06.10.1973 : ABBA - Ring Ring (5 weeks # 1)

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3840478187_40325ce792.jpg

 

 

"Ring Ring" is a 1973 single by ABBA, which gave the group their big break in several European countries (although the rest of Europe, North America and Australia would be introduced to ABBA the following year). "Ring Ring" was originally written in Swedish by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, along with their manager Stig Anderson, and the translation into English lyrics was helped by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. The Swedish version reached #1 in the Swedish charts.

 

The song tells of a lover waiting all alone by the telephone for the object of their desire to call.

 

Andersson, Ulvaeus and Anderson were invited to submit a song for the Swedish selection process in order to choose their entry for the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. After several days, Andersson and Ulvaeus came up with the tune for the Swedish version of "Ring Ring", with the working title "Klocklåt" (Clock Tune). Stig Anderson wrote the lyrics with the intention of making a "poppy" song, trying to remove the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest at the time.

 

After this, the song had been retitled "Ring Ring". To make it more accessible to a universal audience, Anderson asked American songwriter Neil Sedaka to pen the lyrics for an English version, together with his songwriting partner, Phil Cody.

 

On January 10, 1973, the song was recorded at the Metronome Studio in Stockholm. Michael B. Tretow, the studio engineer, collaborated with Andersson and Ulvaeus over many of their subsequent singles and albums. Tretow had read a book about record producer Phil Spector, famed for his "Wall of Sound" treatment to the songs that he produced. While Spector used several musicians playing the same instruments in the same recording studio at the same time, this was far too expensive for this case. Thus, Tretow's solution was to simply record the song's backing track twice, in order to achieve an orchestral sound. By changing the speed of the tape between the overdubs, making the instruments marginally out of tune, this increased the effect. This was unlike anything that had been done before in Swedish music.

 

However, when Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid performed "Ring Ring" in the Swedish heats on 10 February 1973, they only finished third. Nevertheless, the song fared much better in the Swedish charts, both in its Swedish and English language incarnations, where it hit number one and number two respectively.

 

Though "Ring Ring" did not get the opportunity to represent Sweden in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, the subtitled Swedish Version ("Bara Du Slog En Signal") performed extremely well in the Swedish charts, giving the quartet their first #1 hit. The English version did almost as well, peaking at #2 in Sweden, Norway and Austria, and reaching the Top 10 in the Netherlands, South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) charts. (On the official South African year-end chart for 1974, "Ring Ring" was placed 13th; while its successor "Waterloo" was placed as the 14th best selling singles for that year). It did, however, top the charts in Belgium, becoming the first of 16 chart-toppers for ABBA in that country. It was the group's first release in the UK in October 1973, but failed to chart, selling only five thousand copies.

 

"Ring Ring" is # 10 in my personal ABBA songs ranking.

Edited January 17, 201312 yr by AlexRange

01.09.1973 : Middle Of The Road - The Talk Of All The U.S.A. (3 weeks # 1)

 

http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/dennert/motr.jpg

 

 

Late unsuccessful UK realise. Second song from 1973, which wasn't in UK Singles Chart.

Fourth # 1 single for Middle Of The Road.

 

ah love seeing some of your retro faves at number 1, like this one, Alex, its great to see them having a number one - even in my charts only records that made the UK Top 30 qualified so this and Anne Murray and New Seekers never made it in mine (though they should have!)

 

:)

ah love seeing some of your retro faves at number 1, like this one, Alex, its great to see them having a number one - even in my charts only records that made the UK Top 30 qualified so this and Anne Murray and New Seekers never made it in mine (though they should have!)

 

John, huge thanks for your recommendations in 1973 thread. :)

 

27.10.1973 : Lynsey De Paul - Won't Somebody Dance With Me (5 weeks # 1)

 

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/2eaad73b098ede3e4124a0d2e440a3e0/749933.jpg

 

 

"Won't Somebody Dance With Me" is a song written by Lynsey De Paul in 1973, which was awarded an Ivor Novello Award in 1974. Her original version of the ballad made the UK, Irish and Dutch Top 20s, and has been featured in the film, The Big Sleep, and the television programmes The Muppet Show and the 1970s version of the New Mickey Mouse Club (performed on that show by Lisa Whelchel).

 

The track has been covered by Bruce Johnston, Petula Clark, Alan Tew Orchestra, Sounds Orchestral and Lena Zavaroni amongst others. A French language version (Je voudrais tant danser) was recorded by Martine Tourreil.

 

The single reached #14 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1973. Fourth consecutive number one single for Lynsey De Paul in my personal charts.

(2 weeks)

Edited January 22, 20169 yr by Yours # 1Enemy

 

29.12.1973 : New Seekers - You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me (4 weeks # 1)

 

http://www.lynpaulwebsite.org/Resources/NS-Foolsheetmusic01.jpg

 

 

"You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" is a 1973 single by New Seekers. Written by Tony Macaulay and Geoff Stephens, arranged by Gerry Shury and produced by Tommy Oliver.

 

Featuring lead vocals by member Lyn Paul (the first time she had sung lead on a single), the song became the group's biggest hit for two years as it remained in the top five over Christmas 1973. "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" went on to be the band's second and final number-one single in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the chart in January 1974. The song was included on the group's final album as an active band, Together, as they announced their decision to split a month later.

 

In March 1974 the album Together was released - their first in a year. It contained their recent hit, but none of the other 1973 releases, which had not featured on any studio album, although it did include an American single "The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard", which had been released several months earlier while Doyle was still with the group. The album coincided with the news that the group had decided to split. Originally, Eve Graham had expressed her wish to go solo, while Paul also decided that she wanted to leave. The story was carried on Newspaper headlines with many suggesting that the real reason was that despite their success, the members of the group were receiving little financial reward. Meanwhile, the album gained markedly improved sales over their previous two and rose to No.12 in the UK charts - their second highest position in the album charts and remained in the top 50 for nine weeks. Unlike their previous releases, this album didn't feature any compositions by the group themselves, but was made up of original tracks interspersed with cover versions covering a variety of genres. Included were covers of The Beatles songs "Here, There and Everywhere" and "With a Little Help from My Friends", Buck Owens' "Crying Time" and Blue Mink's "Melting Pot" - a song which Graham had been offered to record 1n 1969. A review in Disc magazine saw favourable mention of a number of tracks with the reviewer commenting that "there's no denying that what they do tackle is seldom less than well-executed and often considerably better than that".

 

Around the same time as the album, another single was released; "I Get a Little Sentimental Over You". Also featuring Paul on lead vocals, this too became a success by peaking at No.5 in the UK chart. To coincide with their split, the group performed a farewell tour. The final show was performed in May 1974. One further album was released a few months later along with a single, but with the band no longer active, neither made the chart.

Edited January 18, 201312 yr by AlexRange

All my personal # 1 singles (1973):

01. Olivia Newton-John - Take Me Home Country Roads (6 weeks # 1)

02. Pearls - You Are Everything (2 weeks # 1)

03. New Seekers & Eve Graham - Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You) (4 weeks # 1)

04. Lynsey De Paul - All Night (4 weeks # 1)

05. Peters And Lee - Welcome Home (2 weeks # 1)

06. New Seekers - Goodbye Is Just Another Word (6 weeks # 1)

07. (5 weeks)

08. Middle Of The Road - The Talk Of All The U.S.A. (3 weeks # 1)

09. New Seekers - We've Got To Do It Now (2 weeks # 1)

10. ABBA - Ring Ring (5 weeks # 1)

11. Lynsey De Paul - Won't Somebody Dance With Me (5 weeks # 1)

12. (2 weeks)

13. New Seekers - You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me (4 weeks # 1)

 

My # 1 singles in official UK chart:

# 1 : New Seekers - You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me

# 1 : Peters And Lee - Welcome Home

# 14 : Lynsey De Paul - Won't Somebody Dance With Me

# 15 : Olivia Newton-John - Take Me Home Country Roads

# 34 : New Seekers & Eve Graham - Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)

# 36 : New Seekers - Goodbye Is Just Another Word

# 41 : Pearls - You Are Everything

# 53 : New Seekers - We've Got To Do It Now

# 56 : Lynsey De Paul - All Night

DNC : ABBA - Ring Ring

DNC : Middle Of The Road - The Talk Of All The U.S.A.

 

Personal Awards:

Best single, which was not my personal # 1 : Maureen McGovern - The Morning After

Most # 1 singles : New Seekers (4)

Most # 1 weeks : New Seekers (13)

Singer of the Year : Lynsey De Paul

Group of the Year : New Seekers

Favourite Eurovision song : Maxi - Do I Dream (Ireland)

Favourite official UK # 1 single : Peters & Lee - Welcome Home

Song of the Year : ABBA - Ring Ring

Edited January 22, 20169 yr by Yours # 1Enemy

 

19.01.1974 : Kiki Dee - Amoureuse (1 week # 1)

 

http://www.artists2events.co.uk/artistsimages/KikiDee/kiki_dee.jpg

 

 

"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee.

 

The original song title Amoureuse - which does not feature in its lyrics - is the French equivalent of the English adjective amorous and is also a feminine noun meaning lover. Sanson's lyric describes the mindset of a woman following her first ever intimate encounter who wonders if she and her lover can maintain a relationship once they have parted. The English rendering of the song by Gary Osborne, which is faithful to the French original, was recorded by Sanson herself and issued as a single in the U.S. in January 1973. The Sanson/Osborne version of "Amoureuse" was covered later that year by two British vocalists: Polly Brown and Kiki Dee, with Dee's version becoming a UK hit peaking at #13 in December 1973.

 

Almost a year after its UK success "Amoureuse" afforded Dee a Top 20 hit in Australia reaching #12 in the autumn of 1974. In the US "Amoureuse" served as the B-side for the February 1975 Kiki Dee Band release "Step by Step", the non-charting followup single to "I've Got the Music in Me". "Amoureuse" was re-issued in the UK as the B-side of the 1976 Kiki Dee single "Loving & Free": the single became a double-sided hit reaching #13 on the UK chart and #4 in Ireland. A 1984 reissue of Dee's "Amoureuse" reached #77 on the UK chart.

 

 

26.01.1974 : Marie Osmond - Paper Roses (1 week # 1)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Marie_Osmond-Paper_Roses.jpg

 

 

"Paper Roses" is a popular song written by Fred Spielman and Janice Torre which was a hit in 1960 for Anita Bryant with Monty Kelly's Orchestra and Chorus and later for Marie Osmond in 1973.

 

In 1973, Olive Marie Osmond's brothers, The Osmonds, were already well-established as stars in the pop music world and as teen idols (especially Donny). The Osmonds' management convinced Marie to try her hand at singing as well, and soon she was performing with her brothers on tour, but not officially a member. When Marie began to record, she took a different tack from her brothers musically: she decided to try to make it big in country music. She was soon signed to MGM Records in Los Angeles, California. Mike Curb, who had overseen Donny Osmond's solo hit covers of oldies like "Go Away Little Girl," "Puppy Love," "Sweet and Innocent," and "Hey Girl," used the same approach with Marie. According to Curb in the book Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits by Fred Bronson, when Curb was looking for country songs for Marie to record for her first album, Sonny James suggested that Marie sing "Paper Roses."

 

"Paper Roses" was the first song recorded by Marie, and also her first single release. The single was released in August 1973. MGM promoted the single first to country radio, and received a favorable reaction to the song from radio stations and disc jockeys. Soon the song became a hit for Osmond, going all the way to number one on the country charts. Before long, the song crossed over to pop radio as well, becoming a #5 Pop and #1 Easy Listening singles hit. The album and single both received Gold certifications in the United States.

 

In the United Kingdom, where Osmond-mania was just as strong as (if not stronger than) in the United States, "Paper Roses" climbed all the way to #2 on the UK Singles Chart. Marie re-recorded "Paper Roses" with the same producer and in the same studio for her 1990 The Best of Marie Osmond greatest hits album on Curb Records because her record label at the time did not have the rights to include the original recording.

 

Paper Roses has been adopted by fans of the Scottish football team Kilmarnock FC as the club's anthem and is played at major games throughout the season.

 

Some stats (1970-1973):

 

Most # 1 singles:

1. New Seekers - 8

3. Mary Hopkin - 4

4. Middle Of The Road - 4

5. Lynsey De Paul - 4

6. Pickettywitch - 3

7. Olivia Newton-John - 3

8. Pearls - 3

 

Most # 1 weeks (Artists):

01. New Seekers - 27

02. Lynsey De Paul - 23

03. Mary Hopkin - 16

04. Middle Of The Road - 16

05. Pickettywitch - 15

06. Pearls - 15

08. Olivia Newton-John - 12

09. Clodagh Rodgers - 10

10. Dana - 10

 

Most # 1 weeks (Songs) :

9: Lynsey De Paul - Sugar Me

9: Pearls - Third Finger Left Hand

8: Clodagh Rodgers - Jack In A Box

7: Dana - All Kinds Of Everything

7: Pickettywitch - Baby I Won't Let You Down

6: Cilla Black - If I Thought You'd Change Your Mind

6: New Seekers - Goodbye Is Just Another Word

6: Olivia Newton-John - Take Me Home Country Roads

Edited January 22, 20169 yr by Yours # 1Enemy

 

09.02.1974 : Cilla Black - Baby We Can't Go Wrong (4 weeks # 1)

 

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000K0VE.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

 

 

Like so many of her contemporaries, during the 1970s her musical career declined, although she toured often. Increasingly thought of as a television "personality", she found herself experimenting with situation comedy for ITV. Her BBC series, Cilla, continued successfully until 1976, recessing during 1970, 1972 and 1975. The theme songs from the Cilla series were also successful. Step Inside Love opened the series in both the 1968 and 1969 runs and reached number 8 in the UK singles chart on its release. Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) was the theme for the 1971 and 1973 shows, reaching number 3 and becoming Black's last top ten success. "Baby, We Can't Go Wrong" was used for the 1974 series and was a minor success, reaching number 36, Black's last UK chart song until 1993. "It's Now" was the final theme from the 1976 series and failed to reach the charts, though it was released as a "B" side.

 

The UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry selection process was part of the Cilla show in both 1968 and 1973, when her close friend Cliff Richard was the featured artist performing all the songs shortlisted in the A Song For Europe segment. Black was originally asked to sing for the UK in 1968 and was asked again for the 1970 contest, but declined because she was pregnant at the time.

 

In 2013, Cilla Black celebrates her 50th anniversary in the entertainment business. As a prelude to this special year EMI release ‘Completely Cilla: 1963-1973′ – a 5CD set of Cilla’s most prolific work as a singer, containing 139 recordings produced by George Martin and a bonus DVD of rare BBC music performances.

 

 

09.03.1974 : New Seekers - I Get A Little Sentimental Over You (1 week # 1)

 

http://www.lynpaulwebsite.org/Resources/NS-IGetALittleSentimental.jpg

 

 

In 1976, New Seekers reformed with Kathy Ann Rae and Danny Finn replacing Lyn Paul and Peter Oliver. Although they never replicated their earlier success, the group did manage to score a few hits with "It's So Nice (To Have You Home)" (1976), "I Wanna Go Back" (1977) and "Anthem (One Day in Every Week)" (1978). This line up remained intact until 1979, when Danny Finn and Eve Graham left the group to marry. In 1980, the group attempted to represent the UK again in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Tell Me", but it was disqualified shortly before the British heats were televised due to the fact the group had already been promoting the single. Had they appeared in the 1980 UK contest, the group would have been up against former member Danny Finn, who was the lead singer of the winning group Prima Donna. In addition, Mick Flynn and Donna Jones of the current New Seekers line-up (2009) were also in the contest, placing fourth under the group name Pussyfoot. Marty Kristian entered a song in the 1983 UK Eurovision finals, performed by a trio called 'Audio', which included Kathy Ann Rae in the line up. Since then, there have been personnel changes which included Caitriona Walsh, Nicola Kerr and Vikki James. Paul Layton remained with the band throughout this time. Kathy Ann Rae died from cancer on 11 January 2011.

Edited January 20, 201312 yr by AlexRange

 

16.03.1974 : Olivia Newton-John - Long Live Love (5 weeks # 1)

 

http://991.com/newGallery/Olivia-Newton-John-Long-Live-Love-141933.jpg

 

 

In 1974, Newton-John represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Long Live Love". The song was chosen for Newton-John by the British public out of six possible entries. (Newton-John later admitted that she disliked the song.) Newton-John placed fourth at the contest held in Brighton behind ABBA's winning "Waterloo". All six Eurovision contest song candidates were recorded by Newton-John and included on her Long Live Love album.

 

The song was first released as a 45 RPM single by Pye International, her first UK label before switching to EMI later in that year with a nod given to her Australian label as "A Festival International Production (England)" a mention which was given for most of her early releases from 1971-74. Along with the title track, five other tracks from the LP had been the six shortlisted songs for the UK selection for Eurovision. The song that placed second, "Angeleyes", was released on the B-side of the "Long Live Love" single.

 

Only # 11 in United Kingdom and Australia.

Edited January 20, 201312 yr by AlexRange

 

20.04.1974 : ABBA - Waterloo (9 weeks # 1)

 

http://img15.nnm.ru/f/2/6/9/2/cfd44a3c27fadccd3d0ebbe69ea.jpg

 

 

"Waterloo" was originally written as a song for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, after the group finished third with Ring Ring the previous year in the Swedish pre-selection contest, Melodifestivalen 1973. Since it focused on lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson chose it in place of another of their songs, "Hasta Manana". "Waterloo" is about a girl who is about to surrender to romance, as Napoleon had to surrender at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The song proved to be a good choice. It won Melodifestivalen 1974 (in Swedish) in February and won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 (ESC) final on 6 April by six points.

 

The original title was "Honey Pie", with lyrics to the same tune. "Waterloo" was originally written with simultaneous rock music and jazz beats (unusual for an ABBA song); this was later discarded in favour of more disco-esque rhythms. The song broke the "dramatic ballad" tradition of the Eurovision Song Contest by its flavour and rhythm, as well as by its performance: ABBA gave the audience something that had never been seen before in ESC: flashy costumes (including silver platform boots), plus a catchy uptempo song and even simple choreography. The group also broke from convention by singing the song in a language other than that of their home country; prior to "Waterloo" all Eurovision singers had been required to sing in their country's native tongue, a restriction that was lifted briefly in the 1970s (allowing "Waterloo" to be sung in English), then reinstated a few years later, then ultimately removed. Compared to later ABBA releases, the singers' Swedish accents are decidedly more pronounced in "Waterloo," as their understanding of the English language was limited.

 

Though it isn't well-known, Polar accidentally released a different version of "Waterloo" shortly after ABBA's Eurovision win before replacing it with the more famous version. The alternative version had a harder rock sound, omitting the saxophones, plus an additional "oh yeah" in the verses. The alternative version was commercially released in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set. However, it was this version that ABBA performed in the 1979 Europe/North American tour.

 

The "Waterloo" single introduced the world to the phenomenon that was to become ABBA. The song shot to #1 in the UK and stayed there for two weeks, becoming the first of the band's nine UK #1's, and the 16th biggest selling single of the year in the UK. It also hit the top of the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, France, Netherlands, Spain, and ABBA's native Sweden. (The tune did not reach #1 in their home country, its Swedish (#2) & English (#3) versions were beat out for the top spot by the Waterloo album [At the time Sweden had a combined Album and Singles Chart].) The song also spent 11 weeks on Svensktoppen (24 March - 2 June 1974), including 7 weeks at #1. Surprisingly, the song never made a huge impact in Italy, only reaching #14. In fact, ABBA would only achieve Top 10 success in Italy 3 times.

 

But the song's appeal transcended Europe; unlike other Eurovision-winning tunes, which are usually ignored outside the continent, "Waterloo" also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and even the United States (peaking at #6, "Waterloo" is one of only two Eurovision winners, the other being "Save Your Kisses For Me", to be an American Top 40 hit). "Waterloo" is the only Eurovision song to reach the Top 10 in 15 countries. The Waterloo album performed similarly well in Europe, although in the US it failed to match the success of the single.

 

"Waterloo" is # 12 in my personal ABBA songs ranking.

Edited January 21, 201312 yr by AlexRange

(4 weeks)

Edited January 22, 20169 yr by Yours # 1Enemy

 

20.07.1974 : Stephanie de Sykes - Born With A Smile On My Face (7 weeks # 1)

 

http://myshop.s3-external-3.amazonaws.com/shop2052500.pictures.A6246.jpg

 

 

Stephanie de Sykes (born Stephanie Ryton) is a British singer.

 

She attended Brays Grove School in Harlow, Essex; she returned to the school for a final reunion in June 2008 as guest of honour. She had a hit in 1974 with the Simon May penned "Born With a Smile on My Face" which reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. She also recorded the theme tune to the television programme The Golden Shot with the group 'Rain' that same year. The theme song, "Golden Day" was written for them by Lynsey De Paul and Barry Blue. Around this time, the television company, ATV Midlands started each day's broadcasting with a short film accompanied by another song performed by Rain with de Sykes singing vocals, "Odyssey" (often incorrectly referred to as "Life is a Beautiful Book").

Edited January 25, 201312 yr by AlexRange

 

07.09.1974 : Sylvia Vrethammar - Y Viva Espana (1 week # 1)

 

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/300x300/4924401.jpg

 

 

"Eviva Espana" (sometimes titled Y Viva Espana or Que Viva Espana) is a 1971 song originally performed by Belgian singer Samantha with music and lyrics written by the Belgian song writers Leo Roozenstraten and Leo Caerts. Well-known interpretations by Imca Marina and Hanna Aroni followed in 1972. The song was further popularised by Spanish singer Manolo Escobar and Norwegian singer Gro Anita Schonn, both in 1973.

 

Eva Sylvia Vrethammar is a Swedish traditional pop and jazz singer. She is the daughter of Harald Vrethammar, an education official, and Britta Vrethammar, a musical education teacher, specializing in the piano.

 

She is best known for the 1974 song "Y Viva Espana". It reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1974, spending over 6 months in that listing. Globally her version alone sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Edited January 22, 201312 yr by AlexRange

 

14.09.1974 : Polly Brown - Up In A Puff Of Smoke (7 weeks # 1)

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AXhWXW1FFeA/R6kEfGHqkmI/AAAAAAAABCs/AQ4g1QHZZ1Y/s400/pollybrowne.jpg

 

 

Concurrent with her Sweet Dreams recordings, Brown's solo career began with the August 1974 release of "Up in a Puff of Smoke" as the inaugural single release on the GTO label. The track fell short of the UK Top 40 with a #43 peak. However, in the US the song became a Top 20 hit in America breaking in the discos - it reached #3 on the U.S. disco chart - to reach #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. "Up in a Puff of Smoke" was also a hit in Canada, reaching even higher in the RPM 100 national chart (#11 on 22 March of the same year), as well as in Australia and New Zealand, respectively reaching #22 and #13 that summer: the track also appeared in the Italian charts with a #53 peak. The follow-up single, "You're My Number One", just missed the UK Top 50 peaking at #52; in New Zealand the track reached #30.

 

In 1976, Brown took part in A Song for Europe, the national preliminary round to determine the UK entrant for Eurovision 1976. At A Song for Europe 1976, Brown performed two competing numbers: as a soloist she performed "Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?" while Sweet Dreams featuring Brown and Tony Jackson performed "Love, Kiss And Run". These entrants finished at respectively #10 and #4 with Brotherhood of Man's "Save Your Kisses For Me" becoming that year's UK Eurovision entrant and eventual Eurovision winner. Brown remains unique in competing in the same UK pre-selection round for Eurovision as both a soloist and group member.

Edited January 22, 201312 yr by AlexRange

 

02.11.1974 : Lynsey De Paul - No Honestly (6 weeks # 1)

 

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/e05edc220b24ba8bd289ed4304b6f24c/56529.jpg

 

 

A second Ivor Novello award followed a year later for "No Honestly", which was also the theme tune to a hit ITV comedy of the same name, and provided her with another UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #7. The TV series No Honestly was followed by Yes Honestly, and although Georgie Fame wrote and performed the theme tune to the first series of Yes Honestly, an instrumental version of de Paul's "No Honestly" was chosen as the theme for the second series. De Paul continued to release a number of singles through the 1970s and early 1980s, including the UK hit "My Man and Me", which she performed an acoustic version of on The Old Grey Whistle Test.

 

Fifth # 1 for Lynsey De Paul in my personal retrospective.

 

09.11.1974 : Olivia Newton-John - I Honestly Love You (3 weeks # 1)

 

http://reasonswhyimstillsingle.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/olivia-newton-john-i-honestly-love-y-135359.jpg

 

 

"I Honestly Love You" (first released in Australia as "I Love You, I Honestly Love You", per its chorus) was a worldwide pop hit single for Olivia Newton-John in 1974. The song was Newton-John's first number-one single in the United States and Canada, thus cementing her as a household name in North America.

 

Released on the Long Live Love album in the United Kingdom by EMI, it was eventually released on the album If You Love Me, Let Me Know in the United States on MCA. The song was written by Jeff Barry and the Australian composer Peter Allen; the latter recorded it around the same time on his album Continental American. It also appears in the musical about Allen's life, The Boy from Oz. VH1 placed the song at No. 11 on its "40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs" list. The song won Newton-John both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 17th Grammy Awards.

 

The song topped the charts in the U.S. on 5 October 1974, and went on to sell over two million copies, being certified Platinum. It also reached number one (three weeks) on the Adult Contemporary charts and number six on the Country charts, and won Grammy Awards for Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year. The song's success also helped propel its parent album, If You Love Me, Let Me Know, to number one. Its title song was released as a single prior to "I Honestly Love You", and it was also a top-five multi-format (Pop - No. 5, Adult Contemporary - No. 2, and Country - No. 2) hit. By contrast, the single failed to reach the top-twenty in the United Kingdom (#22), although it did chart there in 1983 when it was re-released to promote a Newton-John greatest hits album.