12th August 1975

 

1967 single The Single Girl tops my chart 5 years later than it would have done if I had let oldies into my 1970 chart, and Sandy Posey does a sweet helpless girlie countrypop song that wouldn’t go down too well these days, but I still love it anyway. Sensational Delilah is up to 2 for Alex Harvey, Glen Campbell gets his 8th top 10, George McRae gets his 3rd inside 12 months, and highest new entry is from Ray Stevens, hot off Misty topping my chart, at 11 with his album track cover of April Stevens and Nino Tempo’s early 60‘s cover of the 1939 US chart-topper (phew!) Deep Purple. Ray did it country style, and it should have been the follow-up single, guaranteed hit. Sadly it wasn’t released, so Donny & Marie covered it a year later and got the hit. Ray is also in at 20 with Lady Of Spain, a 1931 standard, and an updated cover like most of the other tracks on his Misty album. Both tracks were played on Rosko’s Round Table record review show on Radio 1. I recorded them!

 

In at 14, Procol Harum return after a 3-year break with the fab Pandora’s Box, and 8 years since A Whiter Shade Of Pale first hit it classic. Annoyingly it was their last hit. Biddu and Bimbo Jet take 2 instrumentals into the 20, Action is new at 25 for The Sweet, their second self-written hit, and a great driving rockpop track miles away from the bubblegum of Funny Funny 4 years earlier. Buffy Sainte-Marie goes top 30 for the second time with her Country Girl, as a real Country girl Billie-Jo Spears lays her Blanket On The Ground, covering number 29 for a bit of slap and tickle. I heard this in a club not long ago and it sounded surprisingly fresh and fab played loud. Talking of Country, there’s another cover at 30, of The Everley Brothers 50‘s track All I Have To Do Is Dream - which was 30 the week before! The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were faves of mine, known to me from the soundtrack and movie Paint Your Wagon - they would have also had a 1970 chart hit had I allowed it, with Hand Me Down That Can O’ Beans. Fun! This single is for me the best version of the song, and never a hit. Pah!

 

Chris Spedding rides his Motor Bikin’ back, this time into the 40, while The Glitter Band split from Gary a year earlier (wonder why.....) and are back for the 6th time without him for some Love In The Sun, and sounding totally not Glam Rock-ish. At 42 it’s Rod Stewart entering his major label megastar period, and starting as he means to go on - with a cover version. Yes, it’s the very famous Sailing, a song I loved in 1972 in it’s original folk Sutherland Brothers version. That flopped sadly, so Rod knew a good song when he heard one, slowed it down dramatically, sucked the life out of it, and delivered an anthem. Still prefer the original.

 

At 43, and an American hit, the theme tune to The Rockford Files - not only the best Private Detective series of all-time (still) starring the fantastic James Garner, but also the best theme tune, as delivered by the consistently good theme show writer Mike Post. This was his best one. Hello are back for the 5th time with their best record, the Bo-Diddley-rhythm-ed New York Groove. Play loud and singalong, New. York. Groove. I”M BACK! Back in the New York Groooove! Fab! Eric Clapton’s also back with another laid-back reggae cover, his 3rd, this time tackling Bob Dylan’s haunting Knocking On Heaven’s Door, which charted 2 years earlier. One of those rare instances where Bob has the definitive version of his own song, it still hasn’t been bettered and many have tried.

 

 

1 ( 6 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

2 ( 3 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

3 ( 1 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

4 ( 2 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

5 ( 4 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

6 ( 5 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

7 ( 14 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

8 ( 17 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

9 ( 9 ) ALL I NEED IS YOUR SWEET LOVIN' Gloria Gaynor

10 ( 7 ) SHERRY Adrian Baker

 

 

11 ( NEW ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

12 ( 19 ) BLUEBIRD Helen Reddy

13 ( 10 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

14 ( NEW ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

15 ( 26 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

16 ( 25 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

17 ( 20 ) A CHILD’S PRAYER Hot Chocolate

18 ( 12 ) IT’S IN HIS KISS Linda Lewis

19 ( 16 ) JIVE TALKING The Bee Gees

20 ( NEW ) LADY OF SPAIN Ray Stevens

 

 

21 ( 13 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

22 ( 11 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

23 ( 8 ) HIGH WIRE LInda Carr And The Love Squad

24 ( 27 ) OH PRETTY WOMAN Roy Orbison

25 ( NEW ) ACTION The Sweet

26 ( 22 ) NEW YORK CITY T.Rex

27 ( 28 ) FROZEN ORANGE JUICE Peter Sarstedt

28 ( 50 ) I’M GONNA BE A COUNTRY GIRL AGAIN Buffy Sainte-Marie

29 ( NEW ) BLANKET ON THE GROUND Billie-Jo Spears

30 ( NEW ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

 

 

31 ( 23 ) ANYTHING GOES Harpers Bizarre

32 ( 24 ) 59TH BRIDGE STREET SONG (FEELIN’ GROOVY) Harpers Bizarre

33 ( 21 ) SEALED WITH A KISS Brian Hyland

34 ( 36 ) DOLLY MY LOVE The Moments

35 ( 37 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

36 ( 38 ) CHIC-A-BOOM 53rd And 3rd

37 ( 40 ) HARD LOVE Peter Skellern

38 ( RE ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

39 ( 18 ) GET IN THE SWING Sparks

40 ( 30 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Everley Brothers

 

 

41 ( NEW ) LOVE IN THE SUN The Glitter Band

42 ( NEW ) SAILING Rod Stewart

43 ( NEW ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

44 ( NEW ) NEW YORK GROOVE Hello

45 ( NEW ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Eric Clapton

46 ( 31 ) DISCO STOMP Hamilton Bohannon

47 ( 32 ) MY WHITE BICYCLE Nazereth

48 ( 34 ) I’M NOT IN LOVE 10CC

49 ( 35 ) IN THE SUMMERTIME Mungo Jerry

50 ( 39 ) I’M GONNA RUN AWAY FROM YOU Tami Lynn

19th August 1975

 

It’s Alex Harvey’s sensational live version of Tom Jones’ Delilah at 1, it’s such a shame the Top Of The Pops footage is (probably) long gone, they were great to watch. Tom would probably have topped my chart too had I started my charting a few months earlier, but he got there eventually in the 80’s. Up 14 to 2, it’s Bimbo Jet and the wacky latin euro-instrumental El Bimbo, as another instrumental goes top 10 for Biddu.

 

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band leap into the 20, and Rod is Sailing up to 21, but the highest new entry at 18 is David Bowie’s (essentially) funk combo with John Lennon, Fame, his first US chart-topper, funky and nothing like anything either had done before, Bowie spotting a dance funk trend ahead of the game as usual for his Plastic Soul period. At 24 (and also a superhero Womble in at 49) it’s Mike Batt getting his second solo entry to add to his 7 Wombling hits, the TV summer variety show theme song Summertime City (it was Seaside Special, boasting acts like Abba on it), and a pretty good pop song too.

 

In at 31, the best track off the Venus And Mars album from Wings, and I was aghast it wasn’t the follow-up single to the fab Listen To What The Man Says - Magneto And Titanium Man was a fab superhero-themed catchy tune with a great McCartney vocal and a host of multi-track harmonies. Instead they went with the not-commercial Letting Go, so by the time it got officially released late in 1975 it missed the top 50, bubbling under instead. At 36, Otis Redding’s great soulful 1965 version of Smokey Robinson’s My Girl becomes his second chart entry, and beats the Temptations definitive version into my charts. At 37, an obscure funk track that had the cool dance-floors grooving, the rather good Crystal World by Crystal Grass - it sounds like a cop TV show theme, and if that brass riff sounds familiar, that’s because it was sampled by S’Express for the brilliant UK chart-topper Theme From S’Express.

 

At 44, Julie Ann, Kenny’s 4th and least-good single, rather annoyingly ahead of The Eagles returning after 3 years away with the brilliant One Of These Nights. I’m often a fan of single edits, they sometimes snip off the meandering and create a taut perfect 3 or 4 minute single, and the edit is the best version. In with a bang, haunting, moving, great harmonies, and for my money their best record. At 48, the last gasps of glam rock show on Suzi Quatro as I May Be Too Young scrapes in, and at 50, it’s the still touring and performing Brett Marvin And The Thunderbolts. Who they? Essentially, a 1968 pub rock band who struck in 1972 with a terrific novelty hit Seaside Shuffle, under the Jona Lewie-led pseudonym Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs. 3 years later, Jona had fled for solo pastures, and the band had a chart go with this nice Rock-A-Hula ditty. Yay!

 

 

1 ( 2 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

2 ( 16 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

3 ( 1 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

4 ( 3 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

5 ( 4 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

6 ( 5 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

7 ( 7 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

8 ( 8 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

9 ( 15 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

10 ( 6 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

 

11 ( 11 ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

12 ( 30 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

13 ( 14 ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

14 ( 17 ) A CHILD’S PRAYER Hot Chocolate

15 ( 10 ) SHERRY Adrian Baker

16 ( 23 ) HIGH WIRE LInda Carr And The Love Squad

17 ( 35 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

18 ( NEW ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon

19 ( 9 ) ALL I NEED IS YOUR SWEET LOVIN' Gloria Gaynor

20 ( 13 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

 

 

21 ( 42 ) SAILING Rod Stewart

22 ( 22 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

23 ( 29 ) BLANKET ON THE GROUND Billie-Jo Spears

24 ( NEW ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt

25 ( 12 ) BLUEBIRD Helen Reddy

26 ( 20 ) LADY OF SPAIN Ray Stevens

27 ( 28 ) I’M GONNA BE A COUNTRY GIRL AGAIN Buffy Sainte-Marie

28 ( 19 ) JIVE TALKING The Bee Gees

29 ( 18 ) IT’S IN HIS KISS Linda Lewis

30 ( 26 ) NEW YORK CITY T.Rex

 

 

31 ( NEW ) MAGNETO AND TITANIUM MAN Wings

32 ( 21 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

33 ( 25 ) ACTION The Sweet

34 ( 43 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

35 ( 45 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Eric Clapton

36 ( NEW ) MY GIRL Otis Redding

37 ( NEW ) CRYSTAL WORLD Crystal Grass

38 ( 38 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

39 ( 24 ) OH PRETTY WOMAN Roy Orbison

40 ( 33 ) SEALED WITH A KISS Brian Hyland

 

 

41 ( 41 ) LOVE IN THE SUN The Glitter Band

42 ( 31 ) ANYTHING GOES Harpers Bizarre

43 ( 32 ) 59TH BRIDGE STREET SONG (FEELIN’ GROOVY) Harpers Bizarre

44 ( NEW ) JULIE ANN Kenny

45 ( NEW ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles

46 ( 34 ) DOLLY MY LOVE The Moments

47 ( 37 ) HARD LOVE Peter Skellern

48 ( NEW ) I MAY BE TOO YOUNG Suzi Quatro

49 ( NEW ) SUPERWOMBLE The Wombles

50 ( NEW ) HAWAIIAN HONEYMOON Brett Marvin And The Thunderbolts

 

At the cinema, a bit of a cult classic snuck out unnoticed by me - I was barely aware of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (based on the 1973 stage musical), and it took the release of the movie Fame in 1980 to bring it home to me that it was becoming a bit of a fun audience interaction cult - so when I eventually got to see it on TV, it was already sort-of familiar. Quirky, macabre, tuneful, funny, it remains enormously loveable. Just look at what it’s got to love: Tim Curry’s show-stopping performance as Dr Frank N. Furter, a sweet transvestite from Transylvaniurrrrr, Richard O’Brien in his own musical as the humorless Riff Raff, award-winning actor Susan Sarandon singing in her underwear, Meatloaf as a leather motorcycle monster ahead of his Bat Out Of Hell, a chorus featuring UK nation’s favourite Christopher Biggins, and songs like The Time Warp and Dammit Janet. It also features my fave quote, Tim Curry’s mid-song whispering about antici............................Pation. Fab.

 

26th Aug 1975

 

It’s another new chart-topper, and an actual new song in the week when the oldies invasion keeps on growing - there is only one actual new song among the oldies and cover-versions debuting. I say song, actually it’s a fun French eurodisco instrumental (mostly) El Bimbo from Bimbo Jet. Some might say cheesy, but it even charted in the USA as well as much of Europe and cropped up in the Police Academy movies. The version shown is really the B side with added “Bimbo”s (not the ladies!) and assorted vocals, but it’s great fun anyway.

 

Up to 4, Nitty Gritty Dirt band’s cover, while highest new entry is my 1972 top 3 track Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love, Love Unlimited’s second Barry White biggie of the year. Of course he was married to Glodean James, one of the trio of girls, so that never hurt their success. The track is pure schmaltz soul perfection, right down to the Barry White telephone call end-song and the rainfall effects. Love it. Into the 10, Mike Batt, Steely Dan’s 1972 classic, and Procol harum.

 

Going top 20: Rod the not-so-Mod Sailing, Mike Post opening up The Rockford Files, at new at 22 it’s another old soul classic, this time Freda Payne’s spine-tingling 1970 lament to her new hubby who isn’t the man she’d expected he would be between the sheets. The Eagles fly up to 28, and Eric Clapton has knocked on the door of the Top 30 successfully. At 34 Dan McCafferty is the first of 3 versions of Out Of Time to chart in 1975 - Dan is taking a solo break from Nazareth for a good version of the Rolling Stones’ song, as charted big by Chris Farlowe in 1966 in the UK singles chart. In the wake of Dan doing it, both the Stones and Chris versions get reissued and all 3 make the UK singles chart - and mine! Talking of multiple cover versions, Brazil, the 1939 Brazilian latin-rhythm classic song, as featured in movies and jazz cover versions from the 1940’s onwards, is done disco style in the UK charts by 2 acts, The Ritchie Family is the much better version but was beaten in the chart race by the quicker-off-the-mark Crispy & Company version, which is a bit weedy actually, though the song is great. In at 45.

 

That leaves Gladys Knight free to start delving into her big US hits of the early 70’s Buddah label that all stiffed in the UK, hot off her The Way We Were success. First one up: Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me, nice enough soul ballad. At 50, The Carpenters cover Neil Sedaka’s lovely Solitaire (Record Mirror had a free flexi disc of Neil’s original, still have it), though Andy Williams had already had the big UK hit so it was never going to set the charts alight, but did well enough. Karen’s sad songs were always her forte. That leaves the new song to enter: Bad Company feel Like Makin’ Love, a rock treat, fab guitar, passionate Paul Rodgers vocals, it was almost like Free were back (his previous band), though this was their only track to rate that highly - so good Pauline Henry covered it in the 90’s. I hadn’t liked Can’t get Enough in 1974, so this is their chart debut - and swansong!

 

 

1 ( 2 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

2 ( 3 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

3 ( 1 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

4 ( 12 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

5 ( NEW ) WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE Love Unlimited featuring Barry White

6 ( 24 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt

7 ( 9 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

8 ( 8 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

9 ( 17 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

10 ( 13 ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

 

 

11 ( 4 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

12 ( 5 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

13 ( 21 ) SAILING Rod Stewart

14 ( 14 ) A CHILD’S PRAYER Hot Chocolate

15 ( 18 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon

16 ( 34 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

17 ( 6 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

18 ( 10 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

19 ( 7 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

20 ( 22 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

 

 

21 ( 11 ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

22 ( NEW ) BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne

23 ( 23 ) BLANKET ON THE GROUND Billie-Jo Spears

24 ( 27 ) I’M GONNA BE A COUNTRY GIRL AGAIN Buffy Sainte-Marie

25 ( 16 ) HIGH WIRE LInda Carr And The Love Squad

26 ( 20 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

27 ( 32 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

28 ( 45 ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles

29 ( 19 ) ALL I NEED IS YOUR SWEET LOVIN' Gloria Gaynor

30 ( 35 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Eric Clapton

 

31 ( 15 ) SHERRY Adrian Baker

32 ( 41 ) LOVE IN THE SUN The Glitter Band

33 ( 48 ) I MAY BE TOO YOUNG Suzi Quatro

34 ( NEW ) OUT OF TIME Dan McCafferty

35 ( 36 ) MY GIRL Otis Redding

36 ( 37 ) CRYSTAL WORLD Crystal Grass

37 ( 28 ) JIVE TALKING The Bee Gees

38 ( 29 ) IT’S IN HIS KISS Linda Lewis

39 ( 30 ) NEW YORK CITY T.Rex

40 ( 25 ) BLUEBIRD Helen Reddy

 

 

41 ( 26 ) LADY OF SPAIN Ray Stevens

42 ( 31 ) MAGNETO AND TITANIUM MAN Wings

43 ( 38 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

44 ( 44 ) JULIE ANN Kenny

45 ( NEW ) BRAZIL Crispy & Company

46 ( NEW ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME Gladys Knight And The Pips

47 ( NEW ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company

48 ( 40 ) SEALED WITH A KISS Brian Hyland

49 ( 33 ) ACTION The Sweet

50 ( NEW ) SOLITAIRE The Carpenters

 

 

This month in the news: Dmitri Shostakovich died - I remember this as a kid in my school music class (3 years earlier) used to write his name in his schoolbooks the way other teens wrote T.Rex, Bowie, David Cassidy or The Osmonds. Bit of a classical music fan! On a happier note Charlize Theron was born, though I wouldn't know about that for another 30-odd years. On tragic notes, there was a pub bombing by the IRA in Belfast killing 5 people, and in Birmingham, The Birmingham Six were convicted for the bombings there in 1974 - wrongfully, of course, thanks to the police deciding who was guilty and making the evidence appear to fit and forcing confessions. The police always have, and always will, make huge mistakes because they are people, no different from anyone else other than feeling a bit cocksure about themselves and banding together when they should be speaking out against injustice. In the USA serial-killer Ted Bundy was captured (hooray!) and then escaped prison to kill again (see previous police comments these apply internationally).

 

In Ethiopa, Emporer Hailie Salassie was assassinated (though that wasn't announced for another 16 years), in the Far East Laos opted for invading Communist armies, and PVC food packaging was banned in the USA after it was found to cause cancer. On a scientific note, a supernova that exploded 6,000 light years away became visible to the naked eye for a week. Sadly, I didn't spot it.....

1st September 1975

 

It's another reissued oldie in at 1 for Edison Lighthouse, which had 2 weeks on top over 5 years previously - fairly obviously, age 17, I was heavily getting onto the 1969-72 period and rediscovering "old" faves (or as I would consider anything 3 to 6 years old these days, "recent"). That's bad news for The Eagles who are cruelly robbed of a number one with their best record - they never came close, though Don Henley did top my charts eventually. In fact with multiple Ray Stevens covers, and the Nitty Griity Dirt Band, Billie-Joe Spears, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Glen Campbell it's quite the country chart...

 

In at 6 it's a comedian, who was suddenly very hot - it was the other side (a comedy skit) that was partly selling the record, but Funky Moped was pretty catchy and amusing, and ironically higher charting than the much more cool Motor Bikin'. Mike Post's classic TV theme deservedly goes top 10, and Pilot's 1974 Top tenner in my charts is out again (and still bloody under-performed despite a re-recording) - Just A Smile is their best record, though they still had future non-hit goodies before morphing into their producer's 80's Alan Parsons Project.

 

The old standard Indian Love Call is Ray Stevens official follow-up to Misty, a poor choice as Deep Purple is the commercial-sounding track (see Donny & Marie in 1976), but is new in anyway, just ahead of an absolute bonafide classic as Abba kickstart their classic period with SOS at 26. For some inexplicable reason I liked it at the time (it was their 5th chart entry in my lists, 6 if you count the cover of Honey Honey which robbed them of a big hit) but I didn't absolutely worship the ground it walks on for a few years. I do now, and it duly topped my charts 25 years late.

 

The Jackson 5, busy morphing into Epic-label Jacksons, were getting the milking-Motown treatment during 1974/5, not least this single which was completely ignored by all, but Time Explosion was decent enough to chart at 27. In at 34, a fabulous studio-musicians single with a vocalist-for-hire soaring I'm On Fire. Sadly Tina Charles wasn't slim and blonde and wasn't invited to front the band on Top Of The Pops - they found someone who was instead (and who they didnt invite back for Dr. Kiss Kiss in 1976), so Tina suitably had a Biddu-produced long run of disco singles hits instead, so ya boo to you.

 

At 43, the fabulous Lesley Gore, her of gay-icon You Don't Own Me and It's My Party (among many) is back with a new song that got radio play - and no sales. Immortality was a goodie. It's also her last first and last appearance on my chart with new material, though You Don't Own Me topped my chart shortly after she died. Desmond Dekker extends his run of hits to 6 years, and Leo Sayer to 2 years, now found Moonlighting. Leo is still kicking in concert, a must-see in a small venue.

 

1 ( NEW ) LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) Edison Lighthouse

2 ( 28 ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles

3 ( 4 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

4 ( 6 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt

5 ( 1 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

6 ( NEW ) FUNKY MOPED Jasper Carrott

7 ( 9 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

8 ( 16 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

9 ( 2 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

10 ( 5 ) WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE Love Unlimited

 

11 ( 3 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

12 ( 10 ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

13 ( NEW ) JUST A SMILE Pilot

14 ( 7 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

15 ( 8 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

16 ( 22 ) BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne

17 ( 11 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

18 ( 12 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

19 ( 14 ) A CHILD’S PRAYER Hot Chocolate

20 ( 13 ) SAILING Rod Stewart

 

21 ( 18 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

22 ( 17 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

23 ( 19 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

24 ( 15 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon

25 ( NEW ) INDIAN LOVE CALL Ray Stevens

26 ( NEW ) SOS Abba

27 ( NEW ) TIME EXPLOSION The Jackson 5

28 ( 34 ) OUT OF TIME Dan McCafferty

29 ( 32 ) LOVE IN THE SUN The Glitter Band

30 ( 20 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

 

31 ( 47 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company

32 ( 43 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

33 ( 33 ) I MAY BE TOO YOUNG Suzi Quatro

34 ( NEW ) I’M ON FIRE 5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles

35 ( 23 ) BLANKET ON THE GROUND Billie-Jo Spears

36 ( 30 ) KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Eric Clapton

37 ( 26 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

38 ( 27 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

39 ( 21 ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

40 ( 24 ) I’M GONNA BE A COUNTRY GIRL AGAIN Buffy Sainte-Marie

 

41 ( 46 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME Gladys Knight And The Pips

42 ( 44 ) JULIE ANN Kenny

43 ( NEW ) IMMORTALITY Lesley Gore

44 ( NEW ) SING A LITTLE SONG Desmond Dekker

45 ( NEW ) MOONLIGHTING Leo Sayer

46 ( 25 ) HIGH WIRE LInda Carr And The Love Squad

47 ( 29 ) ALL I NEED IS YOUR SWEET LOVIN' Gloria Gaynor

48 ( 37 ) JIVE TALKING The Bee Gees

49 ( 38 ) IT’S IN HIS KISS Linda Lewis

50 ( 39 ) NEW YORK CITY T.Rex

Good to see Funky Moped here. The "funky moped" line in a deep voice was sung by Bev Bevan. Jasper and Bev were in the same year at school and briefly worked together in a furniture shop before they became famous.

Good to see Funky Moped here. The "funky moped" line in a deep voice was sung by Bev Bevan. Jasper and Bev were in the same year at school and briefly worked together in a furniture shop before they became famous.

 

Thanks Rollo, I didnt actually know that was Bev bevan! Great fun that track :)

8th September 1975

 

It's a first week on top for the country cover of the old Everly Brothers song which first charted in 1969 in my charts for Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version is my fave version to date, though. Pilot return to the top 10 a year on with Just A Smile, their best (forgotten) record, and the highest new entry is a song from Swedish act Harpo (not the Marx Brother) which took a year to make the UK charts, but which I loved right off the bat. More than I loved the latest Abba single which stalled at 26 for the girls providing vocal backup for Harpo - incredible as it sounds it took me some years to become convinced of the genius that is SOS, though it was my 3rd fave Abba single to date.

 

In at 12, Showaddywaddy get a 4th top 20 with the Buddy Holly cover (50's covers quite the theme in the 70's, as nostalgia always works in 2-decade cycles), as 60's fab songstress Lesley Gore leaps into the 20 with new material. Tina Charles gets her first top 20 (It says 5000 volts on the label, but they were never great again and Tina was), and Al Matthews enters at 23 with the soul goodie Fool. Disco Tex is back as I buy his I Wanna Dance Wit Choo in the bargain bins and like his new single too Boogie Flap, in at 27 for his 3rd top 30. Or I should say "their" as the songwriters/producers/group-members were Kenny "Swing Your Daddy/High Wire/Lady Marmalade & other Chelsea Records hits" Nolan and Bob "Four Seasons" Crewe.

 

Desmond Dekker grabs his first (and last) new top 30 hit in 5 years, Jonathan King covers a European cheesy holiday smash (as was his wont, trying to beat out the George Baker Selection original) and gets a huge UK hit with Una Paloma Blanca, a pretty naff song by any standards, though I was blinded by pop star loyalty for a while. It does at least namecheck Una Stubbs, Paloma Faith and Blanca Jagger. Honest...!

 

At 46, David Essex back on form with a song that was obviously going to be huge the first time I heard it - Hold Me Close - Ray Stevens re-enters Lady Of Spain for 4 on the chart an actual Ed Sheeran/Drake-style chart invasion stylee for 1975 (I was ahead of the game, clearly), as US hit singles Rocky (Austin Roberts) and Fallin' In Love Again (Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' countryrock goodie) keep the new entries flowing. Another Hamilton (Bohannon) has a 2nd chart entry, and finally Reparata debuts (strictly speaking) or returns after a gap of 7 years (had I started my charts a few months earlier in 1968) since the fab Captain Of Your Ship with her Delrons. Shoes is a cover of a European hit that borrowed some of the rhythms of her previous pop hit and combined them with a certain "hey! hey!" Greek-Russian-stylee rhythm. Good single.

 

1 ( 3 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

2 ( 1 ) LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) Edison Lighthouse

3 ( 4 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt

4 ( 6 ) FUNKY MOPED Jasper Carrott

5 ( 2 ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles

6 ( 7 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

7 ( 9 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

8 ( 13 ) JUST A SMILE Pilot

9 ( 5 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

10 ( NEW ) MOVIE STAR Harpo featuring Agnetha & Frida

 

11 ( 8 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

12 ( NEW ) HEARTBEAT Showaddywaddy

13 ( 43 ) IMMORTALITY Lesley Gore

14 ( 34 ) I’M ON FIRE 5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles

15 ( 25 ) INDIAN LOVE CALL Ray Stevens

16 ( 23 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

17 ( 24 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon

18 ( 11 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

19 ( 17 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

20 ( 18 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

 

21 ( 21 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

22 ( 22 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

23 ( NEW ) FOOL Al Matthews

24 ( 15 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

25 ( 14 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

26 ( 26 ) SOS Abba

27 ( NEW ) BOOGIE FLAP Disco Tex & The Sex-o-Lettes

28 ( 10 ) WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE Love Unlimited

29 ( 44 ) SING A LITTLE SONG Desmond Dekker

30 ( 32 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

 

31 ( 31 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company

32 ( 30 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

33 ( 12 ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

34 ( 27 ) TIME EXPLOSION The Jackson 5

35 ( 16 ) BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne

36 ( 41 ) BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME Gladys Knight And The Pips

37 ( 37 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

38 ( 38 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

39 ( 39 ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

40 ( 19 ) A CHILD’S PRAYER Hot Chocolate

 

41 ( NEW ) UNA PALOMA BLANCA Jonathan King

42 ( 28 ) OUT OF TIME Dan McCafferty

43 ( RE ) LADY OF SPAIN Ray Stevens

44 ( 29 ) LOVE IN THE SUN The Glitter Band

45 ( 35 ) BLANKET ON THE GROUND Billie-Jo Spears

46 ( NEW ) HOLD ME CLOSE David Essex

47 ( NEW ) ROCKY Austin Roberts

48 ( NEW ) SHOES Reparata

49 ( NEW ) FALLIN’ IN LOVE AGAIN Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds

50 ( NEW ) HAPPY FEELING Hamilton Bohannon

Would Fame by David Bowie rechart for you in 1989 again?

Would Fame by David Bowie rechart for you in 1989 again?

 

Hi Steve, yes it would rechart for every remix and every opportunity as I under-rated it at the time, oops! Fabulous track, but I preferred Young Americans and Golden Years in 1975 (and Space Oddity!)

15th September 1975

 

It's a first week on top for The Wombles man Mike Batt, and his Seaside Special theme tune, a jolly pop romp that would have sounded just as good as Wombletime City. Other than that it's a decidedly 50's and 60's retro chart, which was pretty incredible given I was only 17 and didnt have much in the way for nostalgia for anything much more than 12 years old. Pilot reach a new peak a year late with Just A Smile at 4, Tina Charles gets a first top 10 with I'm On Fire, and soulman Al Matthews shoots up to 8. Showaddywaddy's Buddy Holly cover gives them a 3rd top 10 in a row - but I wouldn't hold your breath expecting that to happen ever again! Meanwhoile Lesley Gore gets a new track into the top 10 6 years ahead of her It's My Party topping the UK charts - for someone else.

 

David Essex launches right into the top 20 with Hold Me Close having chart-topper written all over it - UK chart-topper at any rate, poor ol' David never did top my chart despite coming close many times. Reparata also steps her Shoes into the 30, just ahead of the highest new entry from The Supremes, giving them 7 years of chart hits with flop single He's My Man - or at least 2 of them, new girl Scherrie Payne had replaced Jean Terrell who had replaced Diana Ross. 60's folkie Paul Simon also returns, as with The Supremes, for the first time in 2 years with Gone At Last, and more astoundingly The Four Seasons re-invent their sound, add two new co-lead-singer members, get Frankie Valli on verses lead and grab their first huge hit with new material since 1967 - predating my charts, bar the oldie UK hit The Night, which led to this track. Bob Gaudio still does the magic songwriting, though with another parter, Judy Parker.

 

Art Garfunkel joins his old ex-duo-mate entering the chart, and covers a 1934 standard in a dreamy, slowed-down style, the lovely I Only Have Eyes For You, previously most-famous in a doo-wop version by The Flamingos. One place behind at 40, Hello are back with a 4th chart entry, and their best record, the Bo Diddley-rhythm-ed fab New York Groove, yet another of many songs by Russ Ballard recorded by other acts outside Argent and his solo career. Another veteran act also returns with one of many UK 70's hits, The Drifters with Johnny Moore still on lead provided the ideal outlet for British songwriters, in this case Barry Mason & Roger Greenaway, writers of many famous pop hits, and There Goes My First Love, though this marked the point at which they started to get a bit samey for me.

 

Van McCoy is still at 44 with The Hustle, and guess what, he's also at 49 with his early 60's goodies When You're Young And In Love, a Ruby & The Romantics track that became better known in the 1967 cover by The Marvelettes and huge hit in 1984 for The Flying Picketts in the UK. This version was US minor Billboard soul hit for teen singer and actor Ralph Carter (star of US black sitcom Good Times) - though there was also a competing version which also charted at that time, this was the one I got to hear. That leaves The Goodies' Nappy Love, and their pastiche of 50's teen heart-throbs in at 50. Somehow they had managed to get 5 songs into my chart in under a year, but the best thing they did was the flip of this one - Wild Thing, The Troggs song done for an episode of their TV show which was genuinely funny: "Wild Thing! Hold Me. Tight. Not. Quite. That. Tight"

 

 

1 ( 3 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt

2 ( 1 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

3 ( 2 ) LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) Edison Lighthouse

4 ( 8 ) JUST A SMILE Pilot

5 ( 7 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

6 ( 10 ) MOVIE STAR Harpo featuring Agnetha & Frida

7 ( 14 ) I’M ON FIRE 5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles

8 ( 23 ) FOOL Al Matthews

9 ( 12 ) HEARTBEAT Showaddywaddy

10 ( 13 ) IMMORTALITY Lesley Gore

 

11 ( 4 ) FUNKY MOPED Jasper Carrott

12 ( 15 ) INDIAN LOVE CALL Ray Stevens

13 ( 6 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan

14 ( 9 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

15 ( 5 ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles

16 ( 16 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

17 ( 46 ) HOLD ME CLOSE David Essex

18 ( 27 ) BOOGIE FLAP Disco Tex & The Sex-o-Lettes

19 ( 30 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding

20 ( 11 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post

 

21 ( 31 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company

22 ( 48 ) SHOES Reparata

23 ( 26 ) SOS Abba

24 ( 19 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans

25 ( 20 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys

26 ( 18 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

27 ( NEW ) HE’S MY MAN The Supremes

28 ( NEW ) GONE AT LAST Paul Simon featuring Phoebe Coates

29 ( 17 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon

30 ( NEW ) WHO LOVES YOU The Four Seasons

 

31 ( 21 ) MISTY Ray Stevens

32 ( 22 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille

33 ( 35 ) BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne

34 ( 41 ) UNA PALOMA BLANCA Jonathan King

35 ( 24 ) IT’S BEEN SO LONG George McCrae

36 ( 25 ) SUMMER OF ’42 Biddu Orchestra

37 ( 29 ) SING A LITTLE SONG Desmond Dekker

38 ( 32 ) THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) K.C. And The Sunshine Band

39 ( NEW ) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU Art Garfunkel

40 ( NEW ) NEW YORK GROOVE Hello

 

41 ( 47 ) ROCKY Austin Roberts

42 ( 28 ) WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE Love Unlimited

43 ( 49 ) FALLIN’ IN LOVE AGAIN Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds

44 ( 37 ) THE HUSTLE Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

45 ( 38 ) CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE) The Stylistics

46 ( 33 ) PANDORA’S BOX Procol Harum

47 ( 39 ) DEEP PURPLE Ray Stevens

48 ( NEW ) THERE GOES MY FIRST LOVE The Drifters

49 ( NEW ) WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE Ralph Carter

50 ( NEW ) NAPPY LOVE The Goodies

It's been a long while but trying to finish my 1975 original charts as a maturing 17-year-old as Retro charts are on hold to save time!

22nd September 1975

It's another oldie on top as the rush of re-issued hits were getting more and more recent, allowing Middle Of The Road to grab a 10th week on top of my charts 4 years on from buying it in Singapore and going mad on Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. That's a shame as the one-year-old PIlot's Just A Smile is held off the top spot, and future hit in 1976 Movie Star is denied a top slot. David Essex meanwhile gets his 6th top 10 with Hold Me Close.

The highest new track is from Mud, no longer Chinn-Chapman and on Private Stock record label, L'L'Lucy has the Glam vibes but is moving towards synthy keyboards, but was an OK stab at self-written hits, in at 26. Natalie Cole, daughter of the great Nat 'King' Cole, debuts in my chrts with the soul-bop This Will Be, at 41 - but it would be another decade before she started to get regular hits.

Meanwhile another oldie drops in - but this one is a debut, for The Rolling Stones on their original version of Out Of Time, a hit for Chris Farlowe in the mid 60's and also back out in 1975, and newly covered by Nazereth's Dan McCafferty, leading to a 3-way chart-battle in the UK - they all went top 50, but none made the top 30. Also new in: Helen Reddy's latest ballad, Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady; Johnny Nash's Let's Be Friends; and Carl Malcolm's reggae version of Fattie Bum Bum, which will be a UK hit unlike Johnny and Helen. It's a bit of a novelty is Bum Bum, and will also be involved in a chart battle with another reggae version.

1    (    NEW    )    CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP    Middle Of The Road

2    (    4    )    JUST A SMILE    Pilot

3    (    6    )    MOVIE STAR    Harpo featuring Frida

4    (    3    )    LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES)    Edison Lighthouse

5    (    1    )    SUMMERTIME CITY    Mike Batt

6    (    7    )    I’M ON FIRE    5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles

7    (    10    )    IMMORTALITY    Lesley Gore

8    (    5    )    THE SINGLE GIRL    Sandy Posey

9    (    2    )    (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM    The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

10    (    17    )    HOLD ME CLOSE    David Essex

11    (    9    )    HEARTBEAT    Showaddywaddy

12    (    30    )    WHO LOVES YOU    The Four Seasons

13    (    8    )    FOOL    Al Matthews

14    (    11    )    FUNKY MOPED    Jasper Carrott

15    (    18    )    BOOGIE FLAP    Disco Tex & The Sex-o-Lettes

16    (    22    )    SHOES    Reparata

17    (    28    )    GONE AT LAST     Paul Simon featuring Phoebe Coates

18    (    21    )    FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE    Bad Company

19    (    12    )    INDIAN LOVE CALL    Ray Stevens

20    (    27    )    HE’S MY MAN    The Supremes

21    (    29    )    FAME    David Bowie featuring John Lennon

22    (    16    )    RHINESTONE COWBOY    Glen Campbell

23    (    23    )    SOS    Abba

24    (    14    )    EL BIMBO    Bimbo Jet

25    (    15    )    ONE OF THESE NIGHTS    The Eagles

26    (    NEW    )    L’L’LUCY    Mud

27    (    20    )    THE ROCKFORD FILES    Mike Post

28    (    19    )    MOTOR BIKIN'    Chris Spedding

29    (    13    )    DO IT AGAIN    Steely Dan

30    (    43    )    FALLIN’ IN LOVE AGAIN    Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds

31    (    24    )    IN THE YEAR 2525    Zager And Evans

32    (    25    )    BREAK AWAY    The Beach Boys

33    (    26    )    DELILAH    The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

34    (    31    )    MISTY    Ray Stevens

35    (    32    )    LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER    Captain And Tennille

36    (    33    )    BAND OF GOLD    Freda Payne

37    (    39    )    I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU    Art Garfunkel

38    (    40    )    NEW YORK GROOVE    Hello

39    (    50    )    NAPPY LOVE    The Goodies

40    (    48    )    THERE GOES MY FIRST LOVE    The Drifters

41    (    NEW    )    THIS WILL BE    Natalie Cole

42    (    37    )    SING A LITTLE SONG    Desmond Dekker

43    (    35    )    IT’S BEEN SO LONG    George McCrae

44    (    36    )    SUMMER OF ’42    Biddu Orchestra

45    (    NEW    )    OUT OF TIME    The Rolling Stones

46    (    44    )    THE HUSTLE    Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

47    (    NEW    )    AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY    Helen Reddy

48    (    38    )    THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT)    K.C. And The Sunshine Band

49    (    NEW    )    LET’S BE FRIENDS    Johnny Nash

50    (    NEW    )    FATTIE BUM BUM    Carl Malcolm

Reparata - Shoes is my SOTY.

Absolute masterpiece.

22 minutes ago, Last Dreamer said:

Reparata - Shoes is my SOTY.

Absolute masterpiece.

I was a bit of a Reparata fan when I was 10, Captain Of Your Ship with her Delrons, so it was great having her back with this great Greek-ish-sounding bop. 😎

29th September 1975

Chirpy Chirpy holds of the UK chart-topper from my top spot at 2, but it will get there in a couple of years when the sheer number of reissued singles again forces me to create another set of oldies charts - in this case CBS copied Apple by bunging out loads of old songs in a box set on record store counters which could also be bought individually. I'm On Fire is therefore unlucky to compete with so many oldies, up at 5, though like Harpo, Tina Charles will be bigger in 1976. The Four Seasons get their first-ever top 10, 60's pop star Dee Clark returns at 21 with Ride A Wild Horse, a nice bit of soul/disco, and the oldies keep on coming as record companies trawl their back catalogue: Mony Mony at a lowly 26, the Tommy James classic should have been on top instead of Middle Of The Road, as it pre-dated my personal charts.

There's some RCA Bowie-reissue going on again, after Life On Mars and Rock'n'Roll Suicide, they now do Space Oddity, 6 years old, and stick Changes on the B side almost 4 years on, they both duly debut at 27 and 28. Talking of oldies, Los Bravos was a 60's goodie that I recognised as great even if it got no airplay this time round, and I didn't own a copy, the Spanish band entering at 31, just ahead of the latest Smokey Chinn-Chapman ditty - note they still hadnt been served notice by Smokey Robinson to change the spelling at this point.

Down the lower end, Paul McCartney goes for the wrong follow-up in Letting Go, off Venus & Mars, when Magneto & Titanium Man was just begging to be a single. Bob Marley has a live version of No Woman No Cry out and this finally kick-starts the man into the future legend and hitmaker in his own right. John Miles debut with a cracker - High Fly remains one of my fave tracks of 1975, still exciting, and his best record including Music. Finally Lois Lane dumps Superman and covers River Deep Mountain High - Lois was on various TV shows around this time but never got a hit out of it, this was her nearest try, an unusual low-key version.

1 ( 1 ) CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP Middle Of The Road
2 ( 37 ) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU Art Garfunkel
3 ( 2 ) JUST A SMILE Pilot
4 ( 4 ) LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) Edison Lighthouse
5 ( 6 ) I’M ON FIRE 5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles
6 ( 3 ) MOVIE STAR Harpo featuring Frida
7 ( 7 ) IMMORTALITY Lesley Gore
8 ( 10 ) HOLD ME CLOSE David Essex
9 ( 12 ) WHO LOVES YOU The Four Seasons
10 ( 8 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey

11 ( 5 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt
12 ( 18 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company
13 ( 13 ) FOOL Al Matthews
14 ( 14 ) FUNKY MOPED Jasper Carrott
15 ( 15 ) BOOGIE FLAP Disco Tex & The Sex-o-Lettes
16 ( 9 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
17 ( 22 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell
18 ( 20 ) HE’S MY MAN The Supremes
19 ( 38 ) NEW YORK GROOVE Hello
20 ( 23 ) SOS Abba

21 ( NEW ) RIDE A WILD HORSE Dee Clark
22 ( 26 ) L’L’LUCY Mud
23 ( 16 ) SHOES Reparata
24 ( 17 ) GONE AT LAST Paul Simon featuring Phoebe Coates
25 ( 19 ) INDIAN LOVE CALL Ray Stevens
26 ( NEW ) MONY MONY Tommy James & The Shondells
27 ( NEW ) SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
28 ( NEW ) CHANGES David Bowie
29 ( 21 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon
30 ( 47 ) AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY Helen Reddy

31 ( NEW ) BLACK IS BLACK Los Bravos
32 ( 11 ) HEARTBEAT Showaddywaddy
33 ( 41 ) THIS WILL BE Natalie Cole
34 ( NEW ) DON’T PLAY YOUR ROCK ’N’ ROLL TO ME Smokie
35 ( 39 ) NAPPY LOVE The Goodies
36 ( 29 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan
37 ( 28 ) MOTOR BIKIN' Chris Spedding
38 ( 25 ) ONE OF THESE NIGHTS The Eagles
39 ( 27 ) THE ROCKFORD FILES Mike Post
40 ( 24 ) EL BIMBO Bimbo Jet

41 ( 31 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans
42 ( 32 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys
43 ( 33 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
44 ( 34 ) MISTY Ray Stevens
45 ( 35 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille
46 ( 30 ) FALLIN’ IN LOVE AGAIN Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
47 ( NEW ) LETTING GO Paul McCartney & Wings
48 ( NEW ) NO WOMAN NO CRY Bob Marley & The Wailers
49 ( NEW ) HIGH FLY John Miles
50 ( NEW ) RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH Lois Lane

6th October 1975

It's 3 weeks on top to add to the previous run of 9 weeks on top for Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep as Middle Of The Road's 2 follow-ups arrive at 2 and 3 as I realise they were included on the newly-reissued single on the B side, all 3 of them having topped my charts in 1971, and reamining faves 4 years later. 50 years later however does sort out which records still sound great, where 4 years was then still recent nostalgiac enthusiasm. Glen Campbell goes back up to hit a new peak of 6 with Rhinestone Cowboy, Mud make it an 8th top 10 with their first self-written hit, L'L'Lucy at 9 - last Friday (10th Oct 2025) I caught Ray and Rob on tour and they started off Lucy, sounding good.

Bowie finally gets Space Oddity into my top 10 - I totally didnt get to hear it in Singapore in 1969, and had to wait till it took off in the USA in early 1973, and Changes belatedly goes top 20. The oldie re-issues keep on coming as Jimmy Helms' 1973 hit pops back in, and The Hollies chart two that missed my chart (Long Cool Woman) as it didnt go top 30 in 1972, and Carrie Ann (1967 being too early, but a big fave anyway). That leaves actual new tracks from T.Rex as Dreamy Lady makes it two good'uns in a row for Marc, at 29, People's Choice dance into 36, Peters & Lee cover Dave Berry's good oldie - The Crying Game - and George Harrison kicks old mukker Macca out the chart with You at 50.

If I removed all of the oldies from the chart it would be a top 34.

1 ( 1 ) CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP Middle Of The Road
2 ( NEW ) TWEEDLEDEE TWEEDLEDUM Middle Of The Road
3 ( NEW ) SOLEY SOLEY Middle Of The Road
4 ( 2 ) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU Art Garfunkel
5 ( 3 ) JUST A SMILE Pilot
6 ( 17 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell
7 ( 4 ) LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) Edison Lighthouse
8 ( 6 ) MOVIE STAR Harpo featuring Frida
9 ( 22 ) L’L’LUCY Mud
10 ( 27 ) SPACE ODDITY David Bowie

11 ( 7 ) IMMORTALITY Lesley Gore
12 ( 5 ) I’M ON FIRE 5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles
13 ( 10 ) THE SINGLE GIRL Sandy Posey
14 ( 21 ) RIDE A WILD HORSE Dee Clark
15 ( 48 ) NO WOMAN NO CRY Bob Marley & The Wailers
16 ( 20 ) SOS Abba
17 ( 28 ) CHANGES David Bowie
18 ( 11 ) SUMMERTIME CITY Mike Batt
19 ( 14 ) FUNKY MOPED Jasper Carrott
20 ( 8 ) HOLD ME CLOSE David Essex

21 ( 12 ) FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE Bad Company
22 ( NEW ) GONNA MAKE YOU AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE Jimmy Helms
23 ( 9 ) WHO LOVES YOU The Four Seasons
24 ( 35 ) NAPPY LOVE The Goodies
25 ( 16 ) (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
26 ( 26 ) MONY MONY Tommy James & The Shondells
27 ( 29 ) FAME David Bowie featuring John Lennon
28 ( 30 ) AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY Helen Reddy
29 ( NEW ) DREAMY LADY T.Rex
30 ( NEW ) LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS The Hollies

31 ( 33 ) THIS WILL BE Natalie Cole
32 ( 34 ) DON’T PLAY YOUR ROCK ’N’ ROLL TO ME Smokie
33 ( 49 ) HIGH FLY John Miles
34 ( 15 ) BOOGIE FLAP Disco Tex & The Sex-o-Lettes
35 ( 19 ) NEW YORK GROOVE Hello
36 ( NEW ) DO IT ANYWAY YOU WANNA People’s Choice
37 ( NEW ) THE CRYING GAME Peters And Lee
38 ( NEW ) CARRIE ANN The Hollies
39 ( 50 ) RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH Lois Lane
40 ( 23 ) SHOES Reparata

41 ( 18 ) HE’S MY MAN The Supremes
42 ( 25 ) INDIAN LOVE CALL Ray Stevens
43 ( 43 ) DELILAH The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
44 ( 44 ) MISTY Ray Stevens
45 ( 41 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 Zager And Evans
46 ( 42 ) BREAK AWAY The Beach Boys
47 ( 45 ) LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER Captain And Tennille
48 ( 36 ) DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan
49 ( 31 ) BLACK IS BLACK Los Bravos
50 ( NEW ) YOU George Harrison

John, how often any act had full top 3 in your chart ?

Cheeky Girls recorded their version of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" under a title "Get The Party On" . Mentioned Peters and Lee track is unknown for me. "Welcome Home" is the one from the best UK # 1s from 70s.

Edited October 13Oct 13 by Last Dreamer

24 minutes ago, Last Dreamer said:

John, how often any act had full top 3 in your chart ?

Cheeky Girls recorded their version of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" under a title "Get The Party On" . Mentioned Peters and Lee track is unknown for me. "Welcome Home" is the one from the best UK # 1s from 70s.

Hi Alex,

Actually this is the first time any act got my entire top 3 in the same week, and it would have been The Beatles too in 1976 if I hadnt changed the chart rules when all the Beatles singles were re-issued at once - I only charted those that made the UK top 50 in 1976 and created a new chart just for the other Beatles singles 😄ABBA would have done it if I allowed album tracks in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1980. Same with Pet Shop Boys in 1987, 1993 and later on in the 90's, before doing it last year. But the only other one to do it with new material (now I allow album tracks) is Loaded Honey this year.

The Crying Game is very nice, but a bit darker than previous Peters & Lee singles, Welcome Home is quite stirring with all the orchestral strings. Boy George had a hit with The Crying Game in the 80's with Pet Shop Boys producing it and I saw the original singer Dave Berry sing it in the 80's too.

13th October 1975

It's a return to the topspot for Tweedle Dee as Middle Of The Road replace themselves on top, which no act has done before, albeit with oldies. However the 8th week on top for MOTR is threatened by the return of Something In The Air, the 3rd single I ever bought in 1969 Singapore, on an evening market record stall, with Thunderclap Newman entering at 2 for a completely old top 5. The two new entries into the top are ill-fated acts who won't make it past 1981, Marc Bolan's Dreamy Lady up to 8 for his 15th top 10 as T.Rex. Bob Marley gets his No Woman No Cry up to 10 for his first in the top tier as an act, though Stir It Up had already been there for Johnny Nash as songwriter.

Big climbs for the fab John Miles and Hello records, and a new entry for then-veteran-ish Esther Phillips, on the old standard What A Difference A Day Makes, now back disco stylee and sounding great at 18, with Sparks charting hit number 6 on the 1940's-styled Looks Looks Looks, as the 40's generally become nostalgiac, War or no War, as is ever the case for the music scene grabbing ageing teens 20 or 30 years down the line, or those inspired by their parents record collections.

New at 28, Jigsaw debut with the brilliant Sky High, though they had already charted as songwriters in 1974 (Who Do You Think You Are) - it's from a film no-one saw much, but the record went global. The first band I ever saw in concert in late 1977, Lincoln University as it is now known, Bishop Grossteste College Of Education then. They were good. I have the album. Wannabe pop star John Myatt debuts with the forgotten Young Young Love at 31, and Gary Tom's Empire do a disco Beatles cover of Drive My Car.

My mate Ian buys the new T.Rex single and I copy Do You Wanna Dance onto my reel to reel, the B side cover which duly enters at 38 over a decade since Cliff had a hit with it, and Elton John is back with a pop hit that hasn't aged well, but I still like the Caribbean vibes of Island Girl, new at 40. David Cassidy tackles a Beach Boys hit in Darlin', and it's not a bad version - but it is his final hit for a decade! Bimbo Jet sneak in with a follow-up to their chart-topper, one I havent heard in 5 decades - La Balanga - new at 45, just ahead of a Perry Como re-issue of a song I missed while in Singapore. It's Impossible.

Gloria Gaynor is on hit 4 (or rather her first flop since Never Can Say Goodbye), War chart their US hit on the catchy Why Can't We Be Friends, and Black Blood cover the obscure Yamasukis track from 1971 - a European attempt at a World Music sound from the experimental duo, one of whom would father a Daft Punk star, and who had already topped my chart in 1974 with Yamasuki. Aie M'wana became better known as the debut single for Bananarama in 1981, but this version is the best one.

1    (    2    )    TWEEDLE DEE TWEEDLE DUM    Middle Of The Road

2    (    NEW    )    SOMETHING IN THE AIR    Thunderclap Newman

3    (    3    )    SOLEY SOLEY    Middle Of The Road

4    (    1    )    CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP    Middle Of The Road

5    (    10    )    SPACE ODDITY    David Bowie

6    (    4    )    I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU    Art Garfunkel

7    (    6    )    RHINESTONE COWBOY    Glen Campbell

8    (    29    )    DREAMY LADY    T.Rex

9    (    5    )    JUST A SMILE    Pilot

10    (    15    )    NO WOMAN NO CRY    Bob Marley & The Wailers

11    (    33    )    HIGH FLY    John Miles

12    (    7    )    LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES)    Edison Lighthouse

13    (    35    )    NEW YORK GROOVE    Hello

14    (    14    )    RIDE A WILD HORSE    Dee Clark

15    (    9    )    L’L’LUCY    Mud

16    (    25    )    (ALL I HAVE TO DO IS) DREAM    The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

17    (    17    )    CHANGES    David Bowie

18    (    NEW    )    WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MADE    Esther Phillips

19    (    NEW    )    LOOKS LOOKS LOOKS    Sparks

20    (    22    )    GONNA MAKE YOU AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE    Jimmy Helms

21    (    8    )    MOVIE STAR    Harpo featuring Frida

22    (    11    )    IMMORTALITY    Lesley Gore

23    (    12    )    I’M ON FIRE    5,000 Volts featuring Tina Charles

24    (    26    )    MONY MONY    Tommy James & The Shondells

25    (    13    )    THE SINGLE GIRL    Sandy Posey

26    (    18    )    SUMMERTIME CITY    Mike Batt

27    (    19    )    FUNKY MOPED    Jasper Carrott

28    (    NEW    )    SKY HIGH    Jigsaw

29    (    36    )    DO IT ANYWAY YOU WANNA    People’s Choice

30    (    31    )    THIS WILL BE    Natalie Cole

31    (    NEW    )    YOUNG YOUNG LOVE    John Myatt

32    (    16    )    SOS    Abba

33    (    NEW    )    DRIVE MY CAR    Gary Tom’s Empire

34    (    24    )    NAPPY LOVE    The Goodies

35    (    39    )    RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH    Lois Lane

36    (    21    )    FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE    Bad Company

37    (    37    )    THE CRYING GAME    Peters And Lee

38    (    NEW    )    DO YOU WANNA DANCE    T.Rex

39    (    30    )    LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS    The Hollies

40    (    NEW    )    ISLAND GIRL    Elton John

41    (    50    )    YOU    George Harrison

42    (    NEW    )    DARLIN’    David Cassidy

43    (    27    )    FAME    David Bowie featuring John Lennon

44    (    32    )    DON’T PLAY YOUR ROCK ’N’ ROLL TO ME    Smokie

45    (    NEW    )    LA BALANGA    Bimbo Jet

46    (    NEW    )    IT’S IMPOSSIBLE    Perry Como

47    (    28    )    AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY    Helen Reddy

48    (    NEW    )    IF YOU WANT IT DO IT YOURSELF    Gloria Gaynor

49    (    NEW    )    WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS    War

50    (    NEW    )    A.I.E. (A MWANA)    Black Blood

Hi John. Chirp Chirpy Cheep Cheep brings back memories of it being No.1 in the summer of '71 and us singing it on the coach going on school summer residential trip.

Island Girl has always been one of my favourite Elon tracks but was often left off GH collections.

Edited October 25Oct 25 by CRAZY CHRIS

12 hours ago, CRAZY CHRIS said:

Hi John. Chirp Chirpy Cheep Cheep brings back memories of it being No.1 in the summer of '71 and us singing it on the coach going on school summer residential trip.

Island Girl has always been one of my favourite Elon tracks but was often left off GH collections.

Hi Chris! Ah summer memories of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep for me too - in Singapore. I bought it but had no record player to play it on till we got back to the UK in September 1971, by which time people were getting sick of hearing it and I was just getting even more mad on it 😄And obviously I was still mad on it in 1975, hah! Where was the summer trip? The only school trip I got from 1971 onwards was to Asda at lunchtimes, the chippie or the newsagent to buy DC comics with my dinner money. It was much easier not being on school premises than getting bullied by the hulking cavemen classmates outside lessons as well as during!

Island Girl lyrics are problematic these days, but it was a fun track at the time, and Elton obviously didnt write them himself. It wasnt one he sang when I caught him around 1988, either, but I have it on a European hits CD of his biggest pre-1976 tracks.