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Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd October 2019, 01:50 AM

As chartologists we often spend a lot of time discussing the biggest selling hits, or those that spent the longest in the charts. Or perhaps those hits that 'would have been' number ones if a chart rule had've been different, or if a different chart source had been used for a certain time period. We also, of course, spend time each week looking at the newly released charts.

But it occured to me that sometimes it can be more interesting for nostalgia purposes, or to better understand the past, to look at the more obscure details, rather than always rehashing the most well-known and well worn facts and stories, and if we're going for the obscure, then why not go the whole hog and look at the very obscurest chart hits, the ones that spent a single solitary week in the charts and were never seen (or more accurately heard from) again. Sometimes these were minor releases from otherwise major stars (in the 50s these could simply be the 'other side' of a major hit), some others were knock-off versions of hits that charted for longer in a more well-known version. At the other extreme sometimes the week of chart action represents the only week that that chart act ever appeared on the chart.

This then is the journey I propose we go on. I intend to plod along from the first chart in 1952 to within a few weeks of whatever the current date will be when/if I get that far, and detail those chart entries each week that never got another week of chart action ever. I intend to be a bit liberal with regard to what constitutes the same single, so that if a song later charted as a remixed, re-issued or re-recorded version then I will generally consider that to be the same song having further chart action and thus not include it here, though if the act is slightly different (say an old hit has been reversioned with an additional act or acts added/featured) then I probably will still include it if it only charted for a week. I also intend to be as accurate as possible in terms of sourcing the charts etc. I have already done the basic research for the 50's, using the NME chart book, and am in the process of checking against the OCC website, just to catch any re-emergences that may have happened in the download/streaming eras (probably only xmas-based tracks, but you never know). I will use the Record Retailer Top 50 through to 1978 (I believe there is a xmas week in the 60s where Record Mirror published a new chart and RR didn't, so that should be referred too as well), then move to the full 75 from 1978-1983. I'm undecided on whether or not to move to the Top 100 from 1983-1991, as I believe the OCC versions are compressed, as are all publically available sub 75 positions in that era. The OCC also has a Top 100 from February 1994, so we'll have to make a judgement on that too nearer the time, as I don't know if those sub 75s are compressed or uncompressed (or change between the two at different times between then and the download era). I do also have the Chartwatch books from 1995 to 2001, and gather that they use the uncompressed top 200s until May 2001, so may refer to the 75-100 portion of those. I'll have to see what will both make sense and be reasonably manageable to actually compile the ongoing list from.

*Original comment edited to add two ongoing lists, one of all the One Week Wonder singles so far, and another of all the acts and artists so far whose entire UK chart career was one week:
Singles
01. 1952/11/15 – 10 – Vera Lynn – Auf Wiedersehen (Sweetheart) – Decca F 9927 ▲
02. 1952/11/15 – 12 – Johnnie Ray – Walkin’ My Baby Back Home – Columbia DB 3060
03. 1952/11/22 – 09 – Al Martino – Take My Heart – Capitol 13769
04. 1953/01/10 – 11 – Jimmy Young – Faith Can Move Mountains – Decca F 9986
05. 1953/01/17 – 11 – Ted Heath and his music – Vanessa – Decca F 9983
06. 1953/01/24 – 12 – Tony Brent – Got You On My Mind – Columbia DB 3226
07. 1953/01/31 – 10 – The Mills Brothers – The Glow Worm – Brunswick 05007
08. 1953/02/21 – 12 – Dickie Valentine – Broken Wings – Decca F 9954
09. 1953/03/07 – 11 – Joni James – Why Don’t You Believe Me? – MGM 582 ▲
10. 1953/03/21 – 11 – Frankie Laine – The Girl In The Wood – Columbia DB 2907
11. 1953/03/21 – 12 – Buddy Morrow – Night Train – HMV B 10347
12. 1953/04/04 – 12 – Doris Day and Johnnie Ray – Ma Says, Pa Says – Columbia DB 3242
13. 1953/04/18 – 11 – Doris Day and Johnnie Ray – Full Time Job – Columbia DB 3242
14. 1953/06/06 – 07 – Dickie Valentine – In A Golden Coach (There’s A Heart Of Gold) – Decca F 10098
15. 1953/06/06 – 11 – Vera Lynn – The Windsor Waltz – Decca F 10092
16. 1953/06/06 – 12 – Dorothy Squires – I’m Walking Behind You – Polygon P 1068
17. 1953/07/11 – 12 – Vivian Blaine – Bushel And A Peck – Brunswick 05100
18. 1953/10/03 – 09 – David Whitfield – The Bridge Of Sighs – Decca F 10129
19. 1954/01/30 – 11 – Frankie Vaughan with The Peter Knight Singers – Istanbul (Not Constantinople) – HMV B 10599
20. 1954/02/27 – 11 – Guy Mitchell – Sippin’ Soda – Philips PB 210B
21. 1954/04/10 – 12 – Stargazers – The Happy Wanderer – Decca F 10259
22. 1954/04/17 – 10 – Nat ‘King’ Cole – Tenderly – Capitol CL 14061
23. 1954/05/08 – 08 – Jo Stafford – Make Love To Me! – Philips PB 233 ▲
24. 1954/07/10 – 12 – Frank Sinatra – Young-At-Heart – Capitol CL 14065
25. 1954/11/06 – 18 – Joan Regan with The Johnston Brothers – Wait For Me, Darling – Decca F 10362
26. 1954/11/06 – 19 – Dickie Valentine – Endless – Decca F 10346
27. 1954/11/13 – 17 – Norman Brooks – A Sky-Blue Shirt And A Rainbow Tie – London L 1228
28. 1954/12/11 – 16 – Perry Como – Papa Loves Mambo – HMV B 10776
29. 1955/01/22 – 16 – Max Bygraves – Mister Sandman – HMV B 10801
30. 1955/02/05 – 13 – Mario Lanza – Drink Drink Drink (The Drinking Song) – HMV DA 2065
31. 1955/02/12 – 20 – The De Castro Singers with Skip Martin and his Orchestra – Teach Me Tonight – London HL 8104
32. 1955/02/19 – 16 – Joan Weber – Let Me Go Lover – Philips PB 389 ▲
33. 1955/03/05 – 20 – The Stargazers – Somebody – Decca F 10437
34. 1955/03/12 – 20 – Frankie Laine – In The Beginning – Philips PB 404
35. 1955/04/02 – 20 – The McGuire Sisters – No More – Vogue Coral Q 72050
36. 1955/04/23 – 17 – Frankie Vaughan – Tweedle Dee – Philips PB 423
37. 1955/04/23 – 20 – Georgia Gibbs – Tweedle Dee – Mercury MB 3196
38. 1955/05/07 – 19 – Joan and Rusty Regan – Open Up Your Heart – Decca F 10474
39. 1955/05/21 – 20 – Johnnie Ray – Paths Of Paradise – Philips PB 441
40. 1955/06/18 – 20 – Liberace – Unchained Melody – Philips PB 430
41. 1955/07/23 – 20 – The Five Smith Brothers – I’m In Favour Of Friendship – Decca F 10527
42. 1955/09/03 – 18 – Frank Sinatra – Not As A Stranger – Capitol CL 14326
43. 1955/09/10 – 20 – Doris Day – Love Me Or Leave Me – Philips PB 479
44. 1955/09/17 – 18 – Tony Bennett – Close Your Eyes – Philips PB 445
45. 1955/09/24 – 17 – Alma Cogan – The Banjo’s Back In Town – HMV B 10917 (A)
46. 1955/09/24 – 20 – Charlie Applewhite with Victor Young and Chorus – Blue Star – Brunswick 05416
47. 1955/10/01 – 16 – Sammy Davis Jr – That Old Black Magic – Brunswick 05450
48. 1955/10/08 – 19 – Sammy Davis Jr – Hey There – Brunswick 05469
49. 1955/10/22 – 18 – The Central Band of The Royal Air Force – The Dam Busters March – HMV B 10877
50. 1955/10/29 – 20 – Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra – Blue Star (The Medic Theme) – Parlophone R 4074
51. 1955/11/12 – 16 – Frankie Laine – Hummingbird – Philips PB 498
52. 1955/11/26 – 20 – The Coronets – Twenty Tiny Fingers – Columbia DB 3671
53. 1955/12/17 – 17 – Alma Cogan – Twenty Tiny Fingers – HMV POP 129 (A)
54. 1955/12/31 – 09 – The Johnston Brothers and The George Chisholm Sour-Note Six – Join In And Sing Again – Decca F 10636
55. 1955/12/31 – 24 – Perry Como – Tina Marie – HMV POP 103
56. 1956/01/14 – 19 – Edna Savage – Arriverderci Darling – Parlophone R 4097
57. 1956/01/28 – 20 – Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra – The Shifting, Whispering Sands, Part 1 – London HLD 8205
58. 1956/02/18 – 20 – Max Bygraves – The Ballad Of Davy Crockett – HMV POP 153
59. 1956/03/03 – 20 – Dean Martin – Young And Foolish – Capitol CL 14519
60. 1956/04/14 – 22 – The Johnston Brothers – No Other Love – Decca F 10721
61. 1956/04/14 – 29 – Tony Bennett – Come Next Spring – Philips PB 537
62. 1956/04/21 – 28 – Sammy Davis Jr – In A Persian Market – Brunswick 05518
63. 1956/05/05 – 28 – Frankie Laine – Hell Hath No Fury – Philips PB 585
64. 1956/06/09 – 27 – Jimmy Young – The Wayward Wind – Decca F 10736
65. 1956/06/09 – 30 – Vera Lynn – Who Are We – Decca F 10715
66. 1956/06/23 – 25 – Jimmy Young – Rich Man, Poor Man – Decca F 10736
67. 1956/06/23 – 28 – The Stargazers – Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom) – Decca F 10731
68. 1956/07/14 – 24 – Georgia Gibbs – Kiss Me Another – Mercury MT 110
69. 1956/08/25 – 27 – Clyde McPhatter – Treasure Of Love – London HLE 8293
70. 1956/09/01 – 29 – David Whitfield – My Unfinished Symphony – Decca F 10769
71. 1956/09/15 – 30 – The Hilltoppers – Tryin’ – London HLD 8298
72. 1956/09/22 – 27 – David Hughes – By The Fountains Of Rome – Philips PB 606
73. 1956/09/22 – 30 – Ronnie Hilton – A Woman In Love – HMV POP 248
74. 1956/10/13 – 28 – Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps – Race With The Devil – Capitol CL 14628
75. 1956/10/20 – 28 – Liberace – I Don’t Care – Philips PB 430
76. 1956/12/01 – 27 – The Johnston Brothers – In The Middle Of The House – Decca F 10781
77. 1956/12/01 – 30 – Sonny James – The Cat Came Back – Capitol CL 14635
78. 1956/12/08 – 29 – The Deep River Boys – That’s Right – HMV POP 263
79. 1956/12/15 – 26 – Vince Martin and The Tarriers – Cindy, Oh Cindy – London HLN 8340
80. 1956/12/29 – 28 – Sammy Davis Jr – All Of You – Brunswick 05629
81. 1957/01/05 – 29 – The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts – Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love) – Brunswick 05623
82. 1957/01/12 – 29 – Mitchell Torok – Red Light, Green Light – Brunswick 05626
83. 1957/02/02 – 29 – Fats Domino – Honey Chile – London HLU – 8356
84. 1957/02/09 – 27 – The Johnston Brothers – Give Her My Love – Decca F 10828
85. 1957/02/23 – 29 – Little Richard – Tutti Frutti – London HLO 8366
86. 1957/03/09 – 27 – Elvis Presley – Rip It Up – HMV POP 305
87. 1957/05/04 – 30 – Jimmy Young – Round And Round – Decca F 10875
88. 1957/07/06 – 28 – Nat ‘King’ Cole – When Rock And Roll Came To Trinidad – Capitol CL 14733
89. 1957/07/20 – 25 – Fats Domino – Valley Of Tears – London HLP 8449
90. 1957/07/20 – 29 – Gary Miller – Wonderful, Wonderful – Pye Nixa N 15094
91. 1957/08/24 – 30 – Shirley Bassey – Fire Down Below – Philips PB 723
92. 1957/09/28 – 30 – The Coasters – Searchin’ – London HLE 8450
93. 1957/10/26 – 27 – Johnny Duncan and The Blue Grass Boys – Blue, Blue Heartaches – Columbia DB 3996
94. 1957/11/02 – 30 – Jimmie Rodgers – Honeycomb – Columbia DB 3986 ▲
95. 1957/11/23 – 28 – Tommy Steele and The Steelmen – Hey You! – Decca F 10941
96. 1957/11/30 – 30 – Billy Ward and The Dominoes – Deep Purple – London HLU 8502
97. 1957/12/14 – 29 – Pat Boone – White Christmas – London HLD 8520
98. 1957/12/28 – 28 – Dickie Valentine – Snowbound For Christmas – Decca F 10950
99. 1958/01/04 – 27 – The Kaye Sisters – Shake Me I Rattle/Alone – Philips PB 752
100. 1958/01/11 – 26 – Charlie GracIe – Cool Baby – London HLU 8521
101. 1958/01/11 – 27 – Jim Dale – Just Born (To Be Your Baby) – Parlophone R 4376
102. 1958/01/18 – 29 – Sam Cooke – You Send Me – London HLU 8506 ▲
103. 1958/02/22 – 25 – Louis Prima – Buona Sera – Capitol CL 14821
104. 1958/02/22 – 30 – Bobby Helms – No Other Baby – Brunswick 05730
105. 1958/05/31 – 26 – Paul Anka – Crazy Love – Columbia DB 4110
106. 1958/06/28 – 29 – Jackie Dennis – The Purple People Eater – Decca F 11033
107. 1958/07/05 – 25 – Renato Carosone and his Sextet – Terero – Cha Cha Cha – Parlophone R 4433
108. 1958/07/05 – 26 – Fats Domino – Sick And Tired – London HLP 8628
109. 1958/07/12 – 27 – Michael Holliday – I’ll Always Be In Love With You – Columbia DB 4155
110. 1958/08/09 – 30 – David Whitfield – The Right To Love – Decca F 11039
111. 1958/08/30 – 30 – Russ Conway – Got A Match – Columbia DB 4166
112. 1958/09/27 – 26 – Paul Anka – Midnight – Columbia DB 4172
113. 1958/09/27 – 28 – Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group – Lonesome Traveller – Pye Nixa 7N 15158
114. 1958/10/11 – 30 – Frankie Avalon – Gingerbread – HMV POP 517
115. 1958/11/22 – 27 – Ricky Nelson – I Get A Feeling – London HLP 8732
116. 1958/12/06 – 29 – Cozy Cole – Topsy (Part 1 and 2) – London HL 8750
117. 1958/12/06 – 30 – Pat Boone – Gee But It’s Lonely – London HLD 8739
118. 1959/01/31 – 24 – Joni James – There Must Be A Way – MGM 1002
119. 1959/02/28 – 30 – The Mudlarks – The Love Game – Columbia DB 4250
120. 1959/03/07 – 29 – Ritchie Valens – Donna – Lond HL 8803
121. 1959/03/28 – 29 – Domenico Modugno – Ciao Ciao Bambina (Piove) – Oriole CB 1489
122. 1959/03/28 – 30 – Conway Twitty – The Story Of My Love – MGM 1003
123. 1959/05/02 – 28 – Jerry Lee Lewis – Lovin’ Up A Storm – London – HLS 8840
124. 1959/05/16 – 30 – Frank Sinatra – Come Dance With Me (LP) – Capitol LCT 6179
125. 1959/05/23 – 27 – Jane Morgan – If I Could Only Live My Life Again – London HLR 8810
126. 1959/06/27 – 28 – Billy Fury – Margo, Don’t Go – Decca F 11128
127. 1959/08/08 – 29 – Tommy Edwards – My Melancholy Baby – MGM 1020
128. 1959/08/22 – 28 – The Impalas – Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) – MGM 1015
129. 1959/09/05 – 23 – Ray Peterson – The Wonder Of You – RCA 1131
130. 1959/09/26 – 30 – Jack Scott – The Way I Walk – London HLL 8912
131. 1959/10/03 – 26 – Dee Clark – Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens) – London HL 8915
132. 1959/10/24 – 27 – Clinton Ford – Old Shep – Oriole CB 1500
133. 1959/10/24 – 28 – Joe ‘Mr Piano’ Henderson – Treble Chance – Pye 7N 15224
134. 1959/10/31 – 28 – Dickie Pride – Primrose Lane – Columbia DB 4340
135. 1959/11/07 – 23 – Ivo Robic – Morgen – Polydor 23923
136. 1959/11/21 – 27 – Anne Shelton – The Village Of St Bernadette – Philips PB 969
137. 1959/11/28 – 25 – Paul Evans and The Curls – Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat – London HLL 8968
138. 1959/11/28 – 30 – Johnny Mathis – The Best Of Everything – Fontana H 218
139. 1959/12/05 – 29 – The Kingston Trio – San Miguel – Capitol CL 15073
140. 1959/12/19 – 26 – Nina and Frederik – Mary’s Boy Child – Columbia DB 4375
141. 1960/01/16 – 27 – The Crickets – When You Ask About Love – Coral Q 72382
142. 1960/01/16 – 29 – Bill Forbes – Too Young – Columbia DB 4386
143. 1960/01/16 – 30 – Ricky Nelson – I Wanna Be Loved – London HLP 9021
144. 1960/02/13 – 30 – Toni Fisher – The Big Hurt – Top Rank JAR 261
145. 1960/03/10 – 43 – Don Lang – Sink The Bismarck – HMV POP 714
146. 1960/03/10 – 45 – Ken Mackintosh and his Orchestra – No Hiding Place – HMV POP 713
147. 1960/03/10 – 46 – Fabian - Hound Dog Man – HMV POP 695
148. 1960/03/17 – 33 – The England Sisters – Heartbeat – HMV POP 710
149. 1960/03/17 – 42 – Freddy Cannon – Indiana – Top Rank JAR 309
150. 1960/03/17 – 44 – Maureen Evans – Love Kisses And Heartaches – Oriole CB 1540
151. 1960/03/17 – 47 – Dick Jordan – Hallelujah, I Love Her So – Oriole CB 1534
152. 1960/03/17 – 49 – The Champs – Too Much Tequila –London HLH 9052
153. 1960/03/24 – 40 – Shaye Cogan – Mean To Me – MGM 1063
154. 1960/03/24 – 43 – Richard Allan – As Time Goes By – Parlophone R 4634
155. 1960/03/24 – 44 – Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson – Ooh! La! La! – Pye 7N 15257
156. 1960/03/24 – 47 – Ray Peterson – Answer Me – RCA 1175
157. 1960/03/31 – 41 – Paul Evans – Midnite Special – London HLL 9045
158. 1960/03/31 – 44 – Carl Dobkins Jr – Lucky Devil – Brunswick 08517
159. 1960/03/31 – 49 - Al Martino – Summertime – Top Rank JAR 312
160. 1960/03/31 – 50 – Santo And Johnny – Teardrop – Parlophone R 4619
161. 1960/04/14 – 49 – Pat Suzuki – I Enjoy Being A Girl – RCA 1171
162. 1960/04/21 – 45 – Lloyd Price – Lady Luck – HMV POP 712
163. 1960/04/21 – 47 – Russ Conway – Things Ain't What They Used To Be – Coulmbia DB 4422
164. 1960/05/12 – 40 – Stan Freburg ft Jesse White – Old Payola Roll Blues – Capitol CL 15122
165. 1960/05/12 – 42 – Crickets – More Than I Can Say – Coral Q 72395
166. 1960/05/12 – 48 – Alma Cogan – Dream Talk – HMV POP 728
167. 1960/05/19 – 47 – Marty Wilde – The Fight – Philips PB 1022
168. 1960/05/26 – 48 – Marty Robbins – Big Iron – Fontana H 229
169. 1960/06/02 – 49 – George Chakiris – Heart Of A Teenage Girl – Triumph RGM 1010
170. 1960/06/09 – 47 – Jerry Lee Lewis – Baby, Baby, Bye Bye – London HLS 9131
171. 1960/06/09 – 50 – Mr. Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band – Goodnight Sweet Prince – Melodisc MEL 1547
172. 1960/06/16 – 46 – Sammy Davis Jr and Carmen McCrae – Happy To Meet Your Acquaintance – Brunswick 05830
173. 1960/06/23 – 46 – Jerry Wallace – You’re Singing Our Love Song To Somebody Else – London HLH 9110
174. 1960/06/30 – 39 – Jess Conrad – Cherry Pie – Decca F 11236
175. 1960/06/30 – 44 – Bobby Rydell – Swinging School – Columbia DB 4471
176. 1960/07/07 – 48 – Ricky Nelson – Young Emotions – London HLP 9121
177. 1960/07/14 – 49 – John Barry Orchestra – Never Let Go – Columbia DB 4480
178. 1960/07/21 – 50 – Jimmy Clanton – Another Sleepless Night – Top Rank JAR 382
179. 1960/07/28 – 43 – Staiffi and his Mustafas – Mustafa – Pye International 7N 25057
180. 1960/07/28 – 49 – Johnny Preston – I’m Starting To Go Steady – Mercury AMT 1104
181. 1960/07/28 – 50 – Max Bygraves – Consider Yourself – Decca F 11251
182. 1960/08/04 – 41 – Steve Perry – Step By Step – HMV POP 745
183. 1960/08/11 – 43 – Craig Douglas – Oh! What A Day – Top Rank JAR 406
184. 1960/08/11 – 50 – Marv Johnson – Ain’t Gonna Be That Way – London HLT 9165
185. 1960/08/18 – 44 – Ferrante and Teicher – Theme from ‘The Apartment’ – London HLT 9164
186. 1960/08/18 – 47 – Keith Kelly – Listen Little Girl – Parlophone R 4676
187. 1960/08/18 – 49 – Steve Lawrence – Girls Girls Girls – London HLT 9166
188. 1960/08/25 – 50 – Hal Page and the Whalers – Going Back To My Home Town – Melodisc MEL 1553
189. 1960/09/01 – 50 – Michael Holliday – Little Boy Lost – Columbia DB 4475
190. 1960/09/08 – 50 – Bill Black’s Combo – White Silver Sands – London HLU 9090
191. 1960/09/15 – 44 – Paul Anka – Hello Young Lovers – Columbia DB 4504
192. 1960/09/29 – 49 – Frank Ifield – Gotta Get A Date – Columbia DB 4496
193. 1960/10/06 – 46 – Ella Fitzgerald – How High The Moon – HMV POP 782
194. 1960/10/27 – 50 – Chaquito and his Orchestra – Never On Sunday – Fontana H 265
195. 1960/11/03 – 41 – Eddie Cochran – Lonely – London HLG 9196
196. 1960/11/10 – 47 – Umberto Bindi – Il Nostro Concerto – Oriole CB 1577
197. 1960/11/17 – 46 – Jimmy Jones – Ready For Love – MGM 1103
198. 1960/11/24 – 47 – Joan Regan – One Of The Lucky Ones – Pye 7N 15310
199. 1960/11/24 – 49 – David Whitfield – I Believe – Decca F 11289
200. 1960/12/15 – 46 – Bob Luman – Why Why Bye Bye – Warner Bros. WB 28
201. 1960/12/22 – 50 – Jackie Wilson – Alone At Last – Coral Q 72412
202. 1960/12/29 – 40 – Tommy Steele – Must Be Santa – Decca F 11299
203. 1960/12/29 – 42 – Cleo Laine – Let’s Slip Away – Fontana H 269
204. 1961/01/05 – 42 – Joan Regan – Must Be Santa – Pye 7N 15303
205. 1961/01/19 – 40 – Olympics – I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate – Vogue V 9174
206. 1961/01/19 – 47 – Dion – Lonely Teenager – Top Rank JAR 521
207. 1961/02/16 – 45 – Tommy Zang – Hey Good Looking – Polydor NH 66957
208. 1961/02/16 – 50 – Brook Benton – Fools Rush In – Mercury AMT 1121
209. 1961/02/23 – 49 – Packabeats – Gypsy Beat – Parlophone R 4729
210. 1961/02/23 – 50 – Tony Osbourne Sound – Man From Madrid – HMV POP 827
211. 1961/03/09 – 45 – Ventures – Ram-Bunk-Shush – London HLG 9292
212. 1961/03/16 – 50 – Jim Reeves – Whispering Hope – RCA 1223
213. 1961/04/06 – 45 – Brenda Lee – Emotions – Brunswick 05847
214. 1961/04/13 – 44 – Petula Clark – Something Missing – Pye 7N 15337
215. 1961/04/13 – 47 – Johnny Kidd and The Pirates – Linda Lu – HMV POP 853
216. 1961/05/04 – 43 – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents – Billy Boy – Top Rank JAR 558
217. 1961/05/04 – 47 – Bert Weedon – Mr. Guitar – Top Rank JAR 559
218. 1961/05/11 – 46 – Velvets – That Lucky Sun – London HLU 9328
219. 1961/05/11 – 50 – Frankie Laine – Gunslinger – Philips PB 1135
220. 1961/06/08 – 49 – Jimmy Crawford – Love Or Money – Columbia DB 4463
221. 1961/07/27 – 48 – Nero and The Gladiators – In The Hall Of The Mountain King – Decca F 11367
222. 1961/07/27 – 49 – Fats Domino – It Keeps Rainin’ – London HLP 9374
223. 1961/08/17 – 48 – Clinton Ford – Too Many Beautiful Girls – Oriole CB 1623
224. 1961/08/17 – 50 – Velvets – Tonight (Could Be The Night) – London HLU 9372
225. 1961/08/24 – 49 – Joe Barry – I’m A Fool To Care – Mercury AMT 1149
226. 1961/09/07 – 48 – Al Saxon – There I’ve Said It Again – Picadilly 7N 35011
227. 1961/09/14 – 50 – Linda Scott – Don’t Bet Money Honey – Columbia DB 4692
228. 1961/10/19 – 48 – Joe Loss – Sucu Sucu – HMV POP 937
229. 1961/10/26 – 50 – Bobby Darin Orchestra – Come September – London HLK 9407
230. 1961/11/02 – 50 – Moontrekkers – Night Of The Vampire – Parlophone R 4814
231. 1961/11/30 – 43 – Fats Domino – What A Party – London HLP 5496
232. 1962/01/11 – 48 – Chakachas – Twist Twist – RCA 1264
233. 1962/01/25 – 37 – Brook Brothers – He’s Old Enough To Know Better – Pye 7N 15409
234. 1962/02/22 – 47 – Brad Newman – Somebody To Love – Fontana H 357
235. 1962/02/22 – 50 – Tommy Bruce – Babette – Columbia DB 4776
236. 1962/03/08 – 43 – Emile Ford – I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now – Piccadilly 7N 35033
237. 1962/03/29 – 41 – Fats Domino – Jambalaya – London HLP 9520
238. 1962/04/19 – 45 – Chubby Checker and Bobby Rydell – Teach Me To Twist – Columbia DB 4802
239. 1962/04/26 – 43 – Patsy Cline – She’s Got You – Brunswick 05866
240. 1962/05/03 – 49 – Terry Lightfoot and his New Orleans Jazzmen – Tavern In The Town – Columbia DB 4822
241. 1962/09/06 – 47 – The Vernon Girls – Loco-Motion – Decca F 11495
242. 1962/09/27 – 48 – Fentones – The Breeze And I – Parlophone R 4937
243. 1962/10/04 – 49 – George Shearing – Bauble, Bangles and Beads – Capitol CL 15269
244. 1962/10/04 – 50 – Tony Hatch – Out Of This World – Pye 7N 15460
245. 1962/11/08 – 50 – Roy Orbison – Workin’ For The Man – London HLU 9607
246. 1962/12/20 – 48 – Connie Francis – I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter – MGM 1185
247. 1963/01/10 – 48 – Johnny Kidd and The Pirates – Shot Of Rhythm & Blues – HMV POP 1088
248. 1963/01/10 – 50 – Cookies – Chain – London HLU 9634
249. 1963/02/21 – 46 – Exciters – Tell Him – United Artists UP 1011
250. 1963/04/04 – 49 – Johnny Mathis – What Will My Baby Say – CBS AAG 135
251. 1963/06/06 – 48 – Tony Sheridan and The Beatles – My Bonnie – Polydor NH 66833
252. 1963/07/25 – 42 – The Isley Brothers – Twist And Shout – Stateside SS 112
253. 1963/07/25 – 45 – Mickie Most – Mister Porter – Decca F 11664
254. 1963/08/15 – 43 – Alice Babs – After You’ve Gone – Fontana TF 409
255. 1963/08/29 – 48 – Al Martino – I Love You Because – Capitol CL 15300
256. 1963/08/29 – 49 – Duane Eddy – Your Baby’s Gone Surfin’ – RCA 1357
257. 1963/10/03 – 50 – The Angels – My Boyfriend’s Back – Mercury AMT 1211 ▲
258. 1964/02/13 – 49 – Tony Sheveton – A Million Drums – Oriole CB 1895
259. 1964/02/20 – 49 – John Leyton – Make Love To Me – HMV POP 1264
260. 1964/02/27 – 49 – Mary May – Anyone Who Had A Heart – Fontana TF 440
261. 1964/04/09 – 49 – Undertakers – Just A Little Bit – Pye 7N 15607
262. 1964/04/30 – 46 – Johnny Kidd and The Pirates – Always And Ever – HMV POP 1269
263. 1964/07/30 – 50 – Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells – Once Upon A Time – Stateside SS 316
264. 1964/09/17 – 48 – Denny Seyton and The Sabres – The Way You Look Tonight – Mercury MF 824
265. 1964/09/24 – 47 – Frank Sinatra – Hello Dolly – Reprise R 20351
266. 1964/10/01 – 43 – Rockin’ Berries – I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You – Piccadilly 7N 35197
267. 1964/11/12 – 50 – Lulu – Here Comes The Night – Decca F 12017
268. 1964/12/10 – 49 – Marvin Gaye – How Sweet It Is – Stateside SS 360
269. 1964/12/31 – 50 – Mrs Mills – Mrs Mills Party Medley – Parlophone R 4856
270. 1965/01/07 – 50 – Peddlers – Let The Sunshine In – Philips BF 1375
271. 1965/02/18 – 48 – Ned Miller – Do What You Do Do Well – London HL 9937
272. 1965/03/11 – 46 – Frankie Vaughan – Someone Must Have Hurt You A Lot – Philips BF 1394
273. 1965/03/18 – 48 – Zephyrs – She’s Lost You – Columbia DB 7481
274. 1965/03/18 – 49 – Heinz – Digging My Potatoes – Columbia DB 7482
275. 1965/05/13 – 45 – Quiet Five – When The Morning Sun Dries The Dew – Parlophone R 5273
276. 1965/05/20 – 48 – In Crowd – That’s How Strong My Love Is – Parlophone R 5276
277. 1965/05/27 – 45 – Birds – Leaving Here – Decca F 12140
278. 1965/06/03 – 42 – Cadets with Eileen Reid – Jealous Heart – Pye 7N 15852
279. 1965/10/14 – 49 – Johnny and Charley – La Yenka – Pye International 7N 25326
280. 1965/10/21 – 48 – Roger Miller – Kansas City Star – Philips BF 1437
281. 1965/10/21 – 49 – Jody Miller – The Home Of The Brave – Capitol CL 15415
282. 1965/11/11 – 48 – Millie – Bloodshot Eyes – Fontana TF 617
283. 1965/12/09 – 47 – Barry St John – Come Away Melinda – Columbia DB 7783
284. 1966/01/20 – 46 – The Pretty Things – Midnight To Six Man – Fontana TF 647
285. 1966/02/10 – 50 – Ray Charles with The Jack Halloran Singers and the Ray Charles Orchestra with The Raeletts – Cryin’ Time – HMV POP 1502
286. 1966/03/17 – 49 – Unit Four Plus Two – Baby Never Say Goodbye – Decca F 12333
287. 1966/04/21 – 48 – Ray Charles – Together Again – HMV POP 1519
288. 1966/04/21 – 49 – Petula Clark – A Sign Of The Times – Pye 7N 17071
289. 1966/04/21 – 50 – Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours – Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me Baby – Decca F 12377
290. 1966/05/05 – 43 – Genevieve – Once – CBS 202061
291. 1966/05/19 – 45 – Kenny Damon – While I Live – Mercury MF 907
292. 1966/05/19 – 50 – The Dave Clark Five – Look Before You Leap – Columbia DB 7909
293. 1966/05/26 – 46 – Bob Lind – Remember The Rain – Fontana TF 702
294. 1966/05/26 – 50 – Keith Relf – Mr Zero – Coulmbia DB 7920
295. 1966/06/02 – 49 – Tony Merrick – Lady Jane – Columbia DB 7913
296. 1966/07/07 – 49 – Creation – Making Time – Planet PLF 116
297. 1966/07/14 – 50 – Ivy League – Willow Tree – Piccadilly 7N 35326
298. 1966/07/28 – 48 – Ike and Tina Turner – Tell Her I’m Not Home – Warner Bros. WB 5753
299. 1966/07/28 – 49 – Eddy Arnold – If You Were Mine Mary – RCA 1529
300. 1966/07/28 – 50 – Joan Baez – Pack Up Your Sorrows – Fontana TF 727
301. 1966/08/25 – 49 – Wayne Fontana – Goodbye Bluebird – Fontana TF 737
302. 1966/09/08 – 49 – Tommy McClain – Sweet Dreams – London HL 10065
303. 1966/09/29 – 49 – Paul and Barry Ryan – Have You Ever Loved Somebody – Decca F 12494
304. 1966/09/29 – 50 – Marvin Gaye – Little Darlin’ (I Need You) – Tamla Motown TMG 574
305. 1966/12/29 – 46 – Donald Peers – Games That Lovers Play – Columbia DB 8079
306. 1967/01/05 – 50 – Tim Hardin – Hang On To A Dream – Verve VS 1504
307. 1967/01/19 – 50 – Sandie Shaw – I Don’t Need Anything – Pye 7N 17239
308. 1967/02/02 – 45 – Adge Cutler and The Wurzels – Drink Up Thy Cider – Columbia DB 8081
309. 1967/02/02 – 49 – The Drifters – Baby What I Mean – Atlantic 584 065
310. 1967/02/09 – 45 – The Bystanders – 98.6 – Piccadilly 7N 35363
311. 1967/02/09 – 49 – Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) – Reprise RS 20532
312. 1967/02/16 – 45 – Guess Who – His Girl – King KG 1044
313. 1967/02/16 – 48 – Chris Farlowe – My Way Of Giving In – Immediate IM 041
314. 1967/03/16 – 50 – Keith – Tell It To My Face – Mercury MF 968
315. 1967/05/04 – 50 – Otis Redding – Let Me Come On Home – Stax 601 007
316. 1967/08/02 – 45 – Andy Williams – More And More – CBS 2886
317. 1967/08/30 – 50 – Vicki Carr – There I Go – Liberty LBF 15022
318. 1967/11/01 – 50 – The Voice of Scott McKenzie – Like An Old Time Movie – CBS 3009
319. 1967/11/08 – 47 – Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood – Ladybird – Reprise RS 20629
320. 1967/12/13 – 50 – The Seekers – Emerald City – Columbia DB 8313
321. 1967/12/20 – 47 – Cat Stevens – Kitty – Deram DM 156
322. 1967/12/27 – 47 – Gladys Knight and The Pips – I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Tamla Motown TMG 629
323. 1968/02/21 – 50 – Sun Dragon – Green Tambourine – MGM 1380
324. 1968/02/28 – 47 – Classics IV – Spooky – Liberty LBS 15051
325. 1968/03/06 – 45 – The Temptations – I Wish It Would Rain – Tamla Motown TMG 641
326. 1968/03/06 – 50 – Petula Clark – Kiss Me Goodbye – Pye 7N 17466
327. 1968/03/13 – 47 – Arethra Franklin – Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) – Atlantic 584 172
328. 1968/04/03 – 50 – Smokey Robinson and The Miracles – If You Can Want – Tamla Motown TMG 648
329. 1968/04/10 – 46 – Arthur Conley – Funky Street – Atlantic 583 175
330. 1968/04/24 – 43 – Willie Mitchell – Soul Serenade – London HLU 10186
331. 1968/04/24 – 50 – Procol Harum – Quite Rightly So – Regal Zonophone RZ 3007
332. 1968/05/22 – 48 – Joe Cocker – Marjorine – Regal Zonophone RZ 3006
333. 1968/06/12 – 47 – The Temptations – I Could Never Love Another – Tamla Motown TMG 658
334. 1968/08/28 – 48 – Gary Puckett and the Union Gap – Woman Woman – CBS 3110
335. 1968/12/04 – 42 – Moody Blues – Ride My See-Saw – Deram DM 213
336. 1969/01/08 – 50 – Hugo Montenegro – Hang ‘Em High – RCA 1771
337. 1969/02/05 – 45 – Tiny Tim – Great Balls Of Fire – Reprise RS 20802
338. 1969/02/12 – 50 – Vince Hill – Doesn’t Anybody Know My Name? – Columbia DB 8515
339. 1969/03/19 – 36 – Small Faces – Afterglow Of Your Love – Immediate IM 077
340. 1969/03/26 – 45 – Monkees – Teardrop City – RCA 1802
341. 1969/04/02 – 43 – Second City Sound – Dream Of Olwen – Major Minor MM 600
342. 1969/04/23 – 48 – Val Doonican – Ring Of Bright Water – Pye 7N 17713
343. 1969/05/28 – 46 – Pentangle – Once I Had A Sweetheart – Big T BIG 124
344. 1969/06/25 – 47 – Monkees – Someday Man – RCA 1824
345. 1969/08/06 – 44 – Tyrannosaurus Rex – King Of The Rumbling Spires – Regal Zonophone RZ 3022
346. 1969/10/25 – 42 – Vince Hill – Little Bluebird – Columbia DB 8616
347. 1970/01/10 – 41 – The Melodians – Sweet Sensation – Trojan TR 695
348. 1970/01/17 – 49 – Derrick Morgan – Moon Hop – Crab 32
349. 1970/02/21 – 49 – Barry Ryan – Magical Spiel – Polydor 56 370
350. 1970/03/28 – 49 – The Bee Gees – I.O.I.O. – Polydor 56 377
351. 1970/05/02 – 41 – Marsha Hunt – Keep The Customer Satisfied – Track 604 037
352. 1970/05/16 – 47 – Stamford Bridge – Chelsea – Penny Farthing PEN 715
353. 1970/06/27 – 46 – Thunderclap Newman – Accidents – Track 2094 001
354. 1970/07/11 – 49 – Canned Heat – Sugar Bee – Liberty LBF 15350
355. 1970/11/07 – 45 – Peter E. Bennett and the Co-operation Choir – The Seagull’s Name Was Nelson – RCA 1991
356. 1971/01/02 – 48 – Shirley Bassey – The Fool On The Hill – United Artists UP 35156
357. 1971/01/16 – 39 – Melanie – What Have They Done To My Song Ma – Buddah 2011 038
358. 1971/01/30 – 49 – Edison Lighthouse – It’s Up To You Petula – Bell 1136
359. 1971/02/06 – 40 – Grand Funk Railroad – Inside Looking Out – Capitol CL 15668
360. 1971/03/20 – 33 – Edwin Starr – Stop The War Now – Tamla Motown TMG 764
361. 1971/04/03 – 47 – Roger Whittaker – Why – Columbia DB 8752
362. 1971/04/03 – 49 – Early Music Consort – Henry VIII Suite (EP) – BBC RESL 1
363. 1971/06/19 – 41 – Mac and Katie Kissoon – Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep – Young Blood YB 1026
364. 1971/07/30 – 46 – Mary Hopkin – Let Thy Name Be Sorrow – Apple 34
365. 1972/01/01 – 47 – Charlie Drake – Puckwudgie – Columbia DB 8829
366. 1972/01/29 – 47 – Murray Head – Superstar/Yvonne Elliman – I Don’t Know How To Love Him – MCA MMKS 5077
367. 1972/03/25 – 42 – Henry Mancini – Theme from ‘Cade’s County’ – RCA 2182
368. 1972/03/25 – 47 – Christie – Iron Horse – CBS 7747
369. 1972/11/18 – 50 – Millie Jackson – My Man, A Sweet Man – Mojo 2093 022
370. 1973/05/12 – 50 – New World – RAK 148
371. 1975/05/10 – 46 – Tony Rees and The Cottagers – Viva El Fulham – Sonet SON 2059
372. 1976/05/08 – 50 – Manchester United Football Club – Manchester United – Decca F 13633
373. 1976/06/19 – 49 – Buster – Sunday – RCA 2678
374. 1977/04/02 – 48 – Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes – Reaching For The World – ABC 4161
375. 1977/06/25 – 44 – Garnett Mimms and Truckin’ Company – What It Is – Arista 109
376. 1977/07/23 – 48 – Berni Flint – Southern Comfort – EMI 2621
377. 1977/08/20 – 49 – Delegation – You’ve Been Doing Me Wrong – State STAT 55
378. 1977/09/17 – 43 – Joe Dolan – I Need You – Pye 7N 45702
379. 1977/12/17 – 49 – Jet Bronx and The Forbidden – Ain’t Doin’ Nothin’ – Lightning LIG 50
380. 1978/01/14 – 49 – Judge Dread – Up With The Cock/Big Punk – Cactus CT 110
381. 1978/02/11 – 41 – Biddu Orchestra – Journey To The Moon – Epic EPC 5910
382. 1978/04/01 – 48 – Sidney Devine – Scotland Forever (EP) – Philips SCOT 1
383. 1978/04/15 – 45 – Stargard – Love Is So Easy – MCA 354
384. 1978/06/17 – 72 – Celi Bee and The Buzz Bunch – Hold Your Horses Babe – TK TKR 6032
385. 1978/08/12 – 71 – Devo – Be Stiff - Stiff BOY 2
386. 1978/08/19 – 72 – Patti Smith Group – Privelege (Set Me Free) – Arista 197
387. 1978/09/02 – 72 – Platinum Hook – Standing On The Verge (Of Getting It On) – Motown TMG 1115
388. 1978/09/16 – 68 – Sarr Band – Magic Mandrake – Calendar Day 111
389. 1978/09/30 – 62 – Cirrus – Rollin’ On – Jet 123
390. 1979/02/24 – 67 – Aquarian Dream – You’re A Star – Elektra LV 7
391. 1979/06/09 – 72 – The Lurkers – Out In The Dark/Cyanide – Beggars Banquet BEG 19
392. 1979/06/09 – 73 – Skyhooks – Women In Uniform – United Artists UP 36508
393. 1979/06/09 – 74= - J. Geils Band – One Last Kiss – EMI America AM 507
394. 1979/07/14 – 64 – Vladimir Cosma – David’s Song (Main Theme from ‘Kidnapped’) – Decca FR 13841
395. 1979/07/14 – 72 – Light Of The World – Midnight Groovin’ – Ensign ENY 29
396. 1979/11/17 – 72 – The Lurkers – New Guitar In Town – Beggars Banquet – BEG 28
397. 1979/12/08 – 70 – Lori and The Chameleons – Touch – Sire SIR 4025
398. 1979/12/08 – 73 – Dr Feelgood – Put Him Out Of Your Mind – United Artists BP 306
399. 1980/02/02 – 75 – The Jags – Woman’s World – Island WIP 6531
400. 1980/04/19 – 69 – Christopher Cross – Ride Like The Wind – Warner Bros. 17582
401. 1980/05/17 – 62 – Echo and The Bunnymen – Rescue – Korova KOW 1
402. 1980/06/17 – 75 – Angelwitch – Sweet Danger – EMI 5064
403. 1980/07/19 – 68 – Charlie Harper – Barmy London Army – Gem GEMS 35
404. 1980/07/26 – 64 – Gayle Adams – Stretchin’ Out – Epic EPC 8791
405. 1980/09/20 – 75 – Scorpions – The Zoo – Harvest HAR 5212
406. 1981/01/31 – 72 – Cloud – All Night Long/Take It To The Top – UK Champagne FUNK 1
407. 1981/05/16 – 71 – 999 – Obsessed – Albion ION 1011
408. 1981/07/18 – 68 – Modettes – Tonight – Deram DET 3
409. 1981/12/05 – 70 – The Exploited and Anti-Pasti – Don’t Let ‘Em Grind You Down – Superville EXP 1003
410. 1982/01/09 – 71 – Rose Of Romance Orchestra – Tara’s Theme from ‘Gone With The Wind’ – BBC RESL 108
411. 1982/02/13 – 68 – Vice Squad – Out Of Reach – Zonophone Z 26
412. 1982/02/20 – 74 – Brandi Wells – Watch Out – Virgin VS 479
413. 1982/02/27 – 75 – Grand Prix – Keep On Believing – RCA 162
414. 1982/08/21 – 75 – Nicole – Give Me More Time – CBS A 2467
415. 1982/10/09 – 73 – Robert Plant – Burning Down One Side – Swansong SSK 19429
416. 1982/10/30 – 74 – The Mood – Passion In Dark Rooms – RCA 276
417. 1982/11/13 – 57 – Dramatis – I Can See Her Now – Rocket XPRES 83
418. 1983/01/08 – 71 – Nevada – In The Bleak Mid Winter – Polydor POSP 203
419. 1983/01/08 – 92 – Julio Iglesias – So Close To Me –
420. 1983/01/08 – 100 – Ozzy Osbourne – Symptom Of The Universe –
421. 1983/01/29 – 97 – The Undertones – The Love Parade –
422. 1983/01/29 – 98 – Mick Karn – Sensitive –
423. 1983/01/29 – 100 – Yosser’s Gang – Gis A Job –
424. 1983/02/19 – 91 – Yarborough and Peoples – Heartbeats –
425. 1983/02/19 – 93 – Leisure Process – Cash Flow –
426. 1983/02/19 – 98 – David – Am I Normal? –
427. 1983/02/26 – 95 – Merrick and Tibbs – Call Of The Wild –
428. 1983/03/05 – 87 – The Pinkees – I’ll Be There –
429. 1983/03/19 – 91 – Valerie Dunbar – Pal Of My Cradle Days –
430. 1983/03/19 – 94 – Danse Society – Somewhere –
431. 1983/03/19 – 99 – Billy Griffin – Be With Me –
432. 1983/03/26 – 99 – Wide Boy Awake – Bona Venture –
433. 1983/04/09 – 97 – Compo and Nora Batty – Nora Batty’s Stockings –
434. 1983/04/16 – 91 – The Tremeloes – Words –
435. 1983/04/23 – 83 – Fleetwood Mac – Can’t Go Back –
436. 1983/04/23 – 95 – Roger Whittaker – Stranger On The Shore –
437. 1983/04/23 – 99 – Peter and The Test Tube Babies – Zombie Creeping Flesh –
438. 1983/05/07 – 94 – Pete Shelley – (Millions Of People) No One Like You –
439. 1983/05/21 – 96 – Julie Tzuke – Black Furs –
440. 1983/06/04 – 98 – Taco – Singin’ In The Rain –
441. 1983/06/04 – 100 – Dead Or Alive – Misty Circles –
442. 1983/06/11 – 87 – Russell Grant – No Matter What Your Sign –
443. 1983/06/18 – 71 – F.R. David – Music – Carrere CAR 282
444. 1983/06/25 – 87 – Jane – It’s A Fine Day –
445. 1983/06/25 – 100 – Frida – Here We’ll Stay –
446. 1983/07/02 – 97 – Howard Devoto – Rainy Season –
447. 1983/07/16 – 92 – Wang Chung – (Don’t Be My) Enemy –
448. 1983/07/23 – 94 – Cabaret Voltaire – Just Fascination –
449. 1983/07/30 – 99 – Cashmere – Try Your Lovin’ –
450. 1983/08/27 – 99 – Project Future – Ray-Gun-Omics –
451. 1983/09/03 – 97 – Patrick Gammon – Do My Ditty –
452. 1983/09/10 – 88 – D Train – The Shadow Of Your Smile –
453. 1983/09/24 – 94 – Queensryche – Queen Of The Reich –
454. 1983/10/01 – 97 – Natural Ites – Picture On The Wall –
455. 1983/10/08 – 93 – Intaferon – Get Out Of London –
456. 1983/10/22 – 83 – New Edition – Is This The End –
457. 1983/10/22 – 87 – The Gap Band – I’m Ready If You’re Ready –
458. 1983/10/22 – 99 – Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross – How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye –
459. 1983/10/29 – 88 – Haircut 100 – So Tired –
460. 1983/10/29 – 99 – The Flirtations – Earthquake –
461. 1983/11/05 – 91 – Helix – Heavy Metal Love –
462. 1983/11/12 – 95 – The Four Tops – I Just Can’t Walk Away –
463. 1983/11/12 – 97 – The Haines Gang – So Hot –
464. 1983/11/12 – 98 – Ian Dury – Really Glad You Came –
465. 1983/11/19 – 92 – The Walkers – Whatever Happened To The Party Groove –
466. 1983/11/19 – 97 – Modern Romance – Good Friday –
467. 1983/11/19 – 100 – Flesh For Lulu – Roman Candle –
468. 1983/11/26 – 99 – Central Line – Time For Some Fun –
469. 1983/12/03 – 90 – Marc and The Mambas – Torment –
470. 1983/12/03 – 91 – Y&T – Midnight In Tokyo –
471. 1983/12/17 – 90 – Michael Barrymore – Kenny The Kangaroo –
472. 1983/12/17 – 100 – Renee and Renato – He Loves Us All –
473. 1984/01/21 – 95 – Watusi Brothers – Bodywork –
474. 1984/01/21 – 97 – The Three Degrees – Liar –
475. 1984/01/21 – 100 – Luther Vandross – I’ll Let You Slide –
476. 1984/01/28 – 93 – Jimmy Cliff – We All Are One –
477. 1984/02/04 – 91 – Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway – Don’t Box Me In –
478. 1984/02/18 – 97 – Blue Oyster Cult – Shooting Shark –
479. 1984/02/18 – 99 – Indians In Moscow – Naughty Miranda –
480. 1984/02/25 – 91 – Alabama – Feels So Right –
481. 1984/03/03 – 97 – Trans Lux – Big Apple Noise –
482. 1984/03/17 – 91 – Quiet Riot – Bad Boy –
483. 1984/03/17 – 92 – Cutting Edge – Dancing With The Rebels –


Acts and Artists
01. 1953/01/31 – 10 – The Mills Brothers
02. 1953/03/21 – 12 – Buddy Morrow
03. 1953/07/11 – 12 – Vivian Blaine
04. 1954/11/13 – 17 – Norman Brooks
05. 1955/02/12 – 20 – De Castro Singers with Skip Martin and his Orchestra
06. 1955/07/23 – 20 – The Five Smith Brothers
07. 1955/09/24 – 20 – Charlie Applewhite with Victor Young and Chorus
08. 1955/10/22 – 18 – The Central Band Of The Royal Air Force
09. 1956/01/14 – 19 – Edna Savage
10. 1956/08/25 – 27 – Clyde McPhatter
11. 1956/09/22 – 27 – David Hughes
12. 1956/12/01 – 29 – The Deep River Boys
13. 1956/12/15 – 26 – Vince Martin
14. 1958/02/22 – 25 – Louis Prima
15. 1958/12/06 – 29 – Cozy Cole
16. 1959/08/22 – 28 – The Impalas
17. 1959/10/31 – 28 – Dickie Pride
18. 1959/11/07 – 23 – Ivo Robic
19. 1960/01/16 – 29 – Bill Forbes
20. 1960/02/13 – 30 – Toni Fisher
21. 1960/03/10 – 46 – Fabian
22. 1960/03/24 – 40 – Shaye Cogan
23. 1960/03/24 – 43 – Richard Allan
24. 1960/03/31 – 44 – Carl Dobkins Jr
25. 1960/04/14 – 49 – Pat Suzuki
26. 1960/06/09 – 49 – George Chakiris
27. 1960/06/16 – 46 – Carmen McRae
28. 1960/06/23 – 46 – Jerry Wallace
29. 1960/07/21 – 50 – Jimmy Clanton
30. 1960/07/28 – 43 – Staiffi and his Mustafas
31. 1960/08/04 – 41 – Steve Perry
32. 1960/08/25 – 50 – Hal Page and The Whalers
33. 1960/10/27 – 50 – Chaquito and his Orchestra
34. 1960/11/10 – 47 – Umberto Bindi – Il Nostro Concerto
35. 1961/05/04 – 43 – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents
36. 1961/08/24 – 49 – Joe Barry
37. 1961/11/02 – 50 – Moontrekkers
38. 1962/02/22 – 47 – Brad Newman
39. 1962/10/04 – 49 – George Shearing
40. 1962/10/04 – 50 – Tony Hatch
41. 1963/01/10 – 50 – Cookies
42. 1963/06/06 – 48 – Tony Sheridan
43. 1963/07/25 – 45 – Mickie Most
44. 1963/08/15 – 43 – Alice Babs
45. 1963/10/03 – 50 – The Angels
46. 1964/02/13 – 49 – Tony Sheveton
47. 1964/02/27 – 49 – Mary May
48. 1964/04/09 – 49 – Undertakers
49. 1964/09/17 – 48 – Denny Seyton and The Sabres
50. 1965/03/18 – 48 – Zephyrs
51. 1965/05/20 – 48 – In Crowd
52. 1965/05/27 – 45 – Birds
53. 1965/06/03 – 42 – Cadets with Eileen Reid
54. 1965/10/14 – 49 – Johnny and Charley
55. 1965/10/21 – 49 – Jody Miller
56. 1965/12/09 – 47 – Barry St John
57. 1966/05/05 – 43 – Genevieve
58. 1966/05/19 – 45 – Kenny Damon
59. 1966/05/26 – 50 – Keith Relf
60. 1966/06/02 – 49 – Tony Merrick
61. 1966/09/08 – 49 – Tommy McClain
62. 1967/01/05 – 50 – Tim Hardin
63. 1967/02/02 – 45 – Adge Cutler
64. 1967/02/09 – 45 – The Bystanders
65. 1968/02/21 – 50 – Sun Dragon
66. 1968/02/28 – 47 – Classics IV
67. 1969/02/05 – 45 – Tiny Tim
68. 1970/01/10 – 41 – The Melodians
69. 1970/01/17 – 49 – Derrick Morgan
70. 1970/05/16 – 47 – Stamford Bridge
71. 1970/11/07 – 45 – Peter E. Bennett and the Co-operation Choir
72. 1971/03/20 – 40 – Grand Funk Railroad
73. 1971/04/03 – 49 – Early Music Consort
74. 1975/05/10 – 46 – Tony Rees and The Cottagers
75. 1976/06/19 – 49 – Buster
76. 1977/06/25 – 44 – Garnett Mimms and Truckin’ Company
77. 1978/04/01 – 48 – Sidney Devine
78. 1978/06/17 – 72 – Celi Bee and The Buzz Bunch – Hold Your Horses Babe
79. 1978/09/02 – 72 – Platinum Hook
80. 1978/09/16 – 68 – Sarr Band
81. 1978/09/30 – 62 – Cirrus
82. 1979/02/24 – 67 – Aquarian Dream
83. 1979/06/09 – 73 – Skyhooks
84. 1979/07/14 – 64 – Vladimir Cosma
85. 1979/12/08 – 70 – Lori and The Chameleons
86. 1980/02/02 – 75 – The Jags
87. 1980/06/17 – 75 – Angelwitch
88. 1980/07/19 – 68 – Charlie Harper
89. 1981/01/31 – 72 – Cloud
90. 1982/01/09 – 71 – Rose Of Romance Orchestra
91. 1982/02/13 – 68 – Vice Squad
92. 1983/01/08 – 71 – Nevada
93. 1983/01/29 – 100 – Yosser’s Gang
94. 1983/02/19 – 93 – Leisure Process
95. 1983/02/19 – 98 – David
96. 1983/02/26 – 95 – Merrick and Tibbs
97. 1983/03/19 – 91 – Valerie Dunbar
98. 1983/03/26 – 99 – Wide Boy Awake
99. 1983/04/09 – 97 – Compo and Nora Batty
100. 1983/04/23 – 99 – Peter and The Test Tube Babies
101. 1983/06/04 – 98 – Taco
102. 1983/06/11 – 87 – Russell Grant
103. 1983/06/25 – 87 – Jane
104. 1983/07/02 – 97 – Howard Devoto
105. 1983/08/27 – 99 – Project Future
106. 1983/09/03 – 97 – Patrick Gammon
107. 1983/10/01 – 97 – Natural Ites
108. 1983/10/29 – 99 – The Flirtations
109. 1983/11/05 – 91 – Helix
110. 1983/11/12 – 97 – The Haines Gang
111. 1983/11/19 – 100 – Flesh For Lulu
112. 1984/01/21 – 95 – Watusi Brothers
113. 1984/02/18 – 99 – Indians In Moscow
114. 1984/02/25 – 91 – Alabama
115. 1984/03/03 – 97 – Trans Lux

Singles that were ‘two week wonders’ or ‘three week wonders’ due to skipped charts at Christmas, 1952-1983
1952/12/20 – 8 – 8 – Bing Crosby – Silent Night
1952/12/20 – 10 – 10 – Jo Stafford – Jambalaya
1953/12/19 – 12 – 12 – 12 – Billy Cotton and his Band – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
1969/12/27 – 43 – 43 – Moira Anderson – The Holy City
1972/12/23 – 48 – 48 – 48 – Vicky Leandros – The Love In Your Eyes
1977/12/24 – 48 – 48 – 48 – Debby Boone – You Light Up My Life
1980/12/27 – 70 – 70 – Slade – Xmas Ear Bender (EP)
1981/12/26 – 68 – 68 – Fogwell Flax and the Ankle Biters from Freehold Junior School – One-Nine for Santa
1981/12/26 – 74 – 74 – Johnny Mathis and Gladys Knight – When A Child Is Born
1983/12/24 – 77 – 77 – Joe Fagin Breaking Away
1983/12/24 – 78 – 78 – Brendan Shine – Thank God For Kids
1983/12/24 – 97 – 97 – The Damned – There Ain’t No Sanity Clause
1983/12/24 – 99 – 99 – Men Without Hats – I Got The Message
1983/12/24 – 100 – 100 – Hooray Henry’s – All Stuck Up


I'll begin with the 1952 hits as a taster, and to see if this is something people are interested in (whilst accepting that admittedly popular music circa 1952 is unlikely to be in and of itself of great interest to many people, but remember it's just the start of what I hope will be an ongoing, ever evolving list of one week wonders).

The first chart, 15th November 1952, actually yields the first two one week wonders, although this is rather unfair to both, as had the NME chart begun earlier then they would have achieved more weeks and not be here, but we have to start somewhere right?

So at number 10 we have Vera Lynn - Auf Wiedersehen (Sweetheart)


Auf Wiedersehen (Sweetheart) had actually been selling well during June and July of 1952, being the UK's bestseller for several weeks during that time, if 'The Missing Charts' by Steve Waters is referred to. It took over the unofficial top spot from the next one-week wonder on our list, which had it's only week in the NME chart at #12 in the same week. That single was Walkin' My Baby Back Home by Johnnie Ray.


Week two, 22/11/1952, and we probably have our first genuine one week wonder, or at least we have one that doesn't feature in the 'Missing Charts' books, suggesting it had no 'previous' as it were in terms of sales/popularity. The single in question is actually by the first NME charttopper, Al Martino, and is at number 9 in the week he was enjoying his 2nd week at the top. The one week wonder is Take My Heart.


And that's it for 1952, except for a technicality. The chart of 20th December 1952 was followed by a week where a new chart was not compiled, meaning that most chart sources, whether books or online databases, count the same chart as applying for two weeks. This means that there are two new entries in that chart that only get a second week on chart by virtue of that convention, as they only actually charted in one compiled chart, it just happened to be one that was 'repeated' by chartologists to plug a gap. These two records are added here as a sort of bonus, as we can't be sure if they would have got a genuine second week had a chart been compiled, or whether they are saved from one week wonder status purely by happening to chart in the week in question.

At #8 was Bing Crosby - Silent Night

I'm actually suprised that it doesn't seem to have re-emerged at any point in the download or streaming era, given the wholesale invasion of the charts at christmas by even the most obscure christmas hits. Also it appears from searching youtube that there are multiple recordings of this song by Bing, and can only take this youtube accounts word for it that they have uploaded the 1952 version (or indeed that a specifically 1952 version even existed), so do let me know if I have linked the wrong version.
[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. The previous link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNwwFZRMxbQ If Bing recorded more than one version of this song then the new link may not be the correct version.]

At #10 was Jo Stafford with Jambalaya

This song was of course later made popular by The Carpenters.

And that really is it for 1952. Feel free to post corrections and additions to the thread as I go along (though I'd prefer not to be overtaken, so stick to the period already covered by the thread). Let me know which of the 1952 one week wonders you liked or disliked, and whether (or not) you'd be interested in this as an ongoing thread/project.

Posted by: dobbo 22nd October 2019, 10:03 AM

A very interesting and insightful topic!

Posted by: Bloodjerdling 22nd October 2019, 10:20 AM

I love this idea! Shall make sure to follow along

Posted by: Suedehead2 22nd October 2019, 10:24 AM

A true piece of chart geekery. What’s not to like?

Posted by: Sleepy Rollo 22nd October 2019, 10:24 AM

Keep going with this. I will certainly be interested. From the late 70s onwards,there are likely to be some songs that I will know.

Posted by: Robbie 22nd October 2019, 01:20 PM

A very interesting idea for a thread! Sounds good to me.

To answer a question in your first post: the 76 to 100 part of the Top 100 Singles charts on the OCC website are the "compressed" version (that is, exclusion rules as per 1983-91 applied) from 12 February 1994 to 16 April 2005. From 23 April 2005 downloads were incorporated into the chart and the old exclusion rules were dropped though of course new exclusion rules did get introduced.

What isn't in the OCC archive are positions 76-100 from April 1991 to January 1994. While it looks like the full top 100 charts from April 1991 to August 1992 are now unobtainable (unless someone can get access to the BPI library as they do have them) I do have positions 76-100 (again with exclusion rules being applied) from September 1992 to January 1994. If you haven't got them and want them then let me know and I can direct you to a thread at ukmix where I posted them...

Posted by: Suedehead2 22nd October 2019, 01:56 PM

Given the number of exclusion rules in place now, not to mention ACR, there seems no reason to exclude positions 76-100 at any other time.

Posted by: M4NG0 23rd October 2019, 08:55 PM

This is a great idea but I don't think it will get interesting for most people until at least the 70s or maybe 80s.

Posted by: Steve201 23rd October 2019, 11:15 PM

Great idea!

I'm very interested by the two week Wonder for Bing Crosbys version of 'Silent Night'. I imagine it depends on which day Christmas fell in December 1952 to guess whether it would have sold well enough to gain a second week.

On the song itself - which is the defining version and which versions have charted throughout the OCC records? I usually hear this version (as well as a video they play on MTV) and probably the Michael Buble version each year these days.

Posted by: Suedehead2 28th October 2019, 08:55 PM

Surely the definitive version should be in German.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st November 2019, 10:39 PM

Well Steve there are actually five versions of Silent Night that have charted over the years, so by way of a bonus feature, here is a Silent Night top 5 pop pickers, though only the Bing Crosby version above is potentially elligible for our main list.

At 5th place is this sublime version by Sinead O'Connor which peaked at number 60 in December 1991


For 4th place we go from the sublime to, if not the ridiculous at least to the very different, with this punk version by The Dickies in December 1978, which peaked at number 47.


Up to 3rd place and we find a rather chilling version by Simon and Garfunkel, which was released as part of a double a side for xmas 1991, having been tracks from one of their albums. This Simon and Garfunkel version feature them singing the carol whilst a news bulletin from 3rd August 1966 fades up.


Number 2 is the Bing Crosby version mentioned and linked above, which, as mentioned, peaked at number 8 for just the two weeks, one of which was a repeated chart rather than a newly calculated chart.

That just leaves number one in your Silent Night chart, which is another double A side, this time paired with a track called Cat Among The Pigeons. I entered the chart at number two in w/e 3rd December 1988 and was by Bros.


I'm actually suprised that no version of Silent Night has reentered the Official Top 100 in the download/streaming era. Looking at the UK Spotfy Top 200 chart for xmas day 2018, which was almost exclusively Xmas songs, I can find three versions of Silent Night, in the following order, Michael Buble at #117, Mariah Carey at #153 and Bing Crosby at #190. The first two are probably helping their respective Xmas albums in the albums chart, even if they have not charted as an indidivual track in the Official Top 100 Singles Chart.

Again, as a reminder, only Bing's version is potentially elligible for our main list, the others having indisputably spent additional weeks in the chart.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st November 2019, 11:24 PM

And on with 1953

The first one week wonder of 1953 was called Glow Worm, and was by the Mills Brothers. It charted at number 10 on 10/01/1953. The Mills Brothers were originally four actual brothers, but one of them, John Jr, had passed away aged just 25 in 1936, and was then replaced by his father, John Sr. Apparently their recordings have since been lost in the fire in 2008 that destroyed a vast number of masters by a large number of artists. The Mills Brothers entire chart career in the UK is literally just this one week, though in the US they were much more successful.


You wait for a one week wonder to occur, then two come along at once! It's strange how they have been mostly happening in pairs so far, with a particular chart either containing two one-week wonders, or none. Anyway we go down one place to number 11 on the same chart and find an alternative version of a more successful hit, a common occurence in the early years of the charts. In fact there were two versions that charted higher at around the same time. The song in question is 'Faith Can Move Mountains', which peaked highest, at #7, for Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads, on the Columbia label. The second versions was Capitol's version, by Nat 'King' Cole, which peaked at #10. These versions had 3 and 4 weeks on chart respectively. The version we are interested in here is on the Decca label (which seems to be something of a recurring theme for 1953 one week wonders), and is by one-time Radio 2 favourite Jimmy Young.


One week later, on 17th January 1953, again at #11 we have bandleader Ted Heath and his music, with a tune called Vanessa.

Posted by: Jade 1st November 2019, 11:40 PM

None of that trio of songs are grabbing me that much really tbh (I do like the rat in the top left corner of the Mills Brothers embed though) - hoping for some better discoveries soon as I do really like some 50s stuff. Especially instrumentals like 'Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White' and Winifred Atwell's fabulous piano tunes.

The Vera Lynn song is probably my favourite of the thread so far.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st November 2019, 11:59 PM

On to the 20th February 1953, and to the chart debut of an artist who would go on to top the charts. This single, which charted at #12, was the third version of Broken Wings to hit the charts. The most sucessful version was a charttopper for the Stargazers on the Decca label, and there was also a version on HMV's label, by Art and Dotty Todd, which peaked at number 6. But the version which joins our list is strangely also on the Decca label, which seems a bit bizarre as the label is essentially competing with itself, and potentially transferring some sales from the charttopping version to the minor version, but these were different times, and I guess the label was making money either way. This third version introduced the UK chart watching (and listening) public to Dickie Valentine.


Charting at #11 on 7th March 1953 is Joni James, with a song called Why Don't You Believe Me?. She escapes being the second act on our list to have a UK chart career of only one week, as she managed to gain one more week in 1959, with another single.


Also at #11, but on 21st March 1953, is Frankie Laine, with a song called the Girl In The Wood. I can see from Steve Waters' Missing Charts book that it must have been released around about September 1951, so I'm not quite sure how it came to trouble the NME chart in March 1953. It was the last of only two Columbia releases by Frankie Laine to chart on the NME chart. His next chart entry, now on the Phillips label, was the chart busting hit I Believe, which broke records for the length of time it spent at the top of the charts.

Posted by: Bré 2nd November 2019, 12:07 AM

I'll try and make sure to keep up with this thread but there isn't too much to say about these obscure 50s songs, gonna be a while before you get to songs that many people are going to care about - still an interesting and ambitious thread idea!

Posted by: E L Rollo 2nd November 2019, 12:13 AM

When I first started looking at 50s charts,I thought the Conservative Party leader Ted Heath had a previous career as a bandleader. It was a while before I realised they were different people.

Posted by: Jade 2nd November 2019, 12:25 AM

Joni James has a lovely voice - I think that's my new favourite of the thread so far! Something I really enjoy about the 50s is the amount of classy vocalists in the chart. The Frankie Laine song is good too - I only knew 'I Believe', 'Hey Joe' and 'Answer Me' by him and I like all three in addition to this one, so he seems cool.

That version of 'Broken Wings' didn't do much for me - I do know and enjoy The Stargazers' version though. 'I See The Moon' is their best in my opinion though, pretty zany *.*

(yes don't mind me discovering pretty much everything here, my knowledge of the 50s is mostly artists who have #1s or #2s and I'm enjoying expanding that!)

Loving the commentary so far! The chart geekery is most pleasing.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 12:30 AM

Staying with 21st March 1953, and moving down to #12, we find a tune with it's roots in 1940, in a piece by Duke Ellington sideman Johnny Hodges. Apparently this particular track, Night Train, by trombonist Buddy Morrow, was sometimes the soundtrack for burlesque striptease!


On 4th April 1953 a duet charted at #12, between two future chart toppers, Doris Day and Johnnie Ray. The song was 'Ma Says, Pa Says'.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Old link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNsNXDDdXbc]

Two weeks later, 18th April 1953, the same two artists charted another one week wonder, this time at #11. There something a little odd going on here though, as on closer inspection both duets have the same catalogue number, as they were in fact different sides of the same disc! Chart rules at the time meant that each sale in any of NME's chart return shops had to be logged under the side that was actually requested at the counter, and that both sides could thus chart separately of each other. Since the chart saw these singles as being separate, then so do I, and thus this duo achieve two one week wonders in a fortnight with either side of the same disc. The side that achieved it second was called A Full Time Job.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Old link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNsNXDDdXbc]

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 12:32 AM

Ha! I thought the same thing for a long time too!

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 01:17 AM

Our next trio of one week wonders are, for the first time, all from the same chart week, 6th June 1953, the week of the Queen's coronation. I think it's amazing that although this thread will (if it gets that far) span a fairly huge number of minor hits, over a period of nearly 70 years, nonetheless all of them have happened during the reign of just one monarch.... But on with our trio.

The first one was at #7, and was a second chart version of In A Golden Coach, a song directly about the Coronation, which was already charting in a version by Billy Cotton and his band. Again the one week wonder version is by Dickie Valentine, and again Decca are for some reason competing with themselves by releasing both versions. Possibly the in-house competition had more effect this time, as Billy had dropped to #7 in the week that Dickie entered at #8, but then the following week Dickie's version vanished from the charts, whilst Billy's shot up to #3. The Dickie version achieves the highest peak so far for a one week wonder, and despite my research having already reached the 60s I haven't yet found one with a higher peak.


The second one is the fourth single to chart for forces sweetheart Vera Lynn, The Windsor Waltz, which spent it's one chart week at #11. I suspect, from the Windsor connection, that this was also related in some way to the Coronation, but I can't find any mention of this anywhere, so perhaps any such connection was just in the mind of the sudden (comparative) rush of purchasers in that week?


Finally at number 12 is an alternative version of I'm Walking Behind You by Dorothy Squires, on the Polygon label, which was set up by Leslie Clark so he could control the distribution of his daughter, Petula's, recordings. The more well known version on HMV, by Eddie Fisher and Sally Sweetland, was at #6 in that same week, and would go on to top the charts.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 01:33 AM

Yes I think I remember seeing a thread about 76-100 positions over at ukmix, but please do point me (and anyone else who's interested) to it (or are we not supposed to link to rival chart forums here?).

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 02:09 AM

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I agree that Joni James has a lovely voice, and I do love I See The Moon by the Stargazers.

Don't worry that you're discovering pretty much everything in this thread so far, that was sort of the very concept behind it, as I figured that the shorter the time spent in the chart the more obscure the tracks, and the more likely it would be that I (and other buzzjackers) hadn't heard them before, yet at the same time the fact they charted at all should ensure some level of quality, at least at first when the chart was still relatively short. Although I do have a ton of chart trivia in my head for the 50s (and am enjoying researching quite a lot more as I go along), I'm not necessarily familiar with the recordings either, other than those that reached the top 2 or 3 and a handful of others, so I'm on a voyage of discovery here myself.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd November 2019, 03:29 AM

One more trio for tonight, even if it is well after 3am now....

Our next one is from 11th July 1953, and charted at #12. It's by Vivian Blaine, and is a song from the musical 'Guys and Dolls', called 'Bushel and a Peck'. There was another version by Doris Day that was quite well known in the US, but that didn't chart here in the UK. Vivian was the actress and singer who had originally performed in the Guys and Dolls stage show on Broadway, as Miss Adelaide, back in 1950. She had been reprising the role at the London Coliseum since the 28th May 1953. This song was dropped from the film version of Guys and Dolls and replaced with Pet Me Poppa.


Quite a big gap now, until 3rd October 1953, and the chart debut of a tenor from Hull called David Whitfield. David was fresh from having won a radio version of Opportunity Knocks on Radio Luxembourg. His first couple of singles failed to chart, but this, his third release, was a one week wonder at #9, his next release, which charted just a fortnight later, was Answer Me, which would hit number one, making the second Brit (after Lita Roza, who was Liverpudlian) and the first British talent show winner to do so.


And on to 30th January 1954 and another future charttopper's chart debut, this time Frankie Vaughan. It's a slightly novelty offering called Istanbul (Not Constantinople). There's also a sped up version from June 1990 by They Might Be Giants, but that managed 3 weeks in the lower reaches of the chart, and so won't bother us on this list.


Finally, for the same reasons as the 1952 bonuses, here's a 1953 bonus. For, I think, the only time Xmas 1953 saw two weeks in a row where a new chart was not compiled, 26th December 1953 and 2nd January 1953, and consequently chartologists plug both gaps with the chart from 19th December 1953. On the 19th December 1953 there were three versions of I Saw Mommy Kisisng Santa Claus in the chart. The Jimmy Boyd version on Columbia was at number 8, but had already peaked at number 3, whilst the Beverly Sisters version, on Philips, was now at #7 having already peaked one place higher at #6. The third version was entering at #12, was on Decca, and was by Billy Cotton and his Band. By the time normal chart service had been resumed, for the 9th January 1954, there was no further trace of any of the three versions, meaning that Billy's version has three chart weeks in most chartologists databases even though all three weeks derive from a single compiled chart. 34 years later, in December 1987, one other version of the song, by Michael Jackson, troubled the lower reaches of the chart peaking at #91, though managing 4 weeks in the 91-100 range. Again no version of this Xmas song has reappeared in the Official Top 100 in the download and streaming era, and checking the Spotfy Daily UK Top 200 for Xmas Day 2018 shows only two versions of the song, a Jackson 5 version at 42 (I'm not sure if this is the same as the Michael Jackson version that charted in 1987) and a version by the Ronettes at 195. Anyway here's the Billy Cotton version.


And that's it for 1953. Not sure when I'll carry on again with 1954, but I'm thinking maybe doing this twice a week on Tuesday and Friday, with a larger number run through on each day, or else doing a trio of tracks each evening from now on, I'm not sure which people would prefer, so let me know what you think.

Posted by: E L Rollo 2nd November 2019, 11:38 AM

If you do three tracks each evening,I think we are more likely to listen to the youtube clips but do whatever suits your weekly routine. Great work so far,an interesting read.

Posted by: Robbie 2nd November 2019, 12:46 PM

I can't imagine there would be any problems with me posting the link as the two boards complement each other rather than being rivals for the same types of threads.

https://www.ukmix.org/showthread.php?20740

The September 1992 to January 1994 76-100 positions start on page 9. There's also a top 200 for 12 February 1994 (the first chart compiled by Millward Brown) on the same page.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 2nd November 2019, 01:01 PM

Edward Heath the Prime Minister did have a recording career too, though no hit singles:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/81775-Edward-Heath

Posted by: E L Rollo 2nd November 2019, 01:18 PM

Yes,that my explain the confusion. I have a vague memory of seeing him conduct an orchestra on TV and I think he might have appeared on a Morecambe and Wise Christmas show as well.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd November 2019, 02:06 PM

Surprising how many songs i know, though most of them are still unknown to me. Most of the acts i know though, mum and dad are big fans of the likes of david whitfield, frankie laine, and i think doris day is always good. Theres only 2 acts im not aware of, which isnt bad as i was minus 6 years old and ive never really listened much to 50s compilations...

Posted by: Robbie 2nd November 2019, 02:17 PM

If anyone is interested in reading the 14 November 1952 issue of the New Musical Express which contains the first ever UK singles sales chart then click on https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-New-Musical-Express/1952/NME-1952-11-14-S-OCR.pdf which is downloadable as a PDF. The chart is on page 8. The newspaper cost 6d at the time which is the equivalent of 2½ pence. Allowing for inflation that is the equivelent of 71 pence today.

Posted by: Bré 2nd November 2019, 04:00 PM

I know the They Might Be Giants version of 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)', didn't realise it was not an original song! It's a fun track (although probably less fun in a slower version x)

Posted by: Robbie 2nd November 2019, 04:25 PM

I didn't know that either. Looking up the songwriter (James Kennedy) on wikipedia he wrote quite a few successful songs including childrens favourite 'Teddy Bears Picnic" as well as World War II favourite 'We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line', a version of the 'Hokey Cokey' and The Platters massive hit 'My Prayer'. Quite a versatile songwriter; he was born in Omagh and lived much of his life in Somerset.

This is what I like about these threads about old charts, I find out something new each time.

Posted by: DanChartFan 3rd November 2019, 05:01 PM

Ok, I'm going to try a daily post of one trio of one week wonders. I've already done 6 such trios over my previous posts, so here is Episode 7 of The One Week Wonders.

Our first one this time is another case of the other side of a disc charting in its own right. Guy Mitchell was having quite a big hit (peaking at #2) with Cloud Lucky Seven, but on 27th February 1954 the other side, Sippin' Soda, joined it in the charts for one week at #11 (Cloud Lucky Seven stayed put at #4 that same week).


Our second one week wonder today is an alternative version of a song that was much more successful by another act. The song is The Happy Wanderer, which was a big hit for the Obernkirchen Children's Choir, who I believe John Peel claimed were the first live gig he ever saw. Their version stayed in the charts for an impressive 26 weeks, and spent five consecutive weeks at number 2. On the fourth of those weeks, 10th April 1954, the second version, by the Stargazers, charted at number #12. I wonder if some sales being lost to the Stargazers version contributed to the Obenkirchen Children's Choir missing out on number one, despite that version's chart longevity?


And lastly for today a one week wonder for Nat 'King' Cole. Charting for one week at #10 on 17th April 1954 was Tenderly. His next single in the charts would be the #2 hit Smile, perhaps his best-known song. I could have linked to the original recording, but instead I found a video of the great man in action, performing Tenderly on his own show in 1957.


And before I end for today, there's another bonus to add. On 13th March 1954 a recording from 1946 managed to chart in the NME chart for a single week at #12. It would have been one of our trio today, had it not returned to the charts in early 1976 as part of a triple a-side which would peak at #13. The other two 'sides' on that occasion were In The Mood and Little Brown Jug, and this is Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade.

Posted by: E L Rollo 3rd November 2019, 05:33 PM

I certainly recognise the tune of The Happy Wanderer from something. It might be the other more popular version or someone else singing it.

Posted by: DanChartFan 3rd November 2019, 08:14 PM

Are you a fan of the Fast Show? It features fairly prominently in one of their sketches, so that could be what you're thinking of.

Posted by: E L Rollo 3rd November 2019, 08:23 PM

No,I've never seen it. I know it from much further back than that. It was probably sung quite a lot on childrens TV programmes in the 70s or maybe in a film.

Posted by: E L Rollo 3rd November 2019, 08:40 PM

I've searched youtube as this childhood memory is driving me crazy and have found where I know it from. In the 70s,the local ice cream van played it.

Posted by: Jade 3rd November 2019, 10:29 PM

Wow, this thread really puts into perspective how long Elizabeth II has been on the throne for, so many eras of music have passed by in that time!

Interesting story about the catalogue numbers for the Johnnie Ray and Doris Day duets! Just gave them both a listen and I'm definitely preferring 'A Full Time Job', so yay for that one charting slightly higher. What a toe tapper *.*

I've never seen Guys And Dolls before but I do know and quite like 'Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat'. However, 'Bushell And A Peck' is pretty naff, can kinda see why that was cut from the film

It feels so odd to hear a slowed down version of 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' - that song must be experienced in a high octane form, I refuse anything else

'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' is my least favourite Christmas song oops, but this version is more tolerable than the shrill Jacksons one.

Not sure if I know the original of 'The Happy Wanderer' but I'm enjoying The Stargazers' version! They're definitely emerging as one of my favourite 50s groups.

It was nice to see some visuals for 'Tenderly' following a lot of still image clips (understandably ) - a legendary vocalist for sure.

I definitely like the idea of posting a trio each day! That seems manageable to keep up with.

Posted by: DanChartFan 4th November 2019, 05:00 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 8

We start today's episode by having to go backwards in time again, something I wasn't banking on, but I'm afraid there was a little cock up in the research department. Our first song today charted at #12 on 24/01/1953, in a tied position with two other singles. My source for the 50s, The Complete NME Singles Charts, listed those other two singles, but failed to list this one, and for my part I failed to corroborate the 50s list I compiled against a second source before starting this thread, and only uncovered the omission when I finally did do that last night. Better late than never though I guess. The song is by Tony Brent and is called Got You On My Mind.


And having put that right we magically fast forward over a year to where we were before, in time to find our second song for today. This one was a US number one, but here it managed only one week at #8 on 8th May 1954. It's by Jo Stafford and is rather candidly for the 50s entitled Make Love To Me.


Finally today we have the UK chart debut of one of music's great legends, Frank Sinatra. This particular song had one week at #12 on 10th July 1954 here, but in the US it hit number two and was a million seller there. Indeed this song was such a hit there that a movie already in production, featuring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day, was renamed to match this song so that they could use it on the opening and closing credits. The song is Young At Heart.

Posted by: Jester 4th November 2019, 08:06 PM

The val de ree (ha ha ha ha) part was used as the title of a Victoria Wood sketch.

Posted by: Jade 4th November 2019, 08:21 PM

That Frank Sinatra song sounds really timeless although I think I prefer The Bluebells' #1 hit of the same name (not heard the original of that oops)

"and if you should survive to 105, look at all you'll derive out of being alive" though, what an exhausting lyric

Posted by: Bré 4th November 2019, 09:20 PM

My parents loved The Fast Show so I watched it a fair bit as a kid, and indeed I do actually recognise 'The Happy Wanderer' from that!

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th November 2019, 04:50 PM

As a big Victoria Wood fan I'm suitably embarrassed that I forgot that!

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th November 2019, 05:15 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 9

We left off in July 1954, but there is quite a big gap before the next one. In the mean time, on 2nd October 1954, the chart was extended from a top 12 to a top 20, so we are now, for the most part, mining slightly deeper for our one week wonders than we were before.

Our first two are both from 6th November 1954, so we are within 65 years of the current date now! The first is a duet between the Johnston Brothers, who have just had a hit with Oh Happy Day and Joan Regan, who had had three top ten hits at this stage. The song charted at #18 and is Wait For Me, Darling.


Next up Dickie Valentine makes a third appearance on our list, charting in the same week at #19 with Endless. Don't feel too sorry for him though as he's only a couple of months away from the first of his two number ones.


Finally we have a Canadian singer, Norman Brooks, whose real name was Norman Arie. His main claim to fame was being able to impersonate Al Jolson, most notably in the 1956 film 'The Best Things In Life Are Free'. He also played himself in the 1960 film 'Oceans Eleven'. This single entered at #13 on 13th November 1954, and represents the only week of UK chart action this singer ever had. The song is A Sky Blue Shirt And A Rainbow Tie.


Thats it for today, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's three, which include, I think, a big suprise that no-one would guess was on this list...

Posted by: E L Rollo 5th November 2019, 05:58 PM

Norman Brooks had quite an interesting vocal style but my favourite of those three would be Wait For Me Darling. I like the Hawaiian guitar sounds on that one.

Posted by: Jade 5th November 2019, 06:22 PM

Yeah 'Wait For Me Darling' is my favourite of that bunch too. Hawaiian guitar sounds always remind me of Spongebob

Posted by: DanChartFan 6th November 2019, 05:03 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 10
We have a particularly 'sing-a-long' episode in store today...

Well I promised you a surprise in this episode, and I think this particular song really is that. The artist in question had already had three previous singles enter the UK charts when this charted for one week at #16 on 11th December 1954. The song has since appeared in loads of films, commercials and so on, and is thus a really familiar song to most of us, but amazingly this song has never managed a second week in the UK charts at any time. Seen here performing it on his own show it's Perry Como's Papa Loves Mambo.


Our second one today will also seem quite a familiar song, even if you don't necessarily know this version. Mr Sandman was charting in four versions around this time, the one that charted highest was by Dickie Valentine, who peaked at #5. There was a Four Aces version that peaked at #9. And probably the most familiar version was by the Chordettes, which peaked at #11. They were joined by this fourth version, which charted for one week only at #16 on 22 January 1955, and was by Mr Sing-A-Long himself, Max Bygraves.


Our final song today, which charted at #13 on 5th February 1955, is taken from 'The Student Prince', a film that was originally meant to star Mario Lanza in the lead, but he either was fired, or voluntarily walked off the project, depending on who you believe. Whilst he didn't appear on screen, the music he recorded for the film was already contracted to be used, and so the new lead, Edmund Purdom, had to perform the songs within the scene, only to then be overdubbed with Mario's original recording. The song we are interested in was the 'other side' of Serenade, which charted later in 1955 for a few weeks and should not be confused with a completely different song also called Serenade that Mario released and charted in 1956. The other side of the first Serenade, and the song we are concerned with here, was Drink, Drink, Drink (The Drinking Song), and is shown here as seen in the film, Edmund in vision, Mario's vocal, and in full colour, but somewhat shortened compared to the actual single (which I will post a link to underneath for anyone who wants to listen to the full song).


The full version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48xbhit8ZRA

Posted by: E L Rollo 6th November 2019, 06:05 PM

I like the Chordettes version of Mr Sandman but not that version by Max Bygraves. I don't think I've heard 'Papa Loves Mambo' before.

It's interesting that Mario Lanza had two hit singles with the same song title. I can't think of anyone else who has done this. The nearest I can think of would be George Michael with 'Freedom' in 1990,six years after his group Wham! had a no.1 single with the same title. I'm sure someone here might be able to come up with another example.

Posted by: Bré 6th November 2019, 06:20 PM

Glee Cast charted with covers of 2 different songs called 'Somebody To Love' (Justin Bieber and Queen), even the OCC got confused and marked the second one as a re-entry.

Posted by: jimwatts 6th November 2019, 07:14 PM

Westlife had 2 songs called Home, the first was an album track and never charted, but when or just before their later single of that name came out, apparently there was a spike in downloads for the earlier track.

Posted by: Jade 6th November 2019, 07:51 PM

The instrumental of 'Papa Loves Mambo' sounds soooo familiar to me - it must be due to adverts. A strong start to this trio!

I had no idea that so many versions of 'Mr. Sandman' existed that Max Bygraves version is passable but doesn't hold a candle to the one by the Chordettes. I cannot mention said version without sharing the one good thing to come from TikTok:





Wow, an actual coloured video from the 50s for 'Drink Drink Drink (The Drinking Song)' ;o can't say the song is doing much for me oops.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 6th November 2019, 08:25 PM

Dave Clark Five had two hits called 'Everybody Knows'.

I regard the two Jennifer Lopez hits called 'Ain't It Funny' as different sons as well, though officially it was just a remix.

Posted by: DanChartFan 7th November 2019, 05:24 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 11

Our first song this week is by a trio of sisters, Peggy, Cherie and Babette (although later on a cousin, Olgita sometimes stood in for the latter of those). The song, Teach Me Tonight, charted in five different versions in the U.S. (Janet Brace, Jo Stafford, Dinah Washington and Helen Grayco being the other four), but this version, which hit #2 in the US, was the only version to chart here, and even then for only one week at #20 on the 12th February 1955. They are the DeCastro Sisters, and this was their only charting single in the UK. The footage I've found here was from 1957 and also features them performing a comic version of Heartbreak Hotel! I'll add a link underneath to the actual single though, for those who want to hear it in full.


The full single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1o57qfBV54

Our second song is another one that was available in many versions, in this instance four. Teresa Brewer was who I would associate the song with, but that only got to #9, compared to #5 for the Ruby Murray version, and #3 for the Dean Martin version. As well as those three there was also this version, which was the one that topped the US chart. The song is Let Me Go Lover, and the artist is Joan Weber. The song charted at #16 on 19th February 1955, and was Joan's only week on chart here.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Original link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hyLRbRCCLU]

Finally Jade will be glad to know our third song today is by the Stargazers! By now they were on their 5th charting single, of which three had topped the charts, and we have already seen the other exception, The Happy Wanderer. This one is called Somebody, and it charted at #20 on 5th March 1955.

Posted by: E L Rollo 7th November 2019, 11:52 PM

That's a great vocal performance by Joan Weber on the second song while the third one was an interesting banjo/trumpet pub singalong.

Posted by: Jade 8th November 2019, 12:04 AM

The DeCastro Sisters' harmonies are a pleasure to listen to! Also love that I got a shoutout for The Stargazers haha. Their singles continue to be pretty diverse - 'Somebody' potentially the catchiest one I've heard to date. Fun instrumentation too!

Posted by: DanChartFan 8th November 2019, 05:03 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 12

We start today with an appropriately titled track, In The Beginning. It's by Frankie Laine, and is his 15th chart hit, in a period of less than 3 years. It reached #20 on 12th March 1955.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Original link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S0h3_7LGXA]

Next up is a chart debut for the McGuire Sisters. The single we're interested in is the other side of Sincerely, which was a US number one, but here only got as far as #14. This side, No More, spent one week at #20 on 2nd April 1955.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Original link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXeQqiNsKyU]

Finally we move on to the 23rd April 1955, when two versions of the same song were both having their one and only week on chart. We'll hear the higher placed one now, and cover the other one as our first song tomorrow. The song is Tweedle Dee, and the version charting at #17 was by Frankie Vaughan, as his first release on Philips (having previously released two singles on the HMV label).

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th November 2019, 05:46 PM

Papa Loves Mambo is all over the TV this century, unheard by me in the late 20th century though! Mr Sandman is 80's nostalgia Back To The Future set in the 50's nostalgia, love The Chordettes version, never loved anything Uncle Max ever did. Not even slightly, not even kiddie-aimed You're A Pink Toothbrush setting gender stereotypes firmly on impressionable kids way back when.

Tweedle-Dee is fab - by Little Jimmy Osmond. or La Verne Baker the r'n'b original.

I SO want somebody to morph Little Jimmy's Tweedlee dee hook...



into the nonsense hook of this one:



It would tickle me!

Posted by: E L Rollo 9th November 2019, 12:37 PM

No More by the McGuire Sisters would be my pick from Episode 12. The lyrics to the Frankie Laine song are very religious which might have put many people off from buying it. I see from my hit singles book that his previous 11 singles all made the top 10.

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th November 2019, 08:21 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 13

We start off where we left off yesterday, with Tweedle Dee. The second version getting it's sole week in the charts, at #20, was by Georgia Gibbs, real name Frieda Lipschitz. Here's a short clip of her performing the song, but with a link to the full single underneath.


Full version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBdeC3JnSm0

Our next song is a duet between an established singer and a small boy. It's Open Your Heart by Joan and Rusty Regan, which charted at #19 on 7th May 1955. I assume Rusty was her son, though I've not been able to verify this anywhere. Certainly Joan went on to record a song called Papa Loves Mama with her then two year old daughter, Donna. I'm not sure why Rusty is surnamed Regan though, considering that Joan Regan is a stage name and Regan is neither her maiden name, nor her married name at that time, so Rusty must also be using a stage name, meaning he could be anyone and therefore not neccessarily her son. Another odd thing about this single is that it is not shown in the NME chart book, which has a Ray Burns single at #19 this week instead, whilst Guinness and the OCC say that Ray was actually joint 20th and that Joan and Rusty had a single week at #19.


Our final song today is Paths of Paradise by Johnnie Ray, which charted at #20 on 21st May 1955.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 9th November 2019, 08:39 PM

Loving this thread. Definitely keep it up as really good and nice to see
7 May 1955
Joan Regan was at 19 on the chart as printed at the time.
The scan does also have a joint 20 for Ray and Mario so the OCC website does list the right order for 19 and joint 20.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kcl8xy7jrjrb3os/1955-05-06%20-%20Single%20-%20NME%20Pop.pdf?dl=0
That’s a copy of the scan for that week

Posted by: E L Rollo 10th November 2019, 12:36 AM

How quaint was that 'Open Up Your Heart' song.

Posted by: DanChartFan 10th November 2019, 11:49 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 14

Sorry, it's rather a late one tonight, but better late than never I guess. We start today with one of the 50's most iconic songs, Unchained Melody. The song began life in January 1955 as the theme song for an obscure prison film called Unchained. The film's version was performed by Todd Duncan, but his version didn't trouble our charts, in fact I can't be sure it even got a release here. By summer 1955 there were however four other versions in the charts. The two big versions were by housewives' favourite Jimmy Young, and US singer Al Hibbler. NME says Jimmy's version was the one topping the charts, whilst Record Mirror says it was Al, but either way both were at the upper end of the charts. Another US singer, Les Baxter, had a version slightly further down the charts, peaking at #10. Les' version stands out to me, as it begins with the words "unchain me, unchain me" being sung, when the song in most of it's version is normally seen as being a song that doesn't reference any part of its title. Neither Les nor Al would have another hit in this country, whilst Jimmy still had a fair few to come, as well as a later careeer in DJing. But the version of Unchained Melody we're interested in charted for one week at #20 on 18th June 1955, and was by flamboyant pianist Liberace.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Original link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03z59EpPxRI]

Next up we have the Five Smith Brothers. Originally they were five actual brothers, Alfred, Harold, Martin, Royston and Stanley, and had been singing together since 1932. Having all served in WWII they then lost one brother, Martin, in a car accident in 1946. They then brought in an outsider, Ronnie Culbertson, who apparently then became Ronnie Smith. Anyway their UK chart career extended to just this one single week, 23rd July 1955, when they charted at #20 with I'm In Favour Of Friendship. I have to say that I'm in favour of this song!


Finally for today it's ol' blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. He charted at #18 on 3rd September 1955 with Not As A Stranger, from the film of the same name, in which Frank starred.

Posted by: E L Rollo 11th November 2019, 12:44 PM

I haven't heard an instrumental version of Unchained Melody before. I quite liked that one with the choir and strings as well as piano. I also liked the orchestral arrangement on the Frank Sinatra song but my favourite today is 'I'm In Favour Of Friendship',one of the best songs so far.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th November 2019, 08:34 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 15

First up today, after a run of 5 top ten hits, including one charttopper, it's a one week entry into the charts at #20 on 10th September 1955 for Doris Day with Love Me Or Leave Me. Here she is performing it in the film of the same name.


Next up it's Tony Bennett's first charting single since Stranger In Paradise. Charting at #18 on 17th September 1955 is Close Your Eyes.


Finally this last song is actually the other side of a single called Go On By, which spent four weeks in the chart and peaked at #16. The side we're interested in charted first for one week at #17 on 24th September 1955, before the disc dropped out for two weeks, before returning on 15th Sept as Go On By. It's The Banjo's Back In Town by Alma Cogan.

Posted by: E L Rollo 12th November 2019, 12:10 AM

'The Banjo's Back In Town' is definitely the best song out of those three.

Posted by: DanChartFan 12th November 2019, 09:03 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 16

We carry on where we left off yesterday, on 24th September 1955. Our first song was charting that week at #20. It's a version of Blue Star (The Medic Theme), which as it's title suggests was the theme tune to Medic, which was a US television series that wasn't actually broadcast in the UK at the time. The big hit version, which reached #2 was by Cyril Stapleton, whilst this version was by Charlie Applewhite with Victor Young and Chorus. Victor Young was actually the original composer of the song. There was also a third version that would chart, but more of that tomorrow...


Our next song was originally released by Glenn Miller in 1942, and is That Old Black Magic by Sammy Davis Jr, which charted at #16 on 1st October 1955.


Our final song today was one of four charting versions of Hey There. The most succesful versions chartwise were by Rosemary Clooney and Johnnie Ray, which peaked at #4 and #5 respectively. Another version, by Lita Roza, charted at #17 on 8th October 1955, but managed to just about cling on in the chart the following week, at a tied 20th place. The version we're interested in also charted on 8th October 1955, but at #19, and is also by Sammy Davis Jr. And no, even though these two Sammy Davis Jr songs charted within a week of each other they aren't two sides of the same disc this time.

Posted by: Jade 12th November 2019, 10:38 PM

The vocals of that The McGuire Sisters song 'No More' reminded me of Alma Cogan so much that I had to look up if she was somehow a part of the group, unsurprisingly all of the members have the surname McGuire but yeah that's a good thing, was definitely enjoying that song the most from that trio on Friday.

In the battle of 'Tweedlee Dee' I am preferring the Georgia version, although I think that is slightly enhanced by the fact that I watched the clip of her performing it that was embedded (as well as the full song) and the fact she looked so happy performing it was endearing.

Ooh I had no idea about that history of 'Unchained Melody' - the only versions from the 50s of it that I know are the Jimmy Young and Harry Belafonte ones. Wow that song will just never die the Liberace version is stunning - I'm a fan of the song anyway and piano playing always tugs on my heartstrings, so definitely a win. I'm then really liking 'I'm In Favour Of Friendship' from that section as well - the instrumentation sounds so much like a Winifred Atwell piece!

Really liking the Doris Day song from yesterday's trio - sounds very classy from the vocal performance to the brass and strings, a bit Bond-esque, maybe not quite dramatic enough for that. Then the Tony Bennett song (finally something I've heard from him other than 'Strangers In Paradise' and his Gaga/Amy Winehouse stuff) - it starts by immediately mentioning the title, which is also the first line in 'All My Loving' by The Beatles and I couldn't shake that song off the whole time Then... it's actual Alma Cogan as opposed to my confusion earlier aw she always sounds like she's having a jolly good time when singing. The first song I ever discovered by her was 'Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo' blasting out of the latest Now Christmas album at the time while I was working at HMV. I think I've enjoyed anything I've heard by her since too. Definitely also emerging as a 50s favourite.

That instrumental intro of 'That Old Black Magic' sounds so familiar! Although I'm pretty sure the only Sammy Davis Jr. song I knew prior to now was 'I've Gotta Be Me' so god knows why. Well, now I know three of his songs anyway both of those in the latest section showing quite different sides to him.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 11:10 PM

Never heard an instrumental version of that either.

Posted by: SM351 12th November 2019, 11:49 PM

Ahhhhh! Alma Cogan. My heart ❤️
I Listened to the Magic of Alma Cogan Greatest Hits one summer holiday visiting my aunt, and it became a holiday listening tradition after then. Such a sad story of her life ending so early. So lovely to see her pop up here.

Posted by: DanChartFan 13th November 2019, 10:04 PM

I agree that the intro is extremely familiar and I can't put my finger on it. The drums remind of this ident for ATV though...


I'm wondering if the fast bit of the intro might have been used as background music for chase scenes on cartoons, or in films, as I can sort of imagine Road Runner or some such being chased to that music.

Posted by: DanChartFan 14th November 2019, 12:01 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 17

In this week of remembrance we have an appropriate record to start with today. 1955 was the year the film The Dam Busters was released, and the a version of the theme tune, entiled 'Dambusters March, was released by the Central Band Of The Royal Air Force. Dambuster March was composed by Eric Coates, who had previously played in the orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, who happens to be a distant cousin of mine! This version of Dambusters March charted on #18 on 22nd October 1955.


Yesterday I promised you a third version of Blue Star, and here it is. It's by Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra and it charted at #20 on 29th October 1955


Our final song today is by Frankie Laine and is called Humming Bird. It charted at #16 on 12th November 1955.

Posted by: E L Rollo 14th November 2019, 12:19 AM

The Dambusters March is certainly well known. Very stirring,that was the best of today's trio of songs.

Posted by: DanChartFan 14th November 2019, 06:59 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 18

We start today with the battle of the Twenty Tiny Fingers, a song about becoming parents to twins. There were three versions of this song that charted, The Stargazers on Decca, Alma Cogan on HMV and The Coronets on Columbia. The Stargazers achieved the most success, reaching #4 and spending 11 weeks on chart. The Coronets version spent a week on chart at #20 on 26/11/1955, which would have been their only week on the UK charts had they not sung on a Ray Burns single earlier in 1955.


The third version, Alma Cogan's, charted for a week at #17 on 17th December 1955.


The Stargazers version is here if you want to compare it to the other two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qXdhkn2YUs

The final one week wonder today is a 50's tradition by the Johnston Brothers of releasing a medley of songs under the Join In And Sing series of singles and E.P's. This one is Join In And Sing Again, featuring a medley of Sheik Of Araby, Yes Sir That's My Baby, California Here I Come, Some Of These Days, The Charleston and Margie. It charted for one week on 31/12/1955 at #9, which is probably the last time we'll see a one week wonder inside the Top 10, though my research from the 80s onwards is far from complete at this stage, so do tell me if I've forgotten an obvious limited release or high profile social media campaign that created a Top 10 one week wonder in more recent times. I've had to research quite carefully to ensure I am talking about the correct medley, since virtually the same title was used for four different singles (shellac 78s only?), and then for two E.P's that compiled two singles each. If you're interested in such complexities then keep reading, otherwise just click on the video below and fast forward to the 5:14 point for the single in question.
The first release was Join In And Sing, which was released for Xmas 1954 and was a medley of six songs across both sides of the single, from Someday to Toot, Toot, Tootsie. Join In And Sing failed to chart in the Top 20, but given that the release would have been tied to Xmas, and given there were two uncompiled charts that Xmas, perhaps it should have in fact charted and is a lost hit. Join In And Sing Again was released for Xmas 1955, and was another medley of six songs across two sides, from Sheik Of Araby to Margie. This is the medley we are interested in here. Join In And Sing No. 3 was released for Xmas 1956, with much the same format, and a medley running from Coal Black Mummy to If You Were The Only Girl In The World. It entered the chart at #30 on 7th December 1956, but avoids eventual inclusion here as it managed a second and final week at #24 on 28th December 1956. Finally Join In And Sing No.4 was released for Xmas 1957 and the medley ran from Nobody's Sweetheat to The Darktown Strutter's Ball, but failed to hit the charts. Now here's where things get confusing, as there was also two vinyl E.P's, probably released after the end of the initial run of four singles (though I'm not sure of this). The first E.P. , called Join In And Sing, featured the 1954 original as Side 1, and the 1955 follow up as Side 2. The second single, confusingly named Join In And Sing Again, the same title as the 1955 single, actually featured the 1956 single on Side 1 and the 1957 single on Side 2. I mention this insane level of detail because although I'm telling you the single we are interested in is called Join In And Sing Again, from 1955, yet I'm going to link to a video entitled Join In And Sing, which has actually been ripped from the first E.P. and therefore features both the 1954 and 1955 releases, and is uploaded by a youtuber who also has another video Join In And Sing Again (1955) which is actually the second E.P. and therefore actually the 1956 and 1957 singles. If you fast forward this video to the 5:14 mark you can listen to the second single, the one we are interested in here. Or you could just listen to the full ten minutes comprising both of the first two singles if you wish.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to add that the embededd version of the video doesn't seem to be working for me, despite the youtube video still being available, so I am also adding the link here too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvHl6_8OH3s]

Before I go it occured to me that I could turn each year's list of One Week Wonders into a poll for us to vote for our favourite on, if that is something people would be interested in doing. Perhaps we could then go on to a decade vote at the end of each decade, and then an ultimate all-time vote when we have covered everything to the end of 2019 and have 7 decade winners remaining? Tomorrow is the last song of 1955, so this weekend I could put a 1952/3 poll, a 1954 poll and a 1955 poll up maybe.

Posted by: E L Rollo 14th November 2019, 07:59 PM

Join In And Sing would have been ideal for a family singalong on Christmas Day around the fire! I don't think many people had TV sets in those days.

Twenty Tiny Fingers was a charming little song. The Stargazers version is the best so you can understand that one being the longer running hit. I would then put Alma Cogan's version in 2nd place and The Coronets 3rd.

We've now reached the time 'Rock Around The Clock' was no.1 so maybe we'll soon have some rock'n'roll to listen to.

I would be happy to take part in a favourite song poll,Dan.

Posted by: Bré 14th November 2019, 08:28 PM

There have been a couple of more recent songs that were top 10 for a single week then disappeared from the charts entirely. Alex Day's 'Forever Yours' did so legitimately (charting for one week at #4 as a Christmas #1 campaign then dropping out of the top 100), and then there was Drake's 'Emotionless' which fluked one week as the third most popular Drake track to enter the chart at #5 before being overtaken by 'In My Feelings' and falling victim to the three-track rule. No idea if there are any others between those and these 50s ones (also I might be forgetting other recent ones but those are the only two that immediately come to mind). Ed Sheeran's 'Take Me Back To London' initially had the same fate as 'Emotionless' but it obviously later re-entered.

Posted by: DanChartFan 15th November 2019, 10:43 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 19

We start today where we left off yesterday, on 31st December 1955. The chart in question had been extended for one week only, to a Top 25 instead of a Top 20, which allowed our next hit to score a week in the charts that it otherwise wouldn't have had, charting that week at #25. It's Tina Marie by Perry Como, and here's a live performance of it from the time. The orchestral bit in the middle had been added to the song, but otherwise it's a fairly similar version to the recorded one, though I'll still link to the record in case any want to compare.


Single version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ULfx79YGk

As a bonus I will also mention that as a result of the one-off Top 25 there was one record that gained it's second and last week in the charts, that otherwise would have only had the one week and been on this list. Boyd Bennett's Seventeen had charted the week before at #16 and dropped this week to #23, thus avoiding being on this list.


On now to 1956. Our second song today is a version of Arrivederci Darling, which had already had four weeks on the charts over Xmas 1955 in a version by the other forces sweetheart, Anne Shelton. This version charted at #19 on the 14th January 1956 and is by Edna Savage, who was experiencing the only week on the UK chart.


Our last song today is Shifting Whispering Sands, a song that had already entered the charts by Eamonn Andrews, who those of us of a certain age will remember as the host of Thames Television's successful series This Is Your Life. Eamonn only peaked at #18, but spent three weeks on chart, though Eamonn never charted again. On the 28th January 1956 there was a three way tie at #20 between Eamonn's version, Malcolm Vaughan's With Your Love and a second version of Shifting Whispering Sands by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra.

Posted by: King Rollo 16th November 2019, 12:26 PM

I like the guitar and clarinet on 'Seventeen' while 'Arrivederci Darling' was a lovely song. The Shifting Whispering Sands is quite unusual firstly for including spoken word sections and secondly for being six minutes long with the song being split across the A and B sides. I remember some spoken word singles from the 70s with the most notable being If by Telly Savalas which reached no.1. I think they had died out by the end of the 70s.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th November 2019, 01:00 PM

Doris Day is always fab, and Sammy Davis Jr too. Apart from the famous songs, the only one of the latest batches I knew but didn't know I knew was Hey There - a great song and Sammy does a good version. Now I know what it's called! Jade, if you want some more Sammy check out his film performance in Sweet Charity as a cool preacher singing Rhythm Of Life, or his singalong kiddie fave The Candy Man.

Blue Star is nice, I enjoy a sweet instrumental. Arriverdici Darling is a song I know and like, though never heard of Edna Savage, great name. Ed'na Clouds would have been a greater name. Nice version.

Perry Comatose was so laid back I always had a problem with his records. They were still annoying me in the charts of the early 70's. Still do, actually. oops!

Posted by: DanChartFan 16th November 2019, 08:25 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 20

Today we have three songs that were available in multiple versions. The first one is The Ballad Of Davy Crockett. There were four versions available, Bill Hayes on the London label was the most successful, reaching #2, while Tennessee Ernie Ford on Capitol peaked at #3. Ernie also had another record at #1 at the same time, though after this he didn't chart again. A third version, on Parlophone, was by Dick James, and was the other side of another big song of the time, Robin Hood. I'm not totally clear on the chart history of this disc, as the OCC says it was a double a-side throughout, whereas some chart books say Dick's Davy Crockett was only actually shown on the chart for one week, and thus would potentially be a contender for this list. Anyway the version of The Ballad Of Davy Crockett we are interested in is by Max Bygraves and charted at #20 on 18th February 1956.

[Edited on 11th September 2021 to fix a dead link. Original link was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No-66ttn8io]

Our second song today is Young And Foolish. The most succesful version, on Nixa, was by Edmund Hockridge, and peaked at #10. Another version, on HMV, by Ronnie Hilton, reached #17. The version on our list though is by Dean Martin, and charted on 3rd March 1956 at #20.


Our final on today was available in 3 charting versions. The Ronnie Hilton version, was a charttopper, whilst the Edmund Hockridge version only reached #24. There was also this version by the Johnston Brothers which spent a week at #22 on 14th April 1956. It's called No Other Love.

Posted by: King Rollo 16th November 2019, 09:07 PM

I know The Ballad Of Davy Crockett but not Max Bygraves' version which I didn't care for and the Dean Martin song was a bit of a dirge so the best one today is No Other Love with a North African sound to some of its instrumentation.

Has the chart been extended again? You said the top 25 was just for one week at Christmas but the last song has a chart position of 22.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th November 2019, 07:44 AM

Oops, I knew there was something else to cover in episode 20. Following the one-off Top 25 at Xmas 1955 the N.M.E announced that in response to repeated requests from readers and the trade they would be increasing their best-selling records list from 20 to 30 as of 14th April 1956. The NME remained a Top 30 from that date until April 1983, but of course we will switch magazines to Record Retailer (later Music Week) when we get up to March 1960, so as to have a Top 50 instead.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th November 2019, 12:41 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 21

Sorry it's after midnight before I've managed to post today's episode. I've been resetting my bodyclock for a new nightshift job I will be doing for a few weeks from Monday night and overslept a bit tonight as I struggle to sleep during the day. I'm hoping that I can get into a routine of writing the 'copy' for each night's post after I finish work in the morning, then save it and when I wake up in the evening find time to paste it and post it whilst I'm getting ready for work. If that plan does go mammaries uppermost then I will do a catch up at the weekends (when I won't be working). Anyway on with this episode.

We carry on with the chart of 14th April 1956, which I forgot to mention in the last episode was the NME's first Top 30, following the successful experiment with a Top 25 at Xmas 1955.

Our first song today is the theme tune to the film Come Next Spring, and shares its name. It's sung by Tony Bennett, and charted at #29. Tony wouldn't have another charting single until 1961.


Next up is Sammy Davis Jr who charted at #28 on 21st April 1956 with In A Persian Market.


Finally we have a song from the film Meet Me In Las Vegas. The song is by Frankie Laine, and is called Hell Hath No Fury. Here's Frankie performing it in the film.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th November 2019, 09:08 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 22

The first song tonight is an earlier version of a song that went on to be a number one for Frank Ifield. There were also two more successful versions at this time by Tex Ritter (#8) and Gogi Grant. This charted at #27 on the 9th June 1956 is the other side of Rich Man Poor Man which also charted, and is by Jimmy Young.


Next up in the same week at #30 is Who Are We by Vera Lynn.


Then we have an EP. It charted at 29 on 13th June 1956, and is Take It Satch by Louis Armstrong. However as it contains both his most recent big single, and his next big single, I figure it is effectively selling for those and doesn't really count here.

So instead we finish with Rich Man Poor Man, the other side I mentioned of the first Jimmy Young single, and charting on 23rd June 1956 at #23.

Posted by: King Rollo 19th November 2019, 12:41 PM

I didn't really like any of the last six songs. I see we've now reached the point at which Elvis Presley made his chart debut.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 19th November 2019, 06:02 PM

It all depends on the definition of One Week Wonder. On 29 May 1956 the chart listed a double A-Side of Robin Hood and Davy Crocket. Robin was a RE and the A-Side, whistle Davy was New and the B-Side. So technically it's a one week wonder but was on the B-Side of the records being bought. Maybe similar to the EP rule?

Posted by: DanChartFan 19th November 2019, 09:53 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 23

We're staying with 23rd June 1956 for our first song today, and it's one of 3 versions of Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom). The big hit version, on HMV, was by Perry Como, and peaked at #4. On Columbia there was a version by Michael Holliday which peaked at #13. The version we're interested in charted at #28, was released by Decca and is by the Stargazers. It would be the last of their 9 charting singles.


Next up back in 1955 we had a One Week Wonder from Georgia Gibbs, a version of Tweedle Dee. Well she narrowly avoided having a one week only UK chart career by notching up a second one week wonder single on 14th July 1956, called Kiss Me Another. It charted at either at #24 or #25 that week depending on what source you believe, in fact the 17th Guinnes book (which I have to hand as I write this) shows 25 in the main body of the text but 24 in the song index.


Finally we have a singer whose entire UK chart career is one week, but who had already founded a legendary group who went on to have some very well known hits after he himself had left for an ultimately not so successful solo career. The group are the Drifters, who have been in existence since they were founded in 1953, and who have had around 65 different members as of today. Their founder was Clyde McPhatter, who charted in the UK at #27 on 25th August 1956 with Treasure Of Love, which was a number one on the US R&B charts. He did have a few other hit singles in the US, but they became smaller hits after a change of labels, and dried up completely after 1962. That, combined with his regret at selling his rights to the Drifters, causing his fellow Drifters to be put on a contract that paid them a pittance, which led to a revolving door line-up for the group, meant he turned to alcohol. Clyde planned a big comeback in 1972, but sadly it never happened as he passed away in his sleep on 13th June 1972, aged just 39, due to multiple organ complications caused by the years of drinking.

Posted by: King Rollo 20th November 2019, 12:02 AM

The Stargazers coming up with the goods again. Anyone who watches Family Guy will be thinking of Glenn Quagmire when they hear that song. I liked the Clyde McPhatter one as well.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th November 2019, 09:15 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 24

We start today with David Whitfield and My Unfinished Symphony, which charted at #29 on 1st September 1956. It was the other side of My Son John, which peaked at #22 and charted for 4 weeks.


Next up we have an acapella single that was released in the US in 1952, but hit the charts here at #30 on 15th October 1956. There first single to chart in the UK was Only You, which peaked at #3 earlier in 1956. It's the Hilltoppers, whose name comes from their University athletice team the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The song is called Tryin, and here they are peforming it, through a haze of tape artifacts due to the age of the recording, on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1952.


Finally we have British male vocalist Geoffrey Paddison, who released music under the name David Hughes. His one and only week on the UK chart was on 22/10/1956 at #27 with By The Fountains Of Rome, which reached #17 in another version by Edmund Hockridge.

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st November 2019, 09:42 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 25

We start today with an alternative version of a charttopping song, A Woman In Love. The charttopping version was by Frankie Laine, and their was also another version by the Four Aces, which peaked at #19. There was also this version which charted at #30 on 22nd October 1956.


Next up we have Gene Vincent, whose real name was Eugene Craddock, and his Blue Caps. He had just had a #16 hit with Be-Bop-A-Lula, and followed that up with this, Race With The Devil, which charted at #28 on 13th October 1956.


Finally we have another One Week Wonder for Liberace, with a song called I Don't Care. Unusually for Liberace he is the vocallist on this track, as well as the pianist. It charted at #28 on 20th October 1956, and here he is performing it (well probably lipsynching?) on his own show.

Posted by: Robbie 21st November 2019, 10:28 PM

'Race With The Devil' by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps is a great song. Vincent's unsual stance while performing was partly down to the fact that he had to wear a leg brace following a serious crash in 1955 which left his left leg shattered. He wore the brace for the rest of his life.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd November 2019, 09:41 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 26

Here's something a little bit unexpected in the Singles chart... it's an LP! Back in the 50s singles generally sold more than LPs, so if an LP was a particular big seller able to rival the sales of singles then it was slotted into the singles chart. The LP in question is Rock 'N' Roll Stage Show by Bill Haley and his Comets, which charted at #30 for one week on 10th November 1956. As with the EP the other day there are tracks on it in common with singles that charted, namely Rocking Through The Rye, which had already reached #3, and Rudy's Rock which was about to reach the charts and peak at #26, as well as both those singles' B-sides, therefore I figure that this doesn't really count for our list either. Note that if the tracks were totally unique, and not present on a charting single, then I would count any EP or LP that the chart of the time felt was eligible to chart in the first place.

Our first single is In The Middle Of The House. There were two other versions on the chart, by Alma Cogan and Jimmy Parkinson, both of which peaked at #20. This version is by the Johnston Brothers and charted at #27 on 1st December 1956.


Our next one is The Cat Came Back by Sonny James. It charted at #30 on 1st December 1956. Sonny only had one other charting single, in early 1957, a version of Young Love, which was a number one for Tab Hunter.


To end today we have the a vocal group called the Deep River Boys. The single is called That's Right. It charted at #29 on 8th December 1956, and was their only week on chart in the UK.

Posted by: King Rollo 23rd November 2019, 12:30 AM

That first song about two people being murdered and ending with the singer run over by a train being one of 110 childrens' favourites.

The Deep River Boys' song was the best one out of those three I think.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th November 2019, 07:35 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 27 and 28

I didn't manage to upload an episode yesterday, so here is a double length edition to make up for it.

We start today with a song that charted in three versions, Cindy Oh Cindy. The big hit version was by Eddie Fisher, on HMV, and peaked at #5. Another version was by Tony Brent, on Columbia, and that peaked at #16. The version we are interested in was released on London, and was by Vince Martin and the Tarriers. It charted at #26 on 15th December 1956. The Tarriers (seemingly minus Vince) had one more hit in 1957, a version of the Banana Boat Song, which peaked at #15.


Next we would have been listening to the chart debut of Little Richard, namely his version of Rip It Up, which charted at #30 on the same week, however it was part of a double a side of re-recordings in 1977, with Good Golly Miss Molly as the other side, and this charted for 4 weeks, peaking at #37, and so I feel the 1956 version no longer counts as a one week wonder.

Instead we move on to 29th December 1956 at #28, and Sammy Davis Jr's All Of You. This now represents Sammy's fourth one week wonder in a row, and we'll be making his acquaintance again on this thread when we reach 1960.


We now move into 1957, the year of skiffle, but the first one week wonder of the year wasn't in that genre. It was an alternative version of Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love), a #3 hit for Pat Boone. This version was by the Four Aces featuring Al Alberts, and charted at #29 on 5th January 1957.


Having caught up with yesterday's three additions to the list we now look at today's. First up is Mitchell Torok, with the follow up to his #6 hit When Mexico Gave Up The Rumba. It's a rockabilly song called Red Light, Green Light, and charted on 12th January 1957 at #29. It features the Tulane Sisters, who provide the calls of 'red light' and 'green light'.


Next up we have Fats Domino with Honey Chile, which was charting at #29 on 2nd February 1957. Fats also had a second single, Ain't That A Shame, in the charts in the same week at #23, but I've checked the catalogue numbers and they are separate discs, not just two sides of the same one. Here we can watch him performing the song on TV (not sure which show).


Finally for this double edition we have our old friends the Johnston Brothers, now appearing on this list for the fifth time. The single this time is Give Her My Love, which charted at #27 on 9th February 1957. After this they had one more charting single, Heart, which peaked at #23 later in 1957, and charted for 3 weeks, so this is the last time we will hear from them here.


That's it for today, but tomorrow will feature a couple of fairly important slices of Rock 'n' Roll, so be sure not to miss that.

Posted by: King Rollo 24th November 2019, 10:36 PM

I like 'Cindy Oh Cindy',perhaps the first song so far that sounds like it could be from the 60s. 'Red Light,Green Light' was the other good song from this batch.

It's interesting that the credit for 'Friendly Persuasion' is the Four Aces featuring Al Alberts. Although that word is used all the time for singles these days,it wasn't used at all until the late 80s so I'm surprised to see it used as early as 1957.

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th November 2019, 06:45 AM

I wrote and posted an episode last night and for some reason it didn't go through, so better late than never here is Monday's episode.

Today is something of a Rock 'n' Roll special, as our first two songs are fairly described as Rock 'n' Roll classics. In fact it's hard to believe they are in fact one week wonders.

Our first song was at number one in Mojo's 100 records that changed the world. It was recorded back in September 1955 and it became a model for not only its artist's future recordings, but for Rock 'n' Roll itself. I literally cannot overstate how important a recording it is, and yet in the UK it charted for a single week at #29 on 23rd February 1957. It's Little Richard's Tutti Frutti. Here he is in vision, but I have linked to the original single underneath too.


Original single: youtube.com/watch?v=NnIIvWnpaBU

Next up is another Rock 'n' Roll classic, albeit an alternative version of the track, but performed by one of its stars who went on to become it's biggest legend. The song is Rip It Up, which was originally release by Little Richard, and that version very nearly found itself on our list, but as mentioned in episode 27 it was reprieved by being part of a double a-side rerecording that charted in 1977. The main chart hit was by Bill Haley and his Comets, which peaked at #4. And the only other charting version at the time hit #27 on 9th March 1957 and was by Elvis Presley.


If you're feeling breathless now with the pace and excitement of this new fangled Rock 'n' Roll then don't worry our last song is almost a kind of antidote. It's housewives favourite Jimmy Young with a song called Round And Round, actually a nice enough tune, but admittedly dwarfed by the two Rock'n' Roll entries before it. It charted at #30 on 4th May 1957, and perhaps due to the rise of Rock 'n' Roll it is his last appearance on the charts until 1963.

Posted by: Robbie 26th November 2019, 09:07 AM

'Tutti Frutti' by Little Richard was the B side to 'Long Tall Sally' which was at number 17 the week the former had its one week on the charts. 'Long Tall Sally' eventually climbed to number 3.

Posted by: Bré 26th November 2019, 01:43 PM

Wow, 'Tutti Frutti' really feels vastly more well-known than every other song in here so far!

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th November 2019, 09:33 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 30

Our first song today is Nat 'King' Cole's follow up to his number two hit When I Fall In Love. It charted at #28 on 6th July 1957 and was called When Rock 'n' Roll Came To Trinidad.


Next up is Valley Of Tears, a song later released by Buddy Holly on a double a side that reached #12, but the version we're interested in was by Fats Domino and charted at #25 on 20th July 1957.


Finally, sticking with the same date, we have Gary Miller, real name Neville Williams, who had six singles in the charts between 1955 and 1961, mostly version of songs that were bigger hits by someone else. This is his fourth charting single, and hit #29.

Posted by: DanChartFan 27th November 2019, 09:20 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 31

First today is the second charting single for Welsh songtress Shirley Bassey. The follow-up chartwise to her Banana Boat Song, which had peaked at #10. Fire Down Below charted at #30 on 24th August 1957. The other side of this disc, You You Romeo, charted for two weeks in September, peaking at #29. I couldn't resist illustrating this song with the Muppet Show's take on the song, from somewhere in the 70's, but have also linked the original single underneath.


Original single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fuZq6O--Y0

Next is the UK chart debut of the Coasters. Probably best known for another hit, Yakety Yak (famously used to promote McCain's MicroChips), although their biggest hit was Charlie Brown, which peaked at #6. This, however, is Searchin, which charted at #30 on 28th September 1957. Here's a clip of them performing live, though again the original single is linked underneath.


Original single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN307ssGLuc

Last up its Johnny Duncan and his Blue Grass Boys. They had just had a big number two hit with Last Train To San Fernando, and followed it up with this, Blue Blue Heartaches, which peaked at #27 on 26th October 1957.

Posted by: DanChartFan 29th November 2019, 09:49 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 32 and 33

Sorry, I missed another episode yesterday, so here's another double edition.

First up is a US charttopper by Jimmie Rodgers, called Honeycomb. In this country however it had one week at #30 on 2nd November 1957. He would go on to have bigger success in the UK with Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and English Country Wine.


Next we have Tommy Steele and the Steelmen with Hey You! They'd already had a charttopper a year previously with Singing The Blues, and had a couple of other top ten hits. This one charted at #28 on 23rd November 1957.


Now we have a song that was a US number one for Nino Tempo and April Stevens in 1963, and reached #17 in the UK for them, and also reached #25 in 1976 for Donny and Marie Osmond. It's Deep Purple. The version we're interested in is by Billy Ward and the Dominos, who had also had a #13 hit with Stardust.


Appropriately enough for the day when Mariah reentered the Top 40 we now have two Xmas songs on our list. The first up is White Christmas, which has charted in at least 12 different versions, by artists as diverse as Freddie Starr, Max Bygraves, Bryn Terfel, Glee Cast, Jim Davidson, and Keith Harris and Orville. Obviously the big hit version is by Bing Crosby, or rather versions since there were at least two different recordings by him, since the original master had worn out after a few years and necessitated a rerecording. The version on our list is by Pat Boone.


The other christmas hit today is by Dickie Valentine. This is actually Dickie's third consecutive christmas hit, following his charttopper Christmas Alphabet in 1955, and a top ten hit, Christmas Island, in 1956. The 1957 offering is called Snowbound For Christmas. He had no hits at all in 1958, so didn't extend it to four consecutive hits. He then had two final charting singles in 1959 to round off his Uk chart career. Snowbound Fpr Christmas charted at #28 on 28th December 1957.


Finally today we have a double a side from the Kaye Sisters, Shake Me I Rattle and Alone, on the Phillips label. Alone was also available in three other versions. Petula Clark, on Pye Nixa, reached #8. The Southlanders, on Decca, peaked at #17. And the Shepherd Sisters, on HMV, reached #17. The Kaye Sisters charted at #27 on 4th January 1958.

Posted by: King Rollo 30th November 2019, 12:08 AM

You're making great progress. Just two years before we get to the 1960s now.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th November 2019, 07:31 PM

Thanks Rollo, only about a fortnight now until the 1960s, assuming I keep up the same pace. Then a few days after that the Record Retailer top 50 arrives and chaos breaks out, as the early days of that publication's charts seem difficult to pin down with accuracy for some reason. Anyway for now on with today's episode.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 34

First today is Charlie Gracie, who debuted in the UK charts with a #12 hit, Butterfly, the same song that Andy Williams took to the top spot then spent years supressing as he disliked it so much. Charlie then had two top ten hits, before this one charted as his last chart hit in the UK. Charting at #26 on 11th January 1958 is Cool Baby.


Next up is Jim Dale, real name James Smith, who was following up a #2 hit with Be My Girl. This is Just Born (To Be My Baby) which charted at #27 on 11th January 1958. The other side of this disc, Crazy Dream, then charted for the following two weeks, peaking at #24.


The last one for today is a US number one that is often included on CD collections of hits of the 50s/60s, and is generally considered to be a classic, but in this country it had only one week at #29 on 18th January 1958. It's Sam Cooke and You Send Me. This is Sam's UK chart debut, and he went on to have a fair few hits, but probably his biggest one in this country is Wonderful World, which eventually reached #2 when it was reissued in 1986, and only missed out on the top spot that week due to a Comic Relief single.

Posted by: King Rollo 1st December 2019, 12:29 AM

What a great vocalist Sam Cooke was,one of the first soul singers. As for Jim Dale,I know him best for the many Carry On films he starred in and he's one of only a few actors from them who is still alive.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd December 2019, 02:37 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 35

Apologies for this being a really late one tonight...

We start this episode with the King of Swing, Louis Prima, probably best known as the voice of King Louie in The Jungle Book. The song is Buona Sera, which was later a #7 hit for Mr Acker Bilk, and even later reached #34 by Bad Manners. Louis' version charted at #25 on 22nd February 1958. This would have been Louis' only week of UK chart action had it not been for Kids See Ghosts (aka Kanye West and Kid Cudi) sampling a 1936 xmas single of his for their track 4th Dimension and giving him a featured artist credit, but more of that when/if we reach summer 2018!


Staying with the same week, and moving from #25 to #30, and from Swing to Country, we have Bobby Helms with No Other Baby, a song that Paul McCartney got into the top 50 in 1999.


Finally we have Paul Anka, who the previous year had had a big hit with Diana. This is Crazy Love, which charted at #26 on 31st May 1958.

Posted by: King Rollo 2nd December 2019, 05:52 PM

I don't remember Bad Manners' version of Buona Sera but I can see how it would have been a good choice for them to cover.

Posted by: Steve201 2nd December 2019, 09:30 PM

I don't comment much on this as I can't relate to the 1950s chart much but find it really interesting to hear some of the famous voices and how they fit into music history.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd December 2019, 09:53 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 36

We start today with 'Britain's Ricky Nelson' as the US called him, Jackie Dennis. He had been discovered in 1958 by Mike and Bernie Winters, and they got him onto the Six-Five Special at just 15 years old. His first charting single, La Dee Dah, had peaked at #4. This is his only other charting single, a cover of the Sheb Wooley U.S. charttoper The Purple People Eater, which charted at #29 on 29th June 1958.


Next we have the only week on the UK chart for Italian vocalist Renato Carosone and his Sextet. The song is Terero - Cha Cha Cha, which charted at #25 on 4th July 1958. There was another version of Terero on the charts, by Julius Larosa, which peaked at #15.


And staying with the same week for our last one today, but dropping down to #26 we have Fats Domino and Sick And Tired.

Posted by: King Rollo 3rd December 2019, 12:17 AM

The Jackie Dennis song was so strange.

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th December 2019, 11:45 AM

I didn't manage to post an episode last night or the night before, so I'm going to do a triple episode now to catch up to today.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 37, 38 and 39

We move forward one week from where we left off last time, to 12th July 1958. Charting at #27 that week was Michael Holliday with I'll Always Be In Love With You. Here's a recording of a performance of that song, but the original single sounds slightly different, so I'll link it below too.


Original Single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYZaakMthPA

Next up we move to 9th August 1958, to David Whitfield's penultimate hit during his lifetime, The Right To Love, which charted at #30.


Our final one for episode 37 is from 30th August 1958, and is one that only exists if you believe the OCC and Guiness versions of the chart for that week. The originally printed chart in NME (so far as I can gather) and the NME charts book, compiled from that original chart, have a slightly different version (** see below for more details). The one week wonder in question is Russ Conway's Got A Match, and if the OCC/Guinness version of the chart is correct it charted at #30, otherwise it technically didn't chart at all, but would unofficially be at #31.


Episode 38 begins with two hits from 27th September 1958. The higher of the two is Paul Anka' Midnight, which charted at #26.


The other is Lonnie Donegan's lowest chart peak for a single, #28, and is Lonesome Traveller. Here he is performing it on Putting On The Dongean in 1960.


The final single in episode 38 is Frankie Avalon's debut single, Ginger Bread, which charted at #30 on 11th October 1958.


Episode 39 begins with the other side to a #9 hit called Someday. The artist is Ricky Nelson, whose biggest hit was Hello Mary Lou, which hit #2 in 1961. The other side in question is I Got A Feeling. Here he is performing it on the US show Ozzie and Harriet.


Next up is something a bit different, it's the only week of UK chart action for U.S. jazz drummer Cozy Cole. The single is listed as Topsy (Part 1 & 2) and here's both parts (though I assume they formed either side of the disc). Topsy charted at #29 on 6th December 1958.



Finally for this episode we stick with the same week and move down to #30, for Gee But It's Lonely by Pat Boone.


And that concludes 1958, so I'll carry on tomorrow night with 1959.



**The OCC/GBBHS version has two singles tied at 17th, then 18th-21st placed singles, then two tied at 23rd, then 24th-25th, two tied at 27th then 28th-30th, for a total of 15 records from 17th to 30th. NME originally had one single at 17th place, with the other OCC 17th dropped to 18th. The OCC's 18th-21st positions appear at 19th-22nd according to NME, then the tied 23rd positions agree in all sources. From there the OCC's 24th and 25th are NME's 25th and 26th. All sources again agree that the two tied 27ths are the same. OCC follows this with singles in 28th-30th positions, whilst the NME book has only 29th and 30th, which are the ones in 28th and 29th places on OCC, whilst our One Week Wonder is the one that was 30th according to OCC, but does not appear according to NME (or could be argued to be an unofficial 31st?). The thing is the OCC version has inconsistent rules for ties, and it's seems to me weird that all the versions have the two ties at 23 and 27, given that the some versions have an tie at 17, which should push things down one according to how tied positons are normally followed on the chart, yet it's the version where everything ought to be placed one lower that manages to have an extra hit popping in at 30. I've read in the comments under the chart that the OCC supposedly missed the Coasters hit, which was one of the tied 17th places, but then someone else says it was in the original NME chart, which they reproduce, and which matches what the NME chart book has.
My theory is that the Coasters were indeed missed, and then a later correction in NME stated they should be inserted into that chart at #17, but didn't make clear if the existing 17th place moved one down, or if both were tied with one another. The compilers of the NME Book assumed everything should move down one and duly did this, causing our one week wonder to drop out the chart (effectively moving to 31st in a Top 30), and preserving usual rules for what follows a tied postion. Meanwhile Guinness, the OCC and so on have assumed a tied 17th place, then shown 18th-21st as listed in NME, which for the tied 17th assumption to be true mean's NME must have not printed a #22 (or else had Coasters erroneously at #22). This now leaves a gap at that position on the OCC version since their next position is the tied 23rd. NME followed it with 25th and 26th, but again the OCC version follows the incorrect rule for what follows ties that had been inadvertently established with the assumed tied 17th being followed by an 18th, and therefore has a 24th and 25th. All then agree on the tied 27ths, meaning the OCC also has no 26th, then the OCC keeps hold of our One Week Wonder by having 28th-30th, whilst I assume the NME meant for it to drop out as everything moved down, leaving only 29th-30th.

Posted by: King Wencesrollo 5th December 2019, 04:50 PM

I think the highlights from that batch are the songs by Russ Conway,Frankie Avalon,Ricky Nelson and Cozy Cole.

You can hear how Cozy Cole would have been a big influence on the rock drummers who started their careers in the 1960s. It's how Cozy Powell chose his stage name.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 5th December 2019, 07:00 PM

Hi all. I have the scans from NME at the time and this is how they handled it

Scan for 29 August
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gl8xrrauw87dbl8/1958-08-29%20-%20Single%20-%20NME%20Pop.pdf?dl=0

Scan for 5 September
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftld5ytrqjlhbwe/1958-09-05%20-%20Single%20-%20NME%20Pop.pdf?dl=0

The NME chart as printed on 5 Sep has decided to retain all the last week positions as printed and provide a * for the position of the Coasters. This means it’s up to the eventual cataloguer you decide what to do.

As such the usual thing is to do either
A) move all entries down and place Coasters at 17. Doing this gives Russ at 3-
B) ties at 17. Doing this gives Russ a position of 30.
I think I have made a joint 17. Can’t check right now as away from the database.
Graham Betts has gone with the tied option at 17 and this whole different from the OCC website will now be considered definitive.
That said you can make your own minds up based on the two scans above

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th December 2019, 09:21 PM

Thanks for sharing those scans Lonnie. So NME did miss out Yakety Yak at the time, then issued a correction, of sorts. My feeling is that they would have said if it was intended to be a tied 17th position, and in any case to be consistent with the other two lowers ties, where the next place below skips a number, that ought to still cause everything below to moved down one. I think personally I would take the week to be a one-off Top 31, and say that Russ had a one week wonder at #31 that week. I think this is in effect what the NME chart book does, as everything shifts down, and Russ drops off (though there is a nice gap under that specific chart where they could have given him number 31 in the book, so perhaps they did intend to, but removed it at the last second leaving the gap?).

Posted by: DanChartFan 8th December 2019, 09:04 AM

I'm away in Bath today, and have already fallen two days behind (again...) so rather than wait for it to rollover to a quadruple post I'm going to simply list the tracks with very basic detail (straight from my Word document), then edit in videos and extra information at a later point. Hope that's OK.

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 40, 41 and 42

We start with a bonus single. A very well known recording that originally only had a single week in the charts. It's Buddy Holly's Heartbeat, which charted at #30 on 17th January 1959. It was reissued in 1960 and again reached #30. A week later Buddy joined several other Rock'n'Roll musicians for the 'Winter Dance Party' tour across the midwest of the US. The venues for the tour were often hundreds of miles apart, and the musicians had to travel through a very cold winter on drafty and unreliable buses. On one occasion their bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and the cold the musicians endured led to some getting flu, and to drummer Carl Bunch having to be hospitalised for frostbite. Buddy was frustrated by this disregard for the musicians health, and after a show in Clear Lake, Iowa on 2nd February he chartered a plane to the location of the next show. There were four seats on the plane, two already taken by Buddy and the pilot, and another two that legend has it the other musicians tossed for. One version of these events says that Waylon Jennings orginally won the toss for a seat, but that because the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) was falling ill with flu he was granted the seat instead. On hearing that Waylon wasn't flying Buddy said to him in jest 'Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up' to which Waylon replied 'Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes'. This exchange haunted Waylon for the rest of his life as tragically, shortly after take off, in the early hours of the 3rd February 1959, Buddy's plane did just that. It came to be known as the day the music died. As well as the pilot, 21 year old Roger Peterson, the world lost three amazing musicians, Ritchie Valens, who was just 17, The Big Bopper, 28 and of course 22 year old Buddy Holly.


Next up we have Joni James, who we last saw on our list back in March 1953. In fact that hit, and this one represent the only two weeks she ever had on chart in this country. The single is There Must Be A Way, which charted at #24 on 31st January 1959


Then we have another bonus single. Willingly was the other side of Malcolm Vaughan's hit single Wait For Me. Initially both sides were listed on the chart for its chart debut at 28th February 1959 at #28. When it reentered the charts a fortnight later for a further 14 weeks, peaking at #13, it appears that only Wait For Me was listed, meaning that Willingly was only listed for a week.


The second hit true one week wonder for Episode 40 is the last of three hit singles for the Mudlarks. Their first hit, Lollipop had hit #2, and Book Of Love reached #8. This is The Love Game, which charted at #30 on 28th February 1959.


The final one for this episode is another of the musicians who sadly perished in the plane crash on 3rd February 1959. Ritchie was just 17 at the time, and had not had a hit single yet in the UK. Donna hit the chart dated 7th March 1959 at #29. The B side, not listed on the chart, was La Bamba, which had been a number two hit in the US.


We begin Episode 41 with the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1958 Domenico Modugno had come 3rd in the contest with Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, better known as Volare, which reached #10 in the UK charts for Domenico, as well as providing a #2 hit for Dean Martin. One year later and Domenico entered the contest again with Piove, which came 6th out of 11 entrants. It was called Ciao Ciao Bambina on the single, and charted at #29 on 28th March 1959.


Sticking with the same week and dropping to #30 we find Conway Twitty, with the follow up to It's Only Make Believe, his charttopping debut, this is The Story Of My Love.


The last one of Episode 41 charted at #28 on 2nd May 1959, and is Lovin' Up A Storm by Jerry Lee Lewis. Back in December 1957 he had married his first cousin once removed, Myra, who was just 13 years old, and this news emerged during 1958, causing a general decline in Jerry's music career thereafter.


Episode 42 begins with an LP. I recounted a while back how singles generally sold in larger numbers than albums in those days, so if an album sold a large enough amount to compare with a top 30 single it sometimes was allowed into the singles chart. I decided a previous LP to do so for one week did not count on this list due to many of the tracks also appearing on charting single, but in the case of this album, Come Dance With Me by Frank Sinatra, there appears to be no overlap between the tracks of the album and any charting single, and so I count it on this list. It charted at #30 on 16th May 1959. Here is the title track, Come Dance With Me, but let me know if you think one of the other tracks was better or more popular and merits a mention instead.


Next up is Jane Morgan, whose debut hit, The Day The Rains Came, had become a charttopper earlier in the year. This follow up, If Only I Could Live My Life Again, charted at #27 on 23rd May 1959.


Finally for this triple episode we have a second chart hit for Billy Fury, who had previously reached #18 with Maybe Tomorrow. He would go on to have his biggest hits in 1961, Halfway To Paradise (reaching #3) and Jealousy (#2). This is his only time on this list, at #28 on 27th June 1959, and is Margo, Don't Go.

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th December 2019, 08:12 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 43

We start today with Tommy Edwards, who had a number one in 1958 with It's All In The Game. This is his only other UK chart hit, My Melancholy Baby, which charted at #29 on 8th August 1959.


Next up is the only UK chart hit for the Impalas, who charted at #28 on 22nd August 1959 with Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home).


Finally we have a song that was later recorded by Elvis Presley, and went on to be a karaoke favourite, The Wonder Of You. This is the first commercially released recording of the song, by Ray Peterson, though another version, by Ronnie Hilton, had actually beaten him into the charts the week before. Ronnie peaked at #22, whilst Ray charted for a week on 5th September 1959 at #23.

Posted by: King Wencesrollo 10th December 2019, 12:41 AM

I didn't know The Wonder Of You was as old as that. The melody on the verses of Donna by Ritchie Valens is very similar to Lonely This Christmas by Mud.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th December 2019, 09:12 AM

Let's have another double episode today...

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 44 and 45

We start with Jack Scott, who has been called 'undeniably the greatest Canadian rock and roll singer of all time'. He charted at #30 on 26th September 1959 with The Way I Walk.


Next up is US soul singer Dee Clark, who's actual name was Delectus Clark. He charted at #26 on 3rd October 1959 with Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens), he then had to wait 16 years for his next week of UK chart action, when he had a #16 hit in October 1975 with a disco crossover single called Ride A Wild Horse.


The last one for episode 44 is a tale of a boy and his dog (now departed). It's Clinton Ford's version of Old Shep, a song that was also recorded by Elvis, who sang it for his first public performance when he was ten. Clinton's version charted at #27 on 24th October 1959. Fans of Only Fools And Horses will no doubt remember this as one of Del Boy's favourite songs, as it featured in three different episodes, as well as in the prequel, Rock And Chips.


On to episode 45, and we move one place down to #28, where we find Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson. He'd had his biggest hit, the #14 peaking Trudie, the year before, and prior to that had charted two medleys in 1955, Sing It With Joe and Sing It Again With Joe. This is Treble Chance.


Next up is Dickey Pride, real name Richard Knellar, who had his only week of UK chart action on 31st October 1959 at #28 with Primrose Lane.


Finally we have something a bit different to finish on today. A Croatian vocalist called Ivo Robic singing Morgen, which is German for either 'tomorrow' or 'morning'. There was an English language equivelant, One More Sunrise, that was recorded by a few known artists, but the only recording of that version to chart was by Dickie Valentine, which peaked at #14 and was Dickie's last UK charting single, with the last of it's 8 weeks on chart being the last week of 1959, so that Dickie's chart career ended with the decade. Back to Ivo, his was the original version of the song, and I can only imagine that having a German language recording doing fairly well in the UK in 1959, just 14 years after the end of World War II, may have divided opinion somewhat, so perhaps that's why it only managed the one week. It charted at #23 on 7th November 1959.


Just one more episode now before we enter the sixties, and then three more until we start using Record Retailer's top 50 in place of the NME top 30, and thereby plunge further into the depths of pop music obscurity....

Posted by: Michael Bubré 11th December 2019, 07:06 PM

Was 'Morgen' the first non English language song to chart in the UK or am I forgetting something obvious (or non-obvious)?

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th December 2019, 09:59 PM

I believe Terero (see episode 35) was the first fully non-English song (I'm excluding Tequilla, which was just the title called occasionally over an instrumental). There was also Volare (aka Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) and Ciao Ciao Bambina (see episode 41 for those) and Come Prima before Morgen charted. In addition there were also a whole load of songs where just the title and main line of the chorus was in another language. Morgen was the first to be entirely in German though.

Posted by: Michael Bubré 11th December 2019, 10:41 PM

Ah yes, that'll be some obvious ones I forgot then!

Posted by: DanChartFan 13th December 2019, 11:30 AM

And another double...

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 46 and 47

First off we skip over Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars charting at #24 on 7th November 1959 with Mack The Knife, since it was a reissue of his Theme from a Threepenny Opera, which had been a #8 hit in 1956.

That means we begin instead with Anne Shelton with The Village Of St Bernadette. She last entered the charts with her charttopper Lay Down Your Arms. The Village Of St Bernadette charted at #27 on 21st November 1959.


Next up we have Paul Evans and the Curls, with Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat, which charted at #25 on 28th November 1959. The hit version was by British vocal group the Avons and reached #3. Us vocalist Paul Evans' version was the original one. Here's a nice performance of it at the Little Theatre in New York City in January 1960, complete with puppet little girls, but there's only six of them!


Finally for this episode we move down to #30 in the same week, where we have The Best Of Everything by Johnny Mathis.


We start episode 47 with the Kingston Trio, who had previously had a #5 hit in the UK, and #1 in the US, called Tom Dooley, which was a #3 hit here for Lonnie Donegan. The sing is called San Miguel, and was also released by Lonnie Donegan, who peaked at #16 with it. The Kingston Trio version charted at #29 on 5th December 1959.


We follow that with Baron Frederik von Pallandt, and his then soon to be wife Nina, who debuted in the chart as Nina and Frederik on 19th December 1959 at #26 with Mary's Boy Child, whc had of course been Xmas number one in 1957 for Harry Belafonte, and would go on to be xmas number one again, in disco form, for Boney M in 1978.


And that concludes the 1950s! As we head into the sixties I'd like to thank King Of Skiffle for generously providing me with chart data for the decade, so I could sort out a few discrepancies between the various sources I had already consulted.

We enter the sixties, and end this episode, with the Crickets and When You Ask About Love, which charted at #27 on 16th January 1960. The song was later covered by Matchbox, who took it to #4 in 1980.

Posted by: DanChartFan 15th December 2019, 01:15 PM

Yet another double episode. I'm going to either make an increased effort to have the time to do this daily as originally settled on, or else perhaps switch to an 'every other day' basis instead. Not sure which yet.

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 48 and 49

We start this episode on the same week as we ended last time, 16th January 1960, and drop to #29 for the only week in the UK chart for Bill Forbes, whose single was Too Young.


Next up stay with the same chart week for a third One Week Wonder, which is only the second time we've done that. The first time was 06/06/1953. This single is by Ricky Nelson and is called I Wanna Be Loved. It charted at #30


At this point I'm skipping over the Strictly Elvis EP by Elvis Presley, as one of the four tracks was Paralyzed, which had been a #8 hit in 1957. The EP was released by RCA and charted at 26 on 13th February 1960. The original 1957 hit was released on HMV, but as far as I can tell it was the same recording on both labels' releases.

We end this episode on the same week, but at #30 with Toni Fisher's The Big Hurt. It's Toni's only week of UK chart action.


Episode 49 marks the point where we change our chart source. The NME chart is used by most chart books, and by the OCC, up to the week dated 4th March 1960 (or sometimes this week is referred to as the 3rd rather than 4th), though Guinness originally stopped with the previous week and left a week's gap in their data. The chart week-ending 10th March 1960 is the first one most sources take from the Record Retailer (now Music Week) who launched a Top 50 that week, the first weekly singles chart of its size in the UK. From 1962 the chart was also printed in rival title Record Mirror, and from 1969 it carried the new Official chart compiled by BMRB and used by BBC Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops. It's because of this later adoption of the Official charts (which Music Week have continued to publish to this day) and the larger size of the early 60s charts. that various chart publications, most notably the first Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles, adopted it as their choice of chart for the sixties, and because of that it was then also adopted by Chart Information Network who then became the Official Chart Company. It is however important to remember that there was no Official chart prior to the BMRB chart launched in February 1969. NME continued on into the sxites with its chart, which lasted until 1988, as did Melody Maker's, both of which were more widely reported in newspapers and record shops than the Record Retailer's chart. There was also a Disc and Music Echo chart, and several shorter lived charts, such as Merseybeat's. The BBC for their part took the charts of several papers (the exact number depending on which chart week you are looking at) and created an averaged chart to use for Pick Of The Pops and Top Of The Pops (rumour has it this chart was compiled by the young daughter of POTP's producer), although they now seem to almost exclusively ignore their old POTP/TOTP charts for the 50s and 60s, in favour of those which the OCC and many chart books deem to have been Official in that era.

The effect of this change of chart on this thread is that the One Week Wonders from now on are further down the chart and more obscure. Arguements could also be made that in the first few years of the 60s they could also be more dubious, in terms of the accuracy of the original charts, since there was a smaller sample size despite the large size of the chart, and therefore with each return shop having larger weight it means that hyping, and other localised differences in music taste, could have played a bigger factor in the final chart positions.

We start episode 49 then with Don Lang, real name Gordon Langhorn, and Sink The Bismarck, which charted at #43 on the first Record Retailer chart, w/e 10th March 1960. Don had reached #5 in 1958 with Witch Doctor.


Staying with the same week we drop to #45 for Ken Mackintosh and No Hiding Place, the theme from the Associated Rediffusion cop series of the same name, which had started in September 1959 and was the sequel to its previous series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet.


Finally for episode 49 we stay with the same week for a third One Week Wonder (again), and move down to #46 for Hound Dog Man by Fabian. Hound Dog Man is the theme from the Fabiano Forte movie of the same name, in which Fabian stars as Clint McKinney. The film was based on a 1947 novel by Fred Gipson, who had also written Old Yeller, which was adapted into film by Walt Disney in 1957. Fabian sang several other songs in the movie, but this was to be his only week on the UK chart.


Before I finished I wanted to just let you know that I have added a list of all featured One Week Wonders (both the singles, and the act whose week was their entire UK chart career) in my first post on page one, and intended to keep this up to date. I'm also open to suggestion for other lists and stats that could be compiled and maintained there.

Posted by: King Wencesrollo 15th December 2019, 10:53 PM

The Big Hurt by Toni Fisher - it's interesting to hear a phasing effect on this record. I didn't think phasing went as far back as 1960 so I had a look at the youtube comments and I see that it was a bit of an accident. This is what it says:

Some info on the phasing effect from an interview with engineer Larry Levine:
Wayne Shanklin, wrote another hit song —Toni Fisher, singing “The Big Hurt”—which was the first use of phasing on a record... though it wasn’t intentional phasing. [laughs] Stan had made mono and stereo mixes—at that point, we only had two-track and mono anyway—and Wayne liked the mono mix, but he felt that Toni’s voice wasn’t out quite far enough, so the next day he asked me to make a tape copy and to run the two mixes together in order to double the sound of her voice. I explained to him that that wouldn’t work, because the two tape machines wouldn’t stay in sync, but he insisted that I try it anyway. So I did—I lined up the two tapes and started the two machines simultaneously... and it stayed together, pretty much, for the first eight bars, and then one went out of phase with the other. It just happened to be at a point where the strings went up in the air and disappeared and then came back after the null point.
My reaction was, “See, I told you it wouldn’t work,” but he was falling on the floor, saying, “Wow—can you make that happen in other places?” So I figured out which tape was moving a little bit ahead and I started it slightly later so it would catch up. In the end I made about six edits. It ended up being a big hit record when it was released back in 1959, and people were trying to guess where it was made—a lot of disk jockeys were talking about it on the air, wondering if it was made at an airport with a big jet passing by. So it wasn’t something intentional to start with, but, like many innovations, pure luck."

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th December 2019, 06:52 PM

Time for another double edition...

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 50 and 51

This double episode moves forward one week from where we were last time, to w/e 17th March 1960, where the new chart source quickly reveals how different it is by throwing up 5 one week wonders in one week.

First up, at #33. we have the England Sisters, real names Betty, Hazel and Julie Dunderdale, who later changed the group name to the Dale Sisters. The song is a cover of Buddy Holly's Heartbeat, which may explain why his version was reissued in April 1960. Technically Heartbeat was the B-side of Little Child, but it was Heartbeat that was listed in the chart. Other versions of Heartbeat to have charted since included Showaddywaddy who reached #7 in 1975, and Nick Berry who peaked at #2.


Down to #42, and something a bit strange is going on. The previous week Freddy Cannon had a new entry at #33 with California Here I Come, the follow up to his #3 hit Way Down Yonder In New Orleans. This week that disappears, and its B-side, Indiana, charts instead, at #42. Next week California Here I Come returns at #45, for the disc's third and final week overall. Did the popularity of the sides genuinely flip-flip over those three weeks? Or was it a case of error by the chart compilers, or a lack of knowledge of which side was causing the sales? Whatever caused this the two sides are never shown together on any of the three charts, so no side is continuously present throughout the run (unlike a couple of previous instances where I excluded the 'other side' from being on this list since it was only listed on the chart in one week in conjunction with the main ever-present side). I have therefore chosen to include it on the list.


Episode 50 ends with the #44 single, Love Kisses And Heartaches by Maureen Evans. Maureen had previously charted with a version of The Big Hurt, which peaked at #26, marginally higher than Toni Fisher's version, which we saw in Episode 48. Maureen would then have to wait until late 1962 to have another hit, Like I Do, which would reached #3.


Episode 51 begins by dropping to #47, to find Dick Jordan's version of Hallelujah (I Love Her So), which was also available by Eddie Cochran, whose version peaked at #22. Dick would have one more minor hit with Little Christine, which peaked at #39.


Finally for this chart week we move down again to #49, where The Champs strike themselves off of the UK's one hit wonder list. They originally had a #5 hit in the UK, and #1 in the US, with Tequila in 1958. Other versions of Tequila that charted were by Ted Heath, who peaked at #21 in 1958, and No Way Jose who peaked at #47 in 1985. The Champs waited until 1960 to release the sequel, Too Much Tequila, which peaked at #30 in the US, but just the one week at #49 here.


And to round off this double edition we move to the w/e 24th March 1960. I should say at this point that there's different version of this particular week's chart, with the sub 40 positions having their new entries (mostly one week wonders) placed in different orders in different sources. I am going to go with the positions that my chart advisor for the 60's, KingOfSkiffle, has in his database, and therefore I start the week-ending 24th March 1960's one week wonders with Shaye Cogan at #40 with Mean To Me, which represents Shaye's only week on the UK chart.

Posted by: King Wencesrollo 18th December 2019, 12:07 AM

Freddy Cannon's most notable chart achievement was preventing the original soundtrack of South Pacific from having 90 consecutive weeks at no.1 on the album chart. It had already been top of the chart for 70 weeks when it was replaced at no.1 for one week by his album 'The Explosive Freddy Cannon'. It then returned to no.1 for another 19 weeks.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th December 2019, 05:20 PM

Just when you thought I'd given up daily episodes...

The One Week Wonders - Episode 52

We're still on the w/e 24th March 1960 for all of today's singles, and have first dropped to #43 (as per KingOfSkiffle's research) to find Richard Allan's As Time Goes By. The song had originally been sung in 1942 in Casablanca by Dooley Wilson, the infamous Sam who 'played it'. Dooley's version eventually charted in December 1977, and peaked at #15. The song also reached #26 in 1992 by Jason Donovan. Richard's version was his only UK chart hit.


Next up is Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson's fifth and final UK charting single, Ooh! La! La! at #44.


Our last single today is Answer Me, last seen/heard topping the charts in two different versions by Frankie Laine and David Whitfield at the end of 1953. This version, at #47, is a second charting single, and second one week wonder, for Ray Peterson, who would go on to have one more charting single, Corinna Corinna, in 1961, which was third time lucky as it wasn't a one week wonder, albeit that it only got as far as #41.

Posted by: DanChartFan 19th December 2019, 09:51 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 53

Today's three are from w/e 31st March 1960, and we start at #41 with Paul Evans and Midnight Special, the chart followup to Seven Little Girls, although The Curls seem to have parted company with him. Paul would then wait just over 18 years for his third and final charting single, Hello This Is Joanie (The Telephone Answering Machine Song), which became his biggest hit, peaking at #6.


Next up, at #44, is the only week on the UK chart for Carl Dobkins Jr, with Lucky Devil. He had a #3 hit in the US in 1959 with My Heart Is An Open Book. Lucky Devil was also available in a version by Frank Ifield, which was his debut single, and peaked at #22.


Finally for today we drop to #49 for the one week return to the chart of the first charttopper, Al Martino. The single is Summertime, which is a very familiar song, having apparently been recorded 25,000 times! It is a George Gershwin song from the 1935 opera Porgy And Bess, and is his first appearance on the chart since his third week on chart with The Man From Laramie in October 1955. He has switched labels by this point too, as this is on Top Rank, whereas his previous single in 1952-1955 where on Capitol. Other versions of Summertime to reach the UK chart were by The Marcels (#46 in 1961), Billy Stewart (#39 in 1966) and Fun Boy Three (#18 in 1982).

Posted by: Michael Bubré 19th December 2019, 10:17 PM

...and more notably of late it also forms the basis of Lana Del Rey's 'Doin' Time' (a cover of the song by Sublime which was itself a rewrite of 'Summertime').

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th December 2019, 05:31 PM

Totally not timing today's episode for when the board is busy with potential readers due to the Christmas chart thread.....

The One Week Wonders - Episode 54

Today's episode starts where we left off yesterday, on w/e 31st March 1960, but dropping to #50, where we find Santo And Johnny and Teardrop. Guitar duo Santo and Johnny Farino had already had a #22 hit with Sleep Walk, a US #1. Teardrop would be their only other hit.


Moving on to w/e 14th April 1960 we find Pat Suzuki at #49 with I Enjoy Being A Girl, her only UK charting single. The song is taken from Roger and Hammerstein's Drum Flower Song, in which Pat was the Broadway lead.


And finally for today we go forward one more week to w/e 21st April 1960, and to #45, to find Lloyd Price's fifth and final charting single in the UK, Lady Luck. His biggest hits were Stagger Lee (#7 and a US #1) and Personality (#9).

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st December 2019, 07:34 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 55

We start today with the same week we ended on yesterday, w/e 21st April 1960, and drop to #47, where we find Russ Conway, with his version of the Max Bygraves #5 hit, Fings Ain't What They Used To Be.


Next we move on to w/e 12th May 1960, and to #40, which was comedian Stan Freburg's single Old Payola Blues. Stan had previously charted at #15 in 1954 with his version of Sh-Boom, and at #24 in 1956 with his versions of Rock Island Line and Heartbreak Hotel, but this third single would be his last time in the UK charts.


And we stick with the same week for our last one today, at #42, and it's a pretty well known song too, More Than I Can Say by The Crickets. The song would also be taken to #4 by Bobby Vee in 1961, and #2 by Leo Sayer in 1980.

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd December 2019, 05:02 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 56 and 57

We start where we left off last time, with w/e 12th May 1960, and drop to #48, where we find Alma Cogan's Dream Talk. Alma would have two more UK chart hits after this, with her final one in April 1961.


The other two in this episode are both men called Marty! The first being Marty Wilde, who charted at #47 on 19th May 1960 with The Fight. His biggest hit was Teenager In Love, which reached #2 in summer 1959.


And the other Marty is Marty Robbins. He previously had a #19 hit (and US #1) with El Paso, and was now charting at #48 on 26th May 1960 with Big Iron. He would nearly two and half years, until September 1962, for his next UK chart hit, Devil Woman, but it would be his biggest, peaking at #5.


On to episode 57, and we begin with George Chakiris, who was charting at #49 on 2nd June 1960 with his version of Heart Of A Teenage Girl, which was also a #10 hit for Craig Douglas at around this time. This was George's only week on the UK singles chart.


Next up at #47 on 9th June 1960 is Jerry Lee Lewis' Baby, Baby, Bye Bye.


And finally for this episode we drop to #50 in the same week to find Mr Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band performing Goodnight Sweet Prince.


That's it for today, but look out for a feature length Xmas special tomorrow evening in place of the normal scheduled episode.

Posted by: Sausage Rollo 23rd December 2019, 09:05 PM

On the list that you've added to the first post,six singles have a black triangle next to them. What does this denote?

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd December 2019, 09:30 PM

Sorry meant to put a note about that somewhere. I've followed later editions of Guinness by using a black triangle to denote a US number one (though I may have missed one or more possibly).

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th December 2019, 06:21 PM

The One Christmas Week Wonders – The 2019 Xmas Special

Christmas is coming, you've been preparing for it for a week, time for a xmas special from this amateur chart geek.

Hope you’ve finished the xmas shopping, wrapped all your gifts, and remembered to defrost the turkey. Now pour your choice of festive spirit, grab a mince pie and enjoy a look at, and listen, to singles that spent a solitary week in the charts on the week of the Xmas chart (or sometimes the week before or after). We’ve already reached early 1960 on the thread, so I’ll start with Xmas 1960 and Tommy Steele’s Must Be Santa, which charted at #40 on w/e 29th December 1960. There was also a version by Joan Regan which had a single week on chart the following week at #42.


Also from that week is Cleo Laine Let’s Slip Away which charted at #42.


On w/e 20th December 1962, one week before the xmas chart, we find Connie Francis’ Warm This Winter charting at #48. I’ve heard this one on the radio quite a bit this year, and it turns out to be the xmas classic I didn’t know that I knew.


Charting for one week at #50 on w/e 31st December 1964 was Mrs Mills Party Medley, but I can’t find that precise recording on youtube, so here she is performing a rendition of the first song featured in that medley, You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want To Do It).


Hitting the chart at #46 on w/e 29th December 1966 was Welsh singer Donald Peers, with Games That Lovers Play. Is it me or is this the same tune as Demis Roussos’ Ever And Ever?


At #47 on w/e 27th December 1967 was Gladys Knight and The Pips version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine.


1969 was the year of the first Official Christmas chart, compiled by BMRB, and on that w/e 27th December 1969 there was a one week hit for Moira Anderson with Holy City at #43. This week is typically repeated by chartologists to fill the gap caused by the following week’s chart not being compiled, so most chart books will say she had two weeks on chart.


We move forward now to w/e 1st January 1972, and to a somewhat forgotten Christmas classic, The Carpenters Merry Christmas Darling at #45. It went on to be included on a double a-side reissue with Close To You at Christmas 1990, reaching #25, but otherwise it would have remained a one week wonder as it has never returned to the chart in the download and streaming eras.


And on to w/e 23rd Deecember 1972. The following week was not compiled, and the w/e 6th January was a top 30 only, though the OCC has artificially filled in the 31-50 section on their website, so these two singles have ended up with three chart weeks for the price of one sales week, so to speak. The first will be something of a surprise I suspect, as #43 was The Jackson Five with Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town. It finally returned to the chart for a second genuine week on the w/e 4th January 2018, and then reached a new peak of #30 at xmas 2018, but prior to that it had only charted in one genuine sales week and only ever reached #43.


And down to #48 for Vicki Leandros’ The Love In Your Eyes.


Then we jump forward five years to w/e 24th December 1977. As with 1972 the following week was not compiled, and the week after that has an artificial 31-50, so again this single gets three weeks for the price of one. It’s Debbie Boone – You Light Up My Life at #48.


On 24th August 1980 Slade found themselves unexpectedly playing the 20th Reading Festival, after Gary Moore’s G-Force and Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz had both pulled out of the line-up. It proved to be the stimulus for a revival of the band’s fortunes. The performance was recorded by the BBC, and Tommy Vance began to play the recordings on his show, creating a demand for them, so they were soon released on EPs. The first, Alive At Reading, entered the charts on w/e 18th October 1980, and peaked at #44. The second one was called The Xmas Ear Bender, which charted for one week on w/e 27th December 1980 at #70, and contained three more tracks, Merry Xmas Everybody, Okey Cokey and Get Down And Get On It. The third of those tracks was a genuine Reading performance, but Okey Cokey was their 1979 studio recording with an audience noise added to fit the other two tracks on the EP. Merry Xmas Everybody was a mere 40 seconds long, and was the result of the band challenging the crowd at Reading to sing the song. Yes they literally recorded their audience then sold the recording back to them! Anyway the chart books don’t bother to mention the EP, and merely list the entry as ‘Merry Xmas Everybody (re-recording)’, albeit credited to Slade and The Reading Choir (the latter being a jokey name for the crowd).


We move onto w/e 24th December 1983, and a whole slew of new entries in the sub 75 portion of the first ever Christmas top 100. The w/e 31st December 1983 was the last time the chart went uncompiled, and so chartologists repeat this chart, making the next few singles technically two week wonders. First up we have Joe Fagin’s Breaking Away at #77. He would go on to have a #3 hit in 1984 with That’s Livin’ Alright. Both singles were taken from the TV series Auf Wiedersehen Pet.


Next at #78 is Brendan Shine with Thank God For Kids.


Bing Crosby was at #95 with White Christmas 1983, but I’m assuming that it’s still the same familiar recording, and that the chart company have tacked on the year for this particular reissue for some reason. So onto #97 and The Damned with There Ain’t No Sanity Clause.


At #98 was Slade with Cum On Feel The Noize 1983, but again that’s just a reissue of an old hit, so on to #99 and Men Without Hats – I Got The Message.


And finally for the 1983 Christmas chart we have Hooray and The Henry’s All Stuck Up at #100, which is a comedy parody of Elvis’ All Shook Up, and many other songs, so see how many you can spot.


On w/e 29th December 1984 there was a one week wonder for Bouncing Czecks with I’m A Little Christmas Cracker at #72.


Another comedy record spent it’s one week on chart on w/e 28th December 1985. It’s the papier mache headed Frank Sidebottom with Oh Blimey It’s Christmas.


And the final one Christmas week wonder of the eighties is from Michael Crawford and the London Symphony Orchestra with their version of When You Wish Upon A Star at #97 on w/e 26th December 1987.


I’ve covered three decades worth of xmas one weekers now, and there’re three decades more to go, so I might do a second special just after xmas, or I might save it for next year’s special, assuming I’m still going with this project next year, as I should be somewhere in the 90s (I think?) by then if I am.

Thank you everyone who has interacted in this thread so far, and also all of those who are content to read the episode without interacting. Hopefully as we move through time the singles will start to become more familiar and more people will have more to say about them, but I’ll probably plod on through them anyway even if not.

May you all have a very cool Yule whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whoever you’re with, whatever you’re eating, and most importantly whatever music you are listening to. Merry Christmas!

Posted by: Michael Bubré 24th December 2019, 09:11 PM

Wow, that Debby Boone song is or at one point was in the top 10 most successful Billboard Hot 100 hits of all time (thanks Todd in the Shadows for that nugget of knowledge, and also me knowing the song at all), that's mad that it only barely charted here.

This whole video on the song is... rather interesting, has a pretty unexpected twist (no spoilers).

Posted by: Sausage Rollo 26th December 2019, 10:21 PM

Yes,the Donald Peers song does sound very much like Forever And Ever. I'm surprised the writers didn't claim a writing credit after it got to no.1.

Posted by: Sausage Rollo 29th December 2019, 11:33 PM

I assume 'I Got The Message' was Men Without Hats' follow up to their excellent one hit wonder 'The Safety Dance'. It wasn't very good,I can see why it wasn't a hit. I quite enjoyed the Hooray and the Henrys song.

Posted by: Bré 9th January 2020, 12:36 AM

Is this going to be continuing soon? ;o

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th January 2020, 08:13 AM

Sorry, a couple of day's break from the thread for Xmas turned into a fortnight, but yes I do want to resume the thread soon. Perhaps later today. Part of me wants to catch up to where we would have been had I not taken an extended break, but that means either double episodes for a fortnight, or else one or two days in the next week or so where I churn out loads of episodes, and either way could be overkill I suppose. But at least one episode should appear this evening, I think, unless something unforseen gets in the way.

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th January 2020, 09:21 PM

Let's have a triple episode to get things restarted as we return to the summer of 1960...

Episodes 58, 59 and 60

We start with the fifth and final appearance on the list of Sammy Davis Jr, this time in duet with Carmen McRae. Happy To Make Your acquaintance spent a week at #46 on w/e 16th June 1960.


Staying at #46, but moving forward a week to w/e 23rd June 1960, we have the only week of UK chart action for Jerry Wallace, with You're Singing Our Love Song To Somebody Else.


And forward another week to w/e 30th June 1960, Jess Conard is debuting on the chart with a week at #39 with Cherry Pie.


And at #44 the same week was Bobby Rydell with Swinging School.


Spending one week at #48 in w/e 7th July 1960 was Ricky Nelson with Young Emotions. The next time he would hit the UK charts would be in a years time, with the UK #2, and US #1, Hello Mary Lou.


And at #49 on w/e 14th July 1960 was the John Barry Orchestra with Never Let Go, the theme to the movie of the same name, in cinemas at the time, about a stolen Ford Anglia, and featuring Peter Sellers in a rare straight role as a villain.


Reaching #50 on w/e 21st July 1960 was Jimmy Clanton, who was experiencing his only week on the UK charts, with Another Sleepless Night.


What to you get if you fuse a French singer, arabic culture, and early 60s pop music? You get this tripfest of a song. Spending their only UK chart week, at #43 on w/e 28th July 1960 were Staiffi and his Mustafas with Mustafa Cha Cha Cha.


And to end this triple episode today we move 6 places down to #49 the same week, to find Johnny Preston singing I'm Starting To Go Steady. The song is actually the other side of Feel So Fine which entered the charts on w/e 11th August 1960 and peaked at #18, but the two sides weren't listed on the chart together so this side has but one week.

Posted by: DanChartFan 10th January 2020, 06:53 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 61, 62 and 63

We start with 'Uncle' Max Bygraves having a go at the Oliver! song Consider Yourself, which spent a week at #50 on w/e 28th July 1960


Next up is Steve Perry's on week of UK chart action, with Step By Step at #41 in w/e 4th August 1960


And on another week to w/e 11th August 1960 at #43 we have Craig Douglas with Oh! What A Day, the only one of his 11 singles to miss the top 40.


Then staying with the same week, and moving down to #50, we have some early Motown in the form of Marv Johnson's Ain't Gonna Be That Way. Marv wouldn't reach the UK charts again until January 1969, when he took I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose to #10.


We then take an instumental interlude with the theme from The Apartment, by Ferrante and Teicher, which was #44 on w/e 18th August 1960. The Apartment was a romantic film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Ferrante and Teicher would have a much bigger hit in spring 1961, reaching #6 with theme from The Exodus.


In the same week, at #47 was Keith Kelly, real name Michael Pailthorpe, with his second and final Uk charting single, Listen Little Girl.


And also in the same week, at #49, was Steve Lawrence, real name Sidney Leibowitz, with Girls Girls Girls. I notice their have been at least 6 different singles in the UK charts with that name, all completely different songs. Steve was following up the #4 hit Footsteps, from earlier in 1960, and would go on to have a #3 hit in 1963, as part of Steve and Eydie, with I Want To Stay Here.


Next up we have Hal Paige and The Whalers only week of UK chart action at #50 on w/e 25th August 1960.


And we end today's triple episode with the last of ten singles for Michael Holliday, with Little Boy Lost at #50 in w/e 1st September 1960.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th January 2020, 05:55 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 64, 65 and 66

We start today with Bill Black's Combo with White Silver Sands, which was #50 in w/e 8th September 1960.


A week later at #44 was Paul Anka's Hello Young Lover, a song from the musical The King And I.


On w/e 29th September 1960 Frank Ifield charted his second single, Gotta Get A Date at #49. He next charted in 1962, when he began a run of 5 top 5 hits, four of which topped the charts.


Next up on 6th October 1960 at #44 was Ella Fitzgerald's How High The Moon. The song was also a #33 hit for Gloria Gaynor in 1976.


or watch this slightly longer live version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Ji4uG4cac

Moving forward 3 weeks to w/e 27th October 1960 at #50 we find the lowest ranked of 5 versions of Never On Sunday to chart this year, by Chaquito, real name Johnny Gregory, which was at #50. There were also versions by Lynn Cornell (peaking at #30), Don Costa (#27), Makadopoulos and his Greek Serenaders(#36), and Manuel and his Music of the Mountains (#29). The song was the theme from the Greek rom-com film of the same name.


We follow that with a posthumous one week wonder for rock and roll icon Eddie Cochran, with a week at #41 on w/e 3rd November 1960 with Lonely. Eddie had been trying to limit the amount of travel he untook for his work, following the fatal plane crash in 1959 that had claim three of his rock and roll friends, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, but had nonetheless accepted a UK tour. On the night of Easter Saturday April 1960 he had performed at Bristol Hipperdrome and was travelling through Chippenham (just up the road from where I am actually) in a taxi with his fiancee, songwriter Sharon Shelley, as well as tour manager Pat Thompson and fellow rock and roll star Gene Vincent. Just before midnight the taxi driver, David Harman, lost control at excessive speed and the vehicle crashed. At the moment of impact Eddie threw himself in front of his fiancee to protect her, she survived as a result, but when the door of the car popped open in the impact the momentum threw him out the door and he sustained fatal brain injuries. He was just 21. A couple of months later he reached number one for the only time, with Three Steps To Heaven.


Next up the only week of UK action for Italian singer Umberto Bindi, with Il Nostro Concerto at #47 on w/e 10th October 1960. Although this was his only charting single in the UK, one of his biggest singles elsewhere was Il Mio Mondo, which was covered by Cilla Black, as You're My World, and reached #1 in that version.


A week later Jimmy Jones, who had topped the charts earlier in the year with Good Timin', had a single week at #46 with Ready For Love.


And finally today at #47 in w/e 24th October 1960 was Joan Regan with One Of The Lucky Ones, her 10th of 11 singles to chart in the UK.

Posted by: King Rollo 11th January 2020, 09:14 PM

It's a surprise to me that Ella Fitzgerald never had a UK top 10 hit but looking at her wiki page,I see that most of her hits in the US (including four no.1s) were before the UK chart started in 1952.

Posted by: DanChartFan 12th January 2020, 09:02 PM

I've just checked The Missing Charts by Steve Water, which are privately compiled charts for the UK covering 1940-1952, and using data from music companies' re-order sheets. It shows only four solo hits for Ella in that period, with none reaching the top 20. There is also a duet with Louis Jordan, Baby It's Cold Outside, which peaked at #18 in 1949, and two bigger hits when she was singing on Ink Spots records (which were vitrtually guaranted to hit top 10 anyway with or without her on them), Cow Cow Boogie (#3 in 1944) and a double a-side I'm Making Believe/Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (#9 in 1945).

Posted by: DanChartFan 12th January 2020, 10:50 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 67, 68, and 69.

We start today with the 19th and final UK charting single for David Whitfield, with a cover of I Believe, probably the biggest chart hits of the 1950s when Frankie Laine had released it in 1953. In fact David had also released a mono version of the song back then, but this was a new stereo mix with added harp and backing singers. David had last appeared in the chart (and on this thread) in August 1958. I believe spent one week at #49 on w/e 24th November 1960.


We then skip over Andy Stewart's Donald Where's Your Troosers, which had a single week at #37 on w/e 15/12/1960, as a reissue in 1989 compehensively removed it from the One Week Wonders list, giving it 8 more weeks and a peak of #4. So instead our next song is Why Why Bye Bye by Bob Luman, which was the follow to his #6 hit, Let's Think About Living. Why Why Bye Bye was at #46 on w/e 15/12/1960


Next up we have Jackie Wilson, or Jack Leory Wilson Jr to give him his full name. He was at #50 on w/e 22nd December 1960 with Alone at Last. This is the only time he appears on this thread, so I'm including a potted history here of his career and life. Incredibly he has only had seven different tracks in the UK charts, and three of those much later than the rock and roll era he was associated, but many reissues over the years have given him repeated success over the years with just a few song. At his point Jackie had had a #6 hit with Reet Petite in 1957, and a couple of smaller hits in 1958 and earlier in 1960. After this You're Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher hit #11 in 1969, and I Get The Sweetest Feeling hit #9 in 1972. In May 1975 a reissue of those last two songs reached #25. In September 1975 Jackie was one of the acts on Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock 'N' Roll Revue, and was on stage performing 'Lonely Teardrops'. On singing the lyric 'My heart is crying' Jackie sank to the stage. The audience applauded, believing it to be part of the act, but when his fellow musicians stopped the music, and one of the Coasters rushed to resucitate him it became apparent he had in fact suffered a massive heart attack. The heart attack had caused a lack of Oxygen to his brain, and besides a brief period of apparent recovery in 1976, he spent the rest of his life in a semi-comatose state, until he died in January 1984 from pneumonia aged 49. He was said to be broke for much of his later life, due allegedly to his manager being unfair with his earnings, and was certainly broke at the time of his death, and so the music legend was buried in an unmarked grave. In 1987 a US radio station who had decided to do something about this was able to raise the funds to buy him a headstone. I'm not sure if it was part of the money raising initiative, or if that had simply raised his profile enough to cause a new demand for his records, but late 1986 had seen the re-release of Reet Petite, with a quirky clay-mation video, which would take that year's Christmas number one. In 1987 there were also re-reissues of I Get The Sweetest Feeling, and Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher And Higher), reaching #3 and #15 respectively. Finally, at the end of 1987 a previously uncharted track, Baby Workout, was also released, perhaps in an effort to secure him a second consecutive Christmas number one, but in the event it only reached #93 (and even then I think the 75-100 positions were compressed, so in a full chart it would have been lower). I think it's interesting that Jackie Wilson was a big legend of rock and roll, with a big voice and lungs, but at the same time had relatively few charting singles, and a career tragically cut short at the young age of 41.


I know I covered this next one in the Christmas special a couple of week's back, but in the interest of completion in the main run of episodes we have Tommy Steele's Must Be Santa at #40 on w/e 29/12/1960.


Also on w/e 29/12/1960, at #42, we have Cleo Laine Let's Slip Away. Cleo's only other Uk charting single was the #5 hit You'll Answer To Me in 1961.


And in w/e 05/01/1961 another version of Must Be Santa, by Joan Regan, at #42.


Next up we have the Olympics with I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, which was at #40 on w/e 19/01/1961. They had only other hit in the UK, Western Movies, which hit #12 in 1958, but a had a longer career in their native USA.


Then we have Dion, who had previously spent two weeks at #28 in 1959 as part of Dion and The Belmonts, with the single A Teenager In Love, which was also a #2 for Marty Wilde and a #13 for Craig Douglas in the same year. Dion was now back with his first solo single, Lonely Teenager, which was at #47 on w/e 19/01/1961. He would go on to hit #11 later in the year with Runaround Sue, and #10 in 1962 with The Wanderer, which also reentered the top 20 in 1976. In 1989 he had one more charting single, King Of The New York Streets, which peaked at #74.


Finally for today is the only week of UK chart action for Tommy Zang, with Hey Good Looking, which was at #45 in w/e 16/02/1961. I have to say this song seems to be so familiar to me, but there is no other version ever charted here, and Tommy Zang is obscure enough he doesn't even have a wikipedia page, so no idea where I've heard the song before. There is another single with the same title, by Bo Diddley, which hit #39 in 1965, but that seems to be a different song.

Posted by: King Rollo 13th January 2020, 12:37 AM

It's familiar to me as well,so I've found the wiki page for the song. The most well known version is the original by Hank Williams who wrote it himself. His recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was released in 1951 so it would have missed the UK chart. Hank Williams has never had a UK hit single which must make him one of the most well known artists never to chart here. He's another singer to die far too early at the age of 29.

Posted by: DanChartFan 13th January 2020, 02:49 AM

Looking at the Missing Charts book it shows him with only two charting singles in the pre-NME era charts calculated from order books. Hey Good Lookin' which peaked at #8 in 1951, and Half As Much which reached #23 in 1952. I just looked at his wikipedia page and apparently, amongst many other songs, he wrote Jambalaya, one of my favourite Carpenters songs, though the song was also recorded by Hank himself, and also charted by Jo Stafford in 1952 and Fats Domino in 1962. Hank's premature death from heart failure was on 1st January 1953, and the NME singles chart only began in November 1952, so that coupled with the fact there was limited unreleased material of his left at the time he died, with only five singles released after his death (in the US at least), probably explains why he never made the singles chart here. I'm going to have to listen to some of his songs now I think, as he seems like he must have been pretty influential given how many songs he recorded himself, and wrote for others.

Posted by: Robbie 13th January 2020, 08:05 AM

A version of 'Hey Good Lookin' was used in a series of Findus Lean Cuisine adverts in the mid 1980s. That may be why the song is familiar to you.

Posted by: DanChartFan 13th January 2020, 03:02 PM

In that case I almost certainly heard it a few days ago in the latest episode of The Hard Sell by Applemask and Bob The Fish productions, a youtube series about advertising over the years, as the latest episode, tying into new year etc, was about weight loss foods (Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine and Slim Fast). No wonder it seemed familiar then!

Posted by: DanChartFan 14th January 2020, 06:25 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 70, 71 & 72

We start today with Fools Rush In by Brook Benton, real name Benjamin Peay, which was at #50 on w/e 16th February 1961. In 1963 Rick Nelson took his version of this song to #12. Here's footage of Brook performing it.


Or hear the full single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qf6JiGS1iQ

Moving on to w/e 23rd February 1961 we have the only week of UK chart action for the Packabeats, with an insturmental called Gypsy Beat.


From one instumental to another, as Tony Osborne Sound ft Joanne Brown with The Man From Madrid, which one place lower at #50 in the same week. Tony Osbourne Sound had to wait 12 years for their second and last Uk charting single, The Shepherd's Song, which reached #46 in February 1973.


And making it a hat trick of instrumentals here's The Ventures with Ram Bunk Shush, at #45 in w/e 9th March 1961. This was their third charting single, after Walk Don't Run (#8) and Perfidia (#4). They had one more charting single to come, Lullaby Of The Leaves which reach #41 in May 1961.


Back in March 1960 Jim Reeves had his first charting single in the UK, He'll Have To Go which peaked at #12 and spent an impressive 31 weeks on the chart. A year on this is his second single to make the chart, Whispering Hope, which manages only a solitary week at #50in w/e 16th March 1961.


In w/e 6th April 1961 Brenda Lee was at #47 with Emotions. Here she is performing it.


Or hear the full single here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tto9-9PGVJw

Next up is Petula Clark with Something Missing, at #44 in w/e 13th April 1961. This was the follow up to her #1 hit Sailor, and was in turn followed up by the #3 hit Romeo.


And at #47 in the same week was Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with Linda Lu, their 5th charting single. They had a #1 in 1960 with Shakin' All Over, and wouldn't chart after this until January 1963, which we'll see in due course on this thread.


Finally for today we have the only week of UK chart action for Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents and Billy Boy, which was at #43 on w/e 9th May 1961.

Posted by: King Rollo 15th January 2020, 05:06 PM

There were some good instrumentals in that last batch but the highlight was the Petula Clark song. I liked the understated orchestral arrangement on that one.

Posted by: DanChartFan 15th January 2020, 10:49 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 73, 74 and 75

First up today with the 8th and final UK charting single for guitarist Bert Weedon, who was at # 47 on w/e 4th May 1961 with Mr Guitar.


Moving on one week we have The Velvets at #46 with That Lucky Old Sun.


And then after an 18 month absence from the charts it's the 27th and final single from four time charttopper Frankie Laine, who had been the most successful chart artist in the UK until a year or so before when Elvis shot past at a rate of knots (on his 8th number one at the date of this single's week in the charts). Gunslinger was at #50 in w/e 11th May 1961, and was the theme to a US TV series of the same name which was airing in the UK in spring 1961.


Onward to w/e 8th June 1961, where Jimmy Crawford, real name Michael Lindsey, is at #49 with Love Or Money. There was also a version at about the same time by The Blackwells, which spent two weeks on chart, peaking at #46, as well as a version released by Billy Fury in 1982 which peaked at #57. Jimmy's only other UK charting single was I Love How You Love Me, which peaked at #18 later in the year.


The following that we have the second and last single from instrumentalists Nero and The Gladiators, who were at #48 on w/e 27/07/1961 with their version of 'I dovregubbins hall' or In The Hall Of The Mountain King. I'm going to guess that some of you will be thinking about a certain theme park after his this tune....


One place lower that week was Fats Domino with It Keeps Rainin', as song taken to #2 in 1993 by Bitty McLean (and I'll be honest I didn't know Bitty's was a cover until a second ago when I hit play on the video).


The on to w/e 17th August 1961 where Clinton Ford, real name Ian Stopford Harrison, was at #48 with Too Many Beautiful Girls. This was Clinton's second UK charting single after Old Shep which we saw on this thread back in 1959, and would go on to have two more, Fanlight Fanny (#22 in 1962) and Run To The Door (#25 in 1967).


And in the same week at 50 we find the only other UK charting single by The Velvets, namely Tonight (Could Be The Night).


Finally for today we have the only week of UK chart action for Joe Barry, with I'm A Fool To Care, which was at #49 on w/e 24th August 1961.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th January 2020, 01:40 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 76, 77 & 78

First today is Al Saxon, real name Allan Fowler, with There I've Said It Again, which was at #48 on w/e 7th September 1961. A version by Bobby Vinton released in 1963 reached #34 in the UK and #1 in the US.


Then a week later at #50 was Linda Scott with Don't Bet Money Honey, the follow up to her #7 hit I've Told Every Little Star, and her only other UK charting single.


Spending a week at #48 on w/e 19th October 1961 was Joe Loss with Sucu Sucu. There were four other versions of this in the charts in 1961, by Laurie Johnson (#9), Nina and Frederik (#23), Ping Ping and Al Verlaine (#41) and Ted Heath (#36)


A week later at #50 we find another instrumental, the Bobby Darin Orchestra with Come September, the theme from the movie of the same name, which starred Bobby. It was the movie where Bobby met his future wife, Sandra Dee, who played her usual innocent virginal character in this movie, and who I presume (though I'd never heard of her until just now) was the inspiration for the Grease song Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee.


Also at #50, but on w/e 2nd November 1961, were The Moontrekkers with yet another insturmental, Night Of The Vampire, their only week of UK chart action.


Moving on to w/e 26th November 1961 we have Fat Domino with What A Party at #43.


Next up is a Belgium group called Les Chakachas who were at #48 in w/e 11th January 1962 with Twist Twist. They had to wait just over 10 years, until May 1972, for their only other UK charting single, Jungle Fever, which reached #7.


And the we have the Brook Brothers, Geoff and Ricky, with He's Old Enough To Know Better, which was at #37 on w/e 25th January 1962. We won't see another One Week Wonder within the Top 40 now until 1969!


Finally for this triple episode we have the only week of UK chart action for Brad Newman with Somebody To Love, which was at #47 in w/e 22nd February 1962. A version by The Jets reached #56 in 1982.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 03:24 AM

Apologies for taking another unexpected week off, but I'm going to resume again now. Rather than trying to do triples again for several days until I catch up to where I would have been (24th Jan should be Episode 89 if I'd stuck to one a day), I think I will just see how many episodes I can get through today.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 79

First up at #50 on w/e 22nd February 1962 was Tommy Bruce with Babette. Tommy Bruce had had two singles in the charts in 1960, as part of Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers, Ain't Misbehavin' which reached #3, and Broken Doll which only got to #36. Babette was his last UK charting single.


Next at #43 on w/e 8th March 1962 was Emile Ford, now solo, but a former charttopper alongside his Checkmates, with What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For. This was his 8th and last UK charting single, spanning a period of 2.5 years.


We then skip over Buddy Holly's Listen To Me, at #48 on w/e 15th March 1962, as this was a reissue of a single that had charted back in March 1958. Instead we end this episode a version of Jamabalaya by Fats Domino which was at #41 on w/e 29th March 1962. We saw Jo Stafford's version of the song back in 1952 (albeit as a two week wonder, due to the technicality of the repeated chart week), and the only other version that charted was the most famous version, by the Carpenters which spent 11 weeks on chart and peaked at #12.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 04:19 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 80

First up for this episode are Chubby Checker and Bobby Rydell, real names Ernest Evans and Robert Ridarelli, with Teach Me To Twist, in which Bobby asks Chubby to teach him, and Chubby does so. It was Chubby's 5th UK charting single (4 of which were tied to the Twist dance craze), his biggest having been the #2 hit Let's Twist Again. For Bobby it was his 6th single, his biggest to that point having been his debut, Wild One, which reached #7. Bobby's only charting singles after this were another duet with Chubby, Jingle Bell Rock, which reached #40 over Xmas 1962, and, as a soloist, Forget Him which reached #13. Chubby had three more minor hits by the end of 1963, in addition to Jingle Bell Rock, plus a reissue of Let's Twist Again and The Twist which hit #5 in 1975. He also saw a brief revival alongside the Fat Boys with a reworked version of the Twist which got to #2 in 1988. Teach Me To Twist was at #45 on w/e 19th April 1962.


This is followed by the first of only two UK charting singles in the 60s for Patsy Cline, real name Virginia Hensley. She's Got You was at #43 on w/e 26th April 1962. This was followed up with Heartaches, which reached #31 towards the end of 1962. On March 3rd 1963 Patsy appeared in a benefit concert in Kansas City, for DJ 'Cactus' Jack Call who died in a car crash about a month before. The following day she was unable to fly home due to foggy conditions. On March 5th she boarded a private plane with fellow performers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, who had also been on the bill for the benefit gig, as well as manager Randy Hughes who piloted the plane. The plane stopped at one point in Missouri, then at 5pm landed at Dyersberg Airport, Tennessee. The airfield manager at Dyersberg advised them to stay the night there, because of high winds, even offering them free rooms and meals, but Hughes responded 'I've already come this far. We'll be there before you know it.'. They took off from Dyersberg at 6:07pm. The plane crashed nose first in a forest in Camden, Tennesee that evening, killing all on board. Patsy's watch was later discovered to have stopped at 6:20pm. Many years later, in 1990, a reissue of her most famous song, Crazy, reached #14 in the UK chart, and another single, the somewhat uncomfortably named (given her cause of death) I Fall To Pieces, also got to #87.


Finally for this episode the third and final UK charting single for Terry Lightfoot's New Orleans Jazzmen, Tavern In The Town, at #49 on w/e 3rd May 1962. Their previous hits were True Love (#33) and King Kong (#29), both in 1961. Tavern In The Town was from the recent movie It's Trad Dad!, and their performance from that film can be seen in this video.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 01:09 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 81

First up we have the Vernon Girls with The Locomotion, at #47 in w/e 6th September 1962. Other versions that have charted are by Little Eva (#2 1962), Dave Stewart (#70 1986) and Kylie Minogue (#2 1988).


Next, at #48 on w/e 27th September 1962, we have The Fentones with The Breeze And I, which had been a #5 hit for Caterina Valente in 1955. This was the last of The Fentones six charting singles, four of which were with Shane Fenton.


And from one instrumental to another we end this episode with the George Shearing Quartet with Baubles Bangles And Beads, which was at #49 on w/e 4th October 1962. George Shearing's only other charting single was Let There Be Love which reached #11 earlier in 1962.

Posted by: King Rollo 24th January 2020, 06:37 PM

I haven't heard that version of The Locomotion before. It's quite unusual for the early 60s that there is no attempt on that record to cover up their rather common sounding accents.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 07:33 PM

I've just found their wikipedia article (didn't realise Vernons had an 's' on the end) and apparently they were a group of women who worked at Vernons Pools in Liverpool, so perhaps them sounding ordinary was part of the appeal to those who bought their records. To be honest I wasn't even sure the song was entirely in tune, but thought maybe they were just going for a different key or a different tone to the Little Eva and Kylie Minogue versions I'm used to.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 07:58 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 82

We start this episode with a prolific producer, writer, and composer of TV theme tunes, Tony Hatch, who amongst many others composed the original themes for Crossroads, Emmerdale Farm and Neighbours. In this instance he was at #50 on w/e 4th October 1962 with the theme to the ABC sci-fi series Out Of This World, which featured introductions from Boris Karloff, and ran for 13 episodes in 1962 (technically 14 episodes if you count the fact that the week before it started Armchair Theatre aired an episode that had been made for Out Of This World, as a way to promote the new series). This is the only time Tony Hatch appears on a UK charting single as the named artist (albeite leading an orchestra), though he wrote and/or produced many many more.


Next up is The Big 'O', Roy Orbison, with Working For The Man, which was at #50 on w/e 8th November 1962.


And finally for this episode we revisit one we previously saw in the Christmas special a few weeks. Connie Francis was at #48 on w/e 20th December 1962 with I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 08:27 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 83

First up we have Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with their first charting single since we saw them with Linda Lu in April 1961. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues was at #48 on w/e 10th January 1963.


Next we stay with the same chart week and move down to #50 to find the only week of UK chart action for The Cookies with Chains.


And finally for this episode we have Tell Him by The Exciters, which was at #46 on w/e 21st February 1963. The Exciters had to wait just over 12.5 years for their only other UK charting single, Reaching For The Best which hit #31 in late 1975. Tell Him was also a hit for several other acts and artists, Billie Davis (#10 in 1963), Hello (#6 in 1974) and comedy actresses Quentin and Ash (#25 in 1996). As for The Exciters version we have something particularly interesting to watch here, as I'm fairly sure it's the first proper music video we've seen, as opposed to liver performance footage from tv shows, or footage taken from feature films. Strictly speaking it's actually a Scopitone, a 16mm film made for a type of jukebox with a moving picture component, they were made in Technicolour with a hifi magnetic soundtrack. Scopitones had begun a few years before in France, then spread to Germany, before arriving in England around 1962/3, so this would be one of the first ones made for an English language single.

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th January 2020, 09:49 PM

One more for today I think, then I may well try to do the same number of episodes again tomorrow to be fully caught up.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 84

First up we have a temporary return to the UK chart for Johnny Mathis, who was last seen in the charts in early 1961 with the #9 hit My Love For You, and wouldn't hit the charts again until the #10 hit I'm Stone In Love With You in January 1975. This is What Will Mary Say, which was at #49 on w/e 4th April 1963.


Next up we have Tony Sheridan and The Beatles with My Bonnie. This was Tony Sheridan' only UK charting single, and the only one of The Beatles' many hits to be a one week wonder. It was at #48 on w/e 6th June 1963.


And finally for this episode we have The Isley Brothers with Twist And Shout, their debut on the UK charts, which was at #42 on w/e 25th July 1963. Other versions of Twist And Shout that have charted were by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (#4 in 1963), Salt-n-Peppa (#4 in 1988) and Chaka Demus and Pliers (#1 in 1993).

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th January 2020, 12:16 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 85

First up we have producer Mickie Most, with a solo single as an artist prior to becoming a highly successful producer. The single, Mr Porter, was at #45 on w/e 25th July 1963.


Next up is Swedish vocalist Alice Babs with After You've Gone, which was at #43 on w/e 15th August 1963. Although many version of After You've Gone have been recorded over the last century or so since the first version was recorded by Marion Harris in 1918, Alice's version is the only one to have ever reached the UK singles chart.


Finally for this episode is return to the charts for its first charttopper, Al Martino, who we last saw in the charts, and this thread, in 1960, when he charted with Summertime. Now he was charting at #48 on w/e 29th August 1963 with I Love You Because, a song taken to #5 the following year by Jim Reeves. Al would reach the UK charts one last time when he scored a #5 hit in 1973 with Spanish Eyes.

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th January 2020, 12:34 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 86

We start in the same chart week that the last episode ended, but one place lower at #49 with Duane Eddy and The Rebelettes and You're Baby's Gone Surfin' which charted almost 5 years to the day after his debut single, Rebel-Rouser, had done. This was also the last charting single of his original run, though he did chart twice more in later year, reaching #9 in 1975 with Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar, and #8 in 1986 with a re-recording of 1959 hit Peter Gunn.


Next up is a US number one that amazingly had only one single week in the UK chart's at #50 on w/e 3rd October 1963. It's The Angels with My Boyfriend's Back.


Finally for this episode we have the only week of UK chart action for Tony Sheveton with A Million Drums at #49 on w/e 13th February 1964.

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th January 2020, 08:41 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 87

First up at #49 on w/e 20th February 1964 we have the 9th and last uk charting single for John Leyton, Make Love To Me, which had previously been a #8 hit for Jo Stafford in 1954.


Next is a version of Anyone Who Had A Heart, which was a charttopper around this time for Cilla Black, and also reached #42 for Dionne Warwick at this time. This version is by Mary May, whose real name was Lily Sanderson if one of the commenters under this video is to be believed. This was #49 on w/e 27th February 1964.


Finally for this episode is Just A Little Bit by The Undertakers which was at #49 on w/e 9th April 1964. This was the groups only UK charting single.

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th January 2020, 09:11 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 88

We start this episode with the 9th and last UK charting single by Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, Always and Ever, which was at #46 on w/e 30th April 1964. After this The Pirates went their separate ways from Kidd, whilst Kidd continued to perform with various sesssion musicians backing him. At some point in 1966 a new backing band was put together, named the New Pirates, and they and Kidd continued to perform live gigs and began to get a new following. The word was that they were on the verge of a comeback. On 7th October 1966 they were due to perform at The Imperial Bolton, but the gig was cancelled at short notice. Johnny and his bassist, Nick Simper, were travelling back from this cancelled gig when the car they were in was involved in an accident, crashing head-long into another vehicle on the A58 near Bury. Nick received some minor injuries and a broken arm, but was able to return to performing after a period of recovery. Sadly Johnny was killed in the crash, he was just 30 years old. The New Pirates continued in his memory for a while, but separated in May 1967.


Next we have the UK chart debut of Motown legend Marvin Gaye, as well as the second UK charting single for Mary Wells, who had just had a UK #5 and US #1 with My Guy. This is Once Upon A Time which was at #50 on w/e 30th July 1964.


Finally for this episode we have the only UK chart hit for Denny Seyton and The Sabres, The Way You Look Tonight, which was also a #36 hit around this time for The Lettermen. A version by actor Edward Woodward reached #42 in 1971. Denny's version was at #48 on 17th September 1964.

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th January 2020, 12:55 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 89

First up we have ol' blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, with Hello Dolly, which was at #47 on w/e 24th September 1964. The song was taken from the stage musical of the same name, which had debuted in the US in November 1963, although the London production of the show didn't begin until December 1965. Other versions of Hello Dolly to chart in the UK in 1964 where by Frankie Vaughan (#18), Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen (#30) and Louis Armstrong (#4). There was also a version by the Bachelors which reached #38.


Next up is the UK chart debut of The Rockin' Berries, with I Didn't Mean To Hurt You, which was at #43 in w/e 1st October 1964.


And finally for this episode we have Lulu with Here Comes The Night, which was at #50 on w/e 12th November 1964. It was her second UK charting single after the #7 hit Shout. In early 1965 The Them, led by Van Morrison, took the song to #2.

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th January 2020, 02:11 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 90

First up its Marvin Gaye's second UK chart hit, and his first truly solo, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), which was at #49 on w/e 10th December 1964.


Next we have pianist Mrs Mills, with Mrs Mills Party Medley, featuring two medley's of three songs, which was at #50 on w/e 31st December 1964, a chart week that was only published in Record Mirror, (who always published the Record Retailer chart by this point) and not by Record Retailer, and so was missed by early editions of Guinness British Hit Singles, and by many other chart books, meaning Mrs Mills one week wonder gets forgotten about in many sources. The A-side was a medley of You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It), Shine On Harvest Moon and I Didn't Want To Set The World On Fire. Unfortunately, though admittedly appropriately for a chart single that was nearly forgotten about, I can't find the precise medley on youtube, or anywhere else on line, but have instead found separate recordings of the first two tracks. If anyone can find an online source for the original medley then do let me know.



Finally for this episode we have the first UK charting single for The Peddlers, Let The Sunshine In, which isn't the song from Hair, but a different song with the same title. It was at #50 on w/e 7th January 1965. They would have to wait until 1969 and 1970 for their other two chart hits, Birth (#17) and Girlie (#34) respectively. Guinness says that the Milk And Sugar track of the same name which reached #18 in 2003 was a version of the Peddlers song, but after listening to it I suspect it is actually based on the other song, the one from Hair.


And now I'm nearly caught back up to where I wanted to be by this date in the first place. When I uploaded the first few posts on this thread in late October and early November it was suggested I do one three song episode a night, which began to be my plan with episode 7 on 3rd November, so by my reckoning today (26/1) should have been episode 91, which will appear this evening. From now on I aim to return to one episode per evening, and to stick to that more reliably than I have managed over December and January. The original idea was to introduce us all to the singles over the years that were good enough to get into the chart in the first place, yet obscure enough to get only one week on chart and then disappear. A voyage of discovery, if you will, through a lot of old music we may otherwise not have heard. I feel that part of that journey is discussing what we think of the songs we've discovered, so I am always interested to hear any views any of you may have. I know I don't tend to say my own views in this thread, as I feel as host I ought to remain fairly neutral and present all the singles equally for my readers/viewers to decide how they feel about them, but perhaps I'm wrong to think that, maybe. In any case I, and the other contributors so far, don't usually bite, so don't be shy... join in and help make this voyage even better for everyone on it. Enjoy your Sunday afternoon, and see you this evening for Episode 91!

Posted by: King Rollo 26th January 2020, 03:19 PM

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) is a familiar song to me but not that version. I've listened to the other charting version by Junior Walker & the All Stars and it's not that one either. Checking the wiki page for the song,I see James Taylor's version reached no.5 in the US in 1975. That's the version I know. It's been played a lot on the radio in the UK over the years but has strangely never been a hit single here.

I like the keyboard solo on that Peddlers song. Now that we've reached the mid 60s,some of these songs are sounding more modern.

Posted by: Crazy Chris 26th January 2020, 03:27 PM

Yep I know James Taylor's version best.

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th January 2020, 09:44 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 91

We start with Ned Miller and Do What You Do Do Well, which was at #48 on w/e 18th February 1965. This was his second and last UK charting single, after the #2 hit From A Jack To A King two years previously to the week.


Next up is Frankie Vaughan and Someone Must Have Hurt You A Lot, which was at #46 on w/e 11th March 1965. Unfortunately I can't find any trace of it anywhere online, despite the vast number of other Frankie Vaughan tracks available on Youtube, Spotify and other sites. This is only the second single on this thread (after Mrs Mills Party Medley) that I haven't been able to link to, but I suspect it has to do with having reached the mid 1960s, and to do with copyright laws regarding recorded music. In the Uk, for all work published, or peformed to or communicated to the public, by 31st October 1963 the copyright period of 50 years has expired, and the same applies to all unpublished music recordings made prior to the same date. Things are different though for music recorded after that date, or recorded before that date but published after it (provided the publication was within 50 years of the recording date) as there was a change in law on 1st November 2013 that extended their copyright's to 70 years instead of 50, meaning that a few episodes back we moved from music that was out of copyright and in the public domain, and so was easy to find on youtube and streaming sites, to music that is for the most part still under copyright for many years to come, and can therefore only be found online if the copyright holder allows it to be. I hope the majority of songs on this thread will still be findable, but if I had to guess I think we'll have the biggest problem between the late 80s and early 00s, when the number of new entries per week was much higher, so there are many more obscure songs in the first place, and independent labels were behind a fair few of them which also doesn't help, and then once we enter the digital era of the late 00s on I expect it will be less of a problem again as the majority of tracks will then have been licensed with digital methods of distribution in mind from the outset, but we shall see.

At this point we could have been finishing this episode with My Girl by The Temptations, had it not been for the cinematic success of Macaulay Culkin and Anna Klumsky's film of that name, which led to the Temptations single being reissued in 1992, when it reached #2. Originally it had had one week at #43 on w/e 18th March 1965. Sticking with the same chart week, but moving down to #48 we instead find The Zephyrs only week of UK chart action with She's Lost You.

Posted by: DanChartFan 27th January 2020, 09:00 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 92

First up we have Heinz, or Heinz Burt to give him his full name, with Digging My Potatoes, which was at #49 on w/e 18th March 1965. It was Heinz' fifth and last UK charting single, and his most succesful had been his first, Just Like Eddie, which hit #5 in 1963.


Next up is Quiet Five, with When The Morning Sun Dries The Dew, which was at #45 on w/e 13th May 1965. They had one other charting single, Homeward Bound, which reached #44 in April 1966.


Finally for this episode we have the In Crowd, who were having their only week of UK chart action on w/e 20th May 1965 at #48 with That's How Strong My Love Is.

Posted by: jimwatts 27th January 2020, 10:15 PM

I hadn't realised My Girl was such a minor hit over here on its original release, for a song so ubiquitous in association with Motown that is a surprise.

How Sweet It Is by Marvin Gaye is the version I know best, as Terry Wogan used to play it a lot (back in the 00s my car sharers would always have R2 on in the mornings). Although for Twist And Shout, I think there's little argument the best known version is The Beatles, which also charted but not until 2010 when their whole catalogue went digital.

Posted by: DanChartFan 28th January 2020, 09:04 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 93

First up today we have the only week of UK chart action for The Birds (not to be confused with The Byrds), and Leaving Here, which was at #45 on w/e 27th May 1965.


Next is the only week of chart action for The Cadets and Eileen Reid. Jealous Heart was at #42 on w/e 3rd June 1965. Connie Francis released a version in January 1966 which reached #44 and was her 24th and final UK charting single.


We could have been ending today's episode with Nina Simone's I Put A Spell On You, which had one week at #49 on w/e 5th August 1965, however it then reentered in January 1969, when it got as high as #28. Other versions of the song have faired better with The Alan Price Set reaching #9 in 1966, Bryan Ferry #18 in 1993, and Sonique #8 on her second try in 2000, two years after her first attempt to chart it. Annie Lennox also got to #63 with it in 2015. Seems a bit weird that Nina's sublime version is pretty well known, but there are 3 other versions that have charted higher than hers. Anyway we instead end with the only week of chart action for Spanish duo Johnny and Charley, and La Yenka, which was at #49 on 14th October 1965, and which apparently was a minor dance craze at the time. Maybe time to revive it to join the ranks of Macarena, Saturday Night and Cha Cha Slide in the cheesier nightclubs of a Saturday night? I know I'd have a go after a bevy or three....


PS: This slightly odd footage shows what the actual dance looked like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCp_qZOCTw

Posted by: DanChartFan 29th January 2020, 07:34 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 94

We start with Roger Miller's Kansas City Star which was at #48 on w/e 21st October 1965. This was Roger's third charting single, and his first, King Of The Road, had been a charttopper.


From one Miller to another, this time Jody Miller, who was one place lower at #49 that week with her only Uk charting single Home Of The Brave.


Finally for today we have the 3rd and final new charting single for Millie, who was at #48 on w/e 11th November 1965 with Bloodshot Eyes. Her first single was the #2 hit my Boy Lollipop, which did manage to also reach #46 in a re-issue in 1987.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th January 2020, 07:15 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 95

We begin today with a woman called Barry! Bary St John to be precise who sings an anti-war duet called Come Away Melinda with a small girl. The song was Barry's only Uk charting single and was at #47 on w/e 9th December 1965.


Next up are The Pretty Things with Midnight To Six Man which was at #46 on w/e 20th January 1966.


Finally for this episode is Ray Charles with Crying Time, or to give the full credit, Ray Charles with The Jack Halloran Singers and the Ray Charles Orchestra with The Raeletts. Crying Time was at #50 on w/e 10th February 1966.

Posted by: King Rollo 31st January 2020, 12:14 AM

'Come Away Melinda' was certainly an interesting listen. We have reached my own lifetime now.

Posted by: DanChartFan 31st January 2020, 02:47 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 96

First up we have the 4th and last Uk charting single from Unit Four Plus Two, Baby Never Say Goodbye, which was at #49 on w/e 17th March 1966. Their second single, Concrete And Clay, had reached #1.


Next is Ray Charles with Together Again, at #48 on w/e 21st April 1966.


Finally we stay with the same week and move one place lower to #49 for Petula Clark's A Sign Of The Times.

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd February 2020, 01:12 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 97

We start this episode with Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and Don't Stop Loving Me Baby, which was at #50 on w/e 21st April 1966. It was the follow up to their #9 hit Mirror Mirror, and was their only other charting single.


Next we could have been hearing The Isley Brothers with This Old Heart Of Mine, as it initially had one week at #47 on w/e 28th April 1966, however it then reentered the charts in October 1968 and reached #3 during that run. Instead our next song is Once by Genevieve, which was at #43 on w/e 5th May 1966. The 9th edition of Guinness says she was a French vocalist, but the 17th edition says she was a British vocalist with the decidely unfrench name of Susan Hunt. Whoever she is, this was her only week of UK chart action.


Finally for this episode we have Kenny Damon with While I Live, which gave Kenny his only week of UK chart action on w/e 19th May 1966. According to my chart advisor for the sixties, KingOfSkiffle, it was at #45, though Guinness says #48, and another book Record Hits says it had two weeks and peaked at #45. I know how much time and effort KingOfSkiffle has spent researching accurate charts, so one week at #45 is likely to be right (certainly I don't believe Record Hits which is full of inaccuracies).

Posted by: kingofskiffle 2nd February 2020, 03:32 PM

This is a case of beware what you read from a publicist! She was indeed Susan Hunt, and listed as French in the first Guiness editions because they went off the record publicity. This was later corrected and she now has three lines of biography in the 1960's Graham Betts book rather than the 5 or 6 words in the Guiness editions.


Guiness - since the first edition - listed this as one week and a peak of 48. This is in error, as I have the scan for that week which does indeed show it as being at 45. The Complete Book of British charts was, until recently, the only book to show that it was actually a #45 record. I say until recently, because Graham Betts 1960's books for the Official UK Charts also now shows it as number 45. The record had 3 weeks on the Disc chart, hence why Record Hits probably gave it two weeks (splitting the difference?)

Posted by: DanChartFan 6th February 2020, 02:29 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 98

First up are the Dave Clark Five with Look Before You Leap, which was at #50 on w/e 19th May 1966. There previous charting single was Over And Over, which reached #44 here at the end of last year, but was a US #1.


Next is Bob Lind with Remember The Rain, which was at #46 on w/e 26th May 1966. It was the follow up to the #5 hit Elusive Butterfly, and was his only other charting single.


Finally for this episode we stay with the same chart week and move down to #50 where we find Mr Zero by Keith Relf. This was Keith's only week of chart action as a soloist, but he experience more as lead singer of the Yardbirds.

Posted by: DanChartFan 6th February 2020, 02:44 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 99

First up is Tony Merrick with a version of the Rolling Stones song Lady Jane, which was at #49 on 2nd June 1966, and was his only week of UK chart action. Another version of Lady Jane, by David Garrick, got to #28 in the same year.


Next is Making Time by Creation, which was at #49 on w/e 7th July 1966. They followed this up with their only other charting single, Painter Man, which hit #36 later in the year.


Finally for this episode the Ivy League with Willow Tree, which was at #50 on w/e 14th July 1966. This was their fourth and final UK charting single. Their biggest had been their third, the #3 hit Tossing And Turning.

Posted by: Suedehead2 6th February 2020, 03:39 PM

"Interesting" is one way of describing it We reached my lifetime several episodes ago.

Posted by: Suedehead2 6th February 2020, 03:45 PM

Another song mentioned here to have provided a hit for Boney M.

Posted by: DanChartFan 6th February 2020, 09:47 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 100

First up are Ike and Tina Turner, who were at #48 on w/e 28th July 1966 with Tell Her I'm Not Home. A couple of weeks previously their chart debut River Deep Mountain High had reached as high as #3 and was still fairly high in the chart, though that was on the London label and this one week wonder was on Warner Bros. The rest of the charting singles they released together would also be on London, so this one-off may have been a previous record label looking to cash in on their recent success.


Next, in the same chart week, is the third and final single from Eddy Arnold, If You Were Mine Mary, which was at #49. His first, Make The World Go Away, was a #8 hit earlier in 1966.


And staying in the same week for the final one of this episode too, Joan Baez was at #50 with Pack Up Your Sorrows, her 5th charting single. She had to wait just over 5 years until October 1971 to have one last hit, They Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, but it turned out to be her biggest, reaching #6.

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th February 2020, 09:01 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 101

First up we have 9th UK charting single for Wayne Fontana, and the 3rd without the Mindbenders, Goodbye Bluebird, which was at #49 on w/e 25th August 1966.


Next is the only week of UK chart action for Tommy McClain, with Sweet Dreams, which was at #49 on w/e 8th September 1966. A version by Roy Buchanan reached #40 in 1973, and was Roy's only Uk charting single. Elvis Costello also reached #42 with it in 1981.


Finally for this episode are brothers Paul and Barry Ryan, with their 5th of 8 uk charting singles, Have You Ever Loved Somebody, which was at #49 on w/e 29th September 1966. Barry then had a solo career of 6 more uk charting singles, starting with the #2 hit Eloise.

Posted by: DanChartFan 10th February 2020, 02:38 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 102

First up, at #50 on w/e 29th September 1966, is Marvin Gaye with Little Darlin' (I Need You). This is his 3rd UK charting single, and his 3rd one week wonder. His next single, a duet with Kim Weston called It Takes Two, would reach #16 and spend 11 weeks on the chart in 1967, thus ending his run of one week wonders.


Next is one we already saw in the Xmas special, Donald Peers with Games That Lovers Play, which was at #46 on w/e 29th December 1966. It was the first of three UK charting singles for him.


Finally for this episode is the only week of UK chart action for Tim Hardin, with Hang On To A Dream, which was at #50 on w/e 5th January 1967.

Posted by: DanChartFan 10th February 2020, 03:21 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 103

We start this episode with Sandie Shaw, with I Don't Need Anything, which was at #50 on w/e 19th January 1967. Sandie was chosen by the BBC to represent Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, and every Saturday from 21st Janaury to 18th February she performed a different possible song on primetime BBC1. On 25th February there was a re-cap of all fives songs to be voted on, and on 4th March the winner was announced as Puppet On A String. The song would go on to both win the contest, and top the chart as Sandie's next single.


Next up as a cider-drinking westcountry lad myself I'm happy to be mentioning Drink Up Thy Cider by Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, which was at #45 on 2nd February 1967. This was their only charting single for nearly a decade, and there would be a sad change to the band before the next one. Following a live performance in Hereford on 5th May 1974 the band's lead singer and main songwriter Adge (real name Alan) was driving in his MGB sports car when he is thought to have fallen asleep at the wheel. His car overturned on a roundabout in Chepstow and he was killed. Deprived of their main songwriter, and the original westcountry themed songs he wrote, the band would go on to instead write alternative lyrics to contemporary pop sings as a way of creating new songs, which would lead to a resurgeance in their fortunes in 1976, including the charttopper Combine Harvester, and a #3 hit with I Am A Cider Drinker.


Finally for this episode are The Drifters with Baby What I Mean, which was at #49 on w/e 2nd February 1967. At this stage in their career The Drifters had only had two hits that got inside the top 20 in the UK, both in 1960, with the biggest being Save The Last Dance For Me, which reached #2. After this one week wonder they would be absent from the chart for five years, only to return to the UK charts with a run of big hits between 1972 and 1976.

Posted by: Bré 10th February 2020, 03:25 AM

Got to love The Wurzels. x

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th February 2020, 06:54 AM

Sorry, didn't mean to take another week off from this, just how things turned out. And I was already behind by a couple of episodes before that...

The One Week Wonders - Episode 104

We start with the only week of Uk chart action for The Bystanders, with 98.6, which was at #45 on w/e 9th February 1967. There was another version of 98.6 in the charts around this time, by Keith (real name James Keefer), which reached #24 and was the first of 2 Uk hits for him).


Moving down to #49 in the same week we find Electric Prunes with I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), the first of two two singles to make the Uk charts.


And finally for this epiosde we have Guess Who with His Girl, which was at #45 on w/e 16th February 1967. They had to wait for just over 3 years, until May 1970, for their only other Uk charting single, American Woman, which reached #19 here, but was a US #1.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th February 2020, 07:09 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 105

We carry on where we left off last episode, w/e 16th February 1967, but move down to #48, where we find Chris Farlowe with My Way Of Giving In.


Last episode I mentioned that there was a second version of 98.6 by a guy called Keith, and that he had one other UK hit. Well here is that hit, at #50 on w/e 16th March 1967, it's Tell Me To My Face.


Finally, at #50 on w/e 4th May 1967 was Otis Redding, with Let Me Come On Home.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th February 2020, 02:53 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 106

First up is Andy Williams with More And More, which was at #45 on w/e 2nd August 1967.


Next we could have been hearing Light My Fire by The Doors, which originally had just the one week on the UK chart at #49 on w/e 16th August 1967, despite being a US number 1. We aren't hearing it as the second song of this episode because it was reissued in 1991 and reached #7 on that occasion. I'll link to the song anyway as a bonus.


Instead of The Doors our second single for this episode is Vicki Carr's There I Go, which was the second of three UK charting singles for her, the first of which was the #2 hit It Must Be Him. Vicki's real name was Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona. There I Go was at #50 on w/e 30th August 1967.


Finally we move into the Radio 1 era with The Voice Of Scott McKenzie and Like An Old Time Movie, which was at #50 on w/e 1st November 1967. This was Scott's only other UK charting single besides his charttopper, San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair).

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th February 2020, 07:27 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 107

First up are Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, who were at #47 on w/e 8th November 1967 with Ladybird.


Next is the 9th and final charting single for the Seekers, the Wizard Of Oz themed Emerald City, which was at #50 on w/e 13th December 1967.


And finally for this episode is Cat Stevens' Kitty, which was at #47 on w/e 20th December 1967.

Posted by: King Rollo 17th February 2020, 10:52 PM

That's a big surprise that 'Light My Fire' was such a minor hit when it came out.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th February 2020, 01:51 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 108

First up are Gladys Knight and The Pips with I Heard It Through The Grapevine, which had one week at #47 on w/e 27th December 1967 and was their second UK charting single. As well as the charttopping version by Marvin Gaye, there was also a version by The Slits which reached #60 in 1979.


Next is Green Tambourine, which was the only UK charting single for Sun Dragon, and was at #50 on w/e 21st February 1968. There was another version of Green Tambourine at about the same time, by The Lemon Pipers, which got to #7 in the UK and was a US #1.


And finally the only week of UK chart action for Classics IV with Spooky, which was at #47 on w/e 28th February 1968. Another version of Spooky charted in 1979 by Atlanta Rhythm Section, which reached #48.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th February 2020, 02:16 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 109

We start with I Wish It Would Rain by The Temptations, which was at #45 on w/e 6th March 1968. A version by The Faces reached #8 in 1973.


And staying with the same week, but moving down to #50, we find Petula Clark with Kiss Me Goodbye. This was her 25th Uk charting single, and after this the only other charting singles she had were a couple of minor singles in January 1971 and January 1972, and a remix of Downtown in 1988 which reached #10.


Finally for this episode it's Aretha Franklin with Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby), which was at #47 on w/e 13th March 1968.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th February 2020, 02:35 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 110

We start with If You Can Want by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, which was at #50 on w/e 3rd April 1968, and was their 4th Uk charting single.


Next is Arthur Conley with his second and last UK charting single, Funky Street, which was at #46 on w/e 10th April 1968. His other charting single was Sweet Soul Music, which had reached #7 in 1967.


And we end this episode with the first of two Uk charting singles for guitarist Willie Mitchell. Soul Serenade was at #43 on w/e 24th April 1968.

Posted by: Robbie 20th February 2020, 02:46 PM

Re 'Spooky': The Atlanta Rhythm Section, who had a minor hit with the track in 1979, were born out of the ashes of both Classics IV and another band called The Candymen who were Roy Orbison's backing band in the 1960s.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th February 2020, 07:36 PM

That's interesting, I hadn't realised there was a connection between the two bands. Looking it up it seems the Atlanta Rhythm Section consisted of three Candymen and two from Classics IV, but I think one of those Classics IV members was a later one who wouldn't have been on the original recording of Spooky, so I think the only person present on both recordings is guitarist J.R.Cobb, who co-wrote the lyrics.

Posted by: King Rollo 21st February 2020, 04:59 PM

I was trying to think of the classical piece that Emerald City by The Seekers bases its melody around. The wiki page for the song reveals it to be Beethoven's 'Ode To Joy'.

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st February 2020, 09:21 PM

And of course the Andre Rieu version of that tune will eventually be in an episode of this thread (if I keep going far enough to reach 2020 anyway).

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st February 2020, 09:38 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 111

We start with Procol Harum and Quite Rightly So, which was at #50 on w/e 24th April 1968. It was their third charting single after Whiter Shade Of Pale (#1) and Homburg (#6).


Next up is Joe Cocker with his UK chart debut, Marjorine, which was at #48 on w/e 22nd May 1968. His next single would be the charttopping With A Little Help From My Friends.


Finally we have The Temptations who were at #47 on w/e 12th June 1968 with I Could Never Love Another.

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st February 2020, 10:49 PM

The One Week Wonder - Episode 112

We start with the third charting single from Gary Puckett and Union Gap, Woman Woman, which was at #48 on w/e 28th August 1968. There other two were Young Girl which hit #1, and Lady Willpower which got to #5. Following this there only other visit to the UK charts was a reissue of Young Girl in 1974 also hit #6.


Next is Ride My See Saw by the Moody Blues, which was at #42 on w/e 4th December 1968.


And lastly for this episode we have Hugo Montenegro's second and last charting single, Hang 'Em High, which was at #50 on w/e 8th January 1969. The single was a cover of Dominic Frontiere's theme for the Clint Eastwood's film of the same name. Hugo's only other charting single had been the charttopping cover of the Ennio Morricone theme to another Clint Eastwood film, The Good The Bad and The Ugly.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 02:15 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 113

First Up is Tiny Tim, with his cover version of Great Balls Of Fire, which was at #45 on w/e 5th February 1969. Despite the audience laughter in the linked video this apparently wasn't supposed to be comedic or a parody. I happened to listen to the audio from the actual single first and just thought it was a decent cover of the original, and then I saw this TV performance and became aware that a lot of people apparently viewed it as comedy. Even the comments under the video are split between the two camps of thought. What do you guys reckon?


Next is Vince Hill with Doesn't Anbody Know My Name, which was at #50 in w/e 12th February 1969, the first week of the new BMRB-compiled official chart.


And we end with the Small Faces and Afterglow Of Your Love, which was at #36 on w/e 19th March 1969, and thus it's the first one week wonder inside of the Top 40 since The Brook Brothers had one at #37 in January 1962. One other record in 1967, by Ray Charles, nearly managed to also get a one week wonder inside the Top 40, at #38, but after then dropping out for a week it returned to the charts for two more weeks and therefore avoided being on this thread. But as I've moved through the sixties chart data I've noticed a growing trend towards this particular chart behaviour, of debuting in the chart in the lower reaches (typically in the 35-50 portion) in what I'm gonna term their week one, then dropping out of the chart entirely in week two, only to return in week three. I've come to think of it as a blip-start for the single in question. Some records only ever chart in weeks 1 and 3, some continue into week 4 and beyond, and some even end up being long running in the charts, but this blip-start seems to happen quite a lot across various singles, and appears to increase with the advent of the BMRB charts in 1969, to the point that by the seventies it gets rather rare for any single to genuinely only have one solitary week on the chart, since so many of the singles that drop out in their respective week 2 dutifully return in week 3. I suppose it could be caused by different reasons for different releases, but there are enough instances of it that there could be one general cause for most or all of them, though I'm blowed if I know what it is/was. Anyway I digress.. here's the Small Faces.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 03:02 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 114

We start with The Monkees and Teardrop City, which was at #45 on w/e 26th March 1969 (though some books claim #44 or #46).


Next we have Birmingham group Second City Sound, with their second and last charting single, just over three years after their first one, Tchaikovsky One, had reached #22. This one is Dream Of Olwen, which was at #43 on w/e 2nd April 1969.


Finally it's gentle rocker Val Doonican, with Ring Of Bright Water, from the otter-based film of the same name, which was at #48 on w/e 23rd April 1969.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 03:40 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 115

We start this episode with Pentangle and Once I Had A Sweetheart, which was at #46 on w/e 28th May 1969.


Next up are The Monkees, for the second consecutive episode, with their final charting single of their original run, Someday Man, which was at #47 on w/e 25th June 1969. They wouldn't reach the singles chart again until an EP of some their old singles charted in 1980 (and another similar EP also did so in 1989). There was also one more genuinely new single which charted in 1986.


And finally you know the seventies can't be very far away now when the last song in this episode is by Tyrannosaurus Rex, who would shorten their name to T.Rex after this single and then have their next 11 singles all reach the top 7 (or next 10 all reach the top 4 if you don't count the double-A reissue of their first two singles, which was on a different label to any of their new releases in this period, and also different from the label that the original releases of those first two singles were on). This is King Of The Rumbling Spires, which was at #44 on w/e 6th August 1969, which happens to be the last chart whose week-ending date was a Wednesday, as far as I can work out. Chart dates had gradually snuck backwards, from Friday to Thursday to Wednesday of the week after the sales week, during the first 17 years of charts (one of those changes admittedly being at the switch from NME to RR). In Summer 1969 BMRB were able to start releasing the new chart on Tuesday, instead of Wednesday, and at this point they started dating the chart as week-ending the Saturday after the sales week, pushing it back down the week rather than using Tuesday dates and letting it continue to sneek up the week. Thus the w/e 6th August 1969 is followed by the w/e 16th August 1969, according to my chart advisor for the sixties, KingOfSkiffle. However the OCC website has an entirely different transition from one system to the other, including a four day chart 'week' from July 30th to August 2nd. Anyway here's some Tyrannosaurus Rex...

Posted by: Robbie 22nd February 2020, 08:53 AM

Tiny Tim apparently always thought of himself as a straightforward musician but his whole stage personna was geared towards attracting attention to himself in order to achieve fame. It has been said that it tended to bring out an unintentional comedic side to his performance. Personally I think he knew what he was doing. Prior to adopting the stage name Tiny Tim he was known as "Larry Love The Singing Canary"!

Posted by: Robbie 22nd February 2020, 09:33 AM

Incidentally, regarding the chart dates in 1969. I did think that the changing chart dates were less to do with the date that the chart was compiled / published by BMRB and more to do with the publication date of Record Retailer. In August 1969 it moved from a Wednesday date to a Saturday date. Using the dates in the OCC archive as a guide it suggests there would have been a RR issue dated 30/07/69 (a Wednesday) and then the next issue would have been published on 06/08/69 but dated 09/08/69 (a Saturday). Hence in the OCC archive the first chart shows as 30/06/69 to 02/08/69 while the following chart shows as 03/08/89 to 09/08/69 and all charts from that date onwards until the chart moved to a Friday follow the Sunday to Saturday dating system.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 02:29 PM

My chart advisor for the Sixties, KingOfSkiffle has Wednesday chart dates up until 6th August, then a Saturday date from 16th August. My theory is the OCC dates 60's charts as beginning on the date that I'm referring to as a week-ending date. So the last Wednesday date, that I would call w/e 6th August, would ordinarily be shown on the OCC site as 6th-12th August, except for the fact that when the chart date does move to w/e Saturdays with w/e 16th August, that week has to be considered to start on the Sunday before, so runs 10th-16th, meaning that either the three days from 10th to 12th would be covered by two consecutive charts, creating an overlap, or else the last Wednesday chart has to be truncated to only cover up to Saturday 9th, hence a 4 day period of currency for that chart on the OCC site. So I think the last Wednesday chart was published and dated 6th August. I'm fairly sure that regardless of the publication date the sales period had been Mon-Sat (Sunday trading being years away), if not throughout the Record Retailer era, then for at least the later part of it.

Actually, now I come to re-read your reply, I think we're basically saying the same thing as each other, just explained differently. I think?

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 03:18 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 116

We begin with Vince Hill and Little Bluebird, which was at #42 on w/e 25th October 1969, and was the 11th of his 12 UK charting singles. His last, Look Around, was a #12 hit in 1971.


Next we have a bonus mention of a two week wonder, caused by a repeated chart. Moira Anderson entered the chart at #43 on w/e 27th December 1969, and the chart books give it two weeks at that position as the chart is repeated to cover the fact that w/e 3rd January 1970 was not compiled. Tony Jasper's Top Twenty Book actually repeats the w/e 20th December 1969 chart and then states that the chart that Moira appeared in was only w/e 3rd January 1970 (albeit it obviously doesn't show Moira in the book, being as it only covers Top 20 hits). I think Tony was mistaken in this instance though. The w/e 20th December 1969 chart would have been announced on Radio 1 at lunchtime on Tuesday 16th December, and then published in Record Retailer and Record Mirror that week, with Saturday chart date. The next chart week would have been announced on Radio 1 on Tuesday 23rd December, and either published in the magazines later that week, or if the publication had a week off for Xmas, it would have been published the following week (when there was no new chart compiled, so no need to publish two charts in one edition). I guess that most books, which 'take' from Record Retailer, found the chart in an edition of the magazine dated the same week (whether that was rush published on 23rd/24th, or published after Xmas but dated in Xmas week), whereas Tony, who 'takes' from Record Mirror for his books, saw the chart published, after a week's delay, in an edition of that magazine dated 3rd January 1970 and dated it that way instead. This confusion with a chart compiled and announced prior to Xmas, but sometimes published on a week's delay due to the Xmas holiday, seems to affect some years of the 70s too. I found, for example, that genome and other listings, show there to have been a new chart announcement on Radio 1 on Tuesday 24th December 1974, so a chart dated w/e 28th December logically ought to exist, but the chart books shows repetition of the w/e 21st December 1974 chart, then a new chart dated w/e 4th January 1975 (which would probably mean a chart announcement on Radio 1 on 31st Dec or 1st Jan, but genome does not show one then). Anyway my conclusion is that Moira is a bonus, not a true one week wonder, as the first of her two weeks was the genuine one, and we can't be sure if she would have dropped out, or stayed on chart, had the chart for her second week been compiled.


And now the Seventies are finally upon us...

The second true one week wonder of this episode is the Jamaican group The Melodians, who had their only week of UK chart action with Sweet Sensation, which was at #41 on w/e 10th January 1970.


And we end this episode with another Jamaican, Derrick Morgan, who had is only week on the UK chart at #49 on w/e 17th January 1970, with Moon Hop.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 03:40 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 117

This episode starts with Barry Ryan, who we saw back in 1966, when he was part of a duo with his brother Paul. Now he's a soloist, and this is the 4th of his 6 UK charting singles whilst solo. Magical Spiel was at #49 on w/e 21st February 1970, and here is a Top Of The Pops performance of it.


Then we have the Bee Gees, who were at #49 on w/e 28th March 1970 with I.O.I.O.


And we end with the second and last UK charting single for Marsha Hunt. She was at #41 on w/e 2nd May 1970 with Keep The Customer Satisfied.

Posted by: DanChartFan 22nd February 2020, 04:33 PM

If I'd stuck rigidly to one episode a day since I began then we would have been on Episode 118 today, which means that yet again I have finally caught up with myself...

The One Week Wonders - Episode 118

You can tell that in the 1970s that Cup Final day was a very important day of the year for a lot of people, given the impressive viewing figures for the F.A. Cup final most years (albeit split between the BBC and ITV, so usually mentioned in a footnote below that week's Network Top 20 from TAM rather than officially making the Top 20 from either side's broadcast). You can also tell due to the fact that one or both teams involved often recorded some sort of single, either leading up to the day, or immediately after the day if they were celebrating winning it. Said single could feature the 'vocals' of the actual players, or of the team's fans, and could also sure the recording up with the musical talent of an act or artist who happened to support the club. In 1970 the cup final was between Chelsea and Leeds United, and was held on Saturday 11th April, but ended 2-2, having been watched by about 15 million people via the BBC, and a further 8 million or so on ITV, although neither side's coverage was enough by itself to put it in the Top 20 as far as TAM was concerned, thought the figure they quoted for the BBC audience ought to have put that within the week's Top 10. The replay was played on the evening of Wednesday 29th April, with about 12.76 million watching ITV and 15.73 million watching on the BBC. The BBC coverage alone was the third most watched programme of the week (beaten only by the two episodes of Coronation Street that week), with the ITV coverage also at #14. Combined the audience figure was roughly 28.5 million people, so one of the biggest events of the entire decade. Chelsea won the replay 2-1. I don't know if fan group Stamford Bridge had already put their single, imaginatively entitled Chelsea, into shops prior to the replay, or even prior to the original final earlier in the month, or whether it was recorded or released as a reaction to Chelsea winning the replay, but between 4th and 9th May 1970 there were enough sales of it for it to enter the chart of w/e 16th May 1970 at #47. In the same week's chart the England World Cup Squad reached number one with Back Home, as they prepared for the Mexico 1970 World Cup. This upload of the Stamford Bridge also includes the b-side, as both are rather short recordings.


Next up are Thunderclap Newman, who a year after their chartopper Something In The Air had one other UK charting single. Accidents was at #46 on w/e 27th June 1970.


Finally for today we have the fourth and final charting single for Canned Heat, who had just had the #2 hit Let's Work Together. Sugar Bee was at #49 on w/e 11th July 1970.

Posted by: jimwatts 22nd February 2020, 04:41 PM

I had some idea Thunderclap Newman wasn't a complete one hit wonder - depends whether #46 counts as a "hit" I guess

Posted by: Robbie 22nd February 2020, 05:05 PM

I think what's happened is the OCC have curtailed (to just 4 days) the wrong chart in their archive. They have used the RR chart dated 30/07/69 to produce a chart dated 30/07/69 to 02/08/69 when it should have been the RR chart dated 06/08/69 used to by the OCC (06/08/69 to 09/08/69) with the first Saturday chart being 10/08/69 to 16/08/69 and not 03/08/69 to 09/08/69 as it is in the OCC database. If that makes sense...

Posted by: Bré 22nd February 2020, 05:52 PM

This is kind of curious - could it be that the songs appearing lowly in the chart generated more demand for them but because of a delay between the data being collected and the chart being published that increased demand didn't actually translate into sales until 2 weeks later? Unless I am misunderstanding how the publishing dates etc. worked back then xx

Posted by: kingofskiffle 23rd February 2020, 06:14 PM

The way chart dates worked was as follows.

Sales data collected Monday to Saturday (no Sunday opening at that point) with post delivered on Sundays. That meant that shops could post the diaries (hand written) back in Sunday for arrival on the Monday morning.
The chart was added up on Monday and delivered to the BBC on Tuesday for a lunchtime delivery. Music Week went to print Tuesday or Wednesday and was out on the Friday with a street date of the Saturday.

At this point that means that sales data finishing ‘5pm’ Saturday would be printed in Music Week with a date of the following Saturday.

The new chart was an influence from Tuesday lunchtime as the Top 20 was widely known (via the BBC) meaning that the higher places could influence who bought what. Lower placing a where more prone to being ignored unless you heard the full Radio 1 countdown which was on the Sunday. That meant, yes, it could be two weeks before the chart could influence the next one - it all depends on where the record entered.

This is why ‘hyping’ became such a big thing. Get your record in the lower part of the chart and people would hear about it from free media and you wouldn’t have to advertise as much. Get your record in the Top 20 and you where on Top of the Pops. Or could be.

The above is different for the Official chart during the 1960’s as the Record Retailer chart was not on its own widely known. But that’s for elsewhere!

Posted by: kingofskiffle 23rd February 2020, 06:29 PM

The OCC website does a few odd things but which are perfectly fine in and of themselves.

The OCC database has been designed around the principle of entering a single date in history and finding the chart for that date. As such all the chart dates are listed as between Date 1 and Date 2. Usually this has no problem as currently Date 1 is the date the chart is published and Date 2 is the end of the following week (at the time of writing the OCC website has charts for 21 Feb to 27 Feb 2020 on their homepage). 21 Feb is the Friday they where announced. 27 Feb is the Thursday that would previously be the Week Ending date for the chart.

That’s important for how the dates for when the chart changes week.

The chart dated 30 July to 2 August 1969 is actually printed on 30 July.

The chart dated 3 August to 9 August 1969 is actually printed on 6 August.

The chart dated 10 August to 16 August is printed on 16 August.

This is the point when the chart dates sort of change to the more accepted week ending in the OCC system. The way that date them starts incorrectly on 14 Nov 1952. What the first week should be is dated 8 to 14 Nov and instead they date it 14 to 20 Nov. It’s 1969 when this is ‘fixed’ but it means two charts with shorter dates. Nothing is actually missing.

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd February 2020, 07:51 PM

So did the Tuesday lunchtime reveal (or Wednesday if there was a Bank Holiday Monday) and the Thursday evening Top Of The Pops only ever deal with the Top 20 in the BMRB era? I think the Sunday chart show would only mention up to position 40 in that era (though not necessarily play them all), and therefore 41-50 was a Music Week/Record Mirror only thing? Since the magazines came out towards the end of the week they could still just about influence that same sales week, but the majority of music buyers, I guess, didn't buy Music Week or Record Mirror in the first place, and the Sunday chart show being after the sales week ended means a play on that show could only influence the next chart but one if many listeners were then moved to go out and buy a new entry they had just heard below #20.

I think part of the increase in 'blip-starts' (a single dropping out in its second week then returning in week 3) from 1969 would presumably just be down to the new BMRB chart being the one that was now used for Radio 1 and TOTP, so now anything that poked into the bottom end would potentially get noticed, whereas in the pre-BMRB Record Retailer days it may not have done if it wasn't also popping into other magazines charts, since Record Retailer's chart wasn't widely referred to by music buyers, or typically displayed in record shops.

Sorry I'm probably just repeating what you said, but in different words...

Anyway I have tallied up some statistics today, covering 1952 to 1972 singles that dropped out immediately after their first week on chart.

tot = total number of singles that dropped out immediately after being a new entry
ow = number of one week wonders (i.e. singles that never returned)
w3 = number of singles that returned in week 3 (the blip-starters)
w4 = number of singles that returned in week 4
and so on...
w11+ = number of singles that returned later than week 10 [all cases so far actually returned over a 100 weeks later, and sometimes more than 1000 weeks later]

year tot ow w3w4 w5w6 w7w8 w9w10w11+
1952 07 03 02 02 00 00 01 00 00 00 00
1953 29 15 08 02 02 02 00 00 00 00 00
1954 21 10 08 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 01
1955 35 27 03 02 01 01 00 00 00 01 00
1956 45 27 05 07 03 00 00 02 00 00 01
1957 27 19 03 03 00 01 00 00 01 00 00
1958 29 19 08 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00
1959 38 24 07 04 01 00 01 00 00 00 01
1960 89 65 18 01 01 01 00 02 00 00 01
1961 41 28 12 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00
1962 18 15 02 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1963 16 11 03 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00
1964 15 12 01 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1965 22 14 04 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 02
1966 34 22 09 01 00 00 01 00 00 00 01
1967 17 03 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 01
1968 15 13 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1969 23 11 09 01 00 00 01 00 00 00 00
1970 21 09 10 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 01
1971 23 09 13 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1972 15 06 06 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00

Obviously 1952's data isn't terribly significant given there were only 7 chart weeks (and the last of those yields no data here due to it being repeated in the week when no chart was compiled).

There are a relatively huge number of records in the data for 1960. I think that's partly because of the extension of the chart from 30 to 50 places, and partly is down to the early teething problems the new Record Retailer chart had due to its low sample size.

So blip-starts had been happening here and there prior to 1969, especially 1953-4, 1958-61 and 1966, but by 1969 they (so far) either equal or exceed the number of one week wonders, rather than the latter significantly outweighing the former.

I haven't searched for all the blip-starts from 1973 onwards yet, but I have already identified all the one week wonders up to early 1983, so do know that there are relatively few one week wonders between 1973 and the Top 75 beginning in 1978, so it would be difficult for the blip-starts to not exceed the one week wonders in those years too.

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd February 2020, 08:41 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 119

We start today with a bonus. Al Martino's Spanish Eyes initially entered the charts at #49 in w/e 22/08/1970. It then removed itself from the One Week Wonder list by returning to the chart for 21 weeks in 1973, peaking at #5. Here he his singing the song on German television back in 1967.


The first genuine one week wonder today is The Seagull's Name Was Nelson, which was at #45 on w/e 7th November 1970, and was the only week of chart action for Peter E Bennett and The Co-operation Choir.


Next up is Shirley Bassey with The Fool On The Hill, which was at #48 on w/e 2nd January 1971.


Finally for today we have Melanie, who had previously debuted in the singles chart on w/e 26th September 1970 with Ruby Tuesday, which reached #9, and remained on chart until w/e 26th December 1970, before re-entering at #43 on w/e 43 on w/e 9th January 1971. Then something strange happens. The same disc, Buddah 2011 038, is listed at #39 in the chart for the w/e 16th January 1971, but this time it's the other side of the disc, What Have They Done To My Song Ma, which was listed, and was thus reckoned to be a new entry, it then dropped out the charts the week after never to return, so becomes a one week wonder. I'm not entirely sure if the public genuinely started asking for the other side in that last week on chart, or if they had been asking for it the week before when it re-entered and the chart hadn't picked up on that, or if in fact it was a compilation mistake on that final week that led to the wrong side being listed, but the chart as it stands makes this a one week wonder. I do know that the New Seekers version of the same song entered for a week at #48 on w/e 17/10/70, and re-entered at 44 for a further week on 31/10/70. Early versions of Guinness show both the Melanie version and the New Seekers version (on a 2nd re-entry) as being at #39 in w/e 16th January 1971, but later editions show only two weeks for the New Seekers version, rather than 3, and only shows Melanie getting as high as #39. Another point of confusion I noticed when looking for the youtube video is that the title varies, even across multiple official uploads, between What Have They Done To My Song Ma and Look What They've Done To My Song Ma.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 23rd February 2020, 09:16 PM

Yes, but adding to it. Top of the Pops was a Top 20 or Top 30 show. Radio 1 counted down a Top 20 on Sunday afternoon (Top 40 from1978).



They rotated through shops each week that they would use and you can almost see that I the early EP charts. For example Nat King Cole EP has an odd chart run. Starting 28 May it moves 14-OUT-2-4-4 etc and their are others. Albums does the same with Songs for Swinging Sellers going 7 May - 7-7-15-5-13-3-8-OUT-18-10

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th February 2020, 06:30 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 120

Today's first single is the second final time in the UK charts for Edison Lighthouse, one year after their charttopper Love Grows. It's Up To You Petula was at #49 on w/e 30th January 1971.


In February and March 1971 there was a postal strike, at a time when chart data was collected in little sales diaries posted on Sunday to the BMRB. Obviously this was a major headache for the continuation of the charts. They found alternatives ways of getting the singles data, and were able to collect enough for a top 40 rather than the usual top 50, though they ceased the album chart until the stike was over. Weeks ending 6th February 1971 to 20th March 1971 are thus only Top 40s. In the first of those weeks Grand Funk Railroad gained its only week of Uk chart action at #40 with Inside Looking Out, who know's if they would have another week or more if the 41-50 portion of the chart had existed in those weeks. This must also be one of the longest singles ever, at not far off 10 minutes.


In 1970 Edwin Starr had a number three hit with the protest song War, which was also a US charttopper. The follow-up Stop The War Now was at #33 on w/e 20th March 1971

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th February 2020, 08:06 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 121

We are only too aware now of what damage pollution has done to our planet, but our first song today was an anti-pollution song from 1971, so we've known for at least 50 years that we ought to change our ways. The single is Why by Roger Whittaker, which was at #47 on w/e 3rd April 1971. It's one of at least ten distinct songs called Why that have entered the singles chart, the most successful being the one that was a charttopper for Anthony Newley and later a big hit for Donny Osmond. Interestingly the b-side of this Roger Whittaker single features his cover of the Ralph McTell song Streets Of London, which at the time was purely a track on Ralph's 1969 album Spiral Staircase, but would later be a hit single in 1974 when he himself re-recorded it.

NB the above video uses what I assume is the recorded single, with a more orchestral sound. The below link is from a live performance on European television (Swedish I think?) which is more gentle sounding than the above one, which I think suits the song more.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMyjbjmQZ2w

The next entry on our One Week Wonder list was the first 7" release on the BBC's own label, with the catalogue number BBC RESL 1, which was at #49 in the same week as Roger Whittaker's single above. The artist is variously referred to as Early Music Consort, Early Music Consort Of London, and David Munrow (the conductor behind them) and the release is either 'Theme from The Six Wives Of Henry VIII' if you believe some books, 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII' if you believe the record sleeve, or 'Henry VIII Suite (EP)' if you believe at least one other book. From what I can gather it contains various musical pieces that were used to at least some extent on the acclaimed Spring 1970 BBC2 series Six Wives Of Henry VIII, though whether or not one of the six tracks on the EP was the actual theme (as in what was heard over the opening credits) I don't know. The series had been granted a repeat run on BBC1 in Jan/Feb 1971, and so this release would appear to be off the back of that. The series didn't enter the Network Top 20 television charts in either the original BBC2 run or the BBC 1 run, so I can't tell if it would have gained more viewers the second time around, having been promoted to the main channel, and if this was the impetus for releasing the music on vinyl. Sadly I can't find any trace of the music on video streaming or audio streaming services of any kind, and I also cannot find any uploads of any of the original episodes on any video steaming site either, so cannot provide a link to anything other than the discogs entry I'm afraid. Please do let me, and everyone who reads this, know if you are aware of anywhere online that we can hear this music, or see part or all of an episode.
https://www.discogs.com/The-Early-Music-Consort-The-Six-Wives-Of-Henry-VIII/master/1036509

Finally we end with Anglo Trinidadian duo Mac and Katie Kissoon, and their version of the Middle Of The Road charttopper Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. It was at #41 on w/e 19th June 1971. The duo had to wait for 3.5 years to have another hit, Sugar Candy Kisses, which hit #3 in 1975, and would go on to have a further three hits in the 18 months after Sugar Candy Kisses.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st March 2020, 02:57 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 122

First up is Mary Hopkin, who was at #46 on w/e 30th July 1971 with Let My Name Be Sorrow. It'd be almost five years before she had one final single in the charts, If You Love Me (I Won't Care) which charted in March 1976 and reached #32.


We skip over The Carpenters' Merry Christmas Darling, which originally had a week at #45 on w/e 1st January 1972, as it returned to the charts when it was reissued in 1990, and instead look at #47 the same week, which was comedian Charlie Drake with Puckwudgie. This was Charlie's 5th and final single to reach the single's chart, coming just over 11 years after his fourth, My Boomerang Won't Come Back.


Finally we have a bit of a two for one with our last single of this episode. The musical Jesus Christ Superstar debuted in 1970 as a concept album, and Murray Head, as Judas, sang Superstar, a track that was initially released as a single in late 1969, ahead of the album, but didn't chart here. By 1972 a 4 track 'maxi-single' was released of tracks from the album, and the chart chose to list two of them together, by different artists. So alongside Murray Head's Superstar was Yvonne Elliman, as Mary Magdalene, singing I Don't Know How To Love Him. The maxi-single was at #47 on w/e 29th January 1972.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st March 2020, 03:32 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 123

We start this episode with the Henry Mancini theme tune to the western crime drama series Cade's County, which was airing on ITV on Wednesdays, immediately after Coronation Street. It picked up UK viewing audience of around 6 to 7 million homes, and the highest rated one I can find (I have a lot, though not all, TV ratings charts of the 70s) was on Wednesday 26th April 1972, which had an audience of 7.4m homes (about 16.3 million people probably). Henry's theme was at #42 on w/e 25th March 1972, and he wouldn't chart again until the Main Theme from the Thorn Birds got him back in the charts in February 1984.


A few places lower in the same week, at #47 were Christie with their 3rd and final charting single Iron Horse.


At this point we skip over another Carpenters' single, I Won't Last A Day Without You, which initially charted for one week at #49 on w/e 29th September 1972, but due to the quirk that the chart listed only it for one week of the disc's overall run, and only the other side, Goodbye To Love, for the other 15 weeks of the disc's run. In any case I Won't Last A Day Without You was eventually reissued in 1974 reaching #32, hence why we are skipping it.

The final single for this episode is Millie Jackson's debut on the UK charts with My Man, A Sweet Man, which was at #50 on w/e 18th November 1972. Millie would have to wait until March 1984 to chart again, with I Feel Like Walkin' In The Rain.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st March 2020, 04:24 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 124

We start with New World's 5th and final UK charting single, Rooftop Singing, which was at #50 on w/e 12th May 1973.


Next is another single released to tie in with an FA Cup Final. This time the 1975 final, a London derby between West Ham and Fulham. In the run up to match Tony Rees and The Cottagers released Viva El Fulham, a version of Sylvia's Y Viva Espana with new lyrics referencing the club's manager and player's. The claim 'this year we're gonna win the cup' within the lyrics proved wrong though, and nearly million people watched on 3rd May 1975, split between the two main channels, as West Ham beat Fulham 2-0. They may not have won the match, but they did at least get the single to #46 for w/e 10th May 1975, and it's probably no suprise it didn't make a second week.


And we then move forward a whole year to another Cup final single. This time the match was between Manchester United and Southampton and about 23 million people watched it across both main channels on 1st May 1976. The single was by Manchester United Footbal Club and called Manchester United, which does make it rather tricky to search for in the online era, but would I suppose have sufficed in the seventies. It's the work of Tony Hiller, who co-wrote Brotherhood of Man's singles, though I'm not entirely sure if he wrote this, or just produced it, as he claims (double) writing credit for it on his website, but in the description for this video, uploaded by him, he says that Martin Buchan wrote it and he produced it, so even the man himself seems to be contradictory about it. The single reached #50 on w/e 8th May 1976. The match would end in a shock upset, as second division Southampton beat Manchester United, so again it's no surprise that single only got one week on chart. Perhaps the moral here should be to spend less energy on the official single, and more time planning for the actual match...

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st March 2020, 04:42 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 125

The first single for this episode is the only week of UK chart action for Liverpudlian band Buster, who were at #49 on w/e 19th June 1976 with Sunday. They had several more hits in Japan though.


Next up Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes are Reaching For The World, which was at #48 on w/e 2nd April 1977. It was another 7 years, in April 1984, when they charted again, with Don't Give Me Up.


Finally for this episode we have the only week of chart action for Garnet Mimms and Truckin' Company, with What It Is, which was at #44 on w/e 25th June 1977.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st March 2020, 05:10 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 126

First up is Southern Comfort by Opportunity Knocks winner Berni Flint, whose first single, I Don't Want To Put A Hold On You, had reached #3 earlier in 1977. Despite Tony Blackburn's enthusiastic prediction in the intro of the video below, Southern Comfort managed one week at #48 on w/e 23rd July 1977, and was the last time he reached the charts. Here's a TOTP performance, but as that would have been re-recorded with the TOTP orchestra (as per the shows rules in that era) I also have put a link underneath to a rip from the original record, albeit taken from a rather scratched copy apparently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3KJZLPbMA

Next is the second and last charting single for Delegation, who were at #49 on w/e 20th August 1977, with You've Been Doing Me Wrong. Again here's a TOTP performance, and link underneath for the original single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZuzj2bVZCw

Finally for today is the fourth and final charting single by Joe Dolan, I Need You, which reached #43 on w/e 17th September 1977. His biggest single was his first, Make Me An Island, which reached #3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot4KBQlpQMQ

Posted by: paulgilb 1st March 2020, 12:30 PM

Petula Clark also had a version of I Don't Know How To Love Him in the chart at the same time (also peaking at #47 but managing 2 weeks).

There seems to be a bit of theme in these last few posts of artists who would not chart again until 1984 - Murray Head is another, reaching #12 in that year with One Night In Bangkok.

One thing that has surprised me about this thread is how few tracks there are with only 1 week on the chart (obviously there will be a lot more in the 1990s and 2000s).

Posted by: jimwatts 1st March 2020, 01:41 PM

Even with the chart rules that existed at the time, I would never have guessed there were as few as 4 one-week hits in the whole of 1973-1976, and 2 of those were FA Cup songs!

Posted by: DanChartFan 2nd March 2020, 11:41 PM

I found it truly amazing how few there were during the mid 70s when I did the original research. I think that around late 1972 or early 1973 might be the time when Woolworths was added to the panel of record shops used for the chart (or was it WHSmiths?), which slowed the chart down and led to a new rule that stipulated some exclusions in the 41-50 section right up until the Top 75 was instigated in 1978. I'd guess that some records that otherwise would have been sub 50 in second and subsequent weeks, (or maybe in week one if it took a week for word of mouth to spread and the single to peak) benefitted from the number of singles being excluded in the 41-50 section and were thus pulled upwards into the chart on at least one more week than they otherwise would have got, thus not being a one week wonder, when on a strictly sales-based chart they may have been.

Posted by: DanChartFan 3rd March 2020, 12:49 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 127

We start this episode with a punk group called Jet Bronx and The Forbidden, who had their only week of UK chart action at #49 on w/e 17th December 1977 with Ain't Doin' Nothin'. The band's guitarist was (and also is, in its current incarnation, The New Forbidden) TV presenter Loyd Grossman.


The week after was the Xmas chart, and was then followed by a week when no new chart was compiled, so it is standard chartology practice to repeat the previous week's chart. The first new chart compiled thereafter, for week ending 7th January 1978 was restricted to a Top 30, with the Top 50 being resumed the week after. On the OCC website however there is a full top 50 in the week when only a Top 30 was compiled, which has been achieved by identifying the records from the previous week's chart that were not in the new 30 and slotting them in in the order they appeared (though not necessarily at the position they appeared) on that previous week's chart. My initial feeling was that this was misleading and essentially the bottom 20 positions were 'wrong', but then when I though about it a bit more I realised that the only difference between the choice to repeat the xmas Top 50 to fill the gap when there was no new year chart, and the choice to flesh out the restricted Top 30 by inserting the drop out from the previous week, is that the former has been seen as standard practice in chart books since at least 1978, before my birth, and the latter hasn't. I mean essentially they are both a form of 'making up' chart positions, albeit with some form of method that is informed by other exisiting chart data. It's left me wondering if I was wrong to exclude from the my 'official' one week wonder list the 'two week wonders' and 'three week wonders' caused by repeated charts. Anyway I mention all this because the chart situation over christmas and new year 77-78 does cause a three week wonder from one week of sales, in the form of Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life, which is thus a bonus song for this episode.


Next up we have another punk-influenced single, albeit by an act that somewhat predates the late 70s punk explosion, having had their first single (well EP technically) Big Six on chart in 1972. The band is Judge Dread, and the single is a double A-side of Up With The Cock and Big Punk which was at #49 on w/e 14th January 1978. [NB I Can censor one of the words in that first title if Mods want me to, and change the first video from embedded to a ordinary link, so the title can't be seen that way either, but I'm hoping that in the historical context of this thread, and given the song's lyrics are written in the form of an innocent story using phrases that could be taken to mean more adult things, that this title will be OK as is.]



Finally for this episode is the third and final charting single by the Biddu Orchestra, led by Indian-born producer Biddu Appaiah. Journey To The Moon was at #41 on w/e 11th Febuary 1978.

Posted by: Robbie 3rd March 2020, 07:16 AM

As we're now close to the start of the top 75 chart era it'll be interesting to see if the Biddu Orchestra, at #41, achieve the highest placed "one week wonder" chart position for the period where exclusion rules applied to the 41-50 part of the top 50 chart (12 July 1975 to 6 May 1978).

Posted by: King Rollo 3rd March 2020, 12:19 PM

That's an interesting combination of Indian instruments and a disco production on the Biddu Orchestra record. The two Judge Dread songs made me smile.

Posted by: DanChartFan 3rd March 2020, 02:06 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 128

We start today with the only week of UK single's chart action for Sidney Devine, whose Scotland Forever EP was at #48 on w/e 1st April 1978. The EP's lead track was Scotland Forever, but there were also three other tracks, Scots Wha' Hae, Flowers Of Scotland and Scottish Trilogy, the latter of which was a medley of Auld Lang Syne, Loch Lomond and Amazing Grace.


Next up we have the second of three charting singles for Stargard. Love Is So Easy was at #45 on w/e 15th April 1978.


At this point we see another big change to the chart as on w/e 13th May 1978 it became a Top 75, and therefore the majority of one week wonders from this point on will chart even lower, and be even more obscure than thus far. And to answer Robbie's question, yes Biddu Orchestra was the highest placed one week wonder during the era when exclusion rules were applied to the 41-50 section. In fact you have to go back to 1971 to find one at that position or higher.

Our final single today is Hold Your Horses, Babe by Celi Bee and The Buzzy Bunch, which was at #72 on w/e 17th June 1978. It was Celie Bee and The Buzzy Bunch's only week of UK chart action. In the US Celi, real name Celida Ines Comacho, had had a #3 hit in 1977 with Superman, from the film of the same name, and had several other hits.

Posted by: Riser 9th March 2020, 01:03 AM

A definite surprise to see 'You Light Up My Life' here, considering its monstrous success in the US with 10 weeks at #1!

Apologies if I missed an earlier explanation, but what was the exclusion rule you're referring to here?

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th March 2020, 05:49 AM

You Light Up My Life is an odd one, it has one genuine week on chart, then that chart is repeated to cover the week when no chart was compiled, then when a new chart is compiled it is a Top 30 only for one week, so a false 31-50 has been created on the OCC site, using the ordering of the repeated chart, so the OCC shows it as 3 weeks on chart. It's hard to say whether it would have got a least one more genuine week had full charts been compiled for those weeks, but still a marked contrast, as you say, to its performance in the US.

I'm writing this from memory, having seen it discussed either here or on digitalspy some time ago, so I could be remembering wrong but somewhere in the early 1970s Woolworths started supplying their sales data to the BMRB to be included in the charts. They sold a lot of singles, including, I presume, holding stock of older singles after the smaller record shops had sold through, so the inclusion of their data had the effect of slowing the chart down, and of causing bigger and more middle of the road singles to stay in the charts longer, at the expense of smaller and more niche hits who would struggle to even break into the Top 50. The BMRB eventually decided to apply an exclusion rule to the 41-50 positions by striking out (i.e. listing without a numbered position) any single that was below the pure sales Top 40 and had dropped in sales for, I think, three weeks. This effectively makes the 41-50 a bit like a Breakers section in that era. I believe this exclusion rule wasn't publically acknowledged at the time (the BBC only using the Top 40 anyway, and Record Retailer and Record Mirror presumably never mentioned it), so it only emerged in the internet era that it had happened.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 9th March 2020, 06:54 AM

It was actually mentioned on the chart. See the scan below. It’s on very small text at the bottom right hand side of the chart.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tjs8ivt8hyc8lt6/1975-07-12%20-%20Single%20-%20Music%20Week.jpg?dl=0

Singles previously listed between positions 41-50 are excluded if sales and position have declined for two consecutive weeks.”

Posted by: DanChartFan 9th March 2020, 09:33 AM

That's interesting, but I notice two things that have me wondering about it. One is that it mentions singles 'previously listed' between 41-50, and the other is that the small print is shown under the heading 'Star Breakers see page 4', which creates the impression to me that the rule applies to the Star Breakers section, and that any records that had previously been in the 41-50 section were excluded from reappearing in the star breakers, though that rule would then beg the question of if there was a different rule for anything that had previously made the Top 40, or at least for anything that fell directly from the Top 40 to below 50. But then I guess 'previously listed' could instead refer to previous chart practice rather than individual singles which had already been on chart, and the reference to Star Breakers may not have been intended to be a heading. I checked a scan of Record Mirror from the same week, http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1975/28%20-%2012%20July%20-%20RM%20Singles%20Albums.jpg , which has no equivalant note, but does show the Star Breakers list, which oddly enough was topped by Ricky Valance's Tell Laura I Love Her.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th March 2020, 04:26 PM

Sorry for the wait since the last episode. Gonna try to catch up again.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 129

First up is Devo, who were at #71 on w/e 12th August 1978.


One week later and the Patti Smith Group were at #72 with Privilege (Set Me Free).


Finally for this episode is the only week of UK chart action for Platinum Hook, with Standing On The Verge (Of Getting It On), which was at #72 on w/e 2nd September 1978.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th March 2020, 04:54 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 130

All three of this episode's acts were experiencing their only week of UK chart action. First up we have Sarr Band and Magic Mandrake, which was at #68 on w/e 16th September 1978.


Then we have Cirrus and Rollin' On, which was at #62 on w/e 30th September 1978. This song had been used in a Yorkie advert, with some lyrics changed, and was released at this time on chocolate brown vinyl for that reason.

or as it sounded on the advert.


Finally we have Aquarian Dream with You're A Star, which was at #67 on 24th February 1979.

Posted by: DanChartFan 11th March 2020, 05:37 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 131

We start by skipping over Karen Young's Hot Shot, which had a week at #75 on 24th February 1979, as this was a reissue of a single that had charted the previous year. We also skip over two candidates for the list from w/e 14th April 1979. The first, at #64 was a reissue of Bobby Darin's 1959 charttoppers Dream Lover and Mack The Knife as a double a-side. The other, at #66, was another double a-side, pairing up the 1958/9 #2 hit To Know Him Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears with Jody Reynold's Endless Sleep, the latter of which was a million selling #5 hit in the US, but had never charted in this country previously. Endless Sleep was the forerunner to a run of other 'death songs' in the years that followed, and was Jody's only week of Uk chart action in 1979, albeit probably with more than a little help from the much better know other side of the disc, so I include it here as a bonus.


Our three true one week wonders in this episode are from w/e 9th June 1979. The first, at #72 is Out In The Dark/Cyanide by The Lurkers.



Next, at #73, is Women In Uniform, which is the only week of chart action for Skyhooks.


And finally tied at #74 was J Geils Band with One Last Kiss. This was their first time on chart, and the next time they reached the singles chart was in February 1982, with Centrefold, which got as far as #3.

Posted by: Robbie 11th March 2020, 06:14 PM

The rule was aimed at records that otherwise would have been placed between numbers 41 to 50. The wording in Music Week is a bit ambiguous but at the point the rule was introduced (from the chart dated 12 July 1975) the chart compiler BMRB issued an announcement:
I assume this announcement appeared on the actual chart report that was produced each week and which was sent to all music industry subscribers. The Music Week Industry Yearbook 1977-78, published in early 1977, explained how the rule worked:



There's a thread about this exclusion rule (which ended when the top 50 was expanded to a top 75 on 13 May 1978) at ukmix: https://www.ukmix.org/forum/chart-discussion/chart-analysis/38245-70s-chart-bombshell-do-we-disregard-numbers-41-50

Incidentally Radio 1 only used the top 30 part of the chart up to 6 May 1978 rather than the top 40 as you mentioned in your earlier post. When the main chart expanded to a top 75 on Tuesday 9 May 1978 (chart dated 13 May 1978) Radio 1 began to count down the top 40 part of the chart.

Posted by: DanChartFan 14th March 2020, 08:25 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 132

First up is Franco-Romanina composer Vladimir Cosma's David's Song, which was the theme to the 1979 HTV co-production of Kidnapped, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same name, which aired between April and June 1979 on ITV, but didn't reached the National Top 20 TV charts. It charted at #64 on w/e 14th July 1979, and was his only week of UK chart action.


Staying with the same chart week we have Light Of The World at #72 with Midnight Groovin'.


Finally for this episode it's the third and final UK hit for the Rezillos, who had come to fame with the song Top Of The Pops, which criticised the music show on which they were then asked to perform that single. Can't Stand My Baby and I Wanna Be Your Man had actually been the first single they released in 1977, but had missed the charts and was now being reissued. It charted at #71 on w/e 18th August 1979. I Wanna Be Your Man was the Lennon McCartney song that had been a #12 hit for the Rolling Stones in 1963-4.

Posted by: DanChartFan 14th March 2020, 08:44 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 133

We start with the fifth and final charting single for the Lurkers, New Guitar In Town, which was at #72 on w/e 17th November 1979.


Then we have the only week of chart action for Lori and the Chameleons, who were at #70 on w/e 8th December 1979 with Touch.


And staying with the same chart week for the final song of this episode, we have Dr Feelgood at #73 with Put Him Out Of Your Mind. This was his last single to reach the Top 75, although a couple of singles reached #93 and #97 respectively in 1986 and 1989.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 16th March 2020, 01:11 PM

I liked that song by Lori & The Chameleons. We seem to be getting a mix of punk,new wave and disco now as the 70s come to a close.

My Guinness Book Of Hit Singles is showing 2 weeks on the chart for that Rezillos double A side single.

Posted by: jimwatts 16th March 2020, 02:35 PM

I Can't Stand My Baby is brilliant, one of the first songs here that's on my iPod, but yes it did re-enter for a week at #75 according to the OCC.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 16th March 2020, 07:55 PM

Yes, the original Guinness Hits Book lists as only one week, but it did indeed chart again at number 75

First week scan
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y6knw6wtwxtswap/1979-08-18%20-%20Single%20-%20Music%20Week.jpg?dl=0

Second Week scan
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dljf0919hvstd3m/1979-09-01%20-%20Single%20-%20Music%20Week.jpg?dl=0

These errors where understandable in early books, but I don't understand what they listed in it's place as I can't search them as easily as more modern books.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th March 2020, 11:07 PM

Oh phooey! I used the 3rd edition of Guinness' Hit Singles to compile my initial list from 1952 up to the end of 1980, so that's how the error came into being, but in theory I've been cross-referencing against other sources, including the OCC website, which does show it on 2 weeks, so I've no idea how I missed that. I'll have to put four singles in the next episode to make up for it then.

Posted by: Robbie 17th March 2020, 11:34 PM

I loved (still do in fact) 'Touch' by Lori & The Chameleons. I bought the 7" in November 1979 and a 12" remix in November 1981.

One third of Lori & Tee Chameleons was Bill Drummond who would later go on to be one half of KLF and its various incarnations such as The Timelords. Lori was Lori Lartley who seems to have vanished from the music scene as quickly as she arrived. The third member was David Balfe who had previously been a member of Dalek I (who featured pre OMD Andy McCluskey) and Big In Japan (along with Drummond as well as Holly Johnson, Ian Broudie and Peter Clarke who would later marry Siouxsie (of the & The Banshees fame). Balfe then joined Teardrop Explodes. After leaving Teardrop Explodes he set up Food Records and signed Blur.

For an act that is largely consigned to being a footnote in chart history (one week in the top 75), Lori & The Chameleons had two very influential people in the band.

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th March 2020, 11:39 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 134

First up is Woman's World by the Jags, which was at #75 on w/e 2nd February 1980. Their only other charting single was Back Of My Hand, which reached #17 in 1979.


Next up is the first of 4 charting singles for Christopher Cross. Ride Like The Wind was at #69 on w/e 19th April 1980. Two other versions of the song have also charted, a metal version by Saxon which reached #52 in 1988, and a dance version by East Side Beat, which was a #3 hit in 1991.


Then we have the first of many charting singles for Echo and the Bunnymen. Rescue was at #62 on w/e 17th May 1980.


Finally for this episode we have Sweet Danger by Angelwitch, which was at #75 on w/e 7th June 1980, and was their only week of UK chart action.

Posted by: Bré 17th March 2020, 11:48 PM

I've only heard of Christopher Cross following the revelation that he was the only act until Billie Eilish this year to win all 4 of the main Grammy awards in the same year. Makes you wonder if Billie might end up being a footnote in musical history a few decades from now as well. x

Posted by: DanChartFan 17th March 2020, 11:54 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 135

We start this episode with the only week of UK chart action for Charlie Harper, whose Barmy London Army was at #68 on w/e 19th July 1980.


Next up is Stretchin Out by Gayle Adams, which was at #64 on w/e 26th July 1980. Just over four years later, in October 1984, she reached #86 with I'm Warning You.


And we end this episode with The Zoo by The Scorpions, which was at #75 on w/e 20th September 1980. They would go on to have a #2 hit with Wind Of Change in 1991.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th March 2020, 12:31 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 136

On 24th August 1980 Slade found themselves unexpectedly playing the 20th Reading Festival, after Gary Moore’s G-Force and Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz had both pulled out of the line-up. It proved to be the stimulus for a revival of the band’s fortunes. The performance was recorded by the BBC, and Tommy Vance began to play the recordings on his show, creating a demand for them, so they were soon released on EPs. The first, Alive At Reading, entered the charts on w/e 18th October 1980, and peaked at #44. The second one was called The Xmas Ear Bender, which charted for one week on w/e 27th December 1980 at #70, and contained three more tracks, Merry Xmas Everybody, Okey Cokey and Get Down And Get On It. The third of those tracks was a genuine Reading performance, but Okey Cokey was their 1979 studio recording with audience noise added to fit the other two tracks on the EP. Merry Xmas Everybody was a mere 40 seconds long, and was the result of the band challenging the crowd at Reading to sing the song. Yes they literally recorded their audience then sold the recording back to them! Anyway the chart books don’t bother to mention the EP, and merely list the entry as ‘Merry Xmas Everybody (re-recording)’, albeit credited to Slade and The Reading Choir (the latter being a jokey name for the crowd). The EP was a two week wonder, as the xmas chart was repeated to fill the gap due to no new chart being compiled for the following week, so it is at best a bonus here.



The first proper one week wonder for this episode is by Cloud, who were at #72 on w/e 31st January 1981 with the double a-side All Night Long/Take It To The Top, which was there only single to chart.



The we have 999 with Obsessed, which was at #71 on w/e 16th May 1981.


And finally for this episode we have The Modettes with Tonight, which was at #68 on w/e 18th July 1981.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th March 2020, 01:00 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 137

Another Xmas, another repeated chart to cover a non-compiled one, and two more singles become two week wonders in the weeks ending 26th December 1981 and 2nd January 1982. Fogwell Flax and Ankle Biters from Freehold Junior School were at #68 with One Nine With Santa, whilst Johnny Mathis and Gladys Knight had a version of When A Child Is Born at #74.



Our first proper one week wonder in this episode is Tara's Theme from Gone With The Wind by the Rose Of Romance Orchestra, which was at #71 on w/e 9th January 1982. Unfortunately as with a previous BBC music release, The Theme from Henry VIII, I can't find any trace of this exact version of Tara's theme anywhere online, so feel free to let me know if you can find video or audio of it online anywhere.

If you use the OCC site to research these one week wonders you'd be forgiven for thinking the next one was Groove Baby Groove by the Stargazers, which according to the site had one week at #57 on w/e 6th February 1982. However I believe, after further research, that it was actually tied at #56 with Flashback by Imagination, then the following week one of those tied records was at #61 before climbing the week after that to #56. The OCC website shows the weeks at #61 and #56 as being the last two weeks for Imagination, but I'm fairly sure that the wrong record from the original tie has been credited with those two weeks, and that actually Groove Baby Groove had three weeks on chart.

Moving on we then have Vice Squad with Out Of Reach, which was at #68 on w/e 13th February 1982, and was their only week of chart action.


And we end this episode with Brandi Wells' only week of UK chart action with Watch Out at #74 on w/e 20th February 1982.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th March 2020, 01:15 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 138

We start this episode with the only week of UK chart action for Grand Prix, with Keep On Believin' at #75 on w/e 27th February 1982.


In 1982 German singer Nicole won the Eurovision Song Contest with Ein Bisschen Frieden (A Little Peace), which then became a UK #1. The follow up, Give Me More Time, spent a single week at #75 in w/e 21st August 1982.


Finally we have the first solo single for Robert Plant, following the disbanding of Led Zeppelin in 1980. Burning Down One Side was at #73 on w/e 9th October 1982.

Posted by: Robbie 18th March 2020, 09:42 AM

The one week wonders are coming thick and fast now but unlike the vast majority from before 1975 I know almost all of them.

The Mo-dettes included June Miles-Kingston who would later duet with The Communards on their 1986 number 1 hit 'Don't Leave Me This Way'.

It's also possible that Fogwell Flax appears on a 1986 number 1. He was one of the voices in Spitting Image in the mid 1980s so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he too features on their 1986 number 1 'The Chicken Song'.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 18th March 2020, 10:10 AM

The 70's was very much "my" decade - and I'm amazed at how few of the one-week wonders I actually know! It's not surprising when you think about it - back in those days, no internet, just radio and TV, TV had little pop music on it and radio was Radio 1 plus Radio Luxembourg, and that was it - if you didn't get playlisted you didn't get heard, barring teen pop slots of saturday morning kids TV and the like. Rosko's Roundtable selected new releases for pop stars to chat about each week - but invariably if they didn't get playlisted you never heard them again unless you had the record button waiting on a cassette or reel-to-reel.

Lori & The Chameleons was one I did know and liked, so it must have had some airplay

Light Up My Life was one that was well-played on US countdown shows and the odd variety show and was one I didn't especially rate. I place it way behind her dad Pat Boone's Speedy Gonzales

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 18th March 2020, 08:46 PM

Nicole must be the only chart act to have a no.1 and no.75 and nothing else. You posted the Grand Prix youtube video again instead of her song but I found it myself as I wanted to give it a listen. It wasn't too bad but I can understand it not being a bigger hit. It sounded more like 1972 than 1982.

Posted by: DanChartFan 18th March 2020, 10:24 PM

Oops sorry, the mistakes seem to be coming from me thick and fast this week. There is also a song I completely missed out a couple of episodes back that I have to mention in the next episode too.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 19th March 2020, 09:56 AM

Yes, the OCC website is wrong.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6lvzvyq3gvr0leh/1982-02-06%20-%20Single%20-%20Music%20Week.jpg?dl=0

The above shows two tied at 56 as you say, and the below

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3aj2z9humkyswpb/1982-02-13%20-%20Single%20-%20Music%20Week.jpg?dl=0

Shows that Grove Baby grove had it's second week on the chart at 61 the following week.

Record Mirror also showed as a tied 56, but I don't have the following weeks scan for them.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th March 2020, 03:01 PM

Guinness Hit Singles book also has it at 3 weeks...

Posted by: Robbie 19th March 2020, 04:03 PM

Record Mirror also has 'Groove Baby, Groove (EP)' at number 61 on the chart they published on 13/02/82.

Posted by: DanChartFan 19th March 2020, 07:47 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 139

We begin by correcting a third mistake I have made in the space of a week. Episode 137 should have begun with an EP called Don't Bring Me Down, which contained four live tracks, two by The Exploited, and two by Anti-Pasti. The EP was at #70 on w/e 5th December 1981.

#NB The linked video, featuring the full EP, contains strong language throughout. Do not hit play if it is likely to offend you#


Returning to 1982 again we carry on from where we left off last time.

First up The Mood who were at #74 on w/e 30th October 1982.


And concluding this episode with Gary Numan's former backing band Dramatis, who had previously been given equal billing with Gary on the #33 hit Love Needs No Disguise in late 1981, and now a year on, in w/e 13th November 1982 they had one week at #57 with I Can See Her Now. Maybe it's just me, but when the guitar kicks in it suddenly sounds similar to Poison by Alice Cooper, which was released a few years later.

Posted by: DanChartFan 19th March 2020, 08:58 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 140

There were no more one week wonders in 1982, and the repeated chart over christmas and new year doesn't throw up any bonus two week wonders, so we move on to the week ending 8th January 1983, and the first Gallup Top 100. The 76-100 wasn't a straight sales based listing, as singles that would be in that section but had been consistently dropping in sales and position were excluded to allow more upcoming hits to appear in that section. Nonetheless I've decided to embrace the full Top 100 at this point as it brings with it ever more obscure singles, and obscurity, whilst still technically charting, was the whole point of this thread. It will seem a little strange when we hit the point in 1991 when there is no public access to the full top 100, and it will make my research harder if I try to reinstate the 100 at the point when I can get them from ukmix (I think Sept 92?), rather than at the point in 1994 when they are returned on the OCC website, but the former issue is unavoidable, and as for the latter I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

We start by ignoring Snowman Melody by The Snowmen, which the OCC site shows at #57, as on closer inspection that turns out not to be a new release by them bu instead to actually be Xmas Party which had already been in the charts for the previous three weeks. We therefore start this episode with Nevada and In The Bleak Mid Winter at #71, which represents the only week of UK chart action for both that specific act, and the christmas carol in general.


We would then be listening to Loch Lomond by Runrig, which was at #86, were it not for the fact that a re-recorded, but fundamentally similar, version was issued to benefit Children In Need 25 years later in 2007 and reached #9. We therefore instead move to #92 and So Close To Me by Julio Iglesias.


And finally the first ever top 100 gives us our first one week wonder to spend its only week on chart at #100. It's Ozzy Osbourne with a live version of Symptom Of The Universe, a Black Sabbath track from a few years previously, though it wasn't a charting single as a Black Sabbath track.

Posted by: Robbie 19th March 2020, 09:54 PM

I quite like the Nevada version of 'In The Bleak Midwinter'. The band consisted of three members of Renaissance who had scored a top 10 hit in 1978 with the great 'Northern Lights'. One of Nevada's members is Peter Gosling. His son is Jake Gosling, a producer, songwriter, publisher and manager who is most closely associated with Ed Sheeran but who has also worked with a number of other acts. Peter played on a number of Ed's recordings while son Jake has co-wrote and produced many of them.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 19th March 2020, 10:41 PM

Yes,that version of In The Bleak Midwinter was lovely. I also liked the Dramatis track. One of the best songs I've heard on this thread so far.

Posted by: Bré 19th March 2020, 10:55 PM

Nevada seems to be the name of three different artists who have each only made the UK chart once.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th March 2020, 07:54 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 141

We start this episode with The Undertones, who were at #97 on w/e 29th January 1983 with The Love Parade.


Next up is Sensitive by Mick Karn, which was at #98 the same week, and was his chart debut.


Finally we have a TV tie-in single. The Boys From The Black Stuff was a five part Alan Bleasdale written series following a group of five Liverpudlian tarmac layers who had found themselves unemployed and were trying to find ways to eke out a living. The main character followed was Yozzer, played by Bernard Hill, whose catchphrases were 'Gis a job" and "I can do that!". The series was transmitted on BBC2 between Sunday 10th October 1982 and Sunday 7th November 1982. BARB were publising Top Tens by channel at this point, rather than the Network Top 20 of old, so the viewing figures can be found:
Episode 1 - Unknown as not in the top 10 (but less than 3.4m people)
Episode 2 - 4.45m (tied in 10th place with M*A*S*H)
Episode 3 - 4.85m (4th place for BBC2, only Kenny Everett, Smiley's People and Horizon are ahead now)
Episode 4 - 4.50m (now in tied 9th, but the other programme in the tie, and three above it are International Snooker coverage specific to this week)
Episode 5 - 3.90m (still 9th, despite no International Snooker clogging the chart this week)
The single is credited to Yosser's Gang and is called Gis A Job. It had one week at #100 on w/e 29th January 1983.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 20th March 2020, 08:23 PM

Great to see 'Sensitive' by Mick Karn is here. It's the first one week wonder to feature in my top 1000 songs of all time thread. I wonder if there will be any more. As my 459th favourite song,it's easily the best one week wonder so far. 'Sensitive' is a cover version (with different lyrics) of a song called 'La Distancia' by the Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos from 1972.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th March 2020, 09:09 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 142

First up for this episode is American duo Yarbrough and Peoples, aka Calvin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples. Their UK chart debut was back in the last week of 1980, with Don't Stop The Music, which went on to reach #7. This is their second charting single in the UK, Heartbeats, which was at #91 on w/e 19th February 1983, which happens to be the week of my birth!


Next is Leisure Process, who were experiencing their only week of UK chart action at #93 in the same week with Cash Flow.


Finally for this episode we have David, or to give her her full name Virginia David, who was previously a vocalist for the band Sailor of Glass Of Champagne fame. Here she attempts a solo career with Am I Normal? at #98 in the same week as the other two songs, but it would be her only week of solo UK chart action.

Posted by: DanChartFan 20th March 2020, 10:27 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 143

We start with two former members of Adam and The Ants, Gary Tibbs and Chris Merrick Hughes, under the guise Merrick and Tibbs, who had their only week of chart action in this guise at #95 on w/e 26th February 1983 with Call Of The Wild.


Next up is a Basildon based pop band called the Pinkees, who released four singles in 1982 and 1983. The second single, Danger Games, not only made the chart but peaked at #8. Their only other single to chart was their fourth and final one, I'll Be There, which had one week at #87 on w/e 5th March 1983.


And we end this episode with Pal Of My Cradle Days by Scottish singer Valerie Dunbar. She was at #91 on w/e 19th March 1983. Ann Breen had entered the chart with the same song a month before, and was at a peak position of #69 in the same week, eventually notching up 17 weeks on chart accross 5 runs in 1983 and 1984. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a youtube video, or any other online video, for Valerie's version, but Spotify to the rescue, so I can at least link to an audio version.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 20th March 2020, 11:16 PM

I didn't have long to wait then. 'Am I Normal?' by David is also in my top 1000. 1983 was the best year for music,in my opinion,so it's maybe not a surprise to see another of my favourites appear. This one is my 689th favourite song. A few people on here might remember I entered it into the pop forum song contest. It's another cover version,this time of a song by Eye To Eye.

'Sensitive' and 'Am I Normal?' were both played on Radio 1 a bit which is how I came to know them but that wasn't enough for them to be bigger hits.

Posted by: Bré 21st March 2020, 12:55 AM

I knew I recognised that David song from somewhere!

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st March 2020, 10:53 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 144

First up is Danse Society with Somewhere, which was at #94 on w/e 19th March 1983. It was the first of 6 top 100 singles for them, although only two made the top 75.


Next is Be With Me by Billy Griffin, which was the follow up to the #17 hit Hold Me Tighter In The Rain. Be With Me was at #99 on w/e 19th March 1983.


Finally for this episode is Wide Boy Awake, a short-lived band formed by former Adam and The Ants bassist Kevin Mooney. Bona Venture was at #99 on w/e 26th March 1983, and was their only week of UK chart action.

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st March 2020, 11:17 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 145

We start at #93 on w/e 9th April 1983, with a song about the female singer's choice of hosiery, it's Yorkshire's leading duo!


Next up are the Tremeloes with Words, which was at #91 on w/e 16th April 1983. In the same week the F.R. David version was at #8 and would go on to reach #2. Words came almost twelve years after the Tremeloes previous hit, Hello Buddy, had reached #32 in the summer of 1971, and they have never returned to the singles chart since.


And we end this episode with Fleetwood Mac, who were at #83 on w/e 23rd April 1983 with Can't Go Back.

Posted by: DanChartFan 21st March 2020, 11:38 PM

Yet again I've caught back up to where I would have been with a strict daily episode. Let's see if I can keep it that way this time....

The One Week Wonders - Episode 146

We start with Roger Whittaker's vocal version of Stranger On The Shore, which was at #95 on w/e 23rd April 1983. Stranger On The Shore had originally been a big hit in late 1961 and early 1962, reaching #2 according to the retrospectively official charts of Record Retailer, and #1 in all the other paper's charts, as well as being a million seller. There was also an Andy Williams version, with the same lyrics as Roger's, that reached #30 in summer 1962.


Next is the only week of UK chart action for Peter and The Test Tube Babies with Zombie Creeping Flesh, which was at #99 on w/e 23rd April 1983.


And finally for today is the second and last charting single for Pete Shelley. (Millions Of People) No One Like You was at #94 on w/e 7th May 1983. His previous single was Telephone Operator, which peaked at #66 earlier in 1983.

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd March 2020, 12:03 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 147

We start with a second charting single for Judie Tzuke. Black Furs was at #96 on w/e 21st May 1983. Her first charting single, Stay With Me Till Dawn, reached #16 in 1979.


Next up is the only week of UK chart action for Taco, whose version of Singin' The Rain reached #98 on w/e 4th June 1983. Other versions of Singin' In The Rain to chart over the years are Sheila and B Devotion (#11 in 1978), Mint Royale (#20 in 2005 and #1 in 2008), and Glee Cast ft Gwyneth Paltrow (#22 in 2011). A song of the same name by Gazebo (#78 in 1997) may also be the same song, but I couldn't find it online to check.


Finally for today we have the UK chart debut of Dead or Alive, with Misty Circles, which was as #100 on w/e 4th June 1983.

Posted by: Robbie 23rd March 2020, 07:46 AM

Surprisingly a lot of these top 100 entries are new to me. Given how closely I was following the charts back then and how often I listened to the radio I'm very surprised at how few songs I even know of let alone remember how they sounded.

Posted by: Robbie 23rd March 2020, 07:51 AM

'Black Furs' by Judie Tzuke is a strange one. It's not like her normal ballad type songs that I associate her with. It has an almost new wave / Kim Wilde vibe to it. 'Stay With Me Til Dawn' is still a great song as is her first single 'For You' which was a flop not just once or twice but three times. It was first released in June 1978 and then re-issued thre months later. After 'Stay With Me Til Dawn' charted it was re-issued again and again flopped. Shame as it really is a good song.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2020, 07:57 AM

Over half of these I dont know (or have forgotten) - but quite a few I bought and/or made my own Top 100 rundown (I gave that up after a few months and went back to 75, too much hard work!): Words, Am I Normal?, Can't Go Back, The Love Parade are the ones I still remember...

Posted by: DanChartFan 23rd March 2020, 08:08 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 148

First up tonight is BBC Breakfast's resident astrologer at the time, Russell Grant, with No Matter What Sign You are, which was at #87 on w/e 11th June 1983. The song was a cover of a Diana Ross and The Supremes song which reached #37 in 1969.


Next up would have been It's You, It's You, It's You by Joe Dolan which was at #100 on w/e 11th June 1983, but it went on to return to the chart for one week at #96 on w/e 11th November 1985. Instead our second track is Music by F.R. David, which was at #71 on w/e 18th June 1983. It was the follow up to his debut #2 hit Words, and was also his last UK charting single.


Finally today here is a song that to me seems familiar and yet at the same time not familiar. It's credited to Jane and is called It's A Fine Day. It was at #87 on w/e 25th June 1983, and it feels unfamiliar because it consists of a lone female vocal whose slightly ghostly voice is at odds with the happiness implied by the lyrics. The reason it seemed a little bit familiar is because of a dance version by Opus III, which I think uses a different vocalist, which got to #5 in 1992. Another dance version, which I think samples the original version, but in my opinion is clearly a distinct enough composition to the original to not jeopardise the original's one week wonder status, is credited to Miss Jane, and reached #61 in 1999.

Posted by: Bjork 24th March 2020, 12:29 PM

oh didn't know Opus III was a cover

love the melody in the original

Posted by: DanChartFan 24th March 2020, 04:38 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 149

We start with Frida of Abba fame, who was at #100 on w/e 25th June 1983 with Here We'll Stay.


Next up is the only week of UK chart action for Howard Devoto with Rainy Season at #97 on w/e 2nd July 1983.


Finally today it's the chart debut of Wang Chung who were at #92 on w/e 16th July 1983 with (Don't Be My) Enemy.

Posted by: DanChartFan 25th March 2020, 07:45 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 150

Our first single today is Cabaret Voltaire's uk chart debut, Just Fascination, which was at #94 on 23rd July 1983. It's the first of ten charting singles for them, all relatively small hits, and several one week wonders, so we shall be seeing more of them.


We then skip over the Chi-Lites double A-side Have You Seen Her/Oh Girl, which was at #100 on w/e 30th July 1983, as it is a reissue of two chart hits from 1972, and instead our second song today is Try Your Lovin' by Cashmere, which was at #99 on w/e 20th August 1983.


We end this episode with the only week of UK chart action for Project Future, whose Ray-Gun-Omics was at #99 on w/e 27th August 1983.

Posted by: DanChartFan 26th March 2020, 08:45 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 151

We start today with the only week of UK chart action for Patrick Gammon, with Do My Ditty, which was at #97 on w/e 3rd September 1983.


Next up is The Shadow Of Your Smile by D Train, which was at #88 on w/e 10th September 1983. It was D Train's 5th charting single, but although they made the chart on three occasions after this, those were all reissues of previous charting singles.


I'm then going to skip over Ryuichi's Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, from the film of the same name, which was charting at #93 on w/e 24th September 1983, as earlier in the same year a vocal version, Forbidden Colours, featuring David Sylvian had reached #15. The vocal version uses pretty much the same track as the instrumental, and both would have been made pretty much at the same time for the film, so I don't see them as different enough to allow the instrumental to be a true one week wonder. We instead end this episode with the first charting single for Queensryche. Queen Of The Reich was at #94 on w/e 24th September 1983.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 26th March 2020, 11:47 PM

Two ex-Buzzcocks in the recent bunch there.

Posted by: DanChartFan 27th March 2020, 06:46 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 152

We start today with the only week of UK chart action for the Natural Ites, with Picture On The Wall, which was at #97 on w/e 1st October 1983.


Next up is Get Out Of London by Intaferon, which was at #93 on w/e 8th October 1983. Intaferon followed this up with one other charting single, Steamhammer Sam, which reached #77.


The final one today would have been Give Me Your Life by Active Force, which was at #98 on w/e 8th October 1983, however it managed to notch up one more week on w/e 6th September 1986 at #99. Instead we have This Mortal Coil, a collection of musicians from the 4AD label, with 16 days, which is actual a medley of two songs, 16 Days and Gathering Dust. The single was at #100 on w/e 15th October 1983.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th March 2020, 12:39 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 153

We start this episode with the third charting single by New Edition, who had topped the charts with Candy Girl. Is This The End was at #83 on w/e 22nd October 1983.


Next at #87 in the same is the Gap Band, most well know for the #6 hit Oops Up Side Your Head. This is I'm Ready (If You're Ready).


And sticking with the same week also for the last one, we move down to #99 where we find Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross with How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye. Dionne had had a lot of hits already by this point, but this was only Luther's second charting single in the UK, after Never Too Much had reached #44 earlier in 1983.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th March 2020, 01:31 AM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 154

We start by skipping over My Perfect Cousin by the Undertones, which was at #88 on w/e 29th October 1983, because this was a reissue of a 1980 hit. Instead, at #94 in the same week was So Tired, the sixth and final charting single by Haircut 100.


And sticking with the same week we move down to #99 where we find the only week of uk chart action for the Flirtations with Earthquake.


We would have ended with Electric Boogie and Break Dancin', which was at #81 on w/e 5th November 1983, but the OCC incorrectly has Electric Boogie as the artist. The correct artist is West Street Mob and the single is called Electric Boogie - Breakdance or Breakdance - Electric Boogie or even Breakdancin' - Electric Boogie, I'm not entirely sure which is right, but knowing the correct artist has meant I have found another 4 weeks on chart credited entirely differently to the one week I had first identified. Instead we end tonight with the #91 from that week, Heavy Metal Love by Helix, which was their only week of Uk chart action.

Posted by: kingofskiffle 30th March 2020, 06:15 AM

Electric Boogie could stem from a very interesting error....

Long years ago (about 2009) the OCC ended up with a copy of my database as was at that time. I stripped out loads of data before letting them have it but it was still all the UK Singles and Album charts that are official. Of course if gathered from hundreds of different sources and not got anywhere near Verifying it all indeed I’m still only in 1983 in terms of doing that!
They have added this to their website as it saves them re-typing everything themselves. And how do I know it’s mine? Well errors like that as well as the other errors involving the missing label and numbers. Most entries from 1983-1991 that peaked between 76 and 100 don’t have a label and number. Go check out what is shown.

So a lot of the errors in 76-100 on the OCC website stem from my own data. Sorry about that.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th March 2020, 04:28 PM

No need to apologise Lonnie, it's not your fault they have taken unverified data from so long ago. I know that you work very hard to ensure the accuracy of your current database. I think there are only really 3 sources online for the 76-100 positions in 83-91, the original charts scans, the OCC and a thread on UKmix that I think you provided most/all of that data for. It's possible that the OCC used someone else's database, and that they had entered in those 76-100 positions from the UKmix thread.

Posted by: DanChartFan 30th March 2020, 05:00 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 155

All three singles today are from w/e 12th November 1983.

Today's first song is I Just Can't Walk Away by the Four Tops, which was at #95. It was on the Tamla Motown, which they appear to have stopped releasing singles on in 1972, moving to Probe for about a year then dropping away from the charts, so I assume this is Tamla Motown issuing old material years later, in the same way they had been doing with Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and others in the early 80s. This was the last chart entry of the Four Tops 1981-83 chart revival, but they would be in the charts with four more release in another chart revival in 1988-89, with the biggest being the #7 hit Loco In Acapulco.


Next up at #97 was the only week of chart action for the Haines Gang, with So Hot.


And finally for today is the return to the chart, after three years, of Ian Dury, who was at #98 with Really Glad You Came.

Posted by: Robbie 30th March 2020, 09:44 PM

Although the OCC database shows an entry for '16 Days' for This Mortal Coil at number 100 on the chart dated 15 October 1983 this is the same single as 'Song To The Siren' which is then listed as the title for subsequent weeks. Record Mirror lists the entry for 15/10/83 as '16 Days', Music Week lists the entry as 'Song To The Siren'. Both RM and MW list the same catalogue number of 4AD AD310. Record Mirror may have taken the title credit from the 12" version (4AD BAD310) which has '16 Days - Gathering Dust' as the A side with 'Song To The Siren' and '16 Days (Reprise)' on the B side. On the 7" only the last two tracks are on the single, as A and B side respectively.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 30th March 2020, 11:09 PM

The Four Tops track was a new track - they returned to Motown for a couple of albums in the 80s (this one was called Back Where I Belong).

I actually bought that Haircut 100 single on 12" recently, it's from the post Nick Heyward era but it's not a bad song.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 30th March 2020, 11:15 PM

I didn't know that Haircut 100 carried on with a different singer after Nick Heyward left. Looking at wiki,I see he was already part of the group. The same thing happened with Kajagoogoo at around the same time but unlike Haircut 100,they managed a couple of top 40 hits with Nick Beggs singing.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st April 2020, 07:47 PM

Oops didn't pick up on that one. Thanks for letting me know. Four songs in the next episode, to compensate, then...

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st April 2020, 08:40 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 156

Thank you Robbie for pointing out that one of the songs from episode 152 wasn't eligble as it had further weeks on chart that the OCC credits differently to the week I had found. There will now be four songs in this episode to compensate. We start on w/e 19th November 1983.

First up at #92 are The Walkers with Whatever Happened To The Party Groove, although the OCC site has taken 'Groove' from the end of the title and stuck it on the beginning of the act instead. The Walkers had one more charting single, Don't Waste My Time, which reached #76 in 1986.


Next, at #97, is the 9th of Modern Romance's 10 charting singles, Good Friday. Their final charting, in 1985, was The Best Mixe Of Our Lives, which I would presume was a remix of their #4 hit The Best Years Of Our Lives.


We then skip over the #99, The Same Old Song by KC and the Sunshine Band, as it is a re-release of a #47 hit from 1978, and instead we have the #100 song, Roman Candle, which is the only week of Uk chart action for Flesh For Lulu.


Finally we go forward a week, to w/e 26th November 1983, for the #99, Time For Some Fun, which is the 8th and final charting single by Central Line.

Posted by: DanChartFan 1st April 2020, 08:58 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 157

First up, at #90 on w/e 3rd December 1983 was Torment, the second and last charting single by Marc And The Mambas, Marc Almond's post-Soft Cell project. The first charting single, Black Heart, had reached #49 earlier in the year.


Moving down one place to #91 we have Midnight In Tokyo, the second of three charting singles for Y&T.


We then skip over Uncertain Smile by The The, which was at #100, as this was a re-issue of a #68 hit from the previous. We instead move forward to the w/e 17th December 1983, and to #90 where we find Michael Barrymore singing Kenny The Kangaroo. He had two other charting singles besides this, Do The Crab, which peaked at #81 in 1987, and Too Much For One Heart, which hit #25 in 1995.

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th April 2020, 09:37 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 158

Continuing where we left of, in w/e 17th December 1983, we move down to #100 and find Renee and Renato with their third and final charting single, Jesus Loves Us All.


The w/e 31st December 1983 was the last weekly chart that went uncompiled, so the previous chart was the last one to be repeated by chartologists to fill the gap. This means the last chance for two week wonders, and we have five of them:
#77 Joe Fagin - Breaking Away
#78 Brendan Shine - Thank God For Kids
#97 The Damned - There Ain't No Sanity Clause
#99 Men Without Hats - I Get The Message
#100 Hooray And The Henrys - All Stuck Up

Carrying on into 1984, w/e 21st January to be exact, we have Watusi Brothers with Bodwork at #95, their only charting single.


And at #97 the same week were the Three Degrees with Liar.

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th April 2020, 09:52 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 159

Continuing with w/e 21st January 1984 we find Luther Vandross at #100 with I'll Let You Slide.


A week later Jimmy Cliff was at #93 with We All Our One.


Finally, in w/e 4th February 1984, at #91 was Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway with Don't Box Me In. Stewart would have one more charting single in his own name, The Equalizer Busy Equalizing, which reached #96, whilst Stan had two more charting singles, including the #4 hit Camouflage.

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th April 2020, 10:23 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 160

First up for this episode is Shooting Shark by the Blue Oyster Cult which was at #97 on w/e 18th February 1984. Their only other charting singles was the #16 hit (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Shooting Shark was the first of six singles to reach the charts with Shark in the title, and I probably don't have to tell you which of those six was the most successful...


Next up, at #99 in the same week with their only UK chart action are Indians In Moscow with Naughty Miranda.


Also having their only week of UK chart action, despite having many number ones in the US and Canada, were Alabama, who were at #91 on w/e 25th February 1984 with Feels So Right.

Posted by: DanChartFan 5th April 2020, 10:38 PM

The One Week Wonders - Episode 161

We start this episode with the only week of chart action for Trans Lux, who were at #97 on w/e 3rd March 1984 with Big Apple Noise.


Next is Quiet Riot, with their second and last charting single, Bad Boy, which was at #91 on w/e 17th March 1984.


Finally for tonight, at 92 in the same week were Cutting Edge, enjoying their only week of chart action with Dancing With The Rebels.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 5th April 2020, 10:59 PM

I know it's off-topic but that Hooray And The Henrys record is quite something, a medley of parodies of popular songs with the lyrics rewritten to be about posh people.

Posted by: Robbie 5th April 2020, 11:13 PM

Quite a mixed back of tracks posted in the last few days, most of which I have absolutely no recollection of! I had forgotten though that Renee and Renato had make another attempt at a Christmas number 1 but a year to the week when they climbed to number 1 they were now languishing at the exact opposite end of the top 100.

Although no chart was compiled between Christmas and New Year 1983/4, the chart published in Music Week for the issue dated 7 January 1984 indicates that it was based on sales from 19-31 December so, if correct, at least sales data in the week leading up to 24 December didn't just get discarded. 'Breaking Away' by Joe Fagin, one of the tracks listed as a two week wonder due to the frozen chart at the end of 1983, did in fact go on to be a top 5 hit. Record Mirror listed 'Breaking Away' for the chart dated 24/12/83 but for subsequent weeks the flip side of the single, 'That's Living Alright', was listed. Both songs were from Auf Wiedersehen Pet.

'Best Mix Of Our Lives' by Modern Romance was another of those megamix tracks that labels were releasing in 1985. Other acts to also have the megamix treatment in 1985 included The Sweet and T.Rex.