See My Baby Jive is my favourite Wizzard song with its glorious production. Tragedy and Fernando are also good ones.

76. WAY DOWN- Elvis Presley (570,500)

 

1977

13 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

Here due to timing more than anything, this was released weeks prior to his death in 1977 and charted 46-42 but as the only product widely available at his time of passing it then shot 42-4-1 to spend 5 weeks there as our farewell to the King.  It gave him a 17^th chart topper drawing him level with The Beatles on the all time list of acts with the most- he would eventually overtake 25 years later.  It was recorded in his last proper studio sessions in October 1976.

75. CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE- Slade (572,000)

 

1973

12 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

A prodigious six chart toppers in just over 2 years, Slade were undoubtedly one of the biggest groups of the early 70’s.  Only 4 songs entered the charts at No 1 in the whole of the decade and three were by Slade including this one in March 1973, it got there thanks to a new strategy of trying to drum up airplay before the song was released.  The song recalled the feeling at Slade concerts and was originally called “Cum On Hear The Noize” and the song’s opening refrain of “Baby baby baby” was just a microphone check and was never intended to be on the single.  It made No 5 in the US when covered by Quiet Riot in 1983 though it probably isn’t a title that you can get away with these days……

74. OLIVER’S ARMY- Elvis Costello & The Attractions (575,300)

 

1979

12 weeks on chart

Peak position: 2

 

Spending three weeks at No 2 behind first The Bee Gees then Gloria Gaynor, this was as close as Costello ever came to the No 1 spot.  Written about the troubles in Northern Ireland and taking its title from Oliver Cromwell’s 1649 conquering of the territory, the track used a racial slur which has since been edited on radio play over the past decade though it’s use in the context of song is entirely understandable.

'Fernando' is gorgeous. Neat there was a connection between Wizzard and ABBA for the 'See My Baby Jive' write-up! That song is pretty much a non-festive version of 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' sonically, for me. I prefer their other chart topper. 'Tragedy' is of course a classic. Shame the also mentioned 'Shadow Dancing' didn't catch on here, especially considering it was big enough in the U.S. to be the EOY #1 for 1978 there, such disparity.

'Way Down' is a pretty average Elvis song for me but I understand its placement here, considering the circumstances. My mum said his death is one of her earliest vivid memories of a news story at the time!

My festive namesake back with their... unique stylisations. 'Cum On Feel the Noize' is a good one from them, pretty anthemic and I like the Oasis version too.

'Oliver's Army' the superior Elvis song from today's batch

I love Cum on feel the noize, it's probs my fave Slade song, such a sing along classic. Not really a fan of the Elvis tracks... either of them!

Cant go wrong with a slade bop 🙌

Rod suprisingly low here, but Kenny Everett's inflating Rod Bum mickey-take stays in the memory more than the actual video, oops! 😄

Clive Dunn an early-teen-fave of mine I still find it charming with all the references to penny farthing bikes and the like being within still-living memory at the time, and of course Herbie is a bass legend and was thoroughly lovely. I caught him joining the rest of Blue Mink on stage just before he passed away, a happy moment for him.

Knock Three Times, my dad bought a Mandarin version of the song in Singapore at the time by a group called The Travellers, the chorus Wo Ah Me (phonetic there) didnt quite have the same ring. Candida was my fave though. Andy Williams did a decent version of that.

Abba, memories of being obsessive and photographing the video off the telly and then processing them at school. Blurred, sadly. It was the omly way to get to see bits of videos again in those days.....! Classic single and second of a hat trick.

Roy Wood was my hero from 1973/4, he could do no wrong and See My Baby Jive topped my personal charts for 10 weeks, mad on it I was. That intro remains epic. Also the first UK number one I helped get to the top by buying the single that week.

Tragedy also surprisingly low, sales were generally healthy at the time, but this and Heart Of Glass pipped Chiquitita to sales but I didn't mind they were both so good at that time. All of them "shipped" 500,000 sales at the time as they called the Gold disc - that means sent to shops, as opposed to over-the-counter sales.

Way Down very much due to Elvis dying, but it was a massive shocking cultural event. Had back catalogue been more widely available it would have been a chart invasion - Elvis had had some key oldies released as a box set you could buy individually, with enough left over in shops to chart lower down for some, but hits albums did the most sales. Not one of his great records tbh but sadly reminds me of mum being more upset than I was, she loved Elvis till the day she died.

Slade making headlines with that instant number one, the biggest band in the land now to the chagrin of Marc Bolan! I would have preferred Coz I Luv You to chart to this one, that was their classic single for me but 1973 was their commercial peak. Oliver's Army doing well here, easily his most popular track generally - though I prefer lesser hits, both earlier and later.

73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS- Kate Bush (576,200)

 

1978

13 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

Famously written in an evening by a then 18 year old Kate Bush, this introduced us all to her genius and became the first British female act to top the chart with entirely their own composition.  Bush had seen the 1967 BBC adaptation which inspired her to read the novel and then compose the song, it was a one take vocal and came with two promo’s- one for the US audience and one for the Brits.  Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour is on guitar here

72. I FEEL LOVE- Donna Summer (577,000)

 

1977

11 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

An early adaptor of Electronic music, Giorgio Moroder had already produced a UK No 1 single back in 1972 with Chicory Tip but it was five years later that he really made his name working with Donna Summer on a string of massive disco hits in the late 70s with this one the biggest of them all.  This track, along with the earlier “Love To Love You Baby” established Summer as a purveyor of overt sensuality which was never quite in tune with her personal beliefs, but there’s little doubt that in 1977 this sounded like the future of music!

71. THE FLORAL DANCE- Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band (578,300)*

 

1977

13 weeks on chart

Peak position: 2

 

 

Composed back in 1911 to commemorate the songwriter’s visit to the “Furry Dance” in Heston Cornwall (old custom) it has been covered countless time since but in the 70s it was performed by the cast of “Dad’s Army” for the Royal Variety Show in 1975 which helped bring it back into the forefront of people’s mind.  The band were a renown group established back in the 1880’s and had won many awards over the years before having a Christmas hit with this version resting for 5 weeks at No 2 behind “Mull Of Kintyre”.

Two absolute classics there! And then there's 'The Floral Dance'

I originally heard part of the Chicory Tip song in the 90s on Never Mind The Buzzcocks and then as a football chant, and assumed it was just a fairly throwaway glam song for a while. It was only several years later that I heard the song in full and realised how ahead of its time the production was! 'I Feel Love' is a few levels above though.

'I Feel Love' and 'Wuthering Heights' are two really influential 70s tracks! Especially the former so important for electronic dance music.

Oliver Army is good too very political track!

Edited August 25Aug 25 by TheSnake

The Floral Dance lol!?!? Wuthering Heights and I Feel Love though, two absolute utter classics! Wuthering Heights is probably my favourite Kate Bush song, although Babooshka is definitely up there too! 😍

I deffo prefer the new version in 1986 to the original 70s one- in part as that's the one I first owned but it sounds less "shrill" vocally- probably as she was older and the production was more lavish.

Kate Bush wow-ing everyone with her TOTP appearance and other-worldly unique sound and image, immediate classic and one of the tracks that kept the greatest record of all time at 3 - Baker Street - from a chance at the top, along with Blondie's Denis (2 classics, so forgiven), but also Brian & Michael and Showaddywaddy (not classics, not forgiven, hoping not to see them on the list).

On one radio play I Feel Love went straight to the top of my personal chart and I rushed out to buy it, it really was the most OMG music moment of my life, the rush of excitement 49 years later still lives on. The long shadow it cast stays relevant, and a bit of a farce that it was out-sold by mums & dads & grannies buying Floral Dance, thanks to Terry Wogan. On the other hand at least they didnt buy Terry's own novelty version which also charted, so I'm assuming that it might have been even higher if he hadnt siphoned off a few tens of thousands sales! Me, I bought that little-known bagpipe hit Mull Of Kinytre/Girl's School so there seems to have been something in the water that Christmas....

Really loving this countdown @Gezza! Fantastic to finally get some more accurate best seller figures for the 70s.

Ooh i expected my Auntie Kate to be higher feels like wuthering heights was much much bigger

Edited August 25Aug 25 by 777666jason

I Feel Love is the best single to appear so far and Wuthering Heights is also fantastic. The Floral Dance shows us that anything could be a big hit in the 70s with the right amount of promotion.

7 hours ago, Gezza said:

I deffo prefer the new version in 1986 to the original 70s one- in part as that's the one I first owned but it sounds less "shrill" vocally- probably as she was older and the production was more lavish.

The '86 version is the one that's on her only Hits collection The Whole Story but to me isn't as good as the 1978 original.