31 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6

31 ( 19 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 19
32 ( 46 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 32
33 ( 57 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 33
34 ( 30 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
35 ( 23 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
36 ( 26 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
37 ( 33 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
38 ( 32 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 32
39 ( 63 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 39
40 ( 34 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1

41 ( 27 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
42 ( 35 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
43 ( 39 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
44 ( 40 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
45 ( 47 ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 45
46 ( 55 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 46
47 ( 38 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
48 ( 37 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
49 ( 50 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
50 ( 42 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3

51 ( 41 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
52 ( 54 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 52
53 ( 51 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
54 ( 48 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
55 ( 58 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
56 ( 56 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 56
57 ( 64 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 57
58 ( NEW ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 58
59 ( 60 ) IF YOU GO AWAY - Terry Jacks # 59
60 ( 52 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38

61 ( 61 ) WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT - Slade # 49
62 ( 59 ) ONE WAY TICKET (TO THE BLUES) - Barry Blue featuring Lynsey De Paul # 52
63 ( 68 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
64 ( 45 ) THE IMMIGRANT - Neil Sedaka # 3
65 ( 65 ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 65
66 ( 43 ) I’M IN LOVE - Aretha Franklin # 10
67 ( 67 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
68 ( 44 ) TEEN WAVE - Ricky Wilde # 8
69 ( 73 ) BANANA ROCK - The Wombles # 69
70 ( 53 ) CAN’T BELIEVE THE FEELING - Buffy Sainte-Marie # 33

71 ( 49 ) DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - Elton John # 22
72 ( 72 ) FOXY FOXY - Mott The Hoople # 72
73 ( 75 ) BETTER GET READY FOR LOVE - Robert Knight # 73
74 ( 74 ) DIAMOND DOGS - David Bowie # 74
75 ( NEW ) TOO BIG - Suzi Quatro # 75

Posted by: Last Dreamer 25th June 2024, 06:33 PM

Lynsey De Paul had 9 number ones in my chart, including Christmas duet with Barry Blue in the end of 1975 year.



Maybe one day I will select any year from 70s for future "Gražios Dainos" charts.

There is not any strict order, but it's a shame to not have them, when I love 70s music more than from 80s and 90s.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th June 2024, 08:35 AM

Yes you're an even bigger fan of Lynsey than I am I think I recall that duet, not sure if I charted it though - I will get back to finishing 1975 charts next year when I review it Retro-style like I'm doing for 1974. I only got as far as September I think before I had to stop due to lack of time. Your 70's charts would obv be great for me, it's the decade I musically know best of all, but may not be as popular as later decades with others

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd July 2024, 11:18 AM

22nd June 1974

It's Johnny Bristol topping my retro chart, with his classic soul song Hang On In There Baby, which took a cover by Curioisty Killed The Cat in 1992 to first top my original charts, Johnny didn't quite get there. Deserved to though. Old Wild Men for 10cc continues to sound as great as any single, and their ability to switch from musical complexity and include ballads to whimsy to rock cynicism and throwback or world music genres. Much under-rated.

The Highest new entry is Jim Capaldi and his forgotten ballad It's All Up To You, even better than his 1972 flop Eve, and sung in a higher key for the hook that is a great vocal performance. Touching and yet also sad and pleading. Jim first charted with Traffic in these retro charts, so that's 7 years of chart action with a big hit still to come. Paul Anka is also back in the retro chart with his huge US comeback hit, (You're) Having My Baby - really it's a duet with Odia Coates and she makes the record good, Paul's POV lyrics not weathered quite so well, albeit well-intentioned.

Slade return with another Bangin' rock number, Long-time hitmaking Dutch band The Cats had a jolly European hit with Be My Day, but the UK ignored it at the time. I liked it though and still do. ABBA get that follow-up hit with a remix version of Ring Ring, one that wasn't made available again until the early 2000's and then nobody noticed it. I still have the single version on vinyl but it's not that different from the original give or take a bit of sax.

Donny & Marie Osmond both find the big hits dropping off in their solo careers, so they join up, have a big hit US variety show on TV, and start getting some big hits, this one a cover of I'm leaving It All Up To You. MFSB grab a second chart hit with Love Is The Message, again giving The Three Degrees more chart action, at least their 6th or 7th. That leaves Todd Rundgren sneaking in with a pleasant single I didn't catch at the time, and spreading his chart span to 5 years.


1 ( 2 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
2 ( 1 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
3 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
4 ( 4 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
5 ( 5 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
6 ( 12 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
7 ( 6 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
8 ( 10 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 8
9 ( 16 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
10 ( 7 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1

11 ( 21 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 11
12 ( 13 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
13 ( 14 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
14 ( 8 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
15 ( 9 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
16 ( 11 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
17 ( 15 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
18 ( 25 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 18
19 ( NEW ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 19
20 ( 20 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4

21 ( 23 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
22 ( 33 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 22
23 ( 17 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
24 ( 19 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
25 ( 18 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
26 ( 32 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
27 ( 39 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 27
28 ( 22 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
29 ( 24 ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20
30 ( 29 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1

31 ( 26 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
32 ( 38 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 32
33 ( 37 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
34 ( 42 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
35 ( 46 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 35
36 ( 34 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
37 ( 30 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6
38 ( 31 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 19
39 ( 36 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
40 ( 40 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1

41 ( 41 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
42 ( 58 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 42
43 ( 28 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 18
44 ( 56 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 44
45 ( 35 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
46 ( 47 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
47 ( 43 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
48 ( 27 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 27
49 ( 52 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 49
50 ( 53 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1

51 ( 45 ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 45
52 ( 50 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WINTER - Wizzard # 3
53 ( 44 ) DANCE (WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON) - ABBA # 12
54 ( 57 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 54
55 ( 51 ) HONEY HONEY - ABBA # 16
56 ( 59 ) IF YOU GO AWAY - Terry Jacks # 56
57 ( 69 ) BANANA ROCK - The Wombles # 57
58 ( 63 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
59 ( 48 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
60 ( 49 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1

61 ( 65 ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 61
62 ( 60 ) GETTING OVER YOU - Andy Williams # 38
63 ( NEW ) (YOU’RE) HAVING MY BABY - Paul Anka featuring Odia Coates # 63
64 ( 55 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH - Arrows # 28
65 ( NEW ) THE BANGIN’ MAN - Slade # 65
66 ( NEW ) BE MY DAY - The Cats # 66
67 ( 67 ) JET - Paul McCartney & Wings # 1
68 ( 72 ) FOXY FOXY - Mott The Hoople # 68
69 ( 54 ) HEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - Showaddywaddy # 10
70 ( NEW ) RING RING (UK REMIX) - ABBA # 70

71 ( NEW ) I’M LEAVING IT ALL UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 71
72 ( 73 ) BETTER GET READY FOR LOVE - Robert Knight # 72
73 ( NEW ) A DREAM GOES ON FOREVER - Todd Rundgren # 73
74 ( 75 ) TOO BIG - Suzi Quatro # 74
75 ( NEW ) LOVE IS THE MESSAGE - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th July 2024, 05:29 PM

29th June 1974

It's First Class back on top as record releases start to get less essential compared to the first half of the year, so 3 weeks on top for Beach Baby and Jim Capaldi reaches a solo peak with the fab It's All Up To You, great vocal and song, deserves to be better known, up to 3. Andy Kim also grabs his first ever Retro top 10 as a singer - had quite a few as writer though! Rock Me Gently could have been Neil Diamond if he hadn't gone off the boil over the last 12 months.

Former lead shrieker of The Rubettes, Paul da Vinci gets his solo top 10 as his old mates (probably) return at 18 with the more harmonic Tonight, as they will be forced to go a more 50's than 60's retro style, but still Glam. They were pretty much the last big Glam act to arrive on the scene along with Sparks, before it lost impetus in 1975. Talking of dying Glam, The Sweet go serious shocker, still Chinn-Chapman gifting the hit songs but this was a definite attempt to get "serious", and a dent in their popularity till they go for self-written Glam and drop the Rock. The Six-Teens is pretty good though, unlike the next single, and new at 20.

Syreeta drops her Stevie-Wonder-co-written album, chock full of gifted goodies for his ex-missus, so I'm early on the next UK single from it, the rather fab Spinnin' And Spinnin' at 25. At this stage Stevie was so prolifically inspired he could donate songs to Syreeta and Aretha Franklin and still have gems for himself. Sparks return with Amateur Hour, also early from Kimono My House, but it won't be long till release officially, and still funtastic at 27. Elton meanwhile tops the UK album chart with Caribou, and next single The Bitch Is Back catches him on rockin' form rather than sombre ballad habit. Rifftastic at 35.

Other new entries: Mike Batt goes solo, with his Wombles-tastic cover of The Beatles' Your Mother Should Know - and that song still has yet to chart in any version bar as part of the MMT EP, sadly. Banana Rock is marginally higher than 61, meanwhile. Eric Clapton gets his first solo hit, a laid back cover of Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff, but still reggae-stylee - or as I like to call it, the start of Clapton's Dull Phase. It's lasted 50 years to date.

Billy Preston is back for a 5-year chart span in the Retro, the jazz-funky Nothing From Nothing deserved better in the UK, and not far behind it's a nice Bee Gees ballad that got zero airplay, Charade. Boys, time for a re-think, have you considered disco-funk? I would! And finally, Marc Bolan decides to sabotage his hit career by releasing Light Of Love as a single. A piece of fluff that quickly got annoying at the time, not even my T.Rex-manic mate could convince me it was that good, but there really was worse to come, eek!


1 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
2 ( 2 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
3 ( 19 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 3
4 ( 1 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
5 ( 5 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
6 ( 18 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
7 ( 8 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 7
8 ( 7 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
9 ( 11 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
10 ( 9 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1

11 ( 13 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
12 ( 6 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
13 ( 10 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
14 ( 4 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
15 ( 14 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
16 ( 15 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
17 ( 17 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
18 ( NEW ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 18
19 ( 22 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 19
20 ( NEW ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 20

21 ( 12 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
22 ( 16 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
23 ( 23 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
24 ( 27 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 24
25 ( NEW ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta # 25
26 ( 20 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
27 ( NEW ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 27
28 ( 25 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
29 ( 21 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
30 ( 35 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 30

31 ( 42 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 31
32 ( 31 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
33 ( 26 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
34 ( 24 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
35 ( NEW ) THE BITCH IS BACK - Elton John # 35
36 ( 32 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 32
37 ( 44 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 37
38 ( 29 ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20
39 ( 34 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
40 ( 30 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1

41 ( 33 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
42 ( 36 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
43 ( 40 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
44 ( 49 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 44
45 ( 41 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
46 ( 51 ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 45
47 ( 39 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
48 ( 45 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
49 ( 47 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
50 ( 28 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7

51 ( 43 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 18
52 ( 50 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
53 ( 48 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 27
54 ( 54 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 54
55 ( 71 ) I’M LEAVING IT ALL UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 55
56 ( 46 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
57 ( 57 ) BANANA ROCK - The Wombles # 57
58 ( 61 ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 58
59 ( 66 ) BE MY DAY - The Cats # 59
60 ( 63 ) (YOU’RE) HAVING MY BABY - Paul Anka featuring Odia Coates # 60

61 ( NEW ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 61
62 ( 58 ) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) - Aretha Franklin # 2
63 ( 59 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE - The Hollies # 1
64 ( 68 ) FOXY FOXY - Mott The Hoople # 64
65 ( NEW ) I SHOT THE SHERIFF - Eric Clapton # 65
66 ( NEW ) NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Billy Preston # 66
67 ( 65 ) THE BANGIN’ MAN - Slade # 65
68 ( 60 ) EMMA - Hot Chocolate # 1
69 ( 38 ) WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN - The Three Degrees # 19
70 ( 37 ) GO (BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART) - Gigliola Cinquetti # 6

71 ( 73 ) A DREAM GOES ON FOREVER - Todd Rundgren # 71
72 ( NEW ) CHARADE - The Bee Gees # 72
73 ( 74 ) TOO BIG - Suzi Quatro # 73
74 ( 75 ) LOVE IS THE MESSAGE - M.F.S.B. & The Three Degrees # 74
75 ( NEW ) LIGHT OF LOVE - T.Rex # 75

Posted by: Last Dreamer 10th July 2024, 06:24 PM

Pearls had three consecutive # 1 hits in my charts (Third Finger Left Hand, You Came, You Saw, You Conquered, You Are Everything).

From UK girl groups only Shampoo and Girls Aloud were more successful.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th July 2024, 10:14 AM

Ah, like you I also prefer those 3 Pearls tracks to their big hit Guilty, though theyve still got Wizard Of Love coming up next - a single that bombed in the UK but was dedicated to Roy Wood of Wizzard for no reason I can think of. You Came You Saw is my fave these days I think. Girls Aloud are fab, they had 2 or 3 chart-toppers for me too.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th July 2024, 12:57 PM

6th July 1974

It's a first retro chart-topper for ex-Traffic singer Jim Capaldi on the fabulous It's All Up To You, a heart-on-sleeve ballad that needs to be better known, great song. The Rubettes get a second top 10 with Tonight at 7 leapfrogging former singer Paul Da Vinci at 9. Sparks also get a second consecutive top 10 with Amateur Hour, from Kimono My House. The singles releases over the summer of '74 were always down a bit on early '74, I felt at the time, so that leaves the highest new one at 29 as Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye's best duet together enters, yet another Stylistics cover with Stop, Look, Listen. The Stylistics meanwhile enter at 75 with the lacklustre Let's Put It All Together, oddly a bigger UK hit.

The O'Jays album track drops in at 32, Now That We Found Love will be reworked and covered by reggae band Third World in 1978, and it's even better than the original. Joni Mitchell meanwhile makes it 3 from 3 singles from her latest album as Free Man In Paris enters at 34. TV actor & singer Stephanie De Sykes enters with her Crossroads soap TV show in-show song, Born With A Smile On My Face at 50, and she'd be back with other tracks before going for songwriting on UK Eurovision entries in 1978 and 1980.

R. Dean Taylor gets signed up to a new label and releases the good-but-forgotten Window Shopping, still Motown-styled, singer Charlie James had some kids ITV pop show slots and enters with All Fingers And Thumbs which sounds quite good still, Lobo gets a 4th chart entry with Rings, one I've never heard before, and B.T. Express get an early new entry from the USA on Do It - it'll be another year or so before they are satisfied in the UK though.


1 ( 3 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
2 ( 2 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
3 ( 1 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
4 ( 4 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
5 ( 7 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 5
6 ( 5 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
7 ( 18 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 7
8 ( 12 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
9 ( 9 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
10 ( 27 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 10

11 ( 11 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
12 ( 14 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
13 ( 10 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
14 ( 19 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 14
15 ( 24 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 15
16 ( 22 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
17 ( 8 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
18 ( 17 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
19 ( 6 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
20 ( 20 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 20

21 ( 15 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
22 ( 13 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
23 ( 25 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta # 23
24 ( 21 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
25 ( 35 ) THE BITCH IS BACK - Elton John # 25
26 ( 16 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
27 ( 26 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
28 ( 23 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
29 ( NEW ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 29
30 ( 30 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 30

31 ( 31 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 31
32 ( NEW ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 32
33 ( 33 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
34 ( NEW ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 34
35 ( 37 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 35
36 ( 34 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
37 ( 32 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
38 ( 29 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
39 ( 39 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
40 ( 41 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2

41 ( 28 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
42 ( 44 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 42
43 ( 43 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
44 ( 40 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
45 ( 50 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
46 ( 47 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
47 ( 61 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 47
48 ( 49 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
49 ( 45 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
50 ( NEW ) BORN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE - Stephanie De Sykes # 50

51 ( 54 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 51
52 ( 42 ) THE CAT CREPT IN - Mud # 3
53 ( 36 ) GUILTY - The Pearls # 32
54 ( 55 ) I’M LEAVING IT (ALL) UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 54
55 ( 52 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
56 ( 51 ) GOING NOWHERE - Neil Sedaka # 18
57 ( 38 ) ALWAYS YOURS - Gary Glitter # 20
58 ( 58 ) KISSIN’ IN THE BACK ROW OF THE MOVIES - The Drifters # 58
59 ( 48 ) TRAIN OF THOUGHT - Cher # 9
60 ( 65 ) I SHOT THE SHERIFF - Eric Clapton # 60

61 ( 53 ) CLOCKWORK CREEP - 10cc # 27
62 ( 46 ) ONE MAN BAND - Leo Sayer # 45
63 ( 71 ) A DREAM GOES ON FOREVER - Todd Rundgren # 63
64 ( 56 ) EVERLASTING LOVE - Robert Knight # 4
65 ( 59 ) BE MY DAY - The Cats # 59
66 ( 66 ) NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Billy Preston # 66
67 ( NEW ) WINDOW SHOPPING - R. Dean Taylor # 67
68 ( 72 ) CHARADE - The Bee Gees # 68
69 ( NEW ) ALL FINGERS AND THUMBS - Charlie James # 69
70 ( 67 ) THE BANGIN’ MAN - Slade # 65

71 ( 60 ) (YOU’RE) HAVING MY BABY - Paul Anka featuring Odia Coates # 60
72 ( NEW ) RINGS - Lobo # 72
73 ( NEW ) DO IT (‘TIL YOU’RE SATISFIED) - B.T. Express # 73
74 ( 75 ) LIGHT OF LOVE - T.Rex # 74
75 ( NEW ) LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER - The Stylistics # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd July 2024, 04:08 PM

13th July 1974

It's 2 weeks on top for Jim Capaldi, something a certain other Capaldi has never come within a whisker of achieving. Jim can sing, though, and then some. Talking of Jims' Jimmy Ruffin enters at 3 with his 1966 soul classic What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted after coming high in the Radio 1 listeners all-time favourite poll of 1974, with it having already charted at 12 as a leftover from 1966 when I started my 1967 Retro charts 7 years ago now. On the way to becoming a UK top 10 all over again in 1974.

Rupert Holmes gets his first retro top 10, but he might get a second in 2029 if I'm still doing retro charts, and The New Seekers get an unexpected top 10 with Sing hallelujah, one I didn't even chart as a 16-year-old - but it sounds pretty good actually and gives them a 6th top 10 and final one until a new line-up pops up in 1978. Mud enter at 19 with their latest Elvis impersonation - Rocket being their 7th to date - and I remember Mama Cass on Rosko's Roundtable lamenting the state of Elvis Presley's singles career and wishing he could do stuff like Rocket, which is great fun.

Barry Blue's also back with his 6th retro charter - not including songs for others - Miss Hit And Run sounding pretty good for a forgotten pop tune, at 33, and fresh from the Dutch charts Resonance enter with the funky fun of O.K. Chicago, imagine an instrumental with 70's cop show sounds. I was a fan of this one off Radio Luxembourg at the time. The Rollers add another to the list, Summerlove Sensation at 50 makes it a sweet 7th charter being as I got into their records earlier than record buyers and will shortly be exiting earlier than record buyers of 1974, as standards plummet after this one.

David Cassidy is on tour in the UK to fan mania, and a fan tragedy, but Please Please Me is a live recording Beatles cover that keeps the energy of the original for his live-liest single release since early Partridge singles. New at 64 one ahead of Johnny Nash who covers yet again another Bob Marley song, and Nice Time might be obscure and unknown but it's better than Clapton's Sheriff. Johnny is now on 6 years of retro hits for me.

Bobby Goldsboro does a cola ad, and the catchy tune gets lifted off as a hit single, Hello Summertime extending his run to 6 years too, at 69, while The Detroit Spinners have been hot in these charts for 4 years and have teamed up with Bacharach's soul singer of choice, Dionne Warwick who has hit hard times, much like Burt has - the knack of the sophisticated song having been absent for 4 years for both. You'd think Then Came You would do better than 71, then, but I've never rated it as a classic for either act.

That leaves Ray Stevens' parody of US late-night TV show Midnight Special (go on Youtube, it's stacked with classic line-ups and performances), and specifically Gladys Knight & The Pips & Jerry Lee Lewis, which was mildly amusing. New at 74, with Roy Wood's instrumental B side to Going Down The Road sneaking in at 75 - it's Roy Wood doing an instrumental tune in the style of a John Barry Bond theme - though it's more like The Persuaders theme than Bond. "The names Bond, Premium Bond."



1 ( 1 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
2 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
3 ( NEW ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 3
4 ( 2 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
5 ( 4 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
6 ( 7 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 6
7 ( 10 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 7
8 ( 6 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
9 ( 14 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9
10 ( 15 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 10

11 ( 11 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
12 ( 13 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
13 ( 12 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
14 ( 17 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
15 ( 23 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
16 ( 20 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 16
17 ( 25 ) THE BITCH IS BACK - Elton John # 17
18 ( 9 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
19 ( NEW ) ROCKET - Mud # 19
20 ( 18 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7

21 ( 8 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
22 ( 5 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 5
23 ( 22 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
24 ( 21 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
25 ( 24 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
26 ( 16 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
27 ( 29 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 27
28 ( 32 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 28
29 ( 26 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
30 ( 34 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 30

31 ( 19 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
32 ( 28 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
33 ( NEW ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 33
34 ( 31 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 31
35 ( 27 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
36 ( 47 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 36
37 ( 36 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
38 ( NEW ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 38
39 ( 33 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
40 ( 42 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 40

41 ( 40 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
42 ( 44 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
43 ( 43 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
44 ( 39 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
45 ( 41 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
46 ( 50 ) BORN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE - Stephanie De Sykes with Rain # 46
47 ( 30 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE - Roberta Flack # 30
48 ( 38 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6
49 ( 49 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
50 ( NEW ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 50

51 ( 54 ) I’M LEAVING IT (ALL) UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 51
52 ( 48 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
53 ( 37 ) SUGAR BABY LOVE - The Rubettes # 1
54 ( 55 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
55 ( 67 ) WINDOW SHOPPING - R. Dean Taylor # 55
56 ( 73 ) DO IT (‘TIL YOU’RE SATISFIED) - B.T. Express # 56
57 ( 66 ) NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Billy Preston # 57
58 ( 45 ) BARON SAMEDI - 10cc # 7
59 ( 69 ) ALL FINGERS AND THUMBS - Charlie James # 59
60 ( 35 ) SOMEWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD - 10cc # 35

61 ( 46 ) SUMMER BREEZE - The Isley Brothers # 1
62 ( 63 ) A DREAM GOES ON FOREVER - Todd Rundgren # 62
63 ( 71 ) (YOU’RE) HAVING MY BABY - Paul Anka featuring Odia Coates # 60
64 ( NEW ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 64
65 ( NEW ) NICE TIME - Johnny Nash # 65
66 ( 60 ) I SHOT THE SHERIFF - Eric Clapton # 60
67 ( 65 ) BE MY DAY - The Cats # 59
68 ( 68 ) CHARADE - The Bee Gees # 68
69 ( NEW ) HELLO SUMMERTIME - Bobby Goldsboro # 69
70 ( 72 ) RINGS - Lobo # 70

71 ( NEW ) THEN CAME YOU - Dionne Warwick & The Detroit Spinners # 71
72 ( 51 ) GISMO MY WAY - 10cc # 51
73 ( 75 ) LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER - The Stylistics # 73
74 ( NEW ) MOONLIGHT SPECIAL - Ray Stevens # 74
75 ( NEW ) THE PREMIUM BOND THEME - Roy Wood # 75

Posted by: Last Dreamer 23rd July 2024, 05:10 PM

I don't have a full chart, but can name # 1 in Gražios Dainos for this week.

Peggy March - Sommerliebe Good-Bye



She recorded a lot good tracks for German language countries in 70s.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th July 2024, 08:56 AM

I didnt know she was still singing in the 70's! I only know of her as Little Peggy March from an earlier decade!

Posted by: Last Dreamer 24th July 2024, 09:23 AM

Almost all her 70s singles were released only in Germany.

http://www.45cat.com/artist/peggy-march

"Vor dem Buckingham-Palast" was the first # 1 in the history of my chart.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th July 2024, 09:12 AM

well that's very jolly and very German-sounding Europop, it's unusual for an American singer to cross over like that! I Will Follow Him is a classic of course, after Sister Act everybody knows it

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th July 2024, 04:19 PM

20th July 1974

It's Jimmy Ruffin grabbing the top spot with his 8-year-old Motown record, his first retro chart-topper, and a classic. If I ever get round to my 1966 retro charts it may not top then, as the competition is more fierce in 1966 than the summer of '74. Loads of good and great records about but not so many classics. What becomes Of The Broken-Hearted will chart again in covers though. The O'Jays get a third top 10 with future cover biggie Now That We Found Love at 7, and Resonance get one too, O.K. Chicago doing the trick for me in my original charts later in 1974. It's funking great.

Diana & Marvin get their biggest hit in any solo or duet version for around a year, and Bob & Marcia get a second run after their 1970 smash Young Gifted & Black was re-issued in the UK and bubbled under the charts for quite a while with a lot of airplay. Given I'd never heard of it until the 1974 almost-hit, and went big on it, it qualifies for a chart run here. New at 12. Barry Blue gets a 3rd top 20 in a row, Barry White leaps in at 22 with Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, his biggest solo hit to date at the time in the UK and US - though not for me, I"m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby was my Bazza biggie.

Mouth & MacNeal get their 3rd retro chart entry with a UK flop that got plays on Radio Luxembourg, and one I bought later in the year, We're Gonna Have A Party is their best record, I still maintain. In at 34, while Stevie Wonder is a but lower at 37 with his Richard Nixon critique, funky and bitter You Haven't Done Nothin'. We could do with a big vitriolic cover double-negative and all for a certain other former Republican President, cos Nixon was just a petty crook in comparison, all he did was bug opponents, and anyone he didn't approve of, and then lied about it. Honesty in politics was valued a tad more in those days across all parties.

Blues icon Bobby Bland debuts with his version of a great song, Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City. I've never heard it before, but the song I've like since I heard Whitesnake cover it. Kevin Ayers got a fair bit of Radio 1 Johnnie Walker lunchtime show plays with After The Show, and very nice too it was, and is. The Glitter Band follow-up Angel Face, but Just For You isn't quite as good as that one, Limmie & The Family Cooking are on a 4th retro chart entry with the Ragtime-ish Saxophone Jones, one I do recall hearing but never charted. Much like the real world then. It's quite fun actually.

Cat Stevens covers Sam Cooke, Another Saturday Night being his best shot at a hit in the UK since Morning Has Broken, but his best days were behind him for me at the time, and I've not really changed my mind much until he returned last decade as Yusuf, long overdue. Margie Joseph does a soulful cover of Macca's My Love, another newie to me, and the Stones return with a great video I enjoyed on Top Of The Pops, bubbles galore, but the record was to be their lowest-placing official single in 7 years or so. It's OK, bit It's Only Rock 'n; Roll isn't classic Rolling Stones. That leaves Firebird, a teeny Glam band on kids pop TV shows with Two Wheels. I charted it at the time, then never heard it again for 50 years until yesterday. S'OK, very 1974.


1 ( 3 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
2 ( 2 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
3 ( 1 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
4 ( 6 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
5 ( 4 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
6 ( 7 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
7 ( 28 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 7
8 ( 5 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
9 ( 38 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
10 ( 9 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9

11 ( 27 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
12 ( NEW ) (TO BE ) YOUNG GIFTED & BLACK - Bob & Marcia # 12
13 ( 19 ) ROCKET - Mud # 13
14 ( 16 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
15 ( 15 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
16 ( 13 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
17 ( 11 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
18 ( 8 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
19 ( 12 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
20 ( 33 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 20

21 ( 21 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
22 ( NEW ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 22
23 ( 23 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
24 ( 14 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
25 ( 10 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 10
26 ( 26 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
27 ( 20 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
28 ( 30 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 28
29 ( 18 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
30 ( 25 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7

31 ( 34 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 31
32 ( 22 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 5
33 ( 24 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
34 ( NEW ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 34
35 ( 32 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
36 ( 31 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
37 ( NEW ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 37
38 ( 36 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 36
39 ( 46 ) BORN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE - Stephanie De Sykes with Rain # 39
40 ( 50 ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 40

41 ( 17 ) THE BITCH IS BACK - Elton John # 17
42 ( 29 ) I’M A BELIEVER - The Monkees # 2
43 ( 51 ) I’M LEAVING IT (ALL) UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 43
44 ( 35 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
45 ( 55 ) WINDOW SHOPPING - R. Dean Taylor # 45
46 ( 39 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
47 ( 41 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
48 ( 43 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1
49 ( NEW ) AIN’T NO LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY - Bobby “Blue” Bland # 49
50 ( 64 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 50

51 ( 42 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
52 ( 44 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
53 ( 40 ) BINGO - The Whispers # 40
54 ( NEW ) AFTER THE SHOW - Kevin Ayers # 54
55 ( 57 ) NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Billy Preston # 55
56 ( 56 ) DO IT (‘TIL YOU’RE SATISFIED) - B.T. Express # 56
57 ( 62 ) A DREAM GOES ON FOREVER - Todd Rundgren # 57
58 ( 59 ) ALL FINGERS AND THUMBS - Charlie James # 58
59 ( 37 ) OOH I DO - Lynsey De Paul # 19
60 ( 48 ) THE MAN IN BLACK - Cozy Powell # 6

61 ( 54 ) LOVE’S THEME - Love Unlimited Orchestra # 1
62 ( 70 ) RINGS - Lobo # 62
63 ( 52 ) LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - Neil Sedaka # 5
64 ( NEW ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 64
65 ( 45 ) HOTEL - 10cc # 18
66 ( 65 ) NICE TIME - Johnny Nash # 65
67 ( NEW ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 67
68 ( 49 ) RED DRESS - Alvin Stardust # 10
69 ( NEW ) ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - Cat Stevens # 69
70 ( NEW ) MY LOVE - Margie Joseph # 70

71 ( 71 ) THEN CAME YOU - Dionne Warwick & The Detroit Spinners # 71
72 ( 69 ) HELLO SUMMERTIME - Bobby Goldsboro # 69
73 ( NEW ) IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (BUT I LIKE IT) - The Rolling Stones # 73
74 ( NEW ) TWO WHEELS - Firebird # 74
75 ( 75 ) THE PREMIUM BOND THEME - Roy Wood # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 6th August 2024, 09:11 AM

27th July 1974

It's a brand new entry on top for KC as Queen Of Clubs goes better than the previous 3 charted tracks, and gives him a second chart-topper of 1974, following Rock Your Baby for George McRae. I can't understate how exciting this record sounded as disco kicked off proper, and still sounds, a forgotten manic funk monster of a track. As I was pretty much meandering that summer, hanging around with a mate, and deciding that repeating the 5th year was a better option than a low-paid job - I'd be put in for CSE's by the school, having missed most of the GCE courses when we moved to Gloucester. I got a few O levels or equivalent but not enough to do A Levels, apparently. In those days different school areas had different syllabuses, so there was not much that continuity moving school. Still, music and DC comics kept me happy!

New in at 4, and substantially bigger than it was for me at the time, I've Got The Music In Me sounds wonderful on loud and singalong mode, so Kiki Dee grabs her biggest track to date (of 4), as Mud make it 6 top 10's in a row, plus a B side interrupting, and Rainbow Children release a chanting chorus of kids behind a rock singalong, Rock 'n' Roll (Who Needs Rock 'n' Roll), a record Radio Luxembourg got behind I think but flopped entirely and remains obscure. Given the amount of records with 'rock' or 'rock 'n' roll' in the title I rather like this turnabout on it. Upbeat and singalong and I was huge on it at the time. Bought it.

The inrush of some great (non-chart) tracks continues as Mouth & MacNeal go top 20, America enter at 39 with Tin Man, nearly 3 years on from Horse With No Name starting and ending their UK chart career, but keeping on charting in the USA and here in my charts. It's mellow and tuneful. Two tracks that did chart are Olivia Newton-John's move away from Country songs, lovely ballad I Honestly Love You, and 60's veterans The Tymes charting with You Little Trustmaker, nice singalong soul, even if sounds like it was written for Liz Truss' parents to singalong to the night she was conceived.

Roy Wood gets a blip in his non-stop hit career with This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby) being a little too sombre for the Spector treatment, forthcoming album track Come Back Karen would have been a better pick. Steve Harley gets a 3rd charter with Mr. Soft which always made me think of ice-cream vans (Mr Softee was big back then) and down the bottom-end Cozy Powell adds a vocalist to my dismay, Na Na Na wasn't as great as the drum bangers, The USA opts for a cover of Elvis' All Shook Up, unchanged gender and all, rather than the not-great Too Big, and the summer means it's time for a Beach Boys revival, not least because Beach Baby is about to catch on in the States, so Surfin USA is back again, and debuts for the first time in any of my charts, ever, as a retro newie.


1 ( NEW ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
2 ( 1 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
3 ( 2 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
4 ( NEW ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 4
5 ( 3 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
6 ( 7 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
7 ( 13 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7
8 ( 4 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
9 ( 8 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
10 ( 9 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9

11 ( 5 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
12 ( 11 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
13 ( NEW ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
14 ( 34 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
15 ( 6 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
16 ( 20 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 16
17 ( 14 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
18 ( 37 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 18
19 ( 12 ) (TO BE ) YOUNG GIFTED & BLACK - Bob & Marcia # 12
20 ( 10 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9

21 ( 16 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
22 ( 22 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 22
23 ( 15 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
24 ( NEW ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 24
25 ( 28 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 25
26 ( 18 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
27 ( 17 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
28 ( 21 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
29 ( 19 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
30 ( 27 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7

31 ( 23 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
32 ( 24 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
33 ( 30 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
34 ( 29 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
35 ( 26 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
36 ( 33 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
37 ( 40 ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 37
38 ( 35 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
39 ( NEW ) TIN MAN - America # 39
40 ( 49 ) AIN’T NO LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY - Bobby “Blue” Bland # 40

41 ( 25 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 10
42 ( 50 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 42
43 ( 39 ) BORN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE - Stephanie De Sykes with Rain # 39
44 ( 54 ) AFTER THE SHOW - Kevin Ayers # 44
45 ( 38 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 36
46 ( NEW ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 46
47 ( 44 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
48 ( 47 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
49 ( 32 ) MONKEES THEME - The Monkees # 5
50 ( 31 ) HONEY HONEY - Sweet Dreams # 31

51 ( 36 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
52 ( 45 ) WINDOW SHOPPING - R. Dean Taylor # 45
53 ( 56 ) DO IT (‘TIL YOU’RE SATISFIED) - B.T. Express # 53
54 ( 55 ) NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Billy Preston # 54
55 ( 58 ) ALL FINGERS AND THUMBS - Charlie James # 55
56 ( 51 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
57 ( NEW ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 57
58 ( NEW ) MR SOFT - Cockney Rebel featuring Steve Harley # 58
59 ( 66 ) NICE TIME - Johnny Nash # 59
60 ( 48 ) ON THE RUN - Scorched Earth featuring Billy Ocean # 1

61 ( 52 ) TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce # 1
62 ( 41 ) THE BITCH IS BACK - Elton John # 17
63 ( 62 ) RINGS - Lobo # 62
64 ( 67 ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 64
65 ( 43 ) I’M LEAVING IT (ALL) UP TO YOU - Donny & Marie Osmond # 43
66 ( 71 ) THEN CAME YOU - Dionne Warwick & The Detroit Spinners # 66
67 ( 74 ) TWO WHEELS - Firebird # 67
68 ( 64 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 64
69 ( 69 ) ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - Cat Stevens # 69
70 ( 70 ) MY LOVE - Margie Joseph # 70

71 ( 46 ) FLOATING IN THE WIND - Hudson-Ford # 26
72 ( 73 ) IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (BUT I LIKE IT) - The Rolling Stones # 72
73 ( NEW ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 73
74 ( NEW ) ALL SHOOK UP - Suzi Quatro # 74
75 ( NEW ) SURFIN’ U.S.A. - The Beach Boys # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th August 2024, 03:54 PM

3rd August 1974

It's 2 weeks on top for KC & co, Queen Of Clubs still holding off the almost-as-exciting Kiki Dee Band Music In Me at 2. The highest new entry at 6 comes from New Faces winners, Sweet Sensation, with a song written by David Parton (who will be a hit artist down the road) and produced by Tony Hatch, with missus Jackie Trent on it. Sad Sweet Dreamer is just delicious British soul, as they go the Hot Chocolate route of coals-to-Newcastle by getting a US hit out of it too. Lead singer Marcel King had a vocal not entirely unlike young Michael Jackson. New at 17 announces the arrival of Biddu as a British-Indian soul/disco producer force (and future hit-maker too) as Jamaican singer Carl Douglas debuts global smash Kung Fu Fighting, cashing on the craze of 1974, following the hit US TV series and the death of superstar actor Bruce Lee. The record remains popular 50 years on.

First Choice recently got the remix dance treatment of The Player, one that flopped in the UK but I liked it then and now, their third chart entry at 44, cool disco. New at 59, Polly Brown drops out of the chart with Sweet Dreams but pops in going Up In A Puff Of Smoke, as Prelude get a second harmonic folk track with their cover of George Harrison's Here Comes The Sun. It wasn't a hit, sadly, and who knew that song would end up being the most-popular Beatles track of the 21st Century. New at 64 as Scottish soul band, Average White Band are anything but at 67. You Got it debuts the band just ahead of their USA break-through which filtered over to the UK subsequently - but not with this track which is new to me and didn't get noticed at the time, which is a shame.

Stephanie De Sykes drops down the chart with Rain helping, and she enters assisting Rain on Golden Day, one of those tracks that again is nowhere to be found these days. Another TV show theme tune, this one was written by Lynsey De Paul and Barry Blue, and is in the mode of Ooh I Do and Miss Hit And Run, unsurprisngly. Barry meanwhile grabs a third top 10 with that one. Peters & Lee have a Rainbow singalong, their third, Showaddywaddy have a lesser soundalike of thgeir first hit, Rock 'n' Roll lady, and Stevie Wright debuts with the lyrically-dodgy these days Evie, a decent rock track that is basically The Easybeats - he was lead singer of the 60's Aussie hitmakers, and future Flash & The Pan hitmakers, and it was written by the band songwriters behind all of them: Harry Vanda & George Young. See also AC/DC for literally related Young siblings.



1 ( 1 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
2 ( 4 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
3 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
4 ( 5 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
5 ( 2 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
6 ( NEW ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
7 ( 6 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
8 ( 11 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
9 ( 9 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
10 ( 16 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10

11 ( 8 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
12 ( 12 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
13 ( 13 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
14 ( 14 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
15 ( 7 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7
16 ( 18 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
17 ( NEW ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17
18 ( 10 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
19 ( 24 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 19
20 ( 25 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 20

21 ( 17 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
22 ( 22 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 22
23 ( 21 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
24 ( 28 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
25 ( 39 ) TIN MAN - America # 25
26 ( 26 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
27 ( 15 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
28 ( 23 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
29 ( 33 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
30 ( 20 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9

31 ( 34 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
32 ( 27 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
33 ( 30 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
34 ( 29 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
35 ( 19 ) (TO BE ) YOUNG GIFTED & BLACK - Bob & Marcia # 12
36 ( 31 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
37 ( 37 ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 37
38 ( 42 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 38
39 ( 46 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 39
40 ( 57 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 40

41 ( 35 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
42 ( 32 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
43 ( 38 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
44 ( NEW ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 44
45 ( 45 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 36
46 ( 36 ) YOUNG GIRL - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 3
47 ( 53 ) DO IT (‘TIL YOU’RE SATISFIED) - B.T. Express # 47
48 ( 59 ) NICE TIME - Johnny Nash # 48
49 ( 63 ) RINGS - Lobo # 49
50 ( 75 ) SURFIN’ U.S.A. - The Beach Boys # 50

51 ( 51 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
52 ( 48 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
53 ( 56 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
54 ( 68 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 54
55 ( 41 ) SING HALLELUJAH - The New Seekers # 10
56 ( 58 ) MR SOFT - Cockney Rebel featuring Steve Harley # 56
57 ( 64 ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 57
58 ( 47 ) CENTRAL PARK ARREST - Thunderthighs # 4
59 ( NEW ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 59
60 ( 52 ) WINDOW SHOPPING - R. Dean Taylor # 45

61 ( 40 ) AIN’T NO LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY - Bobby “Blue” Bland # 40
62 ( 44 ) AFTER THE SHOW - Kevin Ayers # 44
63 ( 55 ) ALL FINGERS AND THUMBS - Charlie James # 55
64 ( NEW ) HERE COMES THE SUN - Prelude # 64
65 ( 43 ) BORN WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE - Stephanie De Sykes with Rain # 39
66 ( 66 ) THEN CAME YOU - Dionne Warwick & The Detroit Spinners # 66
67 ( NEW ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 67
68 ( 72 ) IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (BUT I LIKE IT) - The Rolling Stones # 68
69 ( 67 ) TWO WHEELS - Firebird # 67
70 ( NEW ) GOLDEN DAY - Rain featuring Stephanie De Sykes # 70

71 ( NEW ) RAINBOW - Peters & Lee # 71
72 ( 73 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 72
73 ( NEW ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LADY - Showaddywaddy # 73
74 ( 69 ) ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - Cat Stevens # 69
75 ( NEW ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th August 2024, 04:43 PM

10th August 1974

It's 3 weeks on top for disco classic Queen Of Clubs as there's an inrush of more classic oldies, headed by Scott McKenzie's 1967 Flower Power anthem at 2. It already topped my retro charts in the 1967 lists, but it originally first entered my personal charts in 1974 when I bought the single on re-issue as an oldie fave. Also out, Motown was bigging-up it's 60's back catalogue with Baby Love back out and in the UK charts for The Supremes - another childhood fave which entered at 1 for me in 1974, but has a more modest number 9 in these retro revamps. Lady Willpower replaces Young Girl in the chart as Gary Puckett gets another re-issue, and charted for a second time - my personal charts started in late 1968 so this really was a second time-round as well as 2nd-revamp-time here, new at 19.

The highest new track was an album cut from the new Stevie Wonder album Fulfillingness' First Finale, and a future George Michael heartbreaking cover, They Won't Go When I Go. I didn't know it the time, and never noticed the song until George did it, but it turns out to be an amazing vocal show from Stevie, too, a great ballad and new at 3 as the actual single holds at 16. Johnny Bristol drops out the top 10 as his song Love Me For A Reason enters at 8 for The Osmonds, and one I didn't like that much at the time as I'd overdosed on all things Osmond by this point - but it's actually a great song and a good single, new at 8 and a 5th Retro top 10.

The Pearls make it 7 in a row as The Wizard Of Love debuts at 53 - I actually preferred this flop to Guilty at the time, and bought the single from a bargain bin at some point. Wizzard's new album was out, and the best track on it - as played on Rosko's Roundtable - was Come Back Karen. I met Rosko a few years back, and have seen Roy Wood a couple of times in concert, but he's never done this pseudo-Neil Sedaka throwback genre track, in at 60. Paper Lace get hit three with Black-Eyed Boys new at 68, not as good as the previous but not bad, and Tony Orlando I didn't bother to chart in 1974, too ragtime for me, but Steppin' Out is quite jolly actually and keeps the 4-year-run going for Dawn. The Miracles get that post-Smokey debut, with Do It Baby, not one I remember hearing, at 75.


1 ( 1 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
2 ( NEW ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2
3 ( NEW ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 3
4 ( 3 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
5 ( 2 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
6 ( 5 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
7 ( 6 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
8 ( NEW ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
9 ( NEW ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 9
10 ( 4 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1

11 ( 7 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
12 ( 9 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
13 ( 8 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
14 ( 12 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
15 ( 11 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
16 ( 16 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
17 ( 19 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
18 ( 22 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 18
19 ( NEW ) LADY WILLPOWER - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 19
20 ( 14 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14

21 ( 13 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
22 ( 23 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
23 ( 15 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7
24 ( 21 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
25 ( 25 ) TIN MAN - America # 25
26 ( 17 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17
27 ( 10 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
28 ( 29 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
29 ( 26 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
30 ( 24 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6

31 ( 18 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
32 ( 37 ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 32
33 ( 28 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
34 ( 34 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
35 ( 30 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9
36 ( 32 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
37 ( 38 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 37
38 ( 39 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 38
39 ( 40 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 39
40 ( 36 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1

41 ( 27 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
42 ( 41 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
43 ( 20 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 20
44 ( 44 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 44
45 ( 67 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 45
46 ( 33 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
47 ( 45 ) YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Mike Batt # 36
48 ( 42 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
49 ( 43 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
50 ( 57 ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 50

51 ( 31 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
52 ( 54 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 52
53 ( NEW ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 53
54 ( 48 ) NICE TIME - Johnny Nash # 48
55 ( 64 ) HERE COMES THE SUN - Prelude # 55
56 ( 50 ) SURFIN’ U.S.A. - The Beach Boys # 50
57 ( 52 ) I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Dolly Parton # 2
58 ( 72 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 58
59 ( 59 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 59
60 ( NEW ) COME BACK KAREN - Wizzard # 60

61 ( 56 ) MR SOFT - Cockney Rebel featuring Steve Harley # 56
62 ( 53 ) ROCK THE BOAT - The Hues Corporation # 1
63 ( 51 ) ROCK ME GENTLY - Andy Kim # 6
64 ( 75 ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 64
65 ( 70 ) GOLDEN DAY - Rain featuring Stephanie De Sykes # 65
66 ( 66 ) THEN CAME YOU - Dionne Warwick & The Detroit Spinners # 66
67 ( 61 ) AIN’T NO LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY - Bobby “Blue” Bland # 40
68 ( NEW ) THE BLACK-EYED BOYS - Paper Lace # 68
69 ( 62 ) AFTER THE SHOW - Kevin Ayers # 44
70 ( NEW ) STEPPIN’ OUT - Tony Orlando & Dawn # 70

71 ( 71 ) RAINBOW - Peters & Lee # 71
72 ( 68 ) IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (BUT I LIKE IT) - The Rolling Stones # 68
73 ( 73 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LADY - Showaddywaddy # 73
74 ( 49 ) RINGS - Lobo # 49
75 ( NEW ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th August 2024, 04:49 PM

17th August 1974

It's straight in at 1 for the 1963 Phil Spector all-time classic, the all-time favourite record of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, that Dirty Dancing film classic, and one of the singles my dad bought in the mid-60's, so a childhood treasure: The Ronettes' Be My Baby. It had been re-issued along with hosts of other golden oldies following the 1974 Radio 1 All-Time Listeners Top 100, as voted for by members of the public. We've already had Young Girl back in the UK charts (number 2 in the poll, San Francisco was at 12 also back out and dropping to 5 here, Jimmy Ruffin was 22nd, down to 7 here, Baby Love 65th and up to 3 for me this week, Young Gifted & Black was 86th and has just dropped out of my chart. If you want to see the full list just google title of the poll as above and popchartfreak and it'll pop up from Wordpress, where I posted it). Anyway, so many beloved oldies invading my personal charts of the time meant I had to drop the lot from my chart and create a temporary oldies chart to cater for them, which is where Be My Baby and Strangers In The Night entered this week, and the latter debuts at 6 here. I've ignored everything else that has already featured in my retro charts!

Stevie Wonder's album track therefore is held off the top spot at 2, and the highest new record is Fox at 18 aka Noosha Fox and bandmates, notably American producer/writer Kenny Young of hitmaker for The Drifters, Hermans Hermits, Reparata, Clodagh Rogers, Quincy Jones among others. Only You Can was very quirky and an instant fave from late August onwards but it took 3 months to make the UK charts. It got there in the end, though. Another oldie is at 26, Phil Spector again and a UK hit again, The Crystals' Da Doo Ron Ron, while future TV sitcom show theme tune (Butterflies) enters at 62: Dolly Parton's Love Is Like A Butterfly, very sweet still.

Lower down, Alvin Satrdust is on single 4 with You You You, as his songwriter/producer Peter Shelley enters himself with Gee Baby, both retro 50's vibes to them. Carole King's Jazzman debuts, to stretch her retro chart span to 4 years, and one I associate with The Simpsons Tv show. The First Class follow-up Beach Baby with Bobby Dazzler, Bryan Ferry covers Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, 40's-stylee, abiut too slowed-down for my tastes, I preferred Blue Haze's version of the standard, and Ferry's previous In Crowd cover. Finally, William DeVaughan charts with a soundalike follow-up to his minor hit and Tom Jones returns after 2 years away with future Status Quo hit song Something Bout You Baby I Like.


1 ( NEW ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1
2 ( 3 ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 2
3 ( 9 ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 3
4 ( 1 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
5 ( 2 ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2
6 ( NEW ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT - Frank Sinatra # 6
7 ( 6 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
8 ( 4 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
9 ( 8 ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
10 ( 7 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6

11 ( 12 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
12 ( 10 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
13 ( 11 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
14 ( 5 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
15 ( 19 ) LADY WILLPOWER - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 15
16 ( 15 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
17 ( 26 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17
18 ( NEW ) ONLY YOU CAN - Fox # 18
19 ( 13 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
20 ( 25 ) TIN MAN - America # 20

21 ( 45 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 21
22 ( 16 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
23 ( 17 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
24 ( 13 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
25 ( 22 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
26 ( NEW ) DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals # 26
27 ( 44 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 27
28 ( 23 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7
29 ( 29 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
30 ( 34 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1

31 ( 36 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
32 ( 27 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
33 ( 38 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 33
34 ( 37 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 34
35 ( 28 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
36 ( 30 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
37 ( 20 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
38 ( 31 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
39 ( 21 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
40 ( 24 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14

41 ( 33 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
42 ( 39 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 39
43 ( 40 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
44 ( 18 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 18
45 ( 53 ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 45
46 ( 35 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9
47 ( 50 ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 47
48 ( 41 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
49 ( 42 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
50 ( 43 ) FREE MAN IN PARIS - Joni Mitchell # 20

51 ( 52 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 51
52 ( 58 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 52
53 ( 55 ) HERE COMES THE SUN - Prelude # 53
54 ( 48 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
55 ( 49 ) MACHINE GUN - The Commodores # 14
56 ( 32 ) SUMMERLOVE SENSATION - Bay City Rollers # 32
57 ( 75 ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 57
58 ( 59 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 58
59 ( 68 ) THE BLACK-EYED BOYS - Paper Lace # 59
60 ( 60 ) COME BACK KAREN - Wizzard # 60

61 ( 46 ) THE POACHER - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance # 7
62 ( NEW ) LOVE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY - Dolly Parton # 62
63 ( 65 ) GOLDEN DAY - Rain featuring Stephanie De Sykes # 63
64 ( 64 ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 64
65 ( NEW ) YOU YOU YOU - Alvin Stardust # 65
66 ( 71 ) RAINBOW - Peters & Lee # 66
67 ( 51 ) YOUR BABY AIN’T YOUR BABY ANYMORE - Paul Da Vinci # 9
68 ( NEW ) GEE BABY - Peter Shelley # 68
69 ( NEW ) JAZZMAN - Carole King # 69
70 ( 70 ) STEPPIN’ OUT - Tony Orlando & Dawn # 70

71 ( NEW ) BOBBY DAZZLER - The First Class # 71
72 ( 73 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LADY - Showaddywaddy # 72
73 ( NEW ) SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - Bryan Ferry # 73
74 ( NEW ) BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER - William DeVaughan # 74
75 ( NEW ) SOMETHING BOUT YOU BABY I LIKE - Tom Jones # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd September 2024, 04:56 PM

24th August 1974

Oldies still dominate my retro top 10 as the reactivated Baby Love tops my chart just as it did 50 years ago, with Frank rising to 3 for a 1963-66 top 3. That's the first Diana Ross track to top my retro countdown since Ain't No Mountain High Enough in 1970's rundown, the first Supremes since Nathan Jones and Stoned Love in 1971's and the first together since 1968's Love Child and 1967's Reflections. Brian Protheroe only ever had the one UK hit, but it's a goodie, a sorta slightly-jazz-flavoured singer-songwriter quirky ballad, the fab Pinball, complete with cat miaowing. In at 6.

New at 12, Harry Chapin gets his 3rd and greatest entry on the rundown with the affecting Cats In The Cradle. At least the song became well-known in the in the 90's, albeit an inferior version, long after Harry had been killed in a car accident. Ken Boothe covers Bread reggae-style, but there will be more UK number ones for artists other than David Gates, but Everything I Own still sounds fab in an oldies club. New at 19. Reunion was arguably the final Bubblegum hit from the USA, with the breath-taking (literally, just try rapping along!) Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me), catchy pop and basically a list of musicians since the 50's and pop culture stuff that meant quite a bit to me - a minor UK hit I grabbed the single soon as it hit the bargain bin, not least because the late Mama Cass got a namecheck amongst a host of others. Lead singer Joey Levine previously hit with Ohio Express' Yummy Yummy Yummy in 1968.

10cc return at 41 with their final single of 1974, Silly Love, and the final track off Sheet Music to make my 1974 retro charts, I've been saving it up for the release date, and it was stonking when I saw them do it live again earlier this year. 3 weeks ago I saw Billy Joel in Cardiff, he was also great, and he pops in with a US single I never heard before Travelin' Prayer, it's largely country by genre, but Bill likes to genre hop from classical to doowop via rock 'n' roll, gospel, surf, ballad, opera and rock. That leaves Eric Carmen and his then-band The Raspberries new in at 63 with big US hit Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) which never became the hit it deserved to be in the UK. Still, he'd get solo success in 2 years retro time, so that's a bonus.


1 ( 3 ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 1
2 ( 1 ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1
3 ( 6 ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT - Frank Sinatra # 3
4 ( 4 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
5 ( 8 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
6 ( NEW ) PINBALL - Brian Protheroe # 6
7 ( 2 ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 2
8 ( 9 ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
9 ( 10 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
10 ( 5 ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2

11 ( 7 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
12 ( NEW ) CAT’S IN THE CRADLE - Harry Chapin # 12
13 ( 11 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
14 ( 12 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
15 ( 14 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
16 ( 16 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
17 ( 13 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
18 ( 18 ) ONLY YOU CAN - Fox # 18
19 ( NEW ) EVERYTHING I OWN - Ken Boothe # 19
20 ( 17 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17

21 ( 21 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 21
22 ( 26 ) DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals # 22
23 ( 23 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
24 ( 19 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
25 ( 27 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 25
26 ( 20 ) TIN MAN - America # 20
27 ( 24 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
28 ( 33 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 28
29 ( 22 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
30 ( 31 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1

31 ( 29 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
32 ( 25 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
33 ( 30 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
34 ( 42 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 34
35 ( 15 ) LADY WILLPOWER - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 15
36 ( 45 ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 36
37 ( 32 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
38 ( NEW ) LIFE IS A ROCK (BUT THE RADIO ROLLED ME) - Reunion # 38
39 ( 38 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
40 ( 36 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6

41 ( NEW ) SILLY LOVE - 10cc # 41
42 ( 28 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7
43 ( 62 ) LOVE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY - Dolly Parton # 43
44 ( 69 ) JAZZMAN - Carole King # 44
45 ( 44 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 18
46 ( 43 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
47 ( 40 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
48 ( 37 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
49 ( 35 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
50 ( 41 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15

51 ( 39 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
52 ( 52 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 52
53 ( 51 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 51
54 ( 49 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
55 ( 57 ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 55
56 ( 58 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 56
57 ( 59 ) THE BLACK-EYED BOYS - Paper Lace # 57
58 ( 64 ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 58
59 ( 63 ) GOLDEN DAY - Rain featuring Stephanie De Sykes # 59
60 ( 60 ) COME BACK KAREN - Wizzard # 60

61 ( 34 ) PLEASE PLEASE ME - David Cassidy # 34
62 ( 46 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9
63 ( NEW ) OVERNIGHT SENSATION (HIT RECORD) - The Raspberries featuring Eric Carmen # 63
64 ( 54 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
65 ( 65 ) YOU YOU YOU - Alvin Stardust # 65
66 ( 48 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
67 ( 70 ) STEPPIN’ OUT - Tony Orlando & Dawn # 67
68 ( 68 ) GEE BABY - Peter Shelley # 68
69 ( 47 ) SAXOPHONE JONES - Limmie & The Family Cooking # 47
70 ( 53 ) HERE COMES THE SUN - Prelude # 53

71 ( 71 ) BOBBY DAZZLER - The First Class # 71
72 ( 72 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LADY - Showaddywaddy # 72
73 ( 73 ) SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - Bryan Ferry # 73
74 ( 66 ) RAINBOW - Peters & Lee # 66
75 ( NEW ) TRAVELIN’ PRAYER - Billy Joel # 75

Posted by: crazy chris 3rd September 2024, 05:47 PM

Hi John, 73-79 are my favourite years for music. Plenty to like in the 60's and 80's but always come back to my fave years.

I remember all the re-issues in 74 but didn't realise one of my all-time faves by Scott McKenzie was out again. Don't think R1 played it much in 74. What a great track though.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th September 2024, 08:20 AM

Hi Chris, my fave years were just a bit before yours I think (67-72) then again late 70's were great. I went off the charts a bit in the summer of 74, prob why so many oldies were hits again after that 1974 Radio 1 poll gave the record companies evidence of oldies that would sell well if they got released - so they spent the next year re-issuing them! I had to create my own oldies chart to cater for all the oldies, and San Francisco was one I bought at the time as a fave oldie but it never sold enough to get radio play or make the breakers chart (for instance this week 50 years ago, Peter Sarstedt and The Bandwagon hits from 68/69 were just outside the top 50 - or what would be top 75 hits in later years). Be My Baby also didnt get to be a hit but my dad had already bought that one in the 60's, so it was already available for me to play at home.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th September 2024, 12:41 PM

31st August 1974

It's the end of a nice lazy summer for sweet 16-year-old me, and 50 years on Bachman-Turner Overdrive debut on top as they enter the US charts with a future chart-topper there and for me in December when I bought the single. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet is a Metal classic, driving along made for car stereos and highways, fake stutter and all. The members of the former hitmakers The Guess Who grabbed their moment of immortality with this one though. Harry Chapin gets his sad Cat's In The Cradle top 10, in a relatively quiet week for new entries.

The Glitter band debut at 41 with their version of the Billie Davies/The Exciters hit that first came out in 1962 as Tell Her in the US. It's on the Glitter Band's new album, and is much better than current single Just For You, so it's a mystery why they didn't issue it as a single given the exact same Glam formula was donated to band Hello in a couple of months - also Bell Records labelmates - albeit with a slightly reduced bpm. I suppose the lack of songwriting royalties on a hit might have been a consideration, too.

Down the bottom-end of the chart Leo Sayer gets his 5th charter with the quirky, folk-ey, Long Tall Glasses, Gene Pitney has a comeback again with a Roger Cook song (Gene was UK-based at this time, and Roger wasn't far off leaving for the US country music songwriting scene after Blue Mink ended badly - not due to the band, as he explained earlier this year when I saw him back with Madeline Bell in concert). Never heard it before but Blue Angel is pretty good. Finally Donnie Elbert is back for a 5th or 6th time, now on Sylvia Robinson's soul label, and she co-wrote Love Is Strange, which sounds very All-Platinum albeit with Donnie's unique vocal style.


1 ( NEW ) YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET - Bachman-Turner Overdrive # 1
2 ( 2 ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1
3 ( 4 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
4 ( 6 ) PINBALL - Brian Protheroe # 4
5 ( 1 ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 1
6 ( 5 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
7 ( 3 ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT - Frank Sinatra # 3
8 ( 8 ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
9 ( 9 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
10 ( 12 ) CAT’S IN THE CRADLE - Harry Chapin # 10

11 ( 7 ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 2
12 ( 10 ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2
13 ( 19 ) EVERYTHING I OWN - Ken Boothe # 13
14 ( 11 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
15 ( 15 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
16 ( 14 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
17 ( 17 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
18 ( 13 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
19 ( 21 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 19
20 ( 38 ) LIFE IS A ROCK (BUT THE RADIO ROLLED ME) - Reunion # 20

21 ( 44 ) JAZZMAN - Carole King # 21
22 ( 18 ) ONLY YOU CAN - Fox # 18
23 ( 23 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
24 ( 25 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 24
25 ( 24 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
26 ( 16 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
27 ( 20 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17
28 ( 28 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 28
29 ( 27 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
30 ( 41 ) SILLY LOVE - 10cc # 30

31 ( 22 ) DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals # 22
32 ( 32 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
33 ( 36 ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 33
34 ( 43 ) LOVE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY - Dolly Parton # 34
35 ( 30 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
36 ( 37 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
37 ( 63 ) OVERNIGHT SENSATION (HIT RECORD) - The Raspberries featuring Eric Carmen # 37
38 ( 29 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
39 ( 39 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
40 ( 71 ) BOBBY DAZZLER - The First Class # 40

41 ( NEW ) TELL HIM - The Glitter Band # 41
42 ( 40 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
43 ( 33 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
44 ( 26 ) TIN MAN - America # 20
45 ( 46 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
46 ( 45 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 18
47 ( 34 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 34
48 ( 55 ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 48
49 ( 56 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 49
50 ( 52 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 50

51 ( 49 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7
52 ( 48 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
53 ( 50 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
54 ( 54 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
55 ( 57 ) THE BLACK-EYED BOYS - Paper Lace # 55
56 ( 35 ) LADY WILLPOWER - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap # 15
57 ( 58 ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 57
58 ( 59 ) GOLDEN DAY - Rain featuring Stephanie De Sykes # 58
59 ( 51 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
60 ( 42 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7

61 ( 65 ) YOU YOU YOU - Alvin Stardust # 61
62 ( 60 ) COME BACK KAREN - Wizzard # 60
63 ( 31 ) SHE - Charles Aznavour # 5
64 ( 68 ) GEE BABY - Peter Shelley # 64
65 ( 67 ) STEPPIN’ OUT - Tony Orlando & Dawn # 65
66 ( 64 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
67 ( 62 ) OUR NATIONAL PASTIME - Rupert Holmes # 9
68 ( 66 ) AMATEUR HOUR - Sparks # 6
69 ( 47 ) THE SIX-TEENS - The Sweet # 14
70 ( NEW ) LONG TALL GLASSES (I CAN DANCE) - Leo Sayer # 70

71 ( NEW ) BLUE ANGEL - Gene Pitney # 71
72 ( 73 ) SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - Bryan Ferry # 72
73 ( 53 ) JUST FOR YOU - The Glitter Band # 51
74 ( 75 ) TRAVELIN’ PRAYER - Billy Joel # 74
75 ( NEW ) LOVE IS STRANGE - Donnie Elbert # 75

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th September 2024, 01:09 PM

7th September 1974

It's a new school year, I was back at Chosen Hill Comprehensive to do Lower 6th GCE retakes (as I'd not really had enough time to get the grades to get ready for A Levels) along with a few soon-to-be schoolmates and my friend Ian, so that meant more exotic stuff this time like Geology and British Constitution, both of which were fairly dry. Orthoclase Feldspar and being swayed more to Liberalism were the main memories, aside from a more relaxed attitude to school uniforms and our own more-adult block to occupy. In music, it's straight in on top for the first hyper bpm disco track from the first Queen Of Disco, Gloria Gaynor, and the thumping classic Never Can Say Goodbye. They took a lovely Jackson 5 ballad and converted into a template for future 80's disco Hi NRG via Donna Summer. Total classic and I was mad on it over Xmas 1974 and into 1975, but out this week in the USA. Along with Queen Of Clubs there was no greater exciting disco records from anyone other than these two acts until Dancing Queen and I Feel Love.

It's a quiet chart week in the UK for me, but happily there's loads of obscure tracks that I loved at the time (and bought) to wittle on about. In at 37, and a number one of mine after his Top Of The Pops appearance, Mick Robertson debuts The Tango's Over as the curly-haired tall Magpie kids TV host tried out a music career (failed). Magpie was much cooler than Blue Peter. Written and beautifully-produced by a certain Richard Hewson, he of future Rah Band hits and various other projects - The Crunch would top my charts in 1977 - he had already worked on The Beatles Long & Winding Road, Mary Hopkin's Those Were The Days, and everybody who was anyone as an arranger, and would carry on into the 80's for Toyah, Five Star & Shaky. So, yes, it's a good record!

Talking of music producers/writers/arrangers MIke Batt is back trying to get Pans People a hit record - the dance troupe on Top Of The Pops dropped this pounding, sultry, forgotten track, You Can Really Rock 'n' Roll Me to little radio play or TV exposure. Again it sounds great, but the vocals let it down - great at dancing, not so much singing though I think Cherry Gillespie was the lead vocalist and gave a good go at it. My memory is that it was her, so I must have seen it somewhere on telly. Andy Fairweather-Low is back with his first solo hit after Amen Corner and Fairweather all faded. Reggae Tune was nice and tuneful, and reggae, in at 52 and what it says on the label, and great to have his unique vocals back after his 60's hits.

In at 57, Hello debut as a late Glam Rock act, as writer/arranger/producer Mike Leander (She's Leaving Home, Beatles, Gary Glitter etc etc) decides to cut a teen-appealing hit cover of his album version of the cover of Billie Davis' UK hit Tell Him. The Glitter Band version has more balls and should have been the single hit really, but Hello would be back in 1975 with a cracker. Mike Leander is obviously the talented one when it comes to the pounding Glam hits on Bell Records. Medicine Head are back with their best record since Rising Sun, Mama Come Out at 63, but the music scene had changed drastically in 12 months and folk-based acts were on the chart decline and disco and teeniebop on the rise. So again no airplay to speak of.

Mike McGear has a famous brother. It's good to have him back with a solo hit after The Scaffold had had their comeback earlier in the year with Liverpool Lou, and this one was written by Paul & Linda, and produced by Macca, so no surprises it sounds like it could have dropped in off an early paul McCartney/Wings album, but it's jolly and catchy and in at 67. That leaves The eagles with James Dean continuing their run of minor retro tracks, and one I pretty much missed at the time - I'm not even sure it was a UK single, as I'm sure I have it on a single as a B side. New entry at 74, anyway, and yes it's about the very late, 50's iconic film star.



1 ( NEW ) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Gloria Gaynor # 1
2 ( 1 ) YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET - Bachman-Turner Overdrive # 1
3 ( 2 ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1
4 ( 3 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
5 ( 10 ) CAT’S IN THE CRADLE - Harry Chapin # 5
6 ( 5 ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 1
7 ( 7 ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT - Frank Sinatra # 3
8 ( 4 ) PINBALL - Brian Protheroe # 4
9 ( 9 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
10 ( 6 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1

11 ( 8 ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
12 ( 12 ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2
13 ( 13 ) EVERYTHING I OWN - Ken Boothe # 13
14 ( 21 ) JAZZMAN - Carole King # 14
15 ( 20 ) LIFE IS A ROCK (BUT THE RADIO ROLLED ME) - Reunion # 15
16 ( 17 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
17 ( 18 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
18 ( 11 ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 2
19 ( 14 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
20 ( 15 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2

21 ( 16 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1
22 ( 23 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
23 ( 25 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
24 ( 26 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
25 ( 29 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
26 ( 31 ) DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals # 22
27 ( 30 ) SILLY LOVE - 10cc # 27
28 ( 41 ) TELL HIM - The Glitter Band # 28
29 ( 37 ) OVERNIGHT SENSATION (HIT RECORD) - The Raspberries featuring Eric Carmen # 29
30 ( 40 ) BOBBY DAZZLER - The First Class # 30

31 ( 22 ) ONLY YOU CAN - Fox # 18
32 ( 33 ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 32
33 ( 34 ) LOVE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY - Dolly Parton # 33
34 ( 32 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
35 ( 35 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1
36 ( 19 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 19
37 ( NEW ) THE TANGO’S OVER - Mick Robertson # 37
38 ( 48 ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 38
39 ( 49 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 39
40 ( 27 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17

41 ( 24 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 24
42 ( 28 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 28
43 ( 38 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
44 ( 42 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6
45 ( 36 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
46 ( 71 ) BLUE ANGEL - Gene Pitney # 46
47 ( NEW ) YOU CAN REALLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ME - Pans People # 47
48 ( 45 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
49 ( 43 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
50 ( 51 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7

51 ( 44 ) TIN MAN - America # 20
52 ( NEW ) REGGAE TUNE - Andy Fairweather-Low # 52
53 ( 54 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
54 ( 52 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
55 ( 46 ) CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE BABE - Barry White # 18
56 ( 39 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
57 ( NEW ) TELL HIM - Hello # 57
58 ( 55 ) THE BLACK-EYED BOYS - Paper Lace # 55
59 ( 59 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
60 ( 61 ) YOU YOU YOU - Alvin Stardust # 60

61 ( 53 ) SPINNIN’ AND SPINNIN’ - Syreeta featuring Stevie Wonder # 15
62 ( 64 ) GEE BABY - Peter Shelley # 62
63 ( NEW ) MAMA COME OUT - Medicine Head # 63
64 ( 65 ) STEPPIN’ OUT - Tony Orlando & Dawn # 64
65 ( 47 ) THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LOVE (BABY) - Wizzard # 34
66 ( 75 ) LOVE IS STRANGE - Donnie Elbert # 66
67 ( NEW ) LEAVE IT - Mike McGear # 67
68 ( 66 ) THE WALL STREET SHUFFLE - 10cc # 1
69 ( 70 ) LONG TALL GLASSES (I CAN DANCE) - Leo Sayer # 69
70 ( 60 ) ROCKET - Mud # 7

71 ( 50 ) NA NA NA - Cozy Powell # 50
72 ( 74 ) TRAVELIN’ PRAYER - Billy Joel # 72
73 ( 57 ) EVIE (PART 1) - Stevie Wright # 57
74 ( NEW ) JAMES DEAN - The Eagles # 74
75 ( 72 ) SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - Bryan Ferry # 72

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd September 2024, 04:46 PM

14th September 1974

It's 2 weeks on top for Gloria Gaynor as my charts of the time diverged quite significantly away from the UK Top 30 charts, but in these retro charts those non-hit tracks aren't doing nearly as well 50 years on! They just haven't dated as well as better-known hits for the most part. I think I was going through a phase of sniffing my nose at some charting records!

The highest new entry is the re-issue of R. Dean Taylor's 1968 mini-classic, Gotta See Jane, which topped my Retro charts 6 years ago, so only gets a mere 4 this time round as it charted in the UK too. The highest actual new song is Billy Swan's US monster I Can Help, which charted over the new year in the UK. Elvis did his best to ruin the charm of this catchy country-ish track with his own hit cover, but thankfully the original still sounds good. Just behind at 11, a pre-Christmas number one for me from Disco Tex & The Sex-o-lettes, a fun, amusing live-based disco romp from the campest frontman on a hit to date. Incredibly it's been forgotten with the passage of time, probably due to the novelty-whiff of it, but it's really a good record, and if Tex stating "My chiffon is wet, my wig is wet" doesn't gladden your heart, then there's nothing more I can do for you!

The Troggs are also back out to buy new in at 32, Wild Thing in the shops and in my re-issue charts, cos it's also great fun and a rock classic soon-to-be piss-taked in an episode of The Goodies (and made available on their single Nappy Love) as the trio dress up as Elton Rubettes Stardust and utter the immortal line "Wild Thing, hold me, TIGHT. Not!. Quite!. That!. Tight!" Classic moment. At 33 another chart-topper for me in 1974 on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records, produced by the man, and much in evidence on it, to help his mate Ravi Shankar, Norah Jones' dad. I still rate the Eastern/Indian vibes of it. I Am Missing You.

At 37, and helped by Elton John (you can hear me singalongaJohn) John Lennon is back and on track for his first US chart-topper, with a bet from Elton that it would be a number one. John was so sure it wouldn't he agreed to join Elton on stage (for what would be his last ever live appearance) if it got to the top. He wa cacking himself, but it paid dividends of sorts as estranged Yoko was in the New York audience and felt sorry for him looking so lost, so they got back together and made a baby Sean.

Al Green starts phase 2 of his soul hit career in the UK after a quiet 1973, with Sha La La at 48, as meanwhile Robert Wyatt, of Soft machine, has a hit and a memorable Top Of The Pops appearance in a wheelchair following an accident which left him paralysed from the waist down, and forced him to start a solo career around his needs. I'm A Believer was very different from the Monkees version of the Neil Diamond hit, but it was the start of getting that band some much-needed critical re-evaluation as the comedy music shows continued to be broadcast on TV in the UK.

That leaves a Mike McGear B side, also written & produced by Paul & Linda McCartney and sounding very Macca, Sweet baby, a Marvin Gaye single I don't know, but it's in the groove of his last 3 albums, a charting Diana Ross track I've totally forgotten (and didn't chart originally), and finally David Bowie's worst single of anything in the 70's to date - a pretty throwaway live version of Knock On Wood. Not as good as the original and not as interesting as the Amii Stewart disco cover in 1979. Now there's a thought, maybe David should try a bit of disco funk next....?


1 ( 1 ) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Gloria Gaynor # 1
2 ( 3 ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1
3 ( 2 ) YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET - Bachman-Turner Overdrive # 1
4 ( NEW ) GOTTA SEE JANE - R. Dean Taylor # 4
5 ( 4 ) QUEEN OF CLUBS - KC & The Sunshine Band # 1
6 ( 6 ) BABY LOVE - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 1
7 ( 7 ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT - Frank Sinatra # 3
8 ( 5 ) CAT’S IN THE CRADLE - Harry Chapin # 5
9 ( 8 ) PINBALL - Brian Protheroe # 4
10 ( NEW ) I CAN HELP - Billy Swan # 10

11 ( NEW ) GET DANCIN’ - Disco Tex & The Sex-o-lettes # 11
12 ( 9 ) SAD SWEET DREAMER - Sweet Sensation # 6
13 ( 10 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1
14 ( 14 ) JAZZMAN - Carole King # 14
15 ( 15 ) LIFE IS A ROCK (BUT THE RADIO ROLLED ME) - Reunion # 15
16 ( 12 ) SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie # 2
17 ( 11 ) LOVE ME FOR A REASON - The Osmonds # 8
18 ( 16 ) NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE - The O’Jays # 6
19 ( 26 ) DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals # 19
20 ( 28 ) TELL HIM - The Glitter Band # 20

21 ( 17 ) HANG ON IN THERE BABY - Johnny Bristol # 1
22 ( 19 ) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin # 1
23 ( 18 ) THEY WON’T GO WHEN I GO - Stevie Wonder # 2
24 ( 22 ) I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - Olivia Newton-John # 17
25 ( 13 ) EVERYTHING I OWN - Ken Boothe # 13
26 ( 33 ) LOVE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY - Dolly Parton # 26
27 ( 46 ) BLUE ANGEL - Gene Pitney # 27
28 ( 25 ) JUST A SMILE - Pilot # 1
29 ( 20 ) I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - Kiki Dee Band # 2
30 ( 21 ) IT’S ALL UP TO YOU - Jim Capaldi # 1

31 ( 23 ) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART) - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye # 11
32 ( NEW ) WILD THING - The Troggs # 32
33 ( NEW ) I AM MISSING YOU - Shankar Family & Friends featuring George Harrison # 33
34 ( 24 ) TONIGHT - The Rubettes # 4
35 ( 37 ) THE TANGO’S OVER - Mick Robertson # 35
36 ( 29 ) OVERNIGHT SENSATION (HIT RECORD) - The Raspberries featuring Eric Carmen # 29
37 ( NEW ) WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT - John Lennon featuring Elton John # 37
38 ( 27 ) SILLY LOVE - 10cc # 27
39 ( 30 ) BOBBY DAZZLER - The First Class # 30
40 ( 35 ) TRAVELIN’ BOY - Garfunkel # 1

41 ( 34 ) THERE’S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE - R. Dean Taylor # 1
42 ( 31 ) ONLY YOU CAN - Fox # 18
43 ( 36 ) YOU GOT IT - Average White Band # 19
44 ( 41 ) THE PLAYER - First Choice # 24
45 ( 47 ) YOU CAN REALLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ME - Pans People # 45
46 ( 45 ) MISS HIT AND RUN - Barry Blue # 10
47 ( 40 ) KUNG FU FIGHTING - Carl Douglas # 17
48 ( NEW ) SHA LA LA (MAKE ME HAPPY) - Al Green # 48
49 ( 52 ) REGGAE TUNE - Andy Fairweather-Low # 49
50 ( 44 ) OLD WILD MEN - 10cc # 6

51 ( 49 ) THE “IN” CROWD - Bryan Ferry # 1
52 ( 56 ) O.K. CHICAGO - Resonance # 9
53 ( 53 ) ROCK YOUR BABY - George McCrae # 1
54 ( 67 ) LEAVE IT - Mike McGear # 54
55 ( 48 ) THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US - Sparks # 1
56 ( 43 ) YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ - Stevie Wonder # 16
57 ( 57 ) TELL HIM - Hello # 57
58 ( 32 ) THE WIZARD OF LOVE - The Pearls # 32
59 ( 39 ) UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - Polly Brown # 39
60 ( 50 ) ANNIE’S SONG - John Denver # 7

61 ( 42 ) YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER - The Tymes # 28
62 ( 54 ) WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY - Mouth & MacNeal # 14
63 ( 63 ) MAMA COME OUT - Medicine Head # 63
64 ( 60 ) YOU YOU YOU - Alvin Stardust # 60
65 ( 59 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (WHO NEEDS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL) - Rainbow Children # 13
66 ( NEW ) I’M A BELIEVER - Robert Wyatt # 66
67 ( 69 ) LONG TALL GLASSES (I CAN DANCE) - Leo Sayer # 67
68 ( 51 ) TIN MAN - America # 20
69 ( 38 ) DO IT BABY - The Miracles # 38
70 ( 62 ) GEE BABY - Peter Shelley # 62

71 ( 66 ) LOVE IS STRANGE - Donnie Elbert # 66
72 ( NEW ) SWEET BABY - Mike McGear # 72
73 ( NEW ) DISTANT LOVER - Marvin Gaye # 73
74 ( NEW ) LOVE ME - Diana Ross # 74
75 ( NEW ) KNOCK ON WOOD - David Bowie # 75