Billy don't be a hero!!! Love that one. 😍

15 hours ago, King Rollo said:

I hadn't noticed that every line of When Will I See You Again is a question. I also didn't know that Dreadlock Holiday had sold so much. I wonder if either of 10cc's other number 1 singles will appear.

Me, too, heard the record for 52 years and never noticed! 10cc I dont think will be appearing again (sadly), Rubber Bullets and I'm Not In Love weren't huge sellers, and as per Jade's comment they were so varied (and creative), not that I have to convince you 🙂Dreadlock Holiday came during a high sales period. My ongoing theory about that is people were getting enthused by new-fangled music centres and disco nights out, based on my parents generation family members getting back into current music after not being fussed by Glam (and Punk) which were more teen-appealing, and that carried on into the 80's a bit.

Three Degrees I split into 2 categories, The Ballads (not that fussed) and The Dance Bangers (fabulous), so I'm with Sheila Ferguson on the whole. I saw her co-backing Blue Mink's Medline Bell the other year, still a UK fixture, they were never that big in the USA as the UK. Band Of Gold another 1970 hit I caught up with in 1975, and what a classic, it only gets better by the year. She did have lots of good other singles, but not really any other smashes sadly. Dreadlock Holiday was my final 10cc obsession, adored it, it would be Godley & Creme that claimed my next adoration in the 80's.

Silver Lady was huge, and a bit of throwback to those 60's and early 70's UK hit songwriting teams having a last hurrah (Tony Macauley & Geoff Stephens in this case), and tales me back to my early days settling in at Uni - though never a fave. Tony hits? Baby Now That Ive Found You, Build Me Up Buttercup, Love Grows and many more. Geoff (New Vaudevile Band) hits? The Crying Game, Winchester Cathedral, There's a Kind Of Hush, Eurovision 1970 UK entry, New Seekers You Wont Find Another Fool and loads more for myriad acts.

Billy Don't Be A Hero an old-fashioned folk-ish pop song that hit big, I like it more these days than I did at the time, it's quite poignant all-in-all, Whispering Grass was a whimsical spin off of the sitcom that made me wince at times, though the cast were good, one that will never be repeated on TV these days for many reasons! Dad loved and bought this record, being an old song fave from The Inkspots, and was fairly inoffensive for a novelty, but not one I took seriously in any way. Don had a good voice though, and it was the contrast between his geeky persona, short and tubby image and his voice that made him semi-beloved for a while. I saw him doing a PA in Woolworths Blackpool some years later with mum and dad. We made the effort to go inside and see him, though fell short of queuing to chat to him. 🙂

61. SEASONS IN THE SUN- Terry Jacks (604,100)

 

1974

12 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

A cheery song!  An English adaptation from a Belgian 1961 song “The Dying Man” (“Le Moribond”) given words in 1963 about a dying man saying farewell to his friends, in truth Jacks did re-write some of the lyrics but got in trouble when he claimed all the words were his own.  Jacks own version reflected his feelings about a close friend who was dying of Leukemia and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and of course also made No 1 in 1999 for Westlife as we saw the century out.  When it hit No 1 it made Canadian Jacks the first No 1 act from the country since Paul Anka 17 years previously, but it wasn’t his first time In the charts having made the top 10 in 1970 as part of the Poppy Family with his then wife Susan though they had separated by the time this was a hit.

60. POP MUZIK- M (607,400)

 

1979

14 weeks on chart

Peak position: 2

 

A rather quirky track that was Robin Scott’s (M) only Top 30 hit, it came with an eye catching promo (for the 70s) and a gimmick.  On the 12” both the a side and b side were on the same side of the vinyl so it depended which groove the needle hit as to which song you got!  It made No 2 behind Art Garfunkel and went to No 15 as a remix ten years later.

59. WHEN I NEED YOU- Leo Sayer (610,700)

 

1977

13 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

 

Sayer’s biggest 70 hit was penned by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager for Hammond’s album of the same name, then picked up by Sager a year later for the single version.  It was his only No 1 out of 8 top 10 singles in the decade though of course he did return to the top spot in 2006 with Meck.

Ah, Pop Musik. What seemed like a novelty record, actually turned out to be groundbreaking for so much synth pop to come. A US number 1, too I believe?

Seasons In The Sun, a very dark tune I suppose, something that modern audiences avoid like the plague, so to speak. That may be more to do with younger streamers dominating the charts not wanting to hear songs about death as much as older record buyers in the past. I still like it, but was it the last of that genre? Prob not but none spring to mind!

Pop Music a classic, should have got to the top, fairly obviously. It's done pretty well in sales despite that! My memory of 1979 is it was the first time the price of a single hit £1 having been about 45p at the start of the decade - but relative to income and inflation it seemed cheaper somehow, but may have encouraged more home taping. I know the music industry rattled on about it for decades but I'm not convinced it affected sales that much, kids still bought their fave singles, it was just their lesser faves that they couldnt afford anyway that they taped. And albums sales were about to peak in the 80's so that is a good argument against...

Leo's great, worth seeing in concert, so energetic and enthusiastic. But When I Need You isnt one of my faves, despite the songwriting pedigree, Albert Hammond has so many great songs better than this one. I way preferred Thunder In My Heart in 1977. Maybe this would sound better speeded up and covered dance style.....

58. AMAZING GRACE- Judy Collins (613,600)

 

1970

67 weeks on chart

Peak position: 5

 

Getting her breakthrough in the US in 1968 with a cover of “Both Sides Now” (US#8) it took until 1970 to become a hit here (#14) and laid the groundwork for her version of “Amazing Grace” which debuting inauspiciously at No 49 in December of that year.  The track took 11 weeks to peak at No 5 but spent an incredible 67 weeks in the top 50, recorded in St Paul’s Cathedral for atmosphere and the song was picked up in the US as anthem for those that opposed the Vietnam War.  The song will be back in the countdown later on!

57. YOU WON’T FIND ANOTHER FOOL LIKE ME- The New Seekers (615,700)*

 

1973

16 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

 

After the coke song and representing the UK at Eurovision, the New Seekers experienced a bit of a lull in 1973 with 4 singles all missing the top 10 but it was all salvaged as the year closed with this track.  A big hit over the festive period it sneaked a week at No 1 come January 1974 and just in time, the group announced their split in May of the same year ultimately reforming with new members a few years later with only minimal success and no top 20 hits.

56.  CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING (BUT MY LOVE)- The Stylistics (617,700)

 

1975

11 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

Soul Group that hit it big in the early 70s with producer Tom Bell moulding the group around lead singer Russell Thompkins Jnr’s distinctive vocals to secure a string of hits.  After Bell stopped working with the group in 1974 they faded badly in the US but reached new heights here with this No 1 and a string of top 10 singles into 1976.

Amazing Grace was a bit of biggie, makes sense it did well after hanging around the charts for 2 years and getting a 2nd run after that other version. One might say it was an early streaming-styled chart ever-present along with My Way, except that the same people weren't buying it week after week, these were just late converts (people who dont follow charts). I considered it unworthy of the status of Both Sides Now for a long time, but I have come to regard it as a classic. Not sorry!

You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me was an all-out singalong attempt to appeal to older music fans after their more interesting tracks flopped in comparison. Big over that 3-day week big sales era in '73 and not nearly as good as the similarly nostalgia-facing I Get A Little Sentimental follow-up.

Van McCoy took over production duties in '74 along with new songwriters Hugo & Luigi, but I'd already gone off The Stylistics after a few early good singles, especially Betcha By Golly Wow their UK breakthrough, to me they were never in the same league as The Chi-Lites, O'Jays or Detroit Spinners but the UK public lapped them up (and still do on tours), with one notable exception: this one. Van's production is impeccable at the time he was hitting with The Hustle.

55. GONNA MAKE YOU A STAR- David Essex (619,200)

 

1974

17 Weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

 

Positioned at the time as a British version of David Cassidy and Donny Osmond (appealing to predominately female audience) Essex had fun gently poking fun at the proposition including the lyrics to this, his first chart topper.  Releasing singles since the mid 60s to not much interest he got his break in 1971 when he was cast as lead in the musical “Godspell” which in turn lead to his first film “That’ll Be The Day” in 1973 and the single “Rock On” from it- a top 3 single.  His good looks assured him headlines and the hits flowed well into the 80s.  This track is produced by Jeff Wayne (pre “War Of The World’s”).

54. A LITTLE BIT MORE- Dr Hook (623,100)

 

1976

14 Weeks on chart

Peak position: 2

 

 

Finally a chart topper in 1999 for boyband 911, but here’s the first incarnation for Dr Hook which spent 5 weeks at No 2 stuck frustratingly behind Elton John & Kiki Dee in the summer of 1976.  It actually first surfaced as an album track by Bobby Gosh in 1973 before getting plucked from obscurity!

53. MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE- The Police (625,700)

 

1979

11 weeks on chart

Peak position: 1

 

The Police’s first chart topper was the lead track to their second album and started them off on a run of a hattrick of chart toppers (albeit re-issues were in between).  They were probably the biggest UK band in the land as the 70s ended.

David Essex was always quirkily British, oddly, aside from the stark Rock On, and his singles were pretty diverse - I still rate the epic City Lights which wasnt a big hit - but this is David at his most joyful and playful "I don't think so!" on TOTP with Wings filling in for that bit. He looks to have outsold every other record from late 1974 bar maybe a Xmas one!

Talking of playful, Dr Hook often had their tongue firmly in their cheek, and this one may or may not fall into that category - I always thought it did. Way better than the cover! At least they grabbed a later number one in compensation for getting blocked at 2 for 5 weeks.

The Police were huge in late '79, I will repeat my anecdote of 3rd year Uni digs, my mate Pete and I back from touring South-West Coast USA with other friends, and my mate Paul also in the same ground floor row of rooms at Lincoln. We all bought this single, and tested the accuracy of the 45 rpm's on our record decks by starting the single in unison with a loud countdown doors open. They didn't end in unison and drifted off into a right old racket for the upstairs students pretty quickly. Always nice to share ones' music tastes at volume, I think. Conclusion: not all record players are set properly. The record is great of course, and I had already bought Can't Stand Losing You and Roxanne.

i would love to know at the end of this thread how many of this songs have been covered and or sampled!!

I guess the disco era still had to have its slushy ballads like that one from Dr Hook!

The synths in the intro and outro of the David Essex song are good for 1974.

8 hours ago, Popchartfreak said:

David Essex was always quirkily British, oddly, aside from the stark Rock On, and his singles were pretty diverse - I still rate the epic City Lights which wasn't a big hit - but this is David at his most joyful and playful "I don't think so!" on TOTP with Wings filling in for that bit. He looks to have outsold every other record from late 1974 bar maybe a Xmas one!

My memory is of The Goodies saying "I don't think so!" on TOTP. Maybe David performed the song on two editions and Wings did the other one.

The goodies did it on totp Christmas special. Wings did it on the normal edition