5 minutes ago, CRAZY CHRIS said:

Do you agree that Dancing Queen is a bit overrated and overplayed now John? Easily their best-known song though but despite it being a US No.1 surprisingly Fernando outsold it worldwide in the 70's. As I've said in the best-sellers thread I prefer Super Trouper, Fernando, Lay All Your Love On Me, and album tracks As Good As New, The Piper and That's Me. Any wedding disco these days and they'll play DQ though.

Loved the Twiggy track in Autumn 76 but my fave of 76 is coming up, Pussycat.

You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventy!

That's the only way I can enjoy it by changing the lyrics a bit! Such is its overplay.

14th September 1976

It's 5 weeks on top for Dancing Queen as it becomes their longest-running single on top, holding off Monday Monday from the top spot - but that will do it in 1997 with California Dreamin' so not to worry. Plus Creque Alley makes it 2 top 10's for The Mamas & The Papas, and a 4th top 10 for the late Mama Cass. Twiggy, meanwhile, joind the top 10 club with Here I Go Again. The highest new entry is The Real Thing's soundalike follow-up to You To Me Are Everything, which just fell short of the top 10, as Can't Get By Without You does in week 1, at 13.

MIke Batt celebrates the end of the hot, dry summer with Rainmaker, under his alias Wellington Womble. It's a pretty good single actually and deserved to be a hit, but the Wombles bandwagon had left the station, sadly. New at 27 here, at least. A re-entry we didn't really need, and due to the HMS Ark Royal TV series using as the TV theme, Sailing is back for a second run leass than a year on at 33. More welcome to me, was Jo Jo Gunne getting re-issued and Run Run Run duly debuts at 37 4 years on from being top 5 in my charts, and Love Is All is back for a second try for Roger Glover 18 months after it first tried (and failed) to chart, in at 38, and a top 10 for me first-time-round.

Mockingbird is also a 1974 track back again for Carly Simon and James Taylor at 39, and Gallagher & Lyle try for hit 3 with the sweet Breakaway at 42. Art Garfunkel did a nice cover. Randy Edelman is also back again with a ballad this time, Uptown Uptempo Woman at 48 while Silver's Wham Bam has been forgotten 50 years later, but is a rather nice slice of West Coast harmony rock that deserved to be a UK hit. One of those tracks on my list to bring back for some more plays!

1 ( 1 ) DANCING QUEEN ABBA

2 ( 5 ) MONDAY MONDAY The Mamas & The Papas

3 ( 2 ) YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO The Chi-Lites

4 ( 6 ) BLINDED BY THE LIGHT Manfred Mann's Earthband

5 ( 7 ) BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John

6 ( 3 ) YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE Lou Rawls

7 ( 8 ) THE PRICE OF LOVE Bryan Ferry

8 ( 12 ) CREQUE ALLEY The Mamas & The Papas

9 ( 10 ) YOU SHOULD BE DANCING The Bee Gees

10 ( 13 ) HERE I GO AGAIN Twiggy

11 ( 11 ) WITHOUT YOU Nilsson

12 ( 9 ) LET 'EM IN Wings

13 ( NEW ) CAN'T GET BY WITHOUT YOU The Real Thing

14 ( 4 ) AFTERNOON DELIGHT Starland Vocal Band

15 ( 20 ) AMOUREUSE Kiki Dee

16 ( 21 ) MISSISSIPPI Pussycat

17 ( 24 ) I CAN'T ASK FOR ANYMORE THAN YOU Cliff Richard

18 ( 18 ) DANCE LITTLE LADY DANCE Tina Charles

19 ( 22 ) I WANT MORE Can

20 ( 30 ) DOINA DE JALE Gheorghe Zamfir

21 ( 25 ) 1, 2, 2003 Len Barry

22 ( 36 ) IT'S O.K. the Beach Boys

23 ( 26 ) BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY Peter Frampton

24 ( 31 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU Bay City Rollers

25 ( 16 ) HEAVEN MUST BE MISSING AN ANGEL Tavares

26 ( 37 ) BABY WE'D BETTER TRY TO GET TOGETHER Barry White

27 ( NEW ) RAINMAKER Wellington Womble aka Mike Batt

28 ( 15 ) A LITTLE BIT MORE Dr. Hook

29 ( 44 ) BEST DISCO IN TOWN The Ritchie Family

30 ( 45 ) DISCO DUCK Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots

31 ( 17 ) MYSTERY SONG Status Quo

32 ( 23 ) WHAT I'VE GOT IN MIND Billie-Jo Spears

33 ( NEW ) SAILING Rod Stewart

34 ( 14 ) NICE 'N' SLOW Jesse Green

35 ( 39 ) LOVING ON THE LOSING SIDE Tommy Hunt

36 ( 38 ) HEAVEN IS IN THE BACK SEAT OF MY CADILLAC Hot Chocolate

37 ( NEW ) RUN RUN RUN Jo-Jo Gunne

38 ( NEW ) LOVE IS ALL Roger Glover & Friends

39 ( NEW ) MOCKINGBIRD Carly Simon & James Taylor

40 ( 40 ) (I'VE GOT THE) MUSIC IN ME The Kiki Dee Band

41 ( 42 ) ARIA Acker Bilk

42 ( NEW ) BREAKAWAY Gallagher & Lyle

43 ( 19 ) HOROSCOPE Harpo

44 ( 28 ) I NEED IT Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

45 ( 49 ) THAT'LL BE THE DAY Linda Ronstadt

46 ( 29 ) IN ZAIRE Johnny Wakelin

47 ( 32 ) DAYDREAM BELIEVER The Monkees

48 ( NEW ) UPTOWN UPTEMPO WOMAN Randy Edelman

49 ( 27 ) HERE COMES THE SUN Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

50 ( NEW ) WHAM BAM SHANG A LANG Silver

Meanwhile in my diary for this week, next-door-neighbour Ernie did me a budgie birdbox, for the little breeders in the outdoor aviary/shed. Back at school sorting out of the timetables (photography, Geography, English Lit) - I still have nightmares about forgetting to turn up for lessons at school and College, which is bizarre! Cards at lunchtime with schoolmates, mum picked me up after school (in North Hykeham) to take me home to Mansfield before she went to my Aunty's Tupperware party. Exciting domestic pastimes in those days!

TV had a unique UK/US TV link-up for chat shows from Dick Cavett & Eamon Andrews, signs of the future. Chairman Mao died. Not that it affected my day to day life. Mum's niece popped round with her family Thursday during Top Of The Pops. I note a powerful episode 'Lester' of the great Harry O detective show , where a regular was killed off. David Janssen starred, and his co-star had been Manolito in the fab High Chaparral Western show, Henry Darrow. Still remember being shocked! I also audio taped one of my fave Batman episodes (Shame starring Clint Robinson) really funny pisstake of 50's Western hero Shane.

On Saturday I went into town with my brother as Tom Baker did a Doctor Who P.A. swooshing right by me in his full outfit. I didn't queue with all the kids to meet him though, I get a little tongue-tied with celebrities. Still do. Yesterday (in 2026) I met Katy Manning, Jo in 70's Doctor Who, Jemma Redgrave from recent Doctor Who, and British movie icon of the 60's and 70's Madeline Smith, all perfectly lovely and friendly. Babysat my little cousins again Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening too they were all round.