Top 40 when we joined the EEC/EU W/E 6th January 1973

 

1 1 Little Jimmy Osmond - Long haired lover from Liverpool

2 3 T.Rex - Solid gold easy action

3 5 Osmonds - Crazy horses

4 16 David Bowie - The jean genie

5 6 Slade - Gudbuy t’Jane

6 4 John & Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band - Happy xmas (War is over)

7 2 Chuck Berry - My ding-a-ling

8 11 Roy C - Shotgun wedding

9 10 Moody Blues - Nights in white satin

10 22 Wings - Hi hi hi/C moon

11 18 Judge Dread - Big seÎven

12 8 Michael Jackson - Ben

13 24 Elvis Presley - Always on my mind

14 14 Gladys Knight & The Pips - Help me make it through the night

15 29 Wizzard - Ball park incident

16 9 Donny Osmond - Why

17 7 Elton John - Crocodile rock

18 19 Lynsey De Paul - Getting a drag

19 13 Pipes & Drums & The Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Little drummer boy

20 27 Carly Simon - You’re so vain

21 17 David Cassidy - Rock me baby

22 34 Lieutenant Pigeon - Desperate Dan

23 12 Rod Stewart - Angel/What made Milwaukee famous (Has made a loser out of me)

24 20 Jackson 5 - Lookin’ through the windows

25 25 Gilbert O’Sullivan - Clair

26 15 Blue Mink - Stay with me

27 39 New Seekers feat Marty Kristian - Come softly to me

28 37 Cat Stevens - Can’t keep it in

29 23 Four Tops - Keeper of the castle

30 - Chairmen Of The Board - I’m on my way to a better place

31 26 Jeff Beck - Hi ho silver lining

32 28 Shangri-La’s - Leader of the pack

33 30 Chris Montez - Let’s dance

34 31 Lieutenant Pigeon - Mouldy old dough

35 32 Neil Sedaka - Oh Carol/Breaking up is hard to do/Little devil

36 33 Ken Dodd - Just out of reach (Of my two empty arms)

37 35 Shag - Loop di love

38 36 Geordie - Don’t do that

39 38 Stylistics - I’m stone in love with you

40 40 Carpenters - Goodbye to love

so many of these tracks were either hits all over again or covered:

 

3/6/9/12/13/14/19/20/31/32/35/39

 

Little Jimmy Osmond that year's Drake :P

So many songs in that Top 40 that I love. :)

 

It is strange looking back how many songs used to be re-released in the early 70s. Also how many instrumentals were hits at that time - even getting to number one. I wonder why that was?

 

The charts seemed to have a much wider appeal back then. There's such a tiny demographic to the Top 40 now.

reissues used to happen a lot because record shops only had limited space for stock and records had a limited shelf life before they became unavailable. After a few years of demand had built up for some golden oldies they brought them out again and they often charted, especially with the practice of having 1 or 2 bonus oldie hits on the B side, so you were getting 3 hits for the price of one. I bought loads of 60's records in the 70's, many for the B sides :lol:

 

Actually there's probably a big download marketing ploy yet to be exploited there - they could bundle 3 hits by the same artist together, or a new track and 2 oldies, and sell them as a 99p single. I bet that would do very well.....

As a kid in the 70s I got to hear so much "old music" from the 1960s that I never would have had access to had there not been re-releases. The Shangri-La's spring to mind.

I suppose it's like big dance acts now using samples!!

 

Anyway love charts like these post Xmas as well - Michael Jackson, T-Rex, Slade, John Lennon, David Bowie & Elton John :wub:

so many of these tracks were either hits all over again or covered:

 

3/6/9/12/13/14/19/20/31/32/35/39

 

Little Jimmy Osmond that year's Drake :P

 

Would you say the post Beatles era from 1970-77 were the poorest era for the chart until punk/synth pop saved the day?

Would you say the post Beatles era from 1970-77 were the poorest era for the chart until punk/synth pop saved the day?

 

That was my teenage era, so I'm going to be biased :lol: I loved soul, reggae, glam rock, pop, heavy, funk, disco, Philly, singer-songwriter, country, folk, progrock, early synth, West Coast rock, and all of the 60's reissues too, Motown, Beatles, so there was plenty of great stuff around, but without a universal movement to it. There was also some chart dross too, but then even in the peak chart periods there were less good stuff. There was a lot of poor stuff about in 1974/5 inside the UK charts, but loads of good stuff in the USA charts, so I was happy overall :yahoo:

Yeh I guess it depends on your era and your point about poor stuff in good eras is true - such as Tight Fit currently in 1982 TOTPs

1972 - 1977 is my very favourite time for music. I loved all TSOP stuff, Isley Brothers, Wings, ELO, David Bowie, Slade, Chilites. :wub: Elvis from that period, Frankie Valli from that period. The Stones from that period. It was all brilliant.

 

Whenever I hear any early 70s music, it always makes me smile. ^_^