4th September 1979

 

The first chart in Long Beach, LA, and it’s too soon for anything to have happened musically, so it’s quite a dull chart with a bit of shuffling. On the plus side, Cliff’s fab record gets a second week on top, Boney M get a 4th Top 3 hit (yes I knew that hook was fab, even if it under-performed UK charts-wise), Gerry Rafferty gets a 4th Top 5, and the Specials are real Gangsters at 5. Don’t argue!

 

Flying Lizards get to 10, Randy Vanwarmer takes his sweetsad ballad to 11, and Johnny Mathis gets a 3rd Top 20 hit. Jumping Randy Crawford with The Crusaders 51 to 27, Streetlife - sadly not the much better Roxy Music hit, though the nearly-as-good Angel Eyes is at 8 for them - and Dr Hook get to 39 with a future biggie. New entries: Wings (it’s OK), and not much else worth noting.

So instead I’ll pop over to California ’79, where I was, and continue the pop culture anecdotes amongst the student nostalgia. Cheers! So, we headed randomly to Long Beach, and came across Beach Terrace Motel, literally on the beach, and facing the Queen Mary liner, and all for $11 each, wow! My American airplane friend gave us good advice! It was night, the ocean was full of blocks of colour and twinkling lights. Fab! Roomy, a iamspamspamami a balcony over the beach, living room and bedroom, “Pure sensational delight” I quote myself. Being an American TV fan, I took over the control next day as I re-acquainted with childhood faves not seen in a decade thanks to re-run stations - as opposed to the pathetic 3 UK channels. Notably Mel Brooks wacky sitcom Get Smart, and Gilligans Island daft but loveable sitcom, Ghost and Mrs Muir, Family Affair, Batman, Partridge Family. I was in babbling sitcom heaven.

 

Tuesday: The daytime revealed we were basically living like Jim Rockford, on the beach, we got groceries at a nearby store, played frisbee, took photos, pancakes at a diner “a cup of tea, please” said Julie, the waitress loved the accent and repeated it. A recurring theme of the States: the English accent is very popular! We hired a tent, everyone was so happy to help us look for one, so friendly and helpful. I loved it here, shame we moved out next day....

 

Wednesday: Out for a drive, my un-named friend tried driving down the highway wrong direction, cars hurtling towards us - fortunately those alleyways you see on cop shows are real and dived down it. Laugh or cry about it? Laugh! Then it was a day in Disneyland: my first time, my first theme park. The thick brown cords I wore prob not a great idea in the heat... I loved the rides, the detail, the lifelike “robot” Abe Lincoln, and I pushed Tomorrowland as the place to be - so ME! Space Mountain: “the most exciting thing I’ve ever done” a pitch-black indoor roller-coaster, thus begins my roller-coaster obsession! I adored Disneyland.

 

Thursday: Off to Las Vegas. I froze in the air-con car (I like heat!). I anticipated a future language cliche in my comment: “literally” my feet and arms were freezing, but I used the commas to show it wasn’t actually literal. So there! Nothing new under the sun. Station KFI (LA) - some of the big news items that cropped up: Lex Barker (Tarzan) died, actress Jean Seberg was found dead in Paris (Paint Your Wagon), Earl Mountbatten blown-up by the IRA, hurricanes. Gulp! Stop-off at Calico, a great desert mountain ghost mining town done up for tourists, terrific for photos and HOT, well over 100F. Yay! On the radio? My theme song, my all-time fave song, the song that has followed me round the world, wherever I go, I usually hear it (less so these days, mind you): Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty. Las Vegas: I found new DC Comics in a supermarket, Legion Of Super-Heroes especially. Me sorted, then! Accommodation? KOA campsite, a tent in desert heat, erecting it as night fell - yes, not thought through that one..... Cruising the Las Vegas strip at night in the car? Tick! Just like American Graffiti...

 

Friday: newspaper tokens for a free casino breakfast and free $1 in coins to play. True! I demonstrated to Pete & Julie the futility of gambling on the one-armed bandits, feeding my coins in “you never win on these things” I said as $5 worth of cash tumbled out. I quit while I was ahead:) Drove to Hoover Dam: terrific photos. Pete and Julie were getting on VERY well by this time, leaving me as the 5th wheel, but all good fun. We were heading for the Grand Canyon.... TBC

 

1 ( 1 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

2 ( 2 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

3 ( 6 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

4 ( 8 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

5 ( 7 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

6 ( 4 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

7 ( 3 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

8 ( 10 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

9 ( 5 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

10 ( 13 ) MONEY The Flying Lizards

 

 

 

11 ( 23 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

12 ( 14 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

13 ( 9 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

14 ( 12 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

15 ( 11 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

16 ( 16 ) IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM Joe Jackson

17 ( 19 ) LINES The Planets

18 ( 17 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

19 ( 22 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

20 ( 15 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

 

 

 

21 ( 20 ) MORNING DANCE Spiro Gyra

22 ( 28 ) ROCK LOBSTER The B52's

23 ( 26 ) YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU GOT Me And You

24 ( 24 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

25 ( 18 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

26 ( 34 ) GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS Kandidate

27 ( 51 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

28 ( 21 ) IF I HAD YOU The Korgis

29 ( 31 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

30 ( 27 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

 

31 ( 25 ) REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Ian Dury And The Blockheads

32 ( 30 ) STAY WITH ME TILL DAWN Judy Tzuke

33 ( 63 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

34 ( 39 ) CARS Gary Numan

35 ( 29 ) KID The Pretenders

36 ( 32 ) GIRL'S TALK Dave Edmunds

37 ( 35 ) WANTED The Dooleys

38 ( 42 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

39 ( 49 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

40 ( 33 ) HERSHAM BOYS Sham '69

 

41 ( 37 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

42 ( 36 ) GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS Hot Chocolate

43 ( 38 ) SWEET LITTLE ROCK 'N' ROLLER Showaddywaddy

44 ( 40 ) SILLY GAMES Janet Kay

45 ( 41 ) MY SHARONA The Knack

46 ( NEW ) GETTING CLOSER Wings

47 ( 54 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

48 ( 55 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

49 ( 48 ) DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW/ KISSES OF FIRE Abba

50 ( 47 ) SUNDAY GIRL Blondie

 

 

 

51 ( 46 ) NIGHT OWL Gerry Rafferty

52 ( 45 ) SPACE BASS Slick

53 ( 44 ) GOOD TIMES Chic

54 ( 75 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG The Jam

55 ( 53 ) BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Supertramp

56 ( 58 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

57 ( 64 ) YOU NEED WHEELS The Merton Parkas

58 ( 59 ) TRAGEDY The Bee Gees

59 ( 60 ) I WILL SURVIVE Gloria Gaynor

60 ( 43 ) THE BOSS Diana Ross

 

61 ( 50 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK Telex

62 ( 62 ) ROXANNE The Police

63 ( 56 ) RING MY BELL Anita Ward

64 ( NEW ) BOY OH BOY Racey

65 ( 67 ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

66 ( 52 ) BAD GIRLS Donna Summer

67 ( 57 ) DUKE OF EARL Darts

68 ( NEW ) WHEN WILL YOU BE MINE Average White Band

69 ( 73 ) THE DAY THE WORLD CAUGHT FIRE City Boy

70 ( 70 ) HEART OF GLASS Blondie

 

71 ( 61 ) BOOGIE DOWN The Real Thing

72 ( NEW ) TEENAGE WARNING The Angelic Upstarts

73 ( 66 ) LIVING ON THE FRONTLINE Eddy Grant

74 ( 68 ) MARRIED MEN Bonnie Tyler

75 ( 69 ) ONE RULE FOR YOU After The Fire

Edited October 3, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

 

11th September 1979

 

The first US chart proper, and it shows in an inrush of Californian and Nevada radio tracks that hadn’t registered in the UK. Appropriately, the 3 highest were British acts, plus 3 US acts, and an Aussie and a Canadian, but the chart-topper was one of the 2 45’s I bought on holiday - Gerry Rafferty’s 2nd number one, the fabulous Get It Right Next Time, inexorably linked in my mind with desert highways. As was the highest new entry at 3, ELO’s 3rd Top 5 of the year off Discovery, the thumpingly brilliant Don’t Bring Me Down, the other 45 I bought, along with In The Ghetto, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine, and Good Morning Starshine as I was reliving the summer of 69. ELO: all the boys sang along to “Broooce” loudly in the car, every time it came on. yay!

 

Sister Sledge get their biggest hit to date as the brilliant Lost In Music goes Top 5, Dr Hook get a 5th Top 20 hit at 18, and in at 20 it’s the 3rd Breakfast In America single, the US-hit-only Goodbye Stranger, a delicious ballad much better than the title track. In at 30 it’s Nick Lowe, fresh off helping Dave Edmunds, with the irresistible Cruel To Be Kind - in the right measure! Another non-UK-hit at 38, the wonderful Cars and Let’s Go, for a 3rd John hit and another great single. At 55, Babs is back with the theme tune to her last decent comedy, with Ryan O’Neal, The Main Event, all camp disco, and 8 years of hits.

 

The Little River Band had a radio hit in the UK with Reminiscing but never broke through, but Lonesome Loser is a sort of 80’s poprock template and a great singalong bit of drama. Anne Murray gets 9 years of hits, 2 number ones, and a 3rd hit of the year with the pleasant Shadows In The Moonlight. A bit MOR but I always loved her soft easy-on-the-ear vocals. Robert Palmer gets a 2nd hit with Bad Case Of Loving You, rocking it where Every Kinda People ached wistfully, and finally a bit of country from Eddie Rabbit, and one I’ve never managed to hear again. Not for long though...!

 

On the holiday media-scene, Laverne & Shirley (a Penny Marshall Happy Days spin-off, daft but loveable), The Jeffersons (black sitcoms were making inroads on US TV) and The Match Game, the US original version of Blankety Blank: more on this later...

Friday (cont): The Grand Canyon. Just past Bedrock (I kid not, Fred Flintstone is alive and well!), through the woodland, park the car, and whooo the biggest hole in the world! If you’ve seen the photos, it comes as a letdown initially - but that’s only till you get a proper sense of scale. It blew my mind: I peered over the edge and watched a bird flying way below. Only it wasn’t a bird, it was a plane. It’s HUGE. One of the greatest spots on the planet to visit, stunning to me, less so for the others. Downside: we camped in the tent. It was bloody freezing! We weren’t dressed for cold! I loaned my pyjamas to the girls.

 

Sat: The canyon was breathtaking in the morning light and blue skies. I picked up some souvenir stones to take home. I do that. Chipmunks. Ammonite souvenirs. Hoover Dam. KOA Las Vegas. Another nameless friend drove Pete & I in the dark to a casino - the wrong way down the highway! Quick U turn! Cruised the strip. Lady Luck casino, past gathering prostitutes and drunks. Watched a gathering of glamorous ladies getting picked up in the casino one by one by gentleman callers who gave them something before leaving. How thoughtful. Pete played cards, won some cash, a lady helpfully advised us that if we didn’t have ID proving we were over 21 (Julie wasn’t 21) we ought to make a quick exit as it was against the law. We took her advice!

 

Sun: Death Valley via Pahrump, a dust devil, desert scrub, it was a National Monument, fabulous scenery, worryingly hot with names like Furnace Creek and danger signs all adding to the anxiety about breaking down en route. All good fun, as was the toilet rolls in the “emergency” roadsign box. Souvenir desert-salt fell immediately to bits in the car, as predicted by yours truly. Sand dunes. Hick gas shack on the mountain climb out of the valley. Mountains! Lone Pine: a motel! hooray! Luxury!

 

Mon: To Lake Tahoe, sensational mountain scenery, forests and lakes, Lake Tahoe a deep blue edged by steep pine-treed slopes, and casinos on the Nevada end. The 2nd-highest lake in the world I read somewhere. Judy Collins and Jim Stafford were in town for shows: nobody knew who they were or cared to find out. Johnny Mathis more so, but expensive. Pity! Eagle Point Camp Site. tent again.

 

Tues: Sunny, fresh campsite morning by the lake! Driving to KOA Auburn for the afternoon, put my washing in the campsite industrial-sized drier. My T shirts shrunk to the size of tots T shirts. Much merriment from others. Listed lots of oldies in my notebooks heard on radio: Beatles, Abba, Bee Gees a-plenty (yes Abba, despite popular perception they never made it in the States, did, and were played on radio), Love’s Theme, Jet, Driver’s Seat, Layla and many more....

 

 

1 ( 4 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

2 ( 1 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

3 ( NEW ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

4 ( 2 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

5 ( 12 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

6 ( 5 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

7 ( 6 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

8 ( 8 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

9 ( 3 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

10 ( 11 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

 

11 ( 7 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

12 ( 10 ) MONEY The Flying Lizards

13 ( 9 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

14 ( 17 ) LINES The Planets

15 ( 14 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

16 ( 20 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

17 ( 13 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

18 ( 39 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

19 ( 19 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

20 ( NEW ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

 

21 ( 15 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

22 ( 18 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

23 ( 27 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

24 ( 21 ) MORNING DANCE Spiro Gyra

25 ( 22 ) ROCK LOBSTER The B52's

26 ( 23 ) YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU GOT Me And You

27 ( 16 ) IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM Joe Jackson

28 ( 24 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

29 ( 30 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

30 ( NEW ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

 

 

31 ( 33 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

32 ( 25 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

33 ( 34 ) CARS Gary Numan

34 ( 26 ) GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS Kandidate

35 ( 38 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

36 ( 28 ) IF I HAD YOU The Korgis

37 ( 36 ) GIRL'S TALK Dave Edmunds

38 ( NEW ) LET'S GO The Cars

39 ( 45 ) MY SHARONA The Knack

40 ( 46 ) GETTING CLOSER Wings

 

 

41 ( 31 ) REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Ian Dury And The Blockheads

42 ( 29 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

43 ( 32 ) STAY WITH ME TILL DAWN Judy Tzuke

44 ( 47 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

45 ( NEW ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

46 ( 35 ) KID The Pretenders

47 ( 37 ) WANTED The Dooleys

48 ( 41 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

49 ( 44 ) SILLY GAMES Janet Kay

50 ( 49 ) DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW/ KISSES OF FIRE Abba

 

 

51 ( 48 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

52 ( 50 ) SUNDAY GIRL Blondie

53 ( 64 ) BOY OH BOY Racey

54 ( 53 ) GOOD TIMES Chic

55 ( NEW ) THE MAIN EVENT/ FIGHT Barbra Streisand

56 ( 59 ) I WILL SURVIVE Gloria Gaynor

57 ( 58 ) TRAGEDY The Bee Gees

58 ( 51 ) NIGHT OWL Gerry Rafferty

59 ( 56 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

60 ( NEW ) SHADOWS IN THE MOONLIGHT Anne Murray

 

61 ( 66 ) BAD GIRLS Donna Summer

62 ( 54 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG The Jam

63 ( 68 ) WHEN WILL YOU BE MINE Average White Band

64 ( 52 ) SPACE BASS Slick

65 ( 60 ) THE BOSS Diana Ross

66 ( 63 ) RING MY BELL Anita Ward

67 ( 40 ) HERSHAM BOYS Sham '69

68 ( 42 ) GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS Hot Chocolate

69 ( 55 ) BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Supertramp

70 ( 62 ) ROXANNE The Police

 

71 ( RE ) POP MUZIK M

72 ( 70 ) HEART OF GLASS Blondie

73 ( 43 ) SWEET LITTLE ROCK 'N' ROLLER Showaddywaddy

74 ( NEW ) BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU (DOCTOR DOCTOR) Robert Palmer

75 ( NEW ) SUSPICION Eddie Rabbit

 

TV

1 Laverne And Shirley

2 The Jeffersons

3 The Match Game

Edited October 6, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

18th September 1979

A split US/UK chart, with a couple of days back in the UK mixed in with American radio new entries. ELO get their 6th chart-topper, knocking off Gerry after one week only. The record has popped up since in American road movies (I mean how appropriate for me, being as it was, and is, and always will be, singing down freeways and highways) like the brilliant Paul, the good Super 8, Doctor Who, Family Guy, The Pirates, and only just missed getting onto Guardians Of The Galaxy (hoping to see it in the extended version on DVD). I feel all justified and warm... Both crackers! Gary Numan motors up to 4 for a 2nd Top 5 hit with Cars, and highest new entry is The Commodores (and Lionel Richie’s) best ballad, the gorgeous Sail On. It’s a country song from a soul band, and the delayed end chorus is just delicious.

 

The Stranglers get all royal at 18, and Dollar re-enter with their soppy ballad at 25, making it 3 in a row Top 40’s. At 26, it’s Robert John, last seen in 1972 wimoweh-ing with a sleeping lion, back this time with a sweet falsetto ballad, Sad Eyes. Frantique strut some funky stuff at 28, Squeeze are up for a bit of Slap n Tickle at 30, a 5th hit for them, and Elton John follows-up his Philly-hit Are You Ready For Love with the US-only Philly hit Mama Can’t Buy You Love, almost as good and the track I preferred at the time.

 

Dionne Warwick gets the Manilow treatment, and a decent ballad, at 49, back after 5 chart years away. Secret Affair debut with the storming Time For Action at 50, and Maxine Nightingale leads me on at 57, her 4th hit since her brilliant Motown-styled breakthrough in 1975, Right Back Where We Started From. Another US-only hit by a British act, the US charts were full of ‘em in those days, we had pop stars to spare. At 64, 3rd hit for Maureen Mcgovern, 6 years after her Poseidon Adventure song, and finally 2 big name comebacks: Herb Alpert’s sax goes disco for the fab Rise, the head of A&M records getting his first hit in 10 years, and former child-star Michael Jackson goes solo for a second-wind career, his 6th hit sneaking in at 75 produced by Quincy Jones, a slick, disco dance maturity on display. Wonder how that’ll go down? Not badly....!

Wed/ Thurs: Sacremento. Pleasant city, and a Middle Of The Road song. San Francisco for 2 days: instantly my fave city, gorgeous to look at, lots to do, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf (views of Alcatraz) all done, all fab, Cable-car trolley ride? tick. The Bay bridges? yup. Attractive high-rise buildings? not bad. I especially loved Chinatown, giving me a heady dose of Singapore nostalgia, buying up oriental souvenirs and trinkets in a sweaty excitement. Pagoda wind-chimes, playing cards, chess piece, tiger-balm ointment (for mosquito bite ease), tiger-design & China scenery bamboo and cloth wall hangers, parasol, bamboo table mats. Yup I loved it. They all thought I was mad.

 

KOA tent evening north of the Bridge, where I got chatted-to by a hunk and his blonde girlfriend, neither of them had heard of Nottingham, Robin Hood or Errol Flynn when I tried to explain where I came from. On the second day, I wanted to stay longer, but one friend wasn’t at all keen and ended up getting the others to agree to move on to the next campsite, while we were eating a meal. I threw a hissy fit, sulked for the journey and refused to help with the map reading to the KOA campsite in the middle of nowhere (I really had had enough of dull tent-life with nothing to do and nowhere to go, and also wanted to see an exciting-looking new film Alien starring a new actress called Sigourney Weaver, showing in SF). Hilariously (to me, in a petty, serves you right sort of way) we went sailing by the exit we needed, and had to double-back and put the tent up in the dark. How spiteful was I? I knew it was the road we needed when we sailed by and I said nothing. Sulky brat, that’s me! I apologise here and now to Julie and Sue (lost touch with Joe and Pete) for being an arse!

 

Fri/Sat: Fresno. A younger girl bank-teller loved my “cute” T shirt and accent, and Pete’s. Aaaahhh! Sequioa National Park: mountain giant redwoods amazing! Saw General Sherman, the world’s biggest tree. Pete tricked me into thinking pine cones were falling on me on a huge fallen trunk. he was throwing them. Doh! Another KOA - did some charting while the others went swimming. They thought I was sulking again, and offered to go and see Alien at a local drive-in. Stopped by police for not stopping completely at a junction “stop” sign. It means just that, but they let us off when we explained it didn’t mean that in the UK. Phew! Being English had so many advantages! Too late for Alien, we went to a double-feature instead: Jaws, and the audience was SO unlike British audiences, screaming, gasping, laughing, applauding, so not-hung-up on showing emotion. Fab! Unfortunately they did the same for Airport ’80: The Concorde, a piece of tripe I slagged off afterwards, even though everyone else seemed to love it. “Sheer boring garbage” said I at the time and I stand by that!

 

Sun: L.A. 120F degrees. Hot! Hollywood sign. Sunset Boulevard. Capitol Building. Chinese Theatre, pavement footprints of the stars! Yay! Monroe, Marx Bros and Bogart were my faves. The Life Of Brian was showing!!! Not even out in the UK and here was a controversial Brit-flick on at the most famous movie theatre in the world. Joe & Sue went to see it while Pete, Julie & I went to CBS studios to watch a recording of The Match Game (aka Blankety Blank) as we’d got free tickets outside the theatre. yay! The warm-up man took over, getting the audience jolly, pulling faces and making crude groin gestures to get a bigger laugh. Even during recording! That explains the manic laughing at mild jokes on US shows: it’s what’s happening off-stage that’s funny! The star guests: David Doyle (Charlie’s Angels); Charles Nelson Reilly; Marcia Wallace (then of Bob Newhart Show, most famously now Mrs Krabappel from the Simpsons, sadly died recently); Bill Daly (also Bob Newhart Show, and previously I Dream Of Jeannie - as I told a smart-ass kid waiting for autographs after the show, he didn’t believe me. Bill confirmed and signed autographs for us. Ahhh!); Randi Oakes (great name) from CHIPS. It was great fun to watch! At the KOA later a couple in the next tent were having loud sex. That was a first for me....!

 

Mon: Universal studios, Battlestar Galactica sci-fi tunnel on the tram tour (still verrrry hot!), houses of The Munsters, The Addams Family, Animal House, Pyscho, sets of Kojak and The Sting (doubling as New York), Land Of The Giants TV show props (had my photo with a telephone bigger than me), the Jaws shark, and an icy-water avalanche as relief from the excess 120F heat. I bought a Mork And Mindy photonovel, the only way in those days to get a visual record of a beloved TV show. Loved Robin Williams, I did. Back to Mann’s/Grauman’s Chinese Theatre for The Life Of Brian in a plush cinema, it was BRILLIANT! Pete & I loved the depth and irreverence of it, piss-taking so much and so many, and my new fave all-time comedy as a result.

 

Tues: That’s it, flight home, after a shopping mall detour, bought some more singles and gifts for the family, and really wanting to stay. I always want to stay when I go on holiday, it’s never long enough, but especially so for this one having packed so much in 2 weeks. Sorry for the self-indulgent stories, but hope the 1979 media references fit into the Retro Themes nicely!

 

 

 

1 ( 3 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

2 ( 1 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

3 ( 2 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

4 ( 33 ) CARS Gary Numan

5 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

6 ( 8 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

7 ( 7 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

8 ( 4 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

9 ( 10 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

10 ( 6 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

 

11 ( 9 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

12 ( 12 ) MONEY The Flying Lizards

13 ( NEW ) SAIL ON The Commodores

14 ( 30 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

15 ( 14 ) LINES The Planets

16 ( 19 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

17 ( 13 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

18 ( 28 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

19 ( 11 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

20 ( 20 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

 

 

21 ( 23 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

22 ( 15 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

23 ( 16 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

24 ( 31 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

25 ( RE ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

26 ( NEW ) SAD EYES Robert John

27 ( 22 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

28 ( NEW ) STRUT YOUR FUNKY STUFF Frantique

29 ( 35 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

30 ( NEW ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

 

 

31 ( 17 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

32 ( 21 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

33 ( 38 ) LET'S GO The Cars

34 ( 29 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

35 ( 25 ) ROCK LOBSTER The B52's

36 ( 18 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

37 ( NEW ) MAMA CAN'T BUY YOU LOVE Elton John

38 ( 53 ) BOY OH BOY Racey

39 ( 32 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

40 ( 45 ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

 

41 ( 36 ) IF I HAD YOU The Korgis

42 ( 42 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

43 ( 37 ) GIRL'S TALK Dave Edmunds

44 ( 27 ) IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM Joe Jackson

45 ( 24 ) MORNING DANCE Spiro Gyra

46 ( 40 ) GETTING CLOSER Wings

47 ( 39 ) MY SHARONA The Knack

48 ( 48 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

49 ( NEW ) I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN Dionne Warwick

50 ( NEW ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

 

51 ( 49 ) SILLY GAMES Janet Kay

52 ( 26 ) YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU GOT Me And You

53 ( 55 ) THE MAIN EVENT/ FIGHT Barbra Streisand

54 ( 44 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

55 ( 51 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

56 ( 50 ) DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW/ KISSES OF FIRE Abba

57 ( NEW ) LEAD ME ON Maxine Nightingale

58 ( 59 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

59 ( 60 ) SHADOWS IN THE MOONLIGHT Anne Murray

60 ( 52 ) SUNDAY GIRL Blondie

 

61 ( 57 ) TRAGEDY The Bee Gees

62 ( 56 ) I WILL SURVIVE Gloria Gaynor

63 ( 34 ) GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS Kandidate

64 ( NEW ) DIFFERENT WORLDS Maureen McGovern

65 ( 54 ) GOOD TIMES Chic

66 ( NEW ) RISE Herb Alpert

67 ( 75 ) SUSPICION Eddie Rabbit

68 ( 41 ) REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Ian Dury And The Blockheads

69 ( 61 ) BAD GIRLS Donna Summer

70 ( 58 ) NIGHT OWL Gerry Rafferty

 

 

71 ( 47 ) WANTED The Dooleys

72 ( 66 ) RING MY BELL Anita Ward

73 ( RE ) THE DAY THE WORLD CAUGHT FIRE City Boy

74 ( 69 ) BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Supertramp

75 ( NEW ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

 

TV

1 Top Of The Pops

2 Get Smart

3 Carry On At Your Convenience: film

4 The Seachers: film

5 The Tonight Show

Edited October 7, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

25th September 1979

 

2 weeks on top for ELO as US holiday hit Robert John’s not so sad at 4, and The Commodores get their 3rd Top 10. It’s all about the new entries though, as a deluge of new UK releases invade my charts having been denied UK radio access for over 2 weeks, and led by highest new hit at 9 for Blondie, instantly catchy Dreaming. Just behind them, and also following up a chart-topper, it’s The Police shifting it up a gear with the frantic Message In A Bottle, a huge student fave and in at 11.

 

That’s not all though, big new entry at 13 for Kate Bush’s Them Heavy People. Wow! One more big new entry at 15, Rainbow, a Deep Purple off-shoot and a great Russ (Argent) Ballard song already charted for Clout in my charts. This rockpopmetal version is even better though. Biggest climber, up 50 places to 25 for Michael Jackson, just hanging on ahead of another batch of new entries.

 

Such as Quo at 30, Whatever You Want, one of their best records and rifftastic and all moody singalong - just bad luck it got overshadowed by even better records! At 38, Elvis Costello-a-like The Jags good Back Of My Hand, and then 2 new monster hits: Fleetwood Mac finally release something new, and it’s the sprawling, ambitious, rhythmic Tusk, confounding expectations brilliantly, in at 49. At 51, it’s Trevor Horn debuting. His group were called The Buggles and this was a little-known track mentioning the increasingly popular music videos that were cropping up on TV. I expect this utterly fab novelty record and music videos are long-forgotten these days. Finally, it’s a ska debut from a fresh-faced gang of lads called Madness: The Prince at 53.

OK, so no sooner than back from the States than it was off to Batley by coach for Sue’s 21st birthday bash with her family and mutual college friends. That was saturday, sunday was back to mansfield and a procession of guests, Mona from down the street (mum’s school-friend’s mum, a family friend) and Great Aunty Doll (mum’s Aunt) who talked of the tragedies in grandma’s life - it’s a novel in itself - before dad took me and brother mark out for a driving lesson. Mark was much better than me, couldn’t get the hang of gear changes. Aunty Eileen, Uncle Tony and the cousins Rachel & Lisa popped round Monday, before a family outing to Monty Python & The Holy Grail - probably the last film dad bothered to go and see at the cinema. Mum and Sue hated it, and it just wasn’t as good as Life Of Brian in LA! The other film, Blazing saddles, everyone loved, cos it’s brilliant. Cleaned my goldfish tank, and the budgie aviary. Mark bought a 10-minute Dr Who & The Daleks movie edit for his new movie projector, which was good, pre-video days, like being at the cinema, and was disappointed at the quality of my American slides that came in the post - too dark, mostly. Tragic!

 

1 ( 1 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

2 ( 2 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

3 ( 4 ) CARS Gary Numan

4 ( 26 ) SAD EYES Robert John

5 ( 9 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

6 ( 13 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

7 ( 3 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

8 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

9 ( NEW ) DREAMING Blondie

10 ( 14 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

 

 

11 ( NEW ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

12 ( 7 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

13 ( NEW ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

14 ( 8 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

15 ( NEW ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

16 ( 18 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

17 ( 11 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

18 ( 6 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

19 ( 25 ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

20 ( 24 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

 

 

21 ( 10 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

22 ( 20 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

23 ( 12 ) MONEY The Flying Lizards

24 ( 16 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

25 ( 75 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

26 ( 19 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

27 ( 30 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

28 ( 28 ) STRUT YOUR FUNKY STUFF Frantique

29 ( 29 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

30 ( NEW ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

 

 

31 ( 21 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

32 ( 50 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

33 ( 23 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

34 ( 22 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

35 ( 42 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

36 ( 17 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

37 ( 38 ) BOY OH BOY Racey

38 ( NEW ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

39 ( 15 ) LINES The Planets

40 ( 49 ) I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN Dionne Warwick

 

41 ( 27 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

42 ( 32 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

43 ( 31 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

44 ( 66 ) RISE Herb Alpert

45 ( 36 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

46 ( 39 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

47 ( NEW ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

48 ( 34 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

49 ( NEW ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

50 ( 40 ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

 

 

51 ( NEW ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

52 ( 48 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

53 ( NEW ) THE PRINCE Madness

54 ( 57 ) LEAD ME ON Maxine Nightingale

55 ( 41 ) IF I HAD YOU The Korgis

56 ( 33 ) LET'S GO The Cars

57 ( 54 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

58 ( 64 ) DIFFERENT WORLDS Maureen McGovern

59 ( 55 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

60 ( NEW ) SOMETHING THAT I SAID The Ruts

 

61 ( 35 ) ROCK LOBSTER The B52's

62 ( 58 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

63 ( 60 ) SUNDAY GIRL Blondie

64 ( 56 ) DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW/ KISSES OF FIRE Abba

65 ( NEW ) TOMORROW'S GIRLS The UK Subs

66 ( 43 ) GIRL'S TALK Dave Edmunds

67 ( NEW ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

68 ( 44 ) IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM Joe Jackson

69 ( 47 ) MY SHARONA The Knack

70 ( NEW ) DIM ALL THE LIGHTS Donna Summer

 

71 ( 61 ) TRAGEDY The Bee Gees

72 ( 62 ) I WILL SURVIVE Gloria Gaynor

73 ( RE ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG The Jam

74 ( 51 ) SILLY GAMES Janet Kay

75 ( NEW ) LASER LOVE After The Fire

 

TV

1 Star Trek: Charlie X

2 Westworld: film

3 MASH

4 Arthur C. Clarke Profile

5 Targets

6 Top Of The Pops

7 Kojak

8 Carry On Doctor: film

9 Film 79

10 The Sky At Night

Edited October 8, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

2nd October 1979

 

3 weeks for ELO on top, but the competition is so fierce that classic records I bought full-price, like Cars, actually drop. Michael Jackson gets his biggest solo hit since 1972 as Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough shoots up to 3, chased by The Police following up their number 1 with a message in a bottle at 5. Kate gets her 4th Top 10, Rainbow get their first (and last) and Quo just miss out at 12.

 

Supertramp, and The Tourists, go back up to new peaks of 14 and 15 respectively. Tusk, in the meantime, drums it’s way up 30 places to 19 and The Buggles take that video statement up 31 to 20. Squeeze, The Jags, Madness, Herb Alpert, The Headboys and The Little River Band all rise inside the 40, giving a very very busy chart. That’s not enough though! 12 new entries pop in, including The Dickies taking on The Moody Blues Nights In White Satin at 36: it must be heard to be believed! Following up the gorgeous Lady Lynda, The Beach Boys enter with the equally gorgeous Sumahama, a Japanese oriental-flavoured delight, while Judy Tzuke is For You at 53. Sad Cafe debut at 63, as do XTC at 66 with the brilliant, unusual and exciting Making Plans For Nigel, a record that is as relevant today as it was then in subject matter (nepotism of the rich). The O’Jays get 7 years of hits at 70, Gloria Gaynor 5 years at 74 - it’s I Will Survive part 2, sort of. Elton also makes it 8 years of hits as he goes full-blown disco again, after dabbling with older recordings of Philly soul sessions: Victim Of Love at 75 is a forgotten goodie.

 

 

Back in the UK a while, I was now back at College (hooray!), in new digs, on campus (hooray!) for the first time as I started my 3rd and final year (Boo!). Most of my friends were in the same block, Pete and Paul on my floor, Sue, Julie and Bev upstairs, which was great. Did some painting, shelves, cleaning bedroom, cleaning budgies, fish tank cleaning. I taught one of mum’s friend’s young sons how to get water moving down the pipe from the tank by sucking - he got a mouthful of fishy water, though! I hope that wasn’t the start of his lifelong substance abuse, he certainly seemed happier then.

 

Gracie Fields died, noted that Carry On The Khyber is the best Carry On, that MASH (practical joker episode) remained as good as ever 7 years on, and the Doctor Who episode in Paris was one of the best in ages, though I was still unsure about the new Romana. I watched Parkinson guests Terry Wogan and the marvellous Carol Channing have a great Python-esque show while the rest of the family had a huge argument downstairs, which meant Sue (brothers fiancee) had to go back home to her parents house (she’d been living with Mark here) while Ernie, the retired disabled father of the late next-door-neighbour still lived with us too in a 3-bedroom house. We have spent a lifetime often taking in people relations and family and it’s not always easy if things get fraught, as they tend to do when you have a lot of people in an overcrowded house. That, of course, is life in UK 2014 for many - just that’s it’s been life in mum and dad’s house in 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009....but not any more. Ernie, with mum and dad, took me to College, and he was always nice and appreciative of us till the day he died a few years later, but he was never happy with his condition, the loss of his wife and daughter, and really only his young grandson kept him going for a few years. When he got moved into a Council assisted flat development (staff on site, but own flats) the residents used to call it “Death Row” waiting to see who’d be next to go. It wasn’t that bad actually, certainly better than care homes and mental institutions I’ve seen.

 

 

1 ( 1 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

2 ( 2 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

3 ( 25 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

4 ( 6 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

5 ( 11 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

6 ( 3 ) CARS Gary Numan

7 ( 10 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

8 ( 13 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

9 ( 9 ) DREAMING Blondie

10 ( 15 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

 

 

11 ( 5 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

12 ( 30 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

13 ( 7 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

14 ( 22 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

15 ( 35 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

16 ( 8 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

17 ( 12 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

18 ( 4 ) SAD EYES Robert John

19 ( 49 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

20 ( 51 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

 

21 ( 20 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

22 ( 14 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

23 ( 27 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

24 ( 38 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

25 ( NEW ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

26 ( 32 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

27 ( 53 ) THE PRINCE Madness

28 ( 50 ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

29 ( 16 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

30 ( 18 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

 

 

31 ( 17 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

32 ( 44 ) RISE Herb Alpert

33 ( 24 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

34 ( 31 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

35 ( 19 ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

36 ( NEW ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Dickies

37 ( 26 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

38 ( 21 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

39 ( NEW ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

40 ( 47 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

 

 

 

41 ( 28 ) STRUT YOUR FUNKY STUFF Frantique

42 ( 34 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

43 ( 33 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

44 ( 45 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

45 ( 39 ) LINES The Planets

46 ( 29 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

47 ( 41 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

48 ( 70 ) DIM ALL THE LIGHTS Donna Summer

49 ( 43 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

50 ( 42 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

 

 

 

51 ( 23 ) MONEY The Flying Lizards

52 ( 36 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

53 ( NEW ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

54 ( 46 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

55 ( 67 ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

56 ( 52 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

57 ( 37 ) BOY OH BOY Racey

58 ( 48 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

59 ( NEW ) OH SUSIE Secret Service

60 ( NEW ) GOOD GIRLS DON'T The Knack

 

61 ( 57 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

62 ( 59 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

63 ( NEW ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

64 ( 58 ) DIFFERENT WORLDS Maureen McGovern

65 ( 62 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

66 ( NEW ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

67 ( 63 ) SUNDAY GIRL Blondie

68 ( 64 ) DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW/ KISSES OF FIRE Abba

69 ( 69 ) MY SHARONA The Knack

70 ( NEW ) SING A HAPPY SONG The O'Jays

 

 

71 ( 55 ) IF I HAD YOU The Korgis

72 ( NEW ) THERE MUST BE THOUSANDS The Quads

73 ( 54 ) LEAD ME ON Maxine Nightingale

74 ( NEW ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

75 ( NEW ) VICTIM OF LOVE Elton John

 

TV

1 Star Trek: Court Martial

2 MASH

3 Carry On Up The Khyber: film

4 Rhoda

5 The Rockford Files

6 Top Of The Pops

7 Film '79

8 Doctor Who

9 The Two Ronnies

10 Ned Sherrin: Christopher Reeves interview

Edited October 25, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

 

OK I'm trying this out as a dry run...

Edited October 27, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

John, which Blondie's songs were # 1s in your chart ? Obviously # 2 group of decade (of course behind ABBA).

 

Peak at # 9 it's so low for amazing "Dreaming".

 

Most possible 70s is my favourite decade in music. Really want to complete my top 200 favourite songs for this time period, but it's so hard to rate all those wonderful hits.

Edited October 30, 201410 yr by Outcast

9th October 1979

 

Michael Jackson gets his 2nd solo number one, 7 years after Ain’t No Sunshine, and it’s a brilliant Quincy Jones dance production, mixed with the first evidence that he was more than capable of writing his own great songs. It sounded like a disco step forward at the time - because it was. Still sounds great too. Quo go up to 4, Whatever You Want taking the throbbing riff and perfecting it - this is the best riffing Quo single, though surprisingly to some they had plenty of other non-riffing great singles.

 

Squeeze grab a 4th Top 20 entry, and Madness their first of a long run as The Prince hits 19. XTC, Judy Tzuke, Donna Summer, Dave Edmunds and Sad Cafe go top 40 along with Secret Service, no-hit wonders. The highest new entry is an advert song, Don’t Be A Dummy, at 49, while at 55 The Devil, apparently, Went Down To Georgia with The Charlie Daniels Band, a record I’d heard on my US holiday but hadn’t rated much. It was a grower, country fiddle-tastic.

 

Reggae? OK Fred, says Errol Dunkley new at 60, The Dooleys Are The Chosen Few, melodically tweeting at 67, and the funk run of soul singles by Earth Wind & Fire keeps shining a Star on my charts. The Nolan Sisters, before they dropped the sister and went pop, debut with a sweet enough old-fashioned pop song, Spirit Body And Soul at 70, The Eagles days are almost numbered for 30 years, as Heartache Tonight thumps in at 72, and the Atlanta Rhythm Section cover 60’s classic Spooky, jazzfunk style and grab 74 - Dusty Springfield has the definitive version, but it’s still pretty good. Lastly it’s The Skids with a 3rd frantic chanting punkpop single at 75, Charade!

 

 

 

Back at College, in my new digs, new room, I gathered a large crowd in my room watching my portable black and white TV, half-joking “I’ll have to throw them out” I said to a friend when we went for our meal in the dining hall, who bluntly repeated it when I got back, to my mortal embarrassment, bright red, and they sheepishly drifted off, never to return some of them. Aaghhh! The core group of holiday friends and Jane thankfully stayed for some USA holiday slideshow fun. Most of my gang spent weekdays out on Teaching Practice while I had lectures with 4th-year honours students - though no “honours” title to my degree, pah!

 

Snooker games, news of someone who’d failed exams and left, and the sudden realisation I had a 3-hour exam in 2 days on humour in 19th century novels and I hadn’t even got the books yet, swanning off to America all summer as I did. Agh! Revised like mad, answered only 2 questions and a big flop. The other 7 or 8 exam-takers joined me for consolation in my room afterwards, which meant I missed eating. Socialised lots with my growing gang of core friends, and had great fun, laughs, and noted they were all nice people. Ahhh good times!

 

Friday was ART day, developing my photos in the darkroom (I always enjoy seeing what develops in darkrooms © 1965), by far my fave subject, loved it. An ex-college friend who’d left in the 2nd year was back visiting the day before she should have been getting married (it was a late cancellation of the permanent kind, sadly), then home to mansfield for the weekend, babysitting for my lil’ cousins and Kenny Everett on Parkinson, yay! Then my brother announced he was getting married to Sue next September. Can’t say it wasn’t a busy week.....!

 

 

1 ( 3 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

2 ( 1 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

3 ( 5 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

4 ( 12 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

5 ( 10 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

6 ( 9 ) DREAMING Blondie

7 ( 2 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

8 ( 8 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

9 ( 7 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

10 ( 4 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

 

11 ( 6 ) CARS Gary Numan

12 ( 20 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

13 ( 15 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

14 ( 14 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

15 ( 23 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

16 ( 19 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

17 ( 18 ) SAD EYES Robert John

18 ( 11 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

19 ( 27 ) THE PRINCE Madness

20 ( 24 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

 

21 ( 26 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

22 ( 25 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

23 ( 13 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

24 ( 39 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

25 ( 17 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

26 ( 44 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

27 ( 16 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

28 ( 32 ) RISE Herb Alpert

29 ( 63 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

30 ( 36 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Dickies

 

 

31 ( 66 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

32 ( 21 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

33 ( 28 ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

34 ( 22 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

35 ( 40 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

36 ( 53 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

37 ( 48 ) DIM ALL THE LIGHTS Donna Summer

38 ( 55 ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

39 ( 59 ) OH SUSIE Secret Service

40 ( 31 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

 

 

41 ( 41 ) STRUT YOUR FUNKY STUFF Frantique

42 ( 30 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

43 ( 35 ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

44 ( 38 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

45 ( 29 ) DUCHESS The Stranglers

46 ( 34 ) STREET LIFE The Crusaders

47 ( 37 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

48 ( 42 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

49 ( NEW ) DON'T BE A DUMMY John Du Cann

50 ( 75 ) VICTIM OF LOVE Elton John

 

51 ( 33 ) GONE GONE GONE Johnny Mathis

52 ( 43 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

53 ( 50 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

54 ( 47 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

55 ( NEW ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

56 ( 74 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

57 ( 60 ) GOOD GIRLS DON'T The Knack

58 ( 49 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

59 ( 45 ) LINES The Planets

60 ( NEW ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

 

61 ( 61 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

62 ( 62 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

63 ( 56 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

64 ( 54 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

65 ( 58 ) BORN TO BE ALIVE Patrick Hernandez

66 ( 70 ) SING A HAPPY SONG The O'Jays

67 ( NEW ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

68 ( NEW ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

69 ( 46 ) IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY (WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME) The Bellamy Brothers

70 ( NEW ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

 

71 ( 65 ) CHIQUITITA Abba

72 ( NEW ) HEARTACHE TONIGHT The Eagles

73 ( 52 ) OOH WHAT A LIFE The Gibson brothers

74 ( NEW ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

75 ( NEW ) CHARADE The Skids

 

TV

1 Star Trek: Catspaw

2 Top Of The Pops

3 Doctor Who

4 MASH

5 Parkinson (sat)

6 Parkinson (wed)

7 Sykes

8 Talking Movies

9 Starsky and Hutch

10 To The Manor Born

Edited October 30, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

John, which Blondie's songs were # 1s in your chart ? Obviously # 2 group of decade (of course behind ABBA).

 

Peak at # 9 it's so low for amazing "Dreaming".

 

Most possible 70s is my favourite decade in music. Really want to complete my top 200 favourite songs for this time period, but it's so hard to rate all those wonderful hits.

 

Look forward to that 70's rate if you manage it, Alex! Dreaming up to 6 this week :yahoo:

 

Blondie number ones: Denis, Heart Of Glass, Sunday Girl, Atomic, Rapture, Good Boys (2003) - 6 in total :wub:

16th October 1979

 

Another new number one as The Police get their 2nd chart-topper, the terrific frantic rock-reggae Message In A Bottle, and Sting very much being the pin-up man of the time (pin-up boys not being that much in demand). New in at 2, though, the group most-likely-to (knock ‘em off after 1 week) it’s Abba’s brilliant disco track Gimme Gimme Gimme - not only did it inspire a TV sitcom, that insistent catchy flutey sound was borrowed heavily by Madonna for her just-as-good Hung Up. By this time Abba hadn’t NOT topped my chart in four years (and would have had at least an additional 10 or 15 had I allowed album tracks). Bit of a fan.

 

Rainbow go top 3, and Fleetwood Mac charge their Tusk up to 5, incredibly only their second top 5 hit (after Dreams peaked at 3). The Buggles get into the top 10, under-appreciated quite frankly! Herb Alpert gets his 2nd Top 20 hit 11 years on, as he rises, while The Chosen Few takes The Dooleys into the top 40 for the 5th time or so. New in at 40, their 6th, it’s Chic with my forbidden lover - I’m lying, I didn’t have one, forbidden or otherwise, but it’s as classy as previous hits, albeit not quite as bass-ily classic!

 

In at 66, Lene Lovich has a 3rd hit with the utterly fantastic Bird Song, a complete change of pace, and still mad as a hatter in a touching way. Dusty’s back again with Baby Blue, her disco period, but this is a soulful disco minor classic that never became the hit it deserved to be, but giving my all-time fave female vocalist 11 years of hits. Steve Harley, meanwhile, has lost his Cockney Rebel’s, and bounced back with the great Freedom’s Prisoner at 64 5 years on from Judy Teen. Ian Gomm debuts at 67 with the gorgeous US hit Hold On: who he? He be ex-Brinsley Schwarz, and Cruel To be Kind British co-writer, that be who. Pure American-radio-sounding, it’s yet another UK flop, not being that much in vogue with New Wave UK.

 

Wrapping up the lower-end, The Sex Pistols keep on having that barrel scraped as the 3rd version of Rock Around The Clock charts, more of a shambles than a punk record, but might have been mildly amusing if the tw*t farting about on lead vocal hadn’t murdered his girlfriend before overdosing. Not that funny, after that. Viola Wills also covers an old 50‘s song, disco-fashion, that had been a hit in many different genres, big-band swing, country, wall-of-sound, latino-pop, ska before it added another hit notch here. It’s OK, thanks to the song more than the arrangement. Suzi Quatro is also back again with a romping poprock She’s In Love With You at 74, and at 75 it’s Nostromo with a dance version of the theme tune to the forthcoming sci-fi film Alien. Nostromo is the name of the ship, the tune is haunting and daunting from the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith, composer of movie soundtracks like, (pause for breath) Planet Of The Apes, Logans Run, Star Trek (5 of ‘em!), Gremlins, LA Confidential, Chinatown, The Mummy. Among others. Phew!

Back at college again, it was snooker games, a social group gathering in my room for TV & tea, where my review of Airport 80: Concorde was shared by Barry Norman on Film 79. Lots of friends, chatting, discussing, opinion-ating, and general fun times. Reading Lord Of The Flies for literature course - classic! Hanging about a bit with American exchange student Steve from Waukesha Wisconsin. Evenings, I’d forgotten how much my room was the social centre of the gang, I pretty much had a parade of visitors from tea-time till bed-time watching TV and chatting. Friday a gang of us over-crowded Paul’s car for a pub evening down at the Quay (The William IV’th). In town for records searching Saturday I bumped into my old form-tutor from school, Mrs Gibson. Entertained non-campus friends in the evening, but basically every single evening I socialised, an evening sat on my own watching TV was unheard of (I’m happy to say) as everyone wound down from the stress of Teaching Practice for a laugh.

 

 

1 ( 3 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

2 ( NEW ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

3 ( 5 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

4 ( 1 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

5 ( 16 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

6 ( 2 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

7 ( 6 ) DREAMING Blondie

8 ( 4 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

9 ( 12 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

10 ( 7 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

 

11 ( 8 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

12 ( 24 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

13 ( 11 ) CARS Gary Numan

14 ( 10 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

15 ( 9 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

16 ( 26 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

17 ( 13 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

18 ( 14 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

19 ( 22 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

20 ( 28 ) RISE Herb Alpert

 

21 ( 20 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

22 ( 15 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

23 ( 31 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

24 ( 18 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

25 ( 17 ) SAD EYES Robert John

26 ( 29 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

27 ( 19 ) THE PRINCE Madness

28 ( 35 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

29 ( 23 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

30 ( 25 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

 

31 ( 67 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

32 ( 60 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

33 ( 38 ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

34 ( 37 ) DIM ALL THE LIGHTS Donna Summer

35 ( 21 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

36 ( 36 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

37 ( 55 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

38 ( 49 ) DON'T BE A DUMMY John Du Cann

39 ( 68 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

40 ( NEW ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

 

41 ( 39 ) OH SUSIE Secret Service

42 ( 34 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

43 ( 50 ) VICTIM OF LOVE Elton John

44 ( 70 ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

45 ( 27 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

46 ( 57 ) GOOD GIRLS DON'T The Knack

47 ( 33 ) LONESOME LOSER The Little River Band

48 ( 72 ) HEARTACHE TONIGHT The Eagles

49 ( 56 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

50 ( 40 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

 

51 ( 32 ) REGGAE FOR IT NOW Bill Lovelady

52 ( 48 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

53 ( 66 ) SING A HAPPY SONG The O'Jays

54 ( 30 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Dickies

55 ( 54 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

56 ( NEW ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

57 ( 44 ) GANGSTERS The Specials

58 ( 42 ) ANGEL EYES Roxy Music

59 ( NEW ) BABY BLUE Dusty Springfield

60 ( 41 ) STRUT YOUR FUNKY STUFF Frantique

 

 

 

61 ( 53 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

62 ( 61 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

63 ( 62 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

64 ( NEW ) FREEDOM'S PRISONER Steve Harley

65 ( 58 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

66 ( 43 ) LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON ME Dollar

67 ( NEW ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

68 ( 63 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

69 ( 64 ) LADY LYNDA The Beach Boys

70 ( NEW ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK The Sex Pistols

 

 

 

71 ( NEW ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

72 ( 52 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Earth Wind And Fire

73 ( 47 ) BANG BANG B.A. Robertson

74 ( NEW ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

75 ( NEW ) ALIEN Nostromo

 

 

TV

1 MASH

2 Star Trek: Who Mourns For Adonis

3 Roots: The Next Generation

4 Rhoda

5 Parkinson (sat)

6 Top Of The Pops

7 Doctor Who

8 Ripping Yarns

9 To The Manor Born

10 Mike Yarwood Show

Edited November 1, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

23rd October 1979

 

Another week another new number one: of course Abba got there, it’s one of their great singles and it wasn’t on Voulez Vous (though there was yet another single to go from it). That makes it 12 in a row, far and away the longest run of number ones, and 13 in total. No other act has ever had a dozen in my chart, not even The Beatles and Pet Shop Boys.

 

The Buggles and Blondie finally go top 5, both deserved even better, and Dr. Hook finally go top 10, their 5th in 7 years. The Beach Boys get a 2nd Top 10 hit of the year, the lovely Sumahama being their 7th in 11 years. Had I allowed album tracks, Good Timin’ would also have done it from the same album, a harmony delight. XTC make plans for the top 20, OK Fred ragga raggas up to 17, The Dooleys get a 4th top 20, and Lene Lovich makes it 3 in a row as Bird Song flies up 40 places to 16.

 

The Sex Pistols mystifyingly make the top 40 while more understandably old faves the O’Jays double number one’s are long behind them, but are amiable enough singing a happy song at 39, and Steve Harley is at 40, freedom’s prisoner no more. Debuts for The Selecter and Matumbi, both decent singles, ska and reggae respectively, and The Undertones are back with their second great single, the very under-rated, and brilliant, You’ve Got My Number at 57.

 

B.A. Robertson has a 2nd pop gem, claiming he knocked it off amongst other football references. Cats UK fly in from Luton Airport: fear not it flew out just as quickly to everyone’s relief. The Stranglers go atomic, Bob Marley has a good social message which sadly will never stop being relevant as long as their are people, Van Morrison is a little more optimistic with one of his least-dreary records, and Queen continue to underperform in my charts with their 1979 singles as Crazy Little Thing Called Love rockabilly’s its way in at 74 - the abrupt change of style didn’t work for me at the time, but it’s a pop gem actually. Lastly, Atlanta Rhythm Section re-enter with a song Dusty recorded, as she rises with her new one: Spooky!

 

 

Back in digs, the stream of evening pals dropping by continues. I feel so loved! A dull poetry lecture, some photo lab-bing, some laughs with friends, some relationship developing between 2 of them (I was chaperone). Read “Pincher Martin”, snooker (I won), college cinema for “Jaws” I was gratified to see the American students just as reactive as they were in California a few weeks back “not dumb quiet like English”. A spot of Knights Of Ni Python silliness between ourselves afterwards, and Billy Connolly very funny on Parkinson. I got the boys in stitches of laughter when I announced to the girls we used the girls toilets on our side of the student block cos they were nearer than the men’s (it was down to the comic timing, you had to be there!). At the cinema I went to see spoof Dracula movie Love At First Bite with fave Susan Saint James in it: “good cast good script mildly amusing throughout...” which leaves me bewildered as to why it’s become so obscure these days, it’s never repeated. Doctor Who: “Excellent, best series in long time”. Post-wedding social-evening with non-campus friends, to complete another great week for me. I can see why I look back so fondly on those years compared to the 80’s...

 

 

 

 

1 ( 2 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

2 ( 1 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

3 ( 5 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

4 ( 9 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

5 ( 7 ) DREAMING Blondie

6 ( 3 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

7 ( 4 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

8 ( 16 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

9 ( 12 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

10 ( 11 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

 

11 ( 8 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

12 ( 6 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

13 ( 10 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

14 ( 23 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

15 ( 13 ) CARS Gary Numan

16 ( 56 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

17 ( 32 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

18 ( 31 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

19 ( 15 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

20 ( 20 ) RISE Herb Alpert

 

21 ( 14 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

22 ( 39 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

23 ( 37 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

24 ( 21 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

25 ( 25 ) SAD EYES Robert John

26 ( 26 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

27 ( 40 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

28 ( 28 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

29 ( 18 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

30 ( 19 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

 

 

 

31 ( 22 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

32 ( 70 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK The Sex Pistols

33 ( 36 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

34 ( 17 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

35 ( 49 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

36 ( 71 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

37 ( 30 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

38 ( 29 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

39 ( 53 ) SING A HAPPY SONG The O'Jays

40 ( 64 ) FREEDOM'S PRISONER Steve Harley

 

41 ( 24 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

42 ( 27 ) THE PRINCE Madness

43 ( 43 ) VICTIM OF LOVE Elton John

44 ( 44 ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

45 ( NEW ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

46 ( 35 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

47 ( 74 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

48 ( 75 ) ALIEN Nostromo

49 ( 42 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

50 ( NEW ) POINT OF VIEW Matumbi

 

51 ( 41 ) OH SUSIE Secret Service

52 ( 33 ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

53 ( 48 ) HEARTACHE TONIGHT The Eagles

54 ( 59 ) BABY BLUE Dusty Springfield

55 ( 45 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

56 ( 38 ) DON'T BE A DUMMY John Du Cann

57 ( NEW ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

58 ( 55 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

59 ( NEW ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

60 ( RE ) CHARADE The Skids

 

 

61 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

62 ( 63 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

63 ( 67 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

64 ( 52 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

65 ( NEW ) LUTON AIRPORT Cats UK

66 ( 34 ) DIM ALL THE LIGHTS Donna Summer

67 ( 50 ) GOTTA GO HOME Boney M

68 ( NEW ) NUCLEAR DEVICE (WIZARD OF AUS) The Stranglers

69 ( RE ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

70 ( 65 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

 

71 ( NEW ) SO MUCH TROUBLE IN THE WORLD Bob Marley & The Wailers

72 ( 68 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

73 ( NEW ) BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Van Morrison

74 ( NEW ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

75 ( 61 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

 

 

 

TV

1 Star Trek: The Apple

2 Roots: The Next Generation

3 Parkinson (wed)

4 Top Of The Pops

5 For Pete's Sake: film

6 Doctor Who

7 Parkinson (sat)

8 Friday Night Sunday Morning: film

9 The Rockford Files

10 Blankety Blank

Edited November 1, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

30th October 1979

 

For the 4th week in a row it’s a new number one, even knocking off a new Abba single - Fleetwood Mac’s sprawling, ambitious, drum-thumping, everything-thrown-in-including-the-iamspamspamamisink marching Tusk. It shocked everyone at the time, following up Rumours, but I loved it. It’s fair to say if there hadn’t been so many great singles about Video Killed The Radio Star and When You’re In Love would have topped my charts as well as the UK’s.

 

Lene Lovich and XTC bring a bit of New Wave quirkiness into my Top 10, and there’s no Hold On Ian Gomm up 43 to 20. Highest new entry is both the first chart version of a song to be big 4 years on for Laura Branigan - Gloria - and also, as a double-pack single, 60’s melodic classic Everyone’s Gone To The Moon which I loved as a kid, helping Jonathan King to be one of my fave pop stars during the 70’s - always fun, despite being a terrible singer. Moon was supposed to be a piss-take of cliched pop drivel with trite lyrics, rhymes designed to use every lyrical cliche about. Trouble was, the tune was so strong it wasn’t at all obvious it wasn’t serious and could be taken straight, giving graduate-student JK a surprise hit and career. It didn’t qualify for my charts (I’d excluded reissues by then unless they charted in the UK) but the reality is it would have at least been as high as the much inferior Gloria, and likely a number one, had I allowed it.

 

Suzi Quatro’s back in the top 40, The Eagles also do it despite a little bit of heartache tonight, and The Nolan Sisters get their first Top 40 hit. Few new entries this week, but New Musik point the 80’s pop way with Straight Lines, a great debut entry at 47 from a great under-rated pop album From A To B chock-a-block with great singles and potential singles. Sham 69 have an abrupt change of style, Misty you’re a better man than I, and end their chart career in the process. On the one hand, phew! On the other hand the more ballady single should in theory have been a good way forward had some of their fans not been more into rioting and racism than actual music.

On TV, Doctor Who nearly knocks Star Trek off my weekly top spot, and back in student-land, visitors to Chez-John this week included Alan, Julie, Jeanette, Paul, Pete, Sue, Jane, Bev, Joe, Ian, Jane D. individually or in any combination thereof day or evening. Designed a poster for a screen print (for Art), came to the conclusion that one of my English Lit lecturers was a droning bore, and had tons of coursework and assignments assigned, such as Volpone. Boo! More snooker and laughs, after I won by 20 points for spite because I wasn’t allowed some points I felt I deserved, so I played “brilliantly” while pretend-mocking I was annoyed about it. Our American students hosted an American Studies lecture, which was fun, and I noted this weeks TOTP was crap - yes the one that was just broadcast on BBC4 as I type. It’s still crap.

 

Friday was an Art field trip to Bradford with Chuck my new American friend, Max, my art tutor, and 3 mature students, for a David Hockney exhibition - which didn’t overly impress me. Next stop was Sheffield for a Diane Arbus photographic exhibition, I do like her style to this day and choice of unusual people portraits. Late back, but not too late for a social evening for Paul’s Party in the student uni room, I refused to dance (as always in those days), though when a few punk tracks came on nearly everyone stopped dancing and I started - much more comfortable dancing to rock music (still am) The Cars, The Skids, The Sex Pistols which not many of our gang liked. Hey ho! Saturday in town, bumped into another ex-school teacher Mr Poole who i always liked, and had a quick chat. A pub afternoon in Anersley with Jane Dave and Paul, then the Rag Ball in the evening, with tie (against my principles, ties) and which I tried to get out of, the sound system and music pretty poor. Refused to dance again, but sulking cos I needed to stop having fun and knuckle down to the bloody pile of assignments - so Sunday was work day. Degrees, honestly, get spoilt by having to study and write rather than have fun!

 

 

1 ( 3 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

2 ( 1 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

3 ( 2 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

4 ( 4 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

5 ( 8 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

6 ( 6 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

7 ( 5 ) DREAMING Blondie

8 ( 16 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

9 ( 14 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

10 ( 7 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

 

11 ( 11 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

12 ( 12 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

13 ( 13 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

14 ( 17 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

15 ( 27 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

16 ( 18 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

17 ( 20 ) RISE Herb Alpert

18 ( 15 ) CARS Gary Numan

19 ( 23 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

20 ( 63 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

 

 

 

21 ( 9 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

22 ( 22 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

23 ( 10 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

24 ( NEW ) GLORIA/ EVERYON'ES GONE TO THE MOON Jonathan King

25 ( 19 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

26 ( 21 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

27 ( 47 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

28 ( 33 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

29 ( 45 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

30 ( 25 ) SAD EYES Robert John

 

 

 

31 ( 26 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

32 ( 32 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK The Sex Pistols

33 ( 36 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

34 ( 35 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

35 ( 44 ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

36 ( 29 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

37 ( 40 ) FREEDOM'S PRISONER Steve Harley

38 ( 30 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

39 ( 53 ) HEARTACHE TONIGHT The Eagles

40 ( 37 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

 

41 ( 24 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

42 ( 38 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

43 ( 57 ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

44 ( 34 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

45 ( 31 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

46 ( 28 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

47 ( NEW ) STRAIGHT LINES New Musik

48 ( 48 ) ALIEN Nostromo

49 ( 54 ) BABY BLUE Dusty Springfield

50 ( 41 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

 

 

 

51 ( 43 ) VICTIM OF LOVE Elton John

52 ( 42 ) THE PRINCE Madness

53 ( 49 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

54 ( 59 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

55 ( NEW ) YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I Sham '69

56 ( 52 ) QUEEN OF HEARTS Dave Edmunds

57 ( 58 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

58 ( 68 ) NUCLEAR DEVICE (WIZARD OF AUS) The Stranglers

59 ( 61 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

60 ( 62 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

 

61 ( 39 ) SING A HAPPY SONG The O'Jays

62 ( 55 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

63 ( 69 ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

64 ( 74 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

65 ( 64 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

66 ( 46 ) TIME FOR ACTION Secret Affair

67 ( 50 ) POINT OF VIEW Matumbi

68 ( 51 ) OH SUSIE Secret Service

69 ( 71 ) SO MUCH TROUBLE IN THE WORLD Bob Marley & The Wailers

70 ( 73 ) BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Van Morrison

 

71 ( NEW ) THE SPARROW The Ramblers

72 ( 72 ) LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart

73 ( NEW ) IF YOU REMEMBER ME Chris Thompson

74 ( 70 ) BEAT THE CLOCK Sparks

75 ( 75 ) THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP E.L.O.

 

TV

1 Star Trek: Metamorphosis

2 Doctor Who

3 Fawlty Towers

4 Roots: The Next Generation

5 MASH

6 Film 79

7 The Odd Couple

8 Starsky And Hutch

9 The Two Ronnies

10 Top Of The Pops

Edited November 2, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

6th November 1979

 

The rapid turnover at the top continues as Lene Lovich gets an unexpected Number 1 with a minor UK hit, the quirkily melodic Bird Song. Many found Lene laughable, but I found her endearing, and loved this record. Earth Wind & Fire keep the run of big hits going, 4 years into their chart career, as Star goes up 7, just ahead of the gorgeous Hold On from Ian Gomm, and Herb Alpert Rises to 10, his first foray there since my very first chart of all in 1968, with Burt Bacharach’s heart-rending This Guy’s In Love, a record that still makes cry buckets if I try and sing along. And anyone else within earshot, for different reasons.

 

Suzi Quatro’s back in the top 20, 6 years on and going strong, but never quite getting that number 1, and BA Robertson knocks one off at 27, his 2nd top 40 hit. Highest new entry is Dynasty with the OK disco track I Don’t Want To Be A Freak - well, I can’t help myself either! - ahead of the fairly average follow-up ballad to Sail On. Still, that’s normal for the Commodores. Another disappointing (ska) follow-up, for The Specials Rudi, who at least stay ahead of a bunch of kiddies tweeting about Sparrows! Kool and The Gang start their string of largely soundalike hits, with Ladies Night at 61, Bonnie Tyler appears to believe in my sweet love, actually not a bad single, pity it got no airplay to speak of. The Jam hit their stride though, at 53 with the brilliant Eton Rifles, The Damned Smash It Up at 68, Thin Lizzy mellow down with sarah at 71, Darts peter out a bit at 74 and Sparks get their third chart entry of the year - just! - at 75, their 9th or so. No airplay you see.....no internet, no airplay, no hear.

In the real world, on TV Not The 9 o’clock news, it was a generally not-that-great sketch show, but with moments of inspiration and some new big comic names, like, oh Rowan Atkinson. Yes, Mr. Bean, Blackadder, Johnny English, him. At College, in English, our eccentric lecturer (Hello Mr Jackson) had us all prancing round a willow tree outside reciting folk poems, in full view of the staff room and other lecturers. I swear it was a bet to see who could make students look the most ridiculous. He won! It did make some of the 4th years students actually talk for a change though, so mission accomplished I suspect. The BBC singles charts disappointed, I entertained Ian and Pete with a coffee on a Teaching Practice break for them, Pete off to the Grimsby/Everton footie match in the evening. Sue round in the evenings, snooker with Ian, Pete and Sue lunchtime, great fun. Halloween masks for Pete, who tried to scare passers-by to his window with a flashlight - at least he tried!

 

Pete, Sue, Pauline, Alan, and Helen popped in on their way to (allegedly) the most boring lecturer (ever, presumably), and consoled afterwards with drinks in my room, with Julie having arrived. I finished an assignment, somehow, amidst the stream of friends dropping by (Jane, Bev, Paul, Dave, Clive as well as the previous suspects), helped push a car to start, watched a play about a transvestite, painted some giant fireworks ready for the Rag Parade, watched more holiday slides on my projector, two first years got me to agree to put on tights for the fireworks costume I was going to wear, lying to me that Paul had already said he would - he did not!! We started doing the ‘Float up for the Parade, only to find it all blown away by the wind when we got back from dinner. Doh! Rather embarrassingly (but making up for the first year when I opted out) Paul and I were the only men on an otherwise entirely first-year-female lorry-load of brightly-coloured fireworks. Paul was fairly happy, I think, with that arrangement. We wet lots of passers-by on the slow-drive through Lincoln, and as usual I took loads of black and white photos. To my huge surprise, my first ever real day spent as a centre of public attention was pretty enjoyable - not that I did that again for 5 years or so, but it was good to realise I can do it without freezing. The Rag Revue had one highlight, Dave Allen and Robert Lythgoe as Hinge and Brackett, very funny (especially since Dave had been someone who got on my nerves in the first year, with his stories of his Bishop dad or something like it). A bonfire evening cheerio to the busy week, with Pete back from a London trip with a tale of being robbed while there. Hey ho, certainly wasn’t a dull life!

 

 

1 ( 8 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

2 ( 1 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

3 ( 2 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

4 ( 5 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

5 ( 3 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

6 ( 4 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

7 ( 22 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

8 ( 20 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

9 ( 6 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

10 ( 17 ) RISE Herb Alpert

 

 

11 ( 15 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

12 ( 9 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

13 ( 7 ) DREAMING Blondie

14 ( 14 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

15 ( 11 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

16 ( 10 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

17 ( 27 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

18 ( 12 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

19 ( 13 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

20 ( 29 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

 

21 ( 19 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

22 ( 18 ) CARS Gary Numan

23 ( 30 ) SAD EYES Robert John

24 ( 24 ) GLORIA/ EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOON Jonathan King

25 ( 33 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

26 ( 16 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

27 ( 54 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

28 ( NEW ) I DON'T WANT TO BE A FREAK Dynasty

29 ( 26 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

30 ( 25 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

 

31 ( 43 ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

32 ( 35 ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

33 ( 21 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

34 ( 23 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

35 ( NEW ) STILL The Commodores

36 ( 36 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

37 ( 37 ) FREEDOM'S PRISONER Steve Harley

38 ( NEW ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

39 ( 71 ) THE SPARROW The Ramblers

40 ( 31 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

 

41 ( 32 ) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK The Sex Pistols

42 ( 40 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

43 ( 42 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

44 ( 34 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

45 ( 38 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

46 ( 28 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

47 ( 47 ) STRAIGHT LINES New Musik

48 ( 58 ) NUCLEAR DEVICE (WIZARD OF AUS) The Stranglers

49 ( NEW ) I BELIEVE IN YOUR SWEET LOVE Bonnie Tyler

50 ( 44 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

 

 

51 ( 55 ) YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I Sham '69

52 ( 70 ) BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Van Morrison

53 ( NEW ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

54 ( 45 ) SLAP AND TICKLE Squeeze

55 ( 50 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

56 ( 53 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

57 ( 60 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

58 ( 59 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

59 ( 57 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

60 ( 64 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

 

 

61 ( NEW ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

62 ( 39 ) HEARTACHE TONIGHT The Eagles

63 ( 63 ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

64 ( 41 ) BACK OF MY HAND The Jags

65 ( 48 ) ALIEN Nostromo

66 ( 65 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

67 ( 46 ) THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Headboys

68 ( NEW ) SMASH IT UP The Damned

69 ( 62 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

70 ( 49 ) BABY BLUE Dusty Springfield

 

71 ( NEW ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

72 ( 52 ) THE PRINCE Madness

73 ( 73 ) IF YOU REMEMBER ME Chris Thompson

74 ( NEW ) CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE Darts

75 ( NEW ) TRYOUTS FOR THE HUMAN RACE Sparks

 

TV

1 Star Trek: The Galileo Seven

2 It'll Be Alright On The Night 2

3 Soap

4 MASH

5 Top Of The Pops

6 The Rockford Files

7 Film 79

8 Muhammed Ali's Greatest Hits

9 The Waltons

10 Not The 9 o'clock News

Edited December 3, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

13th November 1979

 

Back up to number one, saving Gimme Gimme Gimme from the shame of shortest run topping my charts for an Abba song. It’s great too! New in at 2 though, following on from the Dickies cover, the original epic version by The Moody Blues is back 7 years after peaking at 3 and 11 years after first being released (pre-dating my charts). Saw them last year in concert (2013): fab. Sole climber into the 10 is ska act The Selecter, and a jumpy bit of the same old song On My Radio. Not really!

 

BA climbs to 13, Commodores to 17, Specials to 21, Undertones to 25, Jam at 31 ahead of the new entries surge: Dan-I in at 30 with Monkey Chop, a great KC-ish soulpop minor dance hit that should have been big, lyrics aside it’s great. Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand had both hit the top spot in 1977, but not done it since despite hits throughout, so will the battling diva duet take them all the way? Nah! I like it though. At 37, ELO’s 5th of the year is a double A Side delight of two great tracks from discovery, following up number 1 Don’t Bring Me Down. First off the block was Last Train To London, a riffy catchy synthy pop slice of typical ELO. Confusion wasn’t getting any airplay at this time, sadly.

 

Also following up number 1’s: The Police return with another winner, the great Saturn-V video’d Walking On The Moon at 57, while Cliff sneaks in at 75 with Hot Shot, behind his topper, and also behind his producer and songwriter Alan Tarney at 72 with a cover of Cathy’s Clown. Oops Cliff bad choice! The Tourists get on the Dusty cover-version bandwagon as 60’s pop nostalgia starts to get a hold on the new pop music scene, in at 65 with a good version (as opposed to the Bay City Rollers twee version from 1976) of I Only Want To be With You. At 59, though, it’s the majesty state-of-the-art synth-strings-percussive dance sounds of Rose Royce and their brilliant Is It Love You’re After. Heavily sampled for 1988 Number One Theme From S’Express, the original is an exciting, rifftastic anthemic delight, as is S’Express’. Also keeps up their run of hits 3 years in...

 

Others: Secret Affair pop back with an OK track, France Joli has a smooth ballad, big in the USA, at 70, The Simms Brothers pop in quite highly at 51 - who?! - US rockjazz, actually, not a million miles away from Styx, who enter at 74 with future UK hit ballad Babe (and US biggie), a good ol’ song.

 

At College, I finally got to get to see Alien, that Ridley Scott masterpiece of dramatic sci-fi tension, visually-stunning, plot-unpredictably-twisted, ground-breaking monster invention movie. The one I’d missed in California due to friends inability to get ready on time! My review? “Classic...I shivered from beginning to end...I haven’t seen such a tense film ever, I was biting my hand at the tenseness. Sigourney Weaver was Brilliant as the HERO - a heroic struggle of the individual versus the unknown...the definitive horror film for me.” Still is, actually! I made a list of my top films immediately:

 

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

Star Wars

Alien

The Poseidon Adventure

Superman

2001

Planet Of The Apes

Jesus Christ Superstar

Blazing Saddles

 

I did my all-time top 100 recently, and 2010 edged out 2001 (though 2001 is the classic), while only Superman missed the list by a mile, so my tastes remain pretty constant.

Raved about Alien to Julie, Pete, Bev, Paul, Sue and Jane, all round for TV, chat, slideshow, a game of scrabble, Life Of Brian featured on Film 79 (yes, seen it 2 months at the Chinese Theatre LA, already, I told Barry Norman on the screen, the UK having to wait even to see bloody British films!) and also panel discussion shows with tits like Malcolm Muggeridge insisting it was anti-Jesus, when it was actually anti-religious blind followers and full of social commentary. English lecturer this time had us performing a South Sea Island Pre-Marriage Ritual, which was kinda fun actually, as was snooker. Read Poe’s The Raven. One of my fave poem’s actually, largely due to the MAD magazine illustrated version I bought in Singapore. Watched a harrowing TV shown on Auschwitz. Not ideal bedtime viewing.

 

Everyone decided to go and see Alien while Star Trek was on TV (so no chance of me joining them, everyone knew!). The next game of snooker “I was really brilliant” 33 point break. Well, everything’s relative! More evenings of laughs and visits and TV - I must say as social life goes, it can’t get better than everyone using you as a focal point, makes you feel so wanted! Or, more likely, I would never turn anyone away...! Mark Twain’s Huck Finn the next novel for American Studies. Top Of The Pops annoyed me: Dr Hook had been replaced at 1 by Lena Martell. How very dare they! That’s not what they announced on Tuesday’s chart rundown!

 

Friday was Art day, I was grouped with 3 mature student ladies (probably in their 30’s, eek!) for a discussion on foyer printworks. Not the ceramic sculptures of the female ladyparts though, that were put on exhibit, and then very quickly taken off exhibit from the College foyer following complaints. I wasn’t shocked, more bemused as I’d never seen ladies bits up close before, but it made a great bit of drama and talking-point. The artist, male, was most put-out at his forest of lady-gardens being pruned.

 

I went home for the weekend, dad picked me up, mum having been ill lately, and looking very tired, we had to call the doctor out saturday night as she was in so much pain and nauseous. By now she was so desperate to get rid of the pain, which had been going on weeks, that she wanted to get into hospital to get it sorted. All very worrying and depressing. Just to add to the mood, little cousin Rachel let loose that all my budgies were dead from the cold (donated to grandad’s school for the kids, they had an outdoor aviary and he was caretaker) which pissed me off. This is turning into a novel.....! Sorry!

 

1 ( 3 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

2 ( NEW ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

3 ( 2 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

4 ( 1 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

5 ( 4 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

6 ( 10 ) RISE Herb Alpert

7 ( 7 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

8 ( 20 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

9 ( 6 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

10 ( 5 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

 

 

11 ( 8 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

12 ( 17 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

13 ( 27 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

14 ( 12 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

15 ( 23 ) SAD EYES Robert John

16 ( 16 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

17 ( 35 ) STILL The Commodores

18 ( 9 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

19 ( 11 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

20 ( 14 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

 

21 ( 38 ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

22 ( 13 ) DREAMING Blondie

23 ( 19 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

24 ( 18 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

25 ( 31 ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

26 ( 28 ) I DON'T WANT TO BE A FREAK Dynasty

27 ( 15 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

28 ( 22 ) CARS Gary Numan

29 ( 25 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

30 ( NEW ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

 

 

31 ( 53 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

32 ( 29 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

33 ( NEW ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand

34 ( 21 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

35 ( 24 ) GLORIA/ EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOON Jonathan King

36 ( 26 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

37 ( NEW ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

38 ( 30 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

39 ( 61 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

40 ( 51 ) YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I Sham '69

 

 

41 ( 36 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

42 ( 40 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

43 ( 34 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

44 ( 42 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

45 ( 33 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

46 ( 60 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

47 ( 49 ) I BELIEVE IN YOUR SWEET LOVE Bonnie Tyler

48 ( 43 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

49 ( 63 ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

50 ( 71 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

 

51 ( NEW ) BACK TO SCHOOL The Simms Brothers Band

52 ( 46 ) FOR YOU Judy Tzuke

53 ( 39 ) THE SPARROW The Ramblers

54 ( 55 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

55 ( 57 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

56 ( 58 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

57 ( NEW ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

58 ( 56 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

59 ( NEW ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

60 ( 59 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

 

 

61 ( 50 ) THE LONELIEST MAN IN THE WORLD The Tourists

62 ( 37 ) FREEDOM'S PRISONER Steve Harley

63 ( 32 ) SPIRIT BODY AND SOUL The Nolan Sisters

64 ( 45 ) YOU CAN DO IT Al Hudson

65 ( NEW ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

66 ( 48 ) NUCLEAR DEVICE (WIZARD OF AUS) The Stranglers

67 ( 44 ) LET ME KNOW (I HAVE A RIGHT) Gloria Gaynor

68 ( 74 ) CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE Darts

69 ( NEW ) LET YOUR HEART DANCE Secret Affair

70 ( NEW ) COME TO ME France Joli

 

71 ( 66 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

72 ( NEW ) CATHY'S CLOWN Tarney and Spencer

73 ( 73 ) IF YOU REMEMBER ME Chris Thompson

74 ( NEW ) BABE Styx

75 ( NEW ) HOT SHOT Cliff Richard

 

TV

1 Star Trek: Wolf In The Fold

2 Soap

3 MASH

4 The Odd Couple

5 Top Of The Pops

6 Film 79

7 Friday Night Saturday Morning

8 The Rockford Files

9 The Muppet Show

10 Doctor Who

Edited December 4, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

20th November 1979

 

The Moody Blues get a new record - longest wait between chart debut and hitting number one, taking over from Hawkwind, at just over 7 years. Nights In White Satin is a sweeping dramatic orchestral rock masterpiece, oh yes it is! The video starts off in Paris, which is kinda appropriate (see later). B.A.Robertson gets a second top in a row, well he knocked it off. He knocked it off well I mean. Suzi Quatro keeps up her top 10 entries, her 7th, and Dan-I chops those monkeys at 15, while Donna & Babs, & ELO both shoot into the top 20. Rose Royce rocket to 25, and highest new entry is The Isley Brothers, having a disco night at 29, 11 years since they first impressed me with This Old Heart Of Mine, and since.

 

The Tourists hit 34, as The Gibson Brothers follow up a big hit with a similar-sounding fun-packed Que Sera Mi Vida. Queen at long last make my top 40 with huge UK and USA hit Crazy Little Thing Called Love - I admit I preferred early Queen to rockabilly Queen, and as Matchbox claimed at 75, I’m a rockabilly rebel. Not really, but I like it. KC & The Sunshine Band are back after a year gap with a new sound, laid back soul essentially, which I rather liked at the time, less so these days thanks to that godawful 90’s moronic cover by KWS.

 

Madness get a 2nd hit at 66, the largely instrumental and ska-tastic, sax-heavy One Step Beyond, pushing Madness into a higher league. Sparks have another go at tryouts, doing a little better this time at 64, Anne Murray gets a 4th hit subsequent to her number one in January, the lovely Broken Hearted Me. Less lovely, but whimsically cynical, The Boomtown Rats follow-up 2 number ones with social commentary Diamond Smiles, an under-rated record, and a flop in comparison to previous singles, sneaking in at 74.

On TV repeats of Roots and TV series Logans Run still hit my appreciation spot, and new sitcom Barney Miller mildly amused. Back at college, and 2 months after the USA adventure, I was preparing for an Art course excursion to Paris art galleries, architecture and museums, my second one inside 12 months, but this time without my friends, being a mix of 2nd year students, a couple of girls on my Combined Studies course in the same year, and some Honours students. Rang mum to hear she was going into hospital again, which sort of relieved me a bit as it might sort out the problem and stop the pain.

 

Snooker and TV/drinks with the extended gang of friends in various combinations, with Edgar Allen Poe stuff in between, and some great chatting with Jane, Julie and Pete, always a good combo the 4 of us. The College had a showing of Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks’ classic, which I watched with the American coursemates (they loved it as much as me) and my room left with friends watching TV, sob I knew it was my TV they wanted! I noted Terri Garr was wonderful, appropriately enough as I watching my home video last night of her and Burt Reynolds in a 90’s between-filming breaks to TV quiz show Reel To Reel, all about movies. Life can be quite circular...

 

I gave a speech on Huck Finn’s optimism/pessimism, very monotone reading from notes and stuttering, not something I’m good at - John Davies the lecturer noted I was typically Lincolnshire in my casual remarks about important things. Lincoln is a sort of milder, less working class version of Mansfield, the two places I spent more of life in than anywhere else up to that point. Feeling depressed in mood I quoted, what with work, mum, and Paris anxiety. I wasn’t, I was mildly stressed and down but I can get moody. Went all introverted and friends tried to cheer me up, sweet of them.

 

Saturday: 1.45 am rise for minibus ride to Grantham rail station, met Jane Moorse outside (lots of Jane’s at College) and chatted on the bus and train. Kings Cross, Charing Cross, breakfast guessing occupations of passer-by’s for amusement. Group trip to Dover by train, 2 noisy second-year lads took a fancy to Emma and Jane in our compartment - yes trains had compartments once upon a time - and then hung around them all day. Hovercraft at Dover (is this still running!?) for a bumpy ride to Calais, my first! Hovercraft that is. Train to Paris, Metro to Republic and the hotel where I met my new room-mate, David, who was actually easy-going, a drama student who had gossip-related comments directed to me about his alleged sexual preferences. We had single beds each and a sink, the girls on the other hand were pissed off at having to share double beds in smelly rooms.

 

A pricey meal with Emma, Jane and Sue in the Notre-Dame area in the evening, then down the Boulevard Saint Michel (shades of Peter Sarstedt!) to the Sorbonne. Back to the hotel, David was out till late, and “must have forgotten his pyjamas” I noted, as he was starkers in the morning. Many years later I saw him on TV news as a Friend Of John McCarthy hostage activist, which impressed me.

 

Sunday: Flea Market group visit, it pissed down, and gave sympathy to bedraggled Jo and Sarah, who I spent the morning with afterwards. Then we met up with David and his “nerd” friends - how rude of me! Kettle calling frying pan etc. Pompidou Centre. Photographs. Fire-breathers in the square. Chatted to Joe and Ann, stuck with them the rest of the day, poor me flipping about amongst everyone, felt like a virginal slag! walked to Notre Dame with them. Evening at Sacre-Coeur I love it there, the mood, the lighting, the streetlife, so took Emma Jane and Sue there for a meal at a restaurant I’d been to before. I sadly joined in the gossip about David, confirming his late nights (and not mentioning the winkle-washing behaviour in the sink when he got back in, thinking I was asleep. I thought that odd at the time, and of course know exactly what that means now!). So naive, me.

 

 

 

1 ( 2 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

2 ( 1 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

3 ( 3 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

4 ( 4 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

5 ( 6 ) RISE Herb Alpert

6 ( 5 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

7 ( 13 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

8 ( 8 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

9 ( 12 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

10 ( 7 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

 

 

11 ( 11 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

12 ( 9 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

13 ( 17 ) STILL The Commodores

14 ( 10 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

15 ( 30 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

16 ( 21 ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

17 ( 37 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

18 ( 33 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

19 ( 14 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

20 ( 16 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

 

21 ( 31 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

22 ( 15 ) SAD EYES Robert John

23 ( 26 ) I DON'T WANT TO BE A FREAK Dynasty

24 ( 19 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

25 ( 59 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

26 ( 23 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

27 ( 24 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

28 ( 18 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

29 ( NEW ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

30 ( 39 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

 

31 ( 20 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

32 ( 22 ) DREAMING Blondie

33 ( 28 ) CARS Gary Numan

34 ( 65 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

35 ( 69 ) LET YOUR HEART DANCE Secret Affair

36 ( 27 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

37 ( 50 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

38 ( 32 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

39 ( NEW ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

40 ( 46 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

 

41 ( 29 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

42 ( 34 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

43 ( 25 ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

44 ( 38 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

45 ( 47 ) I BELIEVE IN YOUR SWEET LOVE Bonnie Tyler

46 ( 44 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

47 ( 40 ) YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I Sham ’69

48 ( 36 ) THE CHOSEN FEW The Dooleys

49 ( 42 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

50 ( 41 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

 

51 ( 51 ) BACK TO SCHOOL The Simms Brothers Band

52 ( 35 ) GLORIA/ EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOON Jonathan King

53 ( 43 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

54 ( 48 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

55 ( 56 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

56 ( 55 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

57 ( 54 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

58 ( NEW ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

59 ( 45 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

60 ( 60 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

 

61 ( 57 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

62 ( 72 ) CATHY'S CLOWN Tarney and Spencer

63 ( 75 ) HOT SHOT Cliff Richard

64 ( RE ) TRYOUTS FOR THE HUMAN RACE Sparks

65 ( 58 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

66 ( NEW ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

67 ( NEW ) BROKEN HEARTED ME Anne Murray

68 ( 70 ) COME TO ME France Joli

69 ( 49 ) SPOOKY Atlanta Rhythm Section

70 ( NEW ) HE WAS BEAUTIFUL Iris Williams

 

 

71 ( 53 ) THE SPARROW The Ramblers

72 ( 74 ) BABE Styx

73 ( 71 ) CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU The Police

74 ( NEW ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

75 ( NEW ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox

 

 

 

 

1. Star Trek: The Changeling

2. Barney Miller

3. Soap

4. Logans Run

5. Barney Miller

6. Roots

7. The Muppet Show

8. Sapphire And Steel

9. Top Of The Pops

10. Doctor Who

27th November 1979

 

A 2nd week for the Moody’s at 1, as ELO’s double A side shoots up to 2 to my Confusion, and BA goes top 5. The Commodores get a 4th Top 10, 5 years after the first (and best) Machine Gun, and Dan-I breaks his monkey chops to get to 9. The Tourists and Rose Royce make headway into the 20, their 2nd and 4th respectively, while The Isleys make it 7 or so at 20.

 

Biggest climber: The Boomotwn Rats forgotten diamond single up 50 to 24, as highest new entry is Gary Numan’s forgotten bizarre ballad Complex at 26. Madness leap one step beyond at 29, and Blondie replace themselves in the top 40 with new single Union City Blue entering at 33. KC cries Please Don’t Go, and gets to 40, as new entries drop in from Marianne Faithful, once famous in the 60’s, and now debuting in my charts at 69 with Shel Silverstein’s great The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan (he was the principle songwriter for Dr Hook’s best records). Janis Ian follows up her gem of a 1975 UK flop At 17, with a laid-back Fly Too High, not flying that high at 75.

 

Michael Jackson’s follow-up to his classic number one is Off The Wall at 67, title track off the album that changed his career, assisted in no small part by Quincy Jones and Rod (UK Heatwave songwriter) Temperton. Stevie Wonder’s career, on the other hand, is treading water with Send One Your Love at 66. The Pretenders 3rd hit enters at 53, the fantastic Brass In Pocket, Dollar get a 4th 1979 hit as they cover the Beatles I Want To Hold Your Hand, which was sounding a bit dated by then (albeit a childhood fave), so they gave it a clappy synthy vibe which grew on one. They had by now, of course, outdone their whole career inside Guys And Dolls. Final new entry is Touch from Lori and The Chameleons. Who!? You may have heard of David Balfour, of The Teardrop Explodes and producer of Echo And The Bunnymen, and Bill Drummond, he of The Timelords and KLF. Both were in cult Liverpool band Big In Japan, and this was one of their releases on their own record label Zoo Records. Quirky.

Still in Paris this week, it was a trip to the UNESCO building, where we had a film about Thailand before, and I quote, “an upper-class one-eyed twit gave us a DULL lecture on UNESCO”. Gosh, I was SO judgmental in those days! This was followed by a Peruvian lady with a French accent trying to give a lecture tour in broken English. Henry Moore sculptures abounded outdoors, along with a Japanese-designed garden. I was impressed with the latter, and not in the slightest by the former. From here to the Eifel Tower, where we bumped into the very drunk and noisy Drama students (including David), and on to Jeu De Paume for some more art: I liked some Renoir and Pissarro works. I had a quiet night in after all the walking, how dull of me!

 

Next day, Max (my ever-present mild and likeable art lecturer) took a group of us to the Hayter workshop, chock-full of artists from all over the world doing their etchings, where an American lady artist gave us a tour. I enjoyed the group I hung around with today, including 3 second-year lads who’d I’d been wanting to get to know, what with spending all my time with girls so far, pretty much, though I did end up showing a group of girls round Paris, for which they were gracious in thanking me. Notably, Notre Dame square for snacks and a cathedral tour. I had a hunch I’d see Quasimodo. Sorry....! River Seine, and off to climb le Tour Eifel, windy and cold. As it turned out a major movie shoot was in progress on the 2nd Stage, called The Hostage Tower, with some very famous (and cold) actors sat around a table doing nothing much waiting for “Action”: I recognised Douglas Fairbanks Junior immediately, and found out afterwards who the others were (we weren’t allowed to get too close): Maud Adams off James Bond, and Peter Fonda, off Henry, Jane and Easy Rider. Well, I get starstruck, what can I say!

 

 

Arc de Triomphe up next, did some postcards and posted them, back to say hi to David at the hotel, and had an evening meal with Emma Jane and Sue off the Champs Elysees, where fleas in the wine failed to impress. Especially Sue, who swallowed one of them. In a bar, conversation drifted to a prostitute in the corner. Allegedly. I went bright red with embarrassment, and generally felt bad about the girls not having a party night (I didn’t want to go, and I think they didn’t feel comfortable going unescorted). Not the party type, me, in those days. Boring! Next day was the trip back via Boulogne hovercraft - or that was the plan. It broke down, so we had to wait for the next available ship. I was pissed off as it meant we wouldn’t get back in time for Star Trek. Pah (Pete and Sue recorded it on tape for me though)! As the general mood from everyone was one of “humbug” at the delays though, I became Mr Happy for the trip home, trying to cheer everyone up. I expect they wanted to throttle me. Back late evening to tell Julie Pete Jane and Sue of my adventures. Phew!

 

 

1 ( 1 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

2 ( 17 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

3 ( 2 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

4 ( 3 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

5 ( 7 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

6 ( 4 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

7 ( 6 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

8 ( 5 ) RISE Herb Alpert

9 ( 15 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

10 ( 13 ) STILL The Commodores

 

11 ( 18 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

12 ( 22 ) SAD EYES Robert John

13 ( 25 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

14 ( 16 ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

15 ( 34 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

16 ( 14 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

17 ( 8 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

18 ( 9 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

19 ( 23 ) I DON'T WANT TO BE A FREAK Dynasty

20 ( 29 ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

 

21 ( 12 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

22 ( 10 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

23 ( 11 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

24 ( 74 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

25 ( 21 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

26 ( NEW ) COMPLEX Gary Numan

27 ( 20 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

28 ( 30 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

29 ( 66 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

30 ( 39 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

 

 

31 ( 27 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

32 ( 26 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

33 ( NEW ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie

34 ( 35 ) LET YOUR HEART DANCE Secret Affair

35 ( 19 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

36 ( 33 ) CARS Gary Numan

37 ( 40 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

38 ( 28 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

39 ( 37 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

40 ( 58 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

 

 

 

41 ( 45 ) I BELIEVE IN YOUR SWEET LOVE Bonnie Tyler

42 ( 24 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

43 ( 68 ) COME TO ME France Joli

44 ( 36 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

45 ( 38 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

46 ( 46 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

47 ( 32 ) DREAMING Blondie

48 ( 44 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

49 ( 31 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

50 ( NEW ) TOUCH Lori And The Chameleons

 

 

51 ( NEW ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar

52 ( 41 ) GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW Viola Wills

53 ( NEW ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders

54 ( 55 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

55 ( 56 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

56 ( 54 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

57 ( 62 ) CATHY'S CLOWN Tarney and Spencer

58 ( 67 ) BROKEN HEARTED ME Anne Murray

59 ( 61 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

60 ( 50 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

 

61 ( 57 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

62 ( 42 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

63 ( 53 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

64 ( 65 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

65 ( 60 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

66 ( NEW ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder

67 ( NEW ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson

68 ( 75 ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox

69 ( NEW ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful

70 ( 43 ) YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT) The Undertones

 

 

71 ( 49 ) EVERYDAY HURTS Sad Cafe

72 ( 63 ) HOT SHOT Cliff Richard

73 ( 64 ) TRYOUTS FOR THE HUMAN RACE Sparks

74 ( 59 ) SUMAHAMA The Beach Boys

75 ( NEW ) FLY TOO HIGH Janis Ian

 

1. The Trouble With Tribbles

1. Soap

3. Sapphire And Steel

4. MASH

5. Top Of The Pops

6. The Odd Couple

7. My Wife Next Door

8. Soap

9. The Muppet Show

10. Hawaii 5-0

Edited December 18, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

4th December 1979

 

ELO get their second number one of the year, largely due to Confusion and it’s fantastic melody and synth riff, love it! For the record, that’s 8 number ones spanning 7 years. Gary Numan gets his 3rd top 3 of the year as Complex leaps to 3, and Rose Royce get their 3rd Top 10 in 2 years as Theme From S’Express (well, sort of, hits 6), while Donna and Babs get their biggest hit of the year - enough is enough! The Police rocket 49 places taking giant steps attempting to walk on the moon at 10, that’ll be 4 top 10‘s in a row then!

 

Lots of upward movements for several fave pop stars, and new at 18 it’s a genuine classic record from Pink Floyd, and that animated video. No-one expected Pink Floyd to do anything remotely commercial, they didn’t do singles, that was the firm rule, so to have this come out at christmas, off The Wall, while Michael Jackson was Off The Wall (see 25) was a major talking point amongst music fans. Not commercial? Not in one sense, but in another sense, brilliantly commercial by virtue of being effing fabulous.

 

The Skids enter at 35 with 4th hit of 1979, Working For The Yankee Dollar, they claim, somewhat dubiously, as they had no USA success. The Three Degrees follow-up a fantastic disco classic with...err My Simple Heart. Hmmm. Mellow. Ditto Quo, rock classic, hmmm, mellow: Living On An Island, 50 and 53 respectively. Mike Oldfield follows up his guilty disco hit with a guilty Blue Peter TV theme update - we all knew the tune in those days, very jolly. At 69, belatedly entering, the terrific Sing Children Sing, Lesley Duncan’s great 1971 flop single is re-recorded for Children In Need with an all-star backing chorus: Kate Bush, Pete Townsend, Joe Brown, Phil Lynott, and many more. Lesley never made it big, despite critical approval and support from the likes of Elton John, possibly due to her stage fright problems, and sadly passed away in 2010. Finally, at 73, Sheila B. Devotion is back, showing us all B. Devotion is the name of her backing band, not hers, and it’s a Chic record, as in Chic in all but artist name - French-accented vocals as opposed to American, but Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards are behind this fab classy dance track with the sci-fi theme. Given Chic were running out of steam at this point, it was jolly decent of them to give this away!

 

 

 

 

1 ( 2 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

2 ( 1 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

3 ( 26 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan

4 ( 5 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

5 ( 3 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

6 ( 13 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

7 ( 4 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

8 ( 9 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

9 ( 11 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

10 ( 59 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

 

11 ( 30 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

12 ( 7 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

13 ( 24 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

14 ( 8 ) RISE Herb Alpert

15 ( 15 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

16 ( 33 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie

17 ( 6 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

18 ( NEW ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

19 ( 20 ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

20 ( 29 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

 

21 ( 10 ) STILL The Commodores

22 ( 16 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

23 ( 28 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

24 ( 12 ) SAD EYES Robert John

25 ( 67 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson

26 ( 21 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

27 ( 23 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

28 ( 14 ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

29 ( 39 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

30 ( 22 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

 

31 ( 40 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

32 ( 31 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

33 ( 32 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

34 ( 34 ) LET YOUR HEART DANCE Secret Affair

35 ( NEW ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids

36 ( 18 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

37 ( 53 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders

38 ( 27 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

39 ( 43 ) COME TO ME France Joli

40 ( 17 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

 

 

41 ( 25 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

42 ( 36 ) CARS Gary Numan

43 ( 37 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

44 ( 58 ) BROKEN HEARTED ME Anne Murray

45 ( 35 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

46 ( 38 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

47 ( 50 ) TOUCH Lori And The Chameleons

48 ( 19 ) I DON'T WANT TO BE A FREAK Dynasty

49 ( 45 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

50 ( NEW ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees

 

51 ( 51 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar

52 ( 46 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

53 ( NEW ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo

54 ( 48 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

55 ( 44 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

56 ( 66 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder

57 ( 54 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

58 ( 55 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

59 ( 56 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

60 ( 69 ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful

 

61 ( 47 ) DREAMING Blondie

62 ( 61 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

63 ( 60 ) GOODBYE STRANGER Supertramp

64 ( 64 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

65 ( 65 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

66 ( 68 ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox

67 ( NEW ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield

68 ( 42 ) MY FORBIDDEN LOVER Chic

69 ( NEW ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan

70 ( 41 ) I BELIEVE IN YOUR SWEET LOVE Bonnie Tyler

 

 

71 ( 49 ) OK FRED Errol Dunkley

72 ( 75 ) FLY TOO HIGH Janis Ian

73 ( NEW ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion

74 ( 63 ) THEM HEAVY PEOPLE Kate Bush

75 ( 62 ) THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA The Charlie Daniels Band

 

 

 

 

MY TV CHART

1. Star Trek: Journey To Babel

2. Soap

3. Top Of The Pops

4. A Day At The Races (Marx Brothers Film)

5. Logan’s Run (TV series)

6. The New Avengers

7. Parkinson

8. Happy Days

9. Doctor Who

10. Time Express: film

At College still writing my Poe essay, snooker while 2nd year lads practiced on their drum kit (how cool to envious me!), Spike Milligan on Parkinson, really enjoyed John Davis American Studies literature lecture, lots of laughs and thought-provoking. Chatting to 2nd year Art students also working on screen printing enjoyable. A fab video-only Top Of The Pops with the usual gang round for a TV evening. We laughed a lot, always. This was the saturday that Pete Paul and I compared who’s record player was most accurate starting Message In A Bottle at the same time, I knew Pete’s ran too fast (verified), which was funny. The girls thought we were mad. We went to the cinema to see a reissue of The Poseidon Adventure, still one of my top 5 films at that time, then in the evening a 21st birthday disco in the student union function room where a Jane (there were several Jane friends) wrapped her arms round my neck and wouldn’t let me leave till I danced. I agreed only if everyone else sat also danced, this bit of blackmail backfired when everyone else got up and I had to dance for 4 numbers, unable to vary my dance - Judy Murray on Strictly looked positively flowing in comparison to my dance skills then! Pretty sure this Jane fancied me, I was invited to her party even though she was under the incorrect assumption that I was going out with Julie. Maybe she’d noticed her canoodling with Pete... Oops, stress for me next week!

Edited January 7, 201510 yr by popchartfreak

11th December 1979

Third number one for The Police, Walking On The Moon, and Sting is hot with everyone it seems, bleached blonde all 3. Hope that doesn’t make you lose your hair Sting! The Rats get a 3rd consecutive top 5, Diamond Smiles boys! The Gibson Brothers go for their 2nd, Madness their fabulous first, and The Tourists get Dave and Annie in the 10 3 years before Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). Oh Yes, Pink Floyd also get in the 10 for the first time!

 

Abba bizarrely go for an album track from Voulez Vous, the 5th to feature on a single, as the follow-up to brand-new non-album track Gimme Gimme Gimme, though it certainly had wide-appeal - obviously, as it hit 2 in the UK charts behind Pink Floyd. The Skids and The Pretenders zip up into the 20, both for the 3rd time, and a new entry at 22 for a very significant record: Yes it’s Nile Rodgers and Chic again - with a twist! It’s the backing track being rapped over by a new act, The Sugarhill Gang, of Sylvia Robinson’s record label (number 2 in 1973 with Pillow Talk in my charts, loved it). Widely-regarded as a novelty hit, it was actually the sign of Pop Future via message dance rap and gangsta rap all the way through to obligatory rap.

 

At 24, Paul McCartney has a go at a christmas classic - and gets it with Wonderful Christmastime, though frankly I prefer the frog chorus anyday. Anyways, that’s 8 years of solo hits and 11 with The Beatles and Wings, but not his finest hour. Amusingly Dollar’s version of I want To Hold Your Hand nestles just below at 25, another record I’d rather hear than the annual christmas overplay. M get a follow-up hit, Moonlight And Musak, and it’s very nice, under-appreciated I thought. Spacer and The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan both go 40, both deservedly, while It’s My House enters twice: Diana Ross going for 11 years of hits at 40 with the original version, and a reggae version at 75 from Storm which is quite nice too.

 

A bit of rockpop at 68 from Rocky Burnette, son of 50’s rocker Johnny Burnette, and the great Tired Of Toeing The Line, while a second Sara enters the charts - Thin Lizzy drop with theirs as Stevie Nicks utterly-effing-fantastic Fleetwood Mac affecting ballad enters at 70. Sara is a track that has grown with time, it reduces me to tears when I see and hear Stevie sing it live (as I have done 3 times, and will be doing again later this year). Just brilliance. At 74, Darts cover Jackie Wilson to minimal effect, Reet Petite at 74, but he’ll be back posthumously himself in 1986 with the only version that counts.

 

 

1 ( 10 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

2 ( 1 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

3 ( 3 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan

4 ( 2 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

5 ( 13 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

6 ( 6 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

7 ( 11 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

8 ( 20 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

9 ( 15 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

10 ( 18 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

 

11 ( 5 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

12 ( 4 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

13 ( 8 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

14 ( 16 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie

15 ( 7 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

16 ( NEW ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

17 ( 35 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids

18 ( 12 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

19 ( 37 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders

20 ( 25 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson

 

21 ( 9 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

22 ( NEW ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang

23 ( 14 ) RISE Herb Alpert

24 ( NEW ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney

25 ( 51 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar

26 ( 22 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

27 ( 19 ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

28 ( 17 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

29 ( 31 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

30 ( 26 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

 

 

31 ( 21 ) STILL The Commodores

32 ( 23 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

33 ( NEW ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M

34 ( 32 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

35 ( 33 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

36 ( 73 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion

37 ( 39 ) COME TO ME France Joli

38 ( 60 ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful

39 ( 24 ) SAD EYES Robert John

40 ( NEW ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross

 

41 ( 27 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

42 ( 29 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

43 ( 53 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo

44 ( 30 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

45 ( 38 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

46 ( 42 ) CARS Gary Numan

47 ( 47 ) TOUCH Lori And The Chameleons

48 ( 50 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees

49 ( 36 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

50 ( 44 ) BROKEN HEARTED ME Anne Murray

 

51 ( 41 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

52 ( 34 ) LET YOUR HEART DANCE Secret Affair

53 ( 28 ) A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDI The Specials

54 ( 69 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan

55 ( 46 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

56 ( 52 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

57 ( 40 ) ON MY RADIO The Selecter

58 ( 49 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

59 ( 57 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

60 ( 58 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

 

61 ( 56 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder

62 ( NEW ) MELLOW MELLOW RIGHT ON Lowrell

63 ( 59 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

64 ( 54 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

65 ( 43 ) CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE Queen

66 ( 62 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

67 ( 67 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield

68 ( NEW ) TIRED OF TOEING THE LINE Rocky Burnette

69 ( 45 ) MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL XTC

70 ( NEW ) SARA Fleetwood Mac

 

 

71 ( 55 ) WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo

72 ( 64 ) I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS The Boomtown Rats

73 ( 65 ) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC Tubeway Army

74 ( NEW ) REET PETITE Darts

75 ( NEW ) IT’S MY HOUSE Storm

 

 

 

 

1. Star Trek: The Deadly Years

2. Soap

3. Logan’s Run

4. MASH

5. Happy Days

6. Fawlty Towers

7. The Odd Couple

8. Top Of The Pops

9. Barney Miller

10. Kelly Monteith

11. Time Express

12. Doctor Who

13. Hawaii 5-0

14. The New Avengers

15. My Wife Next Door

 

Life? Had College breakfast with 5 Americans, mostly from Trenton, and had to read out a poem wot I wrote in English class. I’m not a fan of poetry for the most part, just too artificial unless it’s set to music for me. The Americans gave class an entertaining play in the afternoon, Italian immigrants in New York, though I was fascinated by the regional accents they had (Arizona, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York) and just how much better Americans are at public presentation than shy and retiring Brits. Several assignments handed in (I did do work, honest!), Jane seemed depressed following Teaching Practice which worried me, spent all of friday on screen printing works, quick visits from various friends before Ian popped round prior to other-Jane’s party. Mostly girls there, and quite good fun actually, escorted to digs by merry Caroline arm around the waists, but too late for Paul’s party which had just wrapped up.

 

Saturday was an outing in Paul’s car and Dave’s car to Nottingham for shopping, Julie, Jane, me and Bev as passengers. I got some Starlog/Starburst sci-fi mags and was overjoyed to find 2 1960’s Legion comics in a back-issue comic shop. I Love The Victoria Centre, said I! I ran out of money, sadly, so couldn’t get all I wanted. 10-pin bowls next, I love that game, been playing it since the late 60’s on and off. Paul won one, I won one, and showed off horribly at how much better I was. Not that I can say that about anything else much! On Monday, I arranged to “call-in impromptu” to Jane’s as she had a visiting teacher who was giving problems. It didn’t work and she didn’t take the hint. Tried to advise worried Jane afterwards. Barry Norman gave Star Trek: The Motion Picture a good review on Film Night: things were looking promising!

18th December 1979

 

2 weeks for The Police on top, as Abba (of course) shoot up to 2 with I Have A Dream, fresh off their world tour. 1979 was the last time Kate Bush and Abba toured, so one down and one, err not a snowball chance of. Floyd at 5, and The Pretenders at 10 gives a great top 10 and a chance for me to feature videos not picked as new entry choices. Wonderful Christmastime at 15, Lesley Duncan big climb to 26, Mike Oldfield even bigger climb to 28, and Storm’s reggae cover leaps over Diana Ross’ version - mainly because it was a better record.

 

Highest new entry is Day Trip To Bangor at 37: let’s put that down to childhood nostalgia from the days I lived on fab Isle Of Anglesey and passed through Bangor often, rather than any love of Fiddler’s Dram. Much better, it’s a classic alternate version of John I’m Only Dancing in at 39, David Bowie’s top 5 fave of mine from 1972 dating from the same period. Pretty similar and pretty brilliant, still one of my top-rated Bowie records, so under-rated. It’s also a double A side, with a 1975 version of the same song, from Bowie’s plastic soul period (which I loved) but the treatment didn’t improve the song in any way, and is at best mildly pleasant.

 

In at 40, it’s Chic again, My Feet Keep Dancing, their third going up the charts (see 19 and 27), and shockingly their last biggish hit, though Nile Rodgers had bigger things ahead, and way ahead. Motorhead bomb back in at 43, Matchbox returns, as does Styx, while The Beat cover Smokey Robinson and debut at 56. The UK Subs cover The Zombies and enter at 63. Neither version is a patch on the original, though Tears Of A Clown is at least fun.

 

1 ( 1 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

2 ( 16 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

3 ( 4 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

4 ( 8 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

5 ( 10 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

6 ( 2 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

7 ( 7 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

8 ( 5 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

9 ( 9 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

10 ( 19 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders

 

 

11 ( 3 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan

12 ( 17 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids

13 ( 6 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

14 ( 14 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie

15 ( 24 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney

16 ( 20 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson

17 ( 11 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

18 ( 15 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

19 ( 22 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang

20 ( 18 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

 

 

21 ( 12 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

22 ( 33 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M

23 ( 13 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

24 ( 29 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

25 ( 25 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar

26 ( 54 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan

27 ( 36 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion

28 ( 67 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield

29 ( 48 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees

30 ( 23 ) RISE Herb Alpert

 

 

31 ( 26 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

32 ( 21 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

33 ( 43 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo

34 ( 75 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Storm

35 ( 30 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

36 ( 40 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross

37 ( NEW ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram

38 ( 28 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

39 ( NEW ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie

40 ( NEW ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic

 

 

41 ( 34 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

42 ( 35 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

43 ( NEW ) BOMBER Motorhead

44 ( 27 ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

45 ( 39 ) SAD EYES Robert John

46 ( RE ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox

47 ( 61 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder

48 ( 31 ) STILL The Commodores

49 ( 38 ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful

50 ( 46 ) CARS Gary Numan

 

51 ( 45 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

52 ( 41 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

53 ( 62 ) MELLOW MELLOW RIGHT ON Lowrell

54 ( 32 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

55 ( 68 ) TIRED OF TOEING THE LINE Rocky Burnette

56 ( NEW ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat

57 ( RE ) BABE Styx

58 ( 56 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

59 ( 37 ) COME TO ME France Joli

60 ( 44 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

 

61 ( 59 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

62 ( 60 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

63 ( NEW ) SHE’S NOT THERE The UK Subs

64 ( 51 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

65 ( 55 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

66 ( 70 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac

67 ( 66 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

68 ( 58 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

69 ( 74 ) REET PETITE Darts

70 ( 63 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

 

71 ( 42 ) SARAH Thin Lizzy

72 ( 64 ) CRUEL TO BE KIND Nick Lowe

73 ( 47 ) TOUCH Lori And The Chameleons

74 ( 49 ) SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU Suzi Quatro

75 ( 50 ) BROKEN HEARTED ME Anne Murray

 

 

TV CHART

1. Star Trek: A Private Little War

2. Parkinson

3. Soap

4. The Rockford Files

5. Kelly Monteith

6. Film 79

7. Butterflies

8. The New Avengers

9. Parkinson

10. Porridge

11. Time Express

12. Up The Gum Tree

13. The Sky At Night

14. Fantastic Voyage

15. My Wife Next Door

 

 

At college, lunch with part of the gang and also Campion from Rhodesia, who was over on scholarship, very affable and only saw him get worked up once - when discussing white minority rule, he had stories to tell. Sadly, it’s replacement seems to be no improvement for some. Term was breaking up, Pete & Julie were saying goodbyes as Pete got a lift back with his sis. Sue and Paul were arguing over something - ah, end of term stresses! Fiona and Jo came round for tea and a (overlong) slide show from me of the USA. Paul, Julie, Jane round to watch Fantastic Voyage, Raquel Welch inside someone. Honest! My screen prints weren’t what I’d hoped they’d be, though OK, as I finished working in the art room. A pub evening, Paul took us in his car, and Jane gave me a £3 thank you record token! A lot of money in those days, Jane is so thoughtful and sweet-natured, artistic and intelligent too, fab company. I got tickled in the pub after going a bit enthusiastically about the jukebox music. No change there then! Back for William Shatner on Parkinson, bit of a revelation, intelligent and entertaining.

 

In American Studies, lecturer John Davis called me a great wit (!!) which was quite a compliment, and embarrassedly mentioned my Chapel Harem - that’s my many girl mates who I supported when they had a do going on in there. I went red. A sad goodbye to American Steve who was off back to the States, and who’d had a bad assignment returned, sadly. The christmas carol college gathering was great fun, especially the American students doing Randolph The Red-Nosed Cowboy, and the Connie Stew Hall lads doing Ding Dong Merrily On High with electric guitar was funny. At the College disco it was a live College band, SAVVY, with 2nd-year Pete on drums, danced with Julie, and Sue, to the great band, The Police-inspired stuff.

 

Last day was Art lectures, everyone tired from the late partying as people left for home during the day, including Bev off back to Mansfield (like me), and Chuck the American (another permanent goodbye). I miss being a serial gregarious-er, College absolutely taught me to socialise in a less introverted fashion. Took my wall posters down and waited for dad to pick me up and take me home, brother Mark tried to annoy me to get a reaction, mum did chips and beans for me, and they’d bought me a £40 record unit! Expensive, so I slightly told them off instead of being grateful! Doh! Played the Jesus Christ Superstar movie soundtrack album they’d also bought me for christmas. Christmas shopping for gifts on Saturday, Grandad and little cousins Helen and Neil came round with Uncle Geoff - he’s my age - and I played Risk with Mark, and won for the first time ever! We played it again with 9-year-old nephew John Christmas Day 2014. Mark won as usual. Some things never change!

 

25th December 1979

 

Christmas Day chart, and we were in Gravesend (see later) and Abba’s song and Pink Floyd’s song were being heavily played on rotating 45’s by the two girls there. So appropriately they comprise my top 2! Abba get a 13th number one in a row, 14th in total, and 5th of the year. Needless to say that’s pretty much 3 records for the price of one at the time. David Bowie meanwhile gets a second top 5 hit with John I’m Only Dancing 7 years on. The Pretenders leapfrog The Tourists and girls fronting bands were catching on, after being quite the rarity pre-punk.

 

KC gets his first top 10 single in 4 years, Macca just misses the christmas 10 with his christmas evergreen, Lesley Duncan finally cracks my top 20 8 years late, and Dollar get a 4th Top 20 hit. The Beat still cry at 28, and Babe is at 29. Not the pig, Styx. Motorhead get another top 40, and there are a mere 6 entries, headed by Boney M, who are Born Again. I wouldn’t put money on it actually! Elvis has an oldie christmas hit at 49, not one of his best though. Earth Wind & Fire Can’t Let Go at 55, not one of their best, Rupert Holmes finally starts to get his UK breakthrough hit a mere 5 years after debuting in my charts with the fab Our National Pastime. This time it’s the risque, morally dubious, but sorta sweet Escape (The Pina Colada Song) as featured in the 2014 blockbuster movie (and my 2014 charts) Guardians Of The Galaxy. Bung in The Clash at their best, London Calling at 62, and the second ever rap record to chart in the UK (and mine): Kurtis Blow with his Christmas Rappin’ at 75.

 

 

 

1 ( 2 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

2 ( 5 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

3 ( 1 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

4 ( 3 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

5 ( 39 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie

6 ( 10 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders

7 ( 9 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists

8 ( 6 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

9 ( 4 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness

10 ( 24 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band

 

 

11 ( 15 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney

12 ( 12 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids

13 ( 13 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce

14 ( 7 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

15 ( 22 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M

16 ( 16 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson

17 ( 8 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats

18 ( 26 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan

19 ( 11 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan

20 ( 25 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar

 

 

21 ( 27 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion

22 ( 14 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie

23 ( 28 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield

24 ( 19 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang

25 ( 17 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

26 ( 20 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

27 ( 18 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac

28 ( 56 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat

29 ( 57 ) BABE Styx

30 ( 21 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson

 

31 ( 23 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I

32 ( 37 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram

33 ( 36 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross

34 ( 34 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Storm

35 ( 31 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

36 ( 43 ) BOMBER Motorhead

37 ( 40 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic

38 ( 33 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo

39 ( 32 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

40 ( NEW ) I’M BORN AGAIN Boney M

 

41 ( 30 ) RISE Herb Alpert

42 ( 42 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

43 ( 41 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

44 ( 29 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees

45 ( 35 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles

46 ( 47 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder

47 ( 38 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich

48 ( 66 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac

49 ( NEW ) IT WON’T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU Elvis Presley

50 ( 55 ) TIRED OF TOEING THE LINE Rocky Burnette

 

51 ( 63 ) SHE’S NOT THERE The UK Subs

52 ( 51 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson

53 ( 50 ) CARS Gary Numan

54 ( 45 ) SAD EYES Robert John

55 ( NEW ) CAN’T LET GO Earth Wind & Fire

56 ( 52 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm

57 ( NEW ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes

58 ( 62 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

59 ( 61 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

60 ( 58 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

 

61 ( 48 ) STILL The Commodores

62 ( NEW ) LONDON CALLING The Clash

63 ( 46 ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox

64 ( 44 ) IT’S A DISCO NIGHT The Isley Brothers

65 ( 53 ) MELLOW MELLOW RIGHT ON Lowrell

66 ( 49 ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful

67 ( 54 ) LADIES NIGHT Kool And The Gang

68 ( 69 ) REET PETITE Darts

69 ( 67 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

70 ( 64 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

 

 

71 ( 70 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

72 ( 68 ) SAIL ON The Commodores

73 ( 60 ) STAR Earth Wind & Fire

74 ( 65 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow

75 ( NEW ) CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ Kurtis Blow

 

 

TV CHART

1. Star Trek: Obsession

2. Mork And Mindy

3. Soap

4. MASH

5. Logan’s Run (TV series)

6. Fawlty Towers

7. Top Of The Pops

8. Bananas (film)

9. Kelly Monteith

10. The Rockford Files

 

11. Time Express

12. My Wife Next Door

13. Parkinson (wednesday)

14. Horizon

15. Parkinson (saturday)

16. Film Night

17. Blankety Blank

18. Doctor Who

19. Up The Gum Tree

20. Happy Days

At home, more christmas shopping, in the media lukewarm reviews for the Star Trek Motion Picture (doh!), and I did some College work in between wrapping prezzies. I went to see Star Trek for myself, and 8 years of waiting just sent into a tizzy of hyperbole : “long but not boring or overlong” (oh yes it was!) “sheer magic to have all the characters back, like seeing old friends again” and “the special effects were brilliant...now money can be spent to do them properly”. I also noted some similarities to TV episode plot, found myself in agreement with overall Trek philosphy, almost a cult by this point. I really loved Decker and Ilia, though didn’t love their loss of individuality (death) and rebirth as a merged being. rating: Top 4 film of all-time behind Close Encounters, Star Wars and Alien (!). It failed to make my top 100 last year.

 

Bumped into Great Uncle Ernest and Great Aunty Ann in town who gave me some money, they always did love me and brother and loved visits, which we didn’t do often enough. At the cinema again for Meteor: “first three-quarters of an hour crap” with bad characterisations, Brian Keith and Henry Fonds stealing the movie for me. On saturday mum and dad drove me to Gravesend to stop with their good friends Joe & Sandra, Merseysiders (we had a lot in common) who were our next-door-neighbour family friends in Gloucester 1974/5, with kids Joanne & Tracy. As everyone did in those days, asked if I had a girlfriend yet. It was practically obligatory in those days, and no I didn’t. On TV the Beatles Help! movie: “still got it” I noted. John Cleese was on TV, too: I’m reading his autobiography at the moment, appropriately.

 

Shopping in Gravesend Christmas Eve, bought the Pink Floyd single, and some sci-fi mags and prezzies for Joe Sandra & kids. Beatles Yellow Submarine on the telly (yay!). Christmas day was as pleasant as the previous couple, the first time we had one away from home or grandma’s. Joanne & Tracy were excited. Christmas Top Of The Pops with a late dinner, I summed it up as an “excellent year”, and yes it was, both for music and for me, quite probably my best year still. How sad! Trips to Tunisia, USA, Paris, great times at College, loads of good friends, and music TV and films were all on fire, and there were no tragedies or deaths, everything ticked along beautifully. TV: Hard Days Night, Goldfinger and The Gnomemobile, all regular TV faves in the 70’s. The Gnomemobile has been replaced by other better films, but it had Walter Brennan as a gnome, so what’s not to love!