5th January 1976

It's a new year, I turn 18 years old, and I get a 2 brand new notepads to put my personal charts and the BBC charts into. I also change my chart rules to allow B sides right after I buy a few ex-chart singles to go along with my full-price purchases and face myself with a real dilemma as 4 massive classic records all collide at the same time. I'm not going all hyperbole here, 50 years later 2 of them have made the top 75 again, Mamma Mia is a film, show and regular charter and Greg Lake is usually hovering in and around the top 100 each Christmas. My solution? Give them all a number one slot and continue the charts for the rest at 2,3 and so on. So anyway, the full Christmas top 50 was published in Record Mirror and Happy Xmas War Is Over had made the chart, after hitting the breakers in 1974, so qualifies for a new entry for a 3rd chart run and number one. Being sensible, it just looks wrong having 4 records tie, but happily I was very specific about the order they were listed as equal first, so that's how I'm splitting them up for this chart, and I have had to extend the chart to 53 to include all those I listed at the time.

So, ABBA get a 2nd number one in my chart as the video is so fab I try to take black & white photos of it off the telly to develop at school - I had access to the Art darkroom to dabble with my growing hobby as I went back to Art after having to drop it in 1972 - not my choice! Screenprints and photography was my delight, and that would filter through to my Uni course in 1977. Mamma Mia is an amazing pop record, even more famous and beloved than it was at the time - I was besotted with it, and would have had my mind blown had ABBA's hologram live/digital show been decsribed to me at the time, it would have seemed like pure magic. This means that Greg Lake, the greatest christmas song of all time stays at 2, and the 2nd-greatest enters at 3 for John & Yoko, while the most-popular recording of all-time with the general public is down to 4 from 1. Additionally, their B sides all enter: Yoko Ono's sweet Listen The Snow Is Falling is at 21, 5 years ahead of her starkly brilliant solo number one, and ABBA's Tropical Loveland is at 33, off the fab ABBA album and their 8th chart entry not including Sweet Dreams' cover of Honey Honey. Greg Lake's Humbug comments additionally on the over-commerciality of the Festive season at 31, and Queen's raucous I'm In Love With My Guitar is at 53, with A Night At The Opera easily becoming Queen's best album to date (and ever).

Elsewhere, Mike Oldfield gets a third top 10 with In Dulce Jubilo at 9, Gloria Gaynor covers a standard croon song from way back pumping disco stylee, How High The Moon should have been a bigger hit and new at 13, while Al Martino's version of the Eurovision classic starts to chase the Rock Bottom cover, 17 vs 10 for Volare. Glen Campbell's follow-up to his comeback hits in the US and in my chart, albeit not the UK, Country Boy at 27, with re-entries for some tracks I had just bought, Lyin' Eyes back at 37 while the arguably better B side James Dean is new 52 for The Eagles. Austin Roberts' Rocky is back at 38. Much like modern charts where there is a christmas clear-out in the New Year, my charts were already doing that with rebounds for Supertramp at a new peak 42, R & J Stone at 43, and Diana Ross had been getting Radio 1 airplay with her film ballad theme, Mahogany new at 46 for a 9th consecutive year of chart hits.

Ex-Temptations-legend David Ruffin follows Eddie Kendricks into the chart with his fabulous Motown soul track Walk Away From Love, in at 47, and Art Garfunkel debuts a Gallagher & Lyle song Breakaway, not a hit for Art nor for Gallagher & Lyle still unable to grab that elusive chart success. Number 48 while a John Miles B side, There's A Man Behind The Guitar, creeps in at 50, just behind the fab A side.

1 ( 3 ) MAMMA MIA ABBA

2 ( 2 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake

3 ( NEW ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko and The Harlem Community Choir

4 ( 1 ) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen

5 ( 6 ) ART FOR ART’S SAKE 10CC

6 ( 5 ) GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE Sailor

7 ( 4 ) EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra

8 ( 7 ) GOLDEN YEARS David Bowie

9 ( 22 ) IN DULCE JUBILO Mike Oldfield

10 ( 8 ) VOLARE Rock Bottom

11 ( 18 ) MIDNIGHT RIDER Paul Davidson

12 ( 13 ) BOTH ENDS BURNING Roxy Music

13 ( NEW ) HOW HIGH THE MOON Gloria Gaynor

14 ( 14 ) THE LUMBERJACK SONG Monty Python’s Flying Circus

15 ( 9 ) ITCHYCOO PARK The Small Faces

16 ( 10 ) LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF A FOOL Roy Wood

17 ( NEW ) VOLARE Al Martino

18 ( 11 ) RENTA SANTA Chris Hill

19 ( 29 ) KING OF THE COPS Billy Howard

20 ( 17 ) DO THE BUS STOP The Fatback Band

21 ( NEW ) LISTEN THE SNOW IS FALLING Yoko Ono

22 ( 33 ) LITTLE DARLING The Rubettes

23 ( 15 ) LADY LUCK Pilot

24 ( 23 ) ALL AROUND MY HAT Steeleye Span

25 ( 32 ) ANGEL FROM HAMBURGER HEAVEN Alvin Stardust

26 ( 31 ) THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU The Captain & Tenille

27 ( NEW ) COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) Glen Campbell

28 ( 25 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe

29 ( 26 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman

30 ( 27 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

31 ( NEW ) HUMBUG Greg Lake

32 ( 16 ) BLUE MOON The Marcels

33 ( NEW ) TROPICAL LOVELAND ABBA

34 ( 12 ) IT’S GONNA BE A COLD, COLD CHRISTMAS Dana

35 ( 21 ) LET’S TWIST AGAIN John Asher

36 ( 24 ) RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM Maxine Nightingale

37 ( RE ) LYIN’ EYES The Eagles

38 ( RE ) ROCKY Austin Roberts

39 ( 36 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

40 ( 19 ) STEP INTO CHRISTMAS Elton John

41 ( 20 ) MAKE A DAFT NOISE FOR CHRISTMAS The Goodies

42 ( RE ) LADY Supertramp

43 ( RE ) WE DO IT R & J Stone

44 ( 37 ) SPACE ODDITY David Bowie

45 ( 35 ) SKY HIGH Jigsaw

46 ( NEW ) THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO?) Diana Ross

47 ( NEW ) WALK AWAY FROM LOVE David Ruffin

48 ( NEW ) BREAKAWAY Art Garfunkel

49 ( 43 ) HIGH FLY John Miles

50 ( NEW ) THERE’S A MAN BEHIND THE GUITAR John Miles

51 ( 44 ) NEW YORK GROOVE Hello

52 ( NEW ) JAMES DEAN The Eagles

53 ( NEW ) I’M IN LOVE WITH MY GUITAR Queen

12th January 1976

It's 2 weeks on top for ABBA as I decided to have another joint number one with Evil Woman (ELO's 3rd, after 10538 Overture and Showdown) but as ties not allowed in these charts I'm going with the order they were put in my chart and ABBA I bought, ELO I didnt, so it really would be a number 2, albeit classic one and one of their greatest records. Duran Duran did a great Halloween version the other year, 2024, I think. Jethro Tull hit my top 3 in 1969, and are back already 7 years on for a second chart go at 9. Gloria Gaynor meanwhile is on her 3rd top 10 as the number of decades-old songs is set to shoot up this year.

Osibisa had been around a few years, and finally grabbed a UK hit with the sweetly-sorta-sad Sunshine Day done in their sorta-African-beats/Caribbean vibes new at 16. Debuting at 24, Barbara Dickson is set to become part of the UK variety show and Musical and live show furniture ever since, with her Frankie Laine cover, way better than the original, it has a lightness and melodic sad appeal that Frankie lacked. Paul Simon had been shooting blanks as far as the UK charts were concerned, though he invariable charts for me, but 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover got him another minor UK hit, it's better than the chart positions might suggest though, it's still a great record.

Baby Face was from the 30's I think, and ever-covered since then from the likes of Little Richard, but the Wing & A Prayer lot gave it a disco make-over which appealed to me at the time, new at 44, though I may have over-rated it a bit as the song had been around since I was a kid in terms of awareness. David Essex changes tack on the very low-key ballad If I Could, my least-fave single to date, though it was setting the stage for his future hits I guess, as a more MOR and less slightly-cutting edge teen-appealing star.

French singer Claude Francois pops in with Tears On The Telephone - I think that'd be a Terry Wogan Radio 2 fave of the time, as it's not a radio 1 track that I recall, but I liked it a bit, and the accent. Finally, Donna Summer, American but based in Germany, makes her first chart with the banned heavy-breathing slow-disco naughty track. This one I did get to hear on Radio Luxembourg though, at least, and it caught on in Europe a while before the UK succumbed to Love To Love You Baby.

1 ( 1 ) MAMMA MIA ABBA

2 ( 7 ) EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra

3 ( 3 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko and The Harlem Community Choir

4 ( 2 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake

5 ( 4 ) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen

6 ( 6 ) GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE Sailor

7 ( 5 ) ART FOR ART’S SAKE 10CC

8 ( 8 ) GOLDEN YEARS David Bowie

9 ( NEW ) LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull

10 ( 13 ) HOW HIGH THE MOON Gloria Gaynor

11 ( 9 ) IN DULCE JUBILO Mike Oldfield

12 ( 11 ) MIDNIGHT RIDER Paul Davidson

13 ( 10 ) VOLARE Rock Bottom

14 ( 17 ) VOLARE Al Martino

15 ( 12 ) BOTH ENDS BURNING Roxy Music

16 ( NEW ) SUNSHINE DAY Osibisa

17 ( 15 ) ITCHYCOO PARK The Small Faces

18 ( 21 ) LISTEN THE SNOW IS FALLING Yoko Ono

19 ( 20 ) DO THE BUS STOP The Fatback Band

20 ( 16 ) LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF A FOOL Roy Wood

21 ( 25 ) ANGEL FROM HAMBURGER HEAVEN Alvin Stardust

22 ( 26 ) THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU The Captain & Tenille

23 ( 27 ) COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) Glen Campbell

24 ( NEW ) ANSWER ME Barbara Dickson

25 ( 43 ) WE DO IT R & J Stone

26 ( 24 ) ALL AROUND MY HAT Steeleye Span

27 ( 19 ) KING OF THE COPS Billy Howard

28 ( 31 ) HUMBUG Greg Lake

29 ( 14 ) THE LUMBERJACK SONG Monty Python’s Flying Circus

30 ( 22 ) LITTLE DARLING The Rubettes

31 ( 28 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe

32 ( 29 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman

33 ( 30 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

34 ( 47 ) WALK AWAY FROM LOVE David Ruffin

35 ( 46 ) THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO?) Diana Ross

36 ( 23 ) LADY LUCK Pilot

37 ( 18 ) RENTA SANTA Chris Hill

38 ( 42 ) LADY Supertramp

39 ( 37 ) LYIN’ EYES The Eagles

40 ( 38 ) ROCKY Austin Roberts

41 ( 32 ) BLUE MOON The Marcels

42 ( NEW ) 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER Paul Simon

43 ( 48 ) BREAKAWAY Art Garfunkel

44 ( NEW ) BABY FACE Wing & A Prayer, Fife & Drum Corps

45 ( 36 ) RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM Maxine Nightingale

46 ( 35 ) LET’S TWIST AGAIN John Asher

47 ( 39 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

48 ( NEW ) IF I COULD David Essex

49 ( NEW ) TEARS ON THE TELEPHONE Claude Francois

50 ( NEW ) LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY Donna Summer

19th January 1976

It's 3 weeks on top for Mamma Mia as I technically give Jethro Tull an equal number one, but it really wasn't, nostalgia didnt overhaul my love of Mamma Mia, so Living In The Past peaks at a new high of 2 until its 1993 reissue on CD takes it all the way third time lucky. Another 1969 classic is back out in the wake of Andy Fairweather-Low's big solo hit, and Half As Nice bangs in at 10 having topped my chart first time round. The 1976 music scene starts to establish itself post-Christmas with new entries from The Miracles, finally getting a big hit with Smokey Robinson involved, long-gone solo, on the frantic Love Machine at 12.

Meanwhile, the Mike Oldfield double A side single has attention turning to the much better ballad On Horseback, and it gets listed on it's own in my charts away from In Dulce Jubilo, new in at 19. The Sweet drop a new single, The Lies In Your Eyes sounding like a hit record to follow-up Action, but it really wasn't! New at 26 here though, 4 slots above trio Faith, Hope & Charity who tackle an update on The Hollies' Just One Look, and quite good it was too, though I havent heard it in decades (yet).

At 35, Donny & Marie go for a 4th chart hit, with a cover of Deep Purple, the Nino Tempo & April Stevens 60's duet - but Ray Stevens had already done a much better uptempo Country-pop cover on his 1975 album which made my top 20, so this version didnt quite have the same impact, though it had the sweet appeal of the original hit version, but the classic song dates back to the 1920's in line with the many other vintage songs in the chart and on the way as 1976 really goes all the way back in a fashion that the UK singles has at the moment thanks to Christmas and the Stranger Things finale.

Barry White has his best new single in a year with Let The Music Play in at 43, it's among his best records, though the formula had worn a bit thin on me at the time - but it would come back decades later and top my charts, quite rightly. Finally, Ringo Starr has a belated double A single of two lesser tracks from his last 2 albums - both were US singles, but not released in the UK. No No Song, passed me by, but Oh My My sneaks in at 50. I will find it in a bargain bin later in the year, buy it, and sell it in the early 80's when I was long-term unemployed to a Beatles completist friend of a friend. He gave me £5 so I reckon I made 10 times what I paid. I havent sold a vinyl record since, though, I still regret it, hah! Goes for about £30 these days.

1 ( 1 ) MAMMA MIA ABBA

2 ( 9 ) LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull

3 ( 2 ) EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra

4 ( 3 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko and The Harlem Community Choir

5 ( 10 ) HOW HIGH THE MOON Gloria Gaynor

6 ( 5 ) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen

7 ( 4 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake

8 ( 7 ) ART FOR ART’S SAKE 10CC

9 ( 6 ) GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE Sailor

10 ( NEW ) (IF PARADISE WAS) HALF AS NICE Amen Corner

11 ( 24 ) ANSWER ME Barbara Dickson

12 ( NEW ) LOVE MACHINE The Miracles

13 ( 19 ) DO THE BUS STOP The Fatback Band

14 ( 8 ) GOLDEN YEARS David Bowie

15 ( 11 ) IN DULCE JUBILO Mike Oldfield

16 ( 16 ) SUNSHINE DAY Osibisa

17 ( 17 ) ITCHYCOO PARK The Small Faces

18 ( 15 ) BOTH ENDS BURNING Roxy Music

19 ( NEW ) ON HORSEBACK Mike Oldfield

20 ( 22 ) THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU The Captain & Tenille

21 ( 44 ) BABY FACE Wing & A Prayer, Fife & Drum Corps

22 ( 23 ) COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) Glen Campbell

23 ( 12 ) MIDNIGHT RIDER Paul Davidson

24 ( 25 ) WE DO IT R & J Stone

25 ( 13 ) VOLARE Rock Bottom

26 ( NEW ) THE LIES IN YOUR EYES The Sweet

27 ( 42 ) 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER Paul Simon

28 ( 34 ) WALK AWAY FROM LOVE David Ruffin

29 ( 35 ) THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO?) Diana Ross

30 ( NEW ) JUST ONE LOOK Faith, Hope & Charity

31 ( 14 ) VOLARE Al Martino

32 ( 26 ) ALL AROUND MY HAT Steeleye Span

33 ( 18 ) LISTEN THE SNOW IS FALLING Yoko Ono

34 ( 20 ) LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF A FOOL Roy Wood

35 ( NEW ) DEEP PURPLE Donny & Marie Osmond

36 ( 31 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe

37 ( 32 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman

38 ( 33 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell

39 ( 50 ) LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY Donna Summer

40 ( 21 ) ANGEL FROM HAMBURGER HEAVEN Alvin Stardust

41 ( 29 ) THE LUMBERJACK SONG Monty Python’s Flying Circus

42 ( 30 ) LITTLE DARLING The Rubettes

43 ( NEW ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Barry White

44 ( 48 ) IF I COULD David Essex

45 ( 27 ) KING OF THE COPS Billy Howard

46 ( 37 ) RENTA SANTA Chris Hill

47 ( 49 ) TEARS ON THE TELEPHONE Claude Francois

48 ( 28 ) HUMBUG Greg Lake

49 ( 36 ) LADY LUCK Pilot

50 ( NEW ) OH MY MY Ringo Starr