Popchartfreak

top 4, well one is blindingly obvious, one had the most hits and I'm struggling to think of the other 2 as I'd thought we had already had the other big ones 😮

Michael Jackson was the same age as me, so we were both 11 when The Jackson 5 hit, and I loved them, and then Michael's 70's solo singles right up to around 1974. The Jacksons were sporadically great, and of course Off The Wall was the one that made Michael a huge star and set up for the 80's. The Quincy Jones era was just amazing, and yes it's slightly surprising he's only at 5, but then it was his album sales that broke records, not his singles sales. Me, I was a huge fan in the 80's as well, and caught him in concert in the 90's. In 1988 I had to make do with listening outside Wembley Stadium to Kim Wilde on support and a bit of Michael after a day out in London - couldnt get tickets. That is the only time I have been (sad enough to) sit outside a musical event. I did at least get to see Paul Young walk by me with his model girlfriend, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Best tracks of the 80's: Billie Jean, Thriller, Man In The Mirror, but the 2 albums are both pop classics.

Thanks Rollo, and I tried to get tickets before Ticketbast*rd sent prices into the stratosphere as I've never seen ELO live, but no luck. Seen Roy 2 or 3 times, and seen The ELO Experience 2 or 3 times, both are fab, so I will have to make do, tch. It would be great if the 3 of them could get together and do California Man as a goodbye, along with 10538!!

Going Underground was a number one for me right off the bat, so a 10/10 for that. Dreams Of Children got zero airplay and I played it maybe once or twice, so cant really give it a mark, but G.U. was major exciting, carrying on where Eton Rifles left off. King was good, but again it was Food For Thought that grabbed most of the radio plays, 8 and 9 respectively, and UB40 were highly relevant to the music scene of the early 80's. Geno another 10/10 from me, topped my chart and bought it, I'd also bought Dance Stance in the bargain bin and played that one heavily around this time. No-One Driving wasnt as good as Underpants, but enough for a 7/10 from me, while BA Robertson's witty lyrics and catchy tunes always tickled my pleasure centres, and Kool In The Kaftan was no exception, loved the 60's hippie references 9/10. The single came with a very odd-shaped picture sleeve. Bear Cage was OK but it was no Nice N Sleazy or Walk On By, or even Duchess. 4/10. Secret Affair are under-rated, their horn-led mini-anthems sound great, especially My World, 9/10. They fill the mod gap in between Scott Walker and Teardrop Explodes I thought. Sad Cafe I think is My Oh My, which followed Strange Little Girl and was a bigger hit, but it was a bit of a schizophrenic track for me, I liked bits of it, but other bits not as much. 7/10. Bad Manners were extremely silly and for a laugh and a great night out, I saw them in 1981 and they were fab. I LOVE Ne Ne Na Na, right up my street in terms of humour and energy. Buster Bloodvessel the hardest-working frontman in music at that time! 9/10. Play very loud. January February is a well-produced likeable comeback for the 1976 Answer Me hitmaker, and it's an Alan Tarney song/production so of course it is - see Cliff, Take On Me etc. 8/10. Let's Do Rock Steady was fine, catchy ska and they name-check each other, 7/10. Leon haywood's hit was OK, it wasn't bad, it wasn't that memorable, sort of an inbetweenie 6/10. My room-mate was into Judas Priest in 1977/78 so I was regularly tortured by their albums. They had one good track and that track was Diamonds & Rust, a cover. I disliked everything else they ever did, but this was as close to tolerable as they got 4/10. Sexy Eyes was formulaic. Pleasant but unexciting 5/10.

1 (59) WHY CAN'T WE LIVE TOGETHER - Timmy Thomas A hit in the UK in 1973, this slinky, gorgeous, moving soul track remains powerful. Timmy Thomas was essentially a one-hit wonder who had some other decent soul tracks that just didn't resonate in the same way that this ode and plea to people getting along that fit into the era beautifully, and makes the second classic soul track in the top 10 to do that, but this one is more reflective, and minimal, with the striking organ sounds underpinning Timmy's passionate vocal. Another one I loved that peaked at 2 in my charts of the time, by 1990 I was well into regarding it as a major soul classic and bought it on CD along with a fabulous remix, which incorporated Martin Luthor King Jnr's I Have A Dream speech into the record, and which topped my charts for 4 weeks that year. The original is still the best, but sadly the single remix is not available anywhere except in my CD collection, I presume for copyright reasons on the MLK speech - frankly I would have thought that was part of history now and copyright free 55 years after his brutal murder - but it definitely underlined the message in the song even more. Alternative added bits are available online but they just aren't the same. There are, however, loads of other remixes, not to mention the sample borrowed by Drake, speeded up, and autotuned all over on Hotline Bling, a huge hit in 2016. I will stick with Timmy thanks, or maybe Sade's pretty good version of it on Diamond Life. I do, though, think that is fairly representative of the difference between the 70's and the 2010's and 20's - nick a song that means something as a hook to rich popstars moaning about their relationship problems. Me me me.

2 (2) SWEET TALKING GUY - The Chiffons 1966, so what's it doing here?! Well, 1966 is a fabulous year that I've never compiled a Best Of list for so until I do, pre-1967 tracks get moved to the year were hits again in. In the case of Sweet Talking Guy it was way bigger in 1972, going top 5, as the 60's girl-group sound was still popular in Northern Soul fandom, radio oldies and at school with girls. I went mad on the tune and multiple harmonies going on, short, sweet and fabulous. I recently caught up with my cousin Yvonne who was also a fan of this one at the time, same age as me, and she also liked Don't Let Him Touch You a modern girl-group take on the genre by The Angelettes which is rated 186th. This topped my charts for 3 weeks and remains a fave. The Chiffons have more-famous hits like One Fine Day and My Sweet Lord - oops I mean He's So Fine - but this one is still my favourite, it gets into your brain it's so catchy, but has never worn out it's welcome. The Chiffons had a brief career straight from school to stars, and then as the hits dried up after 1966 they moved back into the normal working world, but left a small collection of tracks that are still remembered. In my list they were second-fave of the year....and still are 50 years later. Always the bridesmaids....

3 (74) LOOKIN' THROUGH THE WINDOWS - The Jackson 5 Like the Carpenters, The Jackson 5 had been faves for 2 years, including Michael's solo output during 1972 (see number 12, with The Jackson 5's follow-up cover of Doctor My Eyes at 149), but the group seemed to have been struggling while young Michael got all the attention until this Motown gem came out late in the year. They even flew over to the UK to appear on Top Of The Pops singing this, and Michael's Ben. Clifton David wrote this one, he had already written the fabulous Never Can Say Goodbye so he had form, and this got them back in the charts after a series of flops in the UK. This Hal Davis production did the business, though, harmonies, great vocal from Michael, exciting and driving at a rapid tempo, it showed there was still life left in the act - and suddenly the hits dried up for Michael and the band were back for another year in the UK, 2 years in the US. It peaked at 2 in my charts of the time, 74th of the year, but time has been kind and I think it sounds even better with age, and it's very much an under-rated gem.

4 (12) GOODBYE TO LOVE - Carpenters By the summer of '72 I had been loving Richard and Karen for 2 years, the dirty-word to Rock journalists "Easy Listening" made no never-mind to me, I didn't care what their opinions were, I trust my own love of music to spot a classic when I hear it - and this one was a classic. Goodbye To Love outdid previous Carpenters faves with that mix of melancholy, piano, harmonies from Karen multi-tracked with Richard, and that blistering fuzz guitar solo from Tony Peluso, and Richard's last great song as songwriter (with John Bettis). Classy, sounding effortless on lead vocal, Karen was always the at the heart of the band and mood and the appeal. We were blissfully unaware of her mental struggles behind the scenes, which makes the great songs all the greater with the benefit of hindsight. This record topped my charts of the time in Autumn of 1972, and remained a favourite ever since, rising from 12th to 4th, but they also just missed the 1972 countdown at 110 with the very good I Won't Last A Day Without You, and Hurting Each Other at 120. Thing is, 50 years on, they still sound timeless, just as they never really sounded like the trendy sounds of the early 70's, they inhabit their own genre.

5 (65) HELLO IT'S ME - Todd Rundgren I loved this track in early 1974 as I turned 16 and it was climbing the US charts following a rather late release as a single. I'm guessing it wasn't chosen in early 1972 when the good Something/Anything came out as it had already been a minor hit in 1969 for Todd's previous band Nazz. Since then he had been busy doing solo stuff and working as a producer for fresh new band Sparks - aka The Mael Brothers, who I saw 2 weeks ago as I write this in July 2025, both now in their late 70's and as fresh and relevant as ever: qualities Todd had musically, always happy to try something different, including his recent collaboration with the actual Sparks again 50 years on. His most commercial and accessible stuff was in the early 70's, though, melodic, a nice vocal, touching, and fitting in with the West Coast singer-songwriter vibe. Hello It's Me remains my fave Rundgren track, but it's close - I Saw The Light is at 14 on the rundown!

6 (NEW) HOW CAN I BE SURE - David Cassidy Darlin' David's greatest moment as a solo star, and I didn't appreciate it at the time, as the pop idol solo career was eclipsing The Partridge Family records, and the hype went into overdrive as Cassidy got his first UK chart-topper at the expense of T.Rex Children Of The Revolution, which annoyed me. I also didn't really know the song, never hear the US original by The Rascals nor Dusty Springfield's UK minor hit version in 1970, both of which are great versions of a great song. The French-style accordion touches seemed a bit old-fashioned at the time, but I grew to love them over the years, and if I needed an emotional outlet from sadness, grief or stress I had a core batch of songs to sing along to, including this one. It's my favourite version of the song, I think he was a better singer than he got credit for, what with being an actor first and foremost, and I am now very glad it went to number one. It's David's 4th and highest-placed on the countdown. There is a fun video from TopPop on Youtube, but David appears to have budgie-smugglers on - the norm at the time, not so much these days.

7 (3) LOVE TRAIN - The O'Jays Peak Gamble & Huff and The O'Jays greatest record. I was a huge fan of all concerned at the time, Back Stabbers already featuring on this chart at 18, but oddly Love Train was held back to be the 3rd single off the album in 1973, at which point I saved my pocket money, bought it and had it rule my charts for 6 weeks. The O'Jays were great singers, soulful (and it runs in the family, see 80's kids Levert following in dad's footsteps) and Gamble & Huff immaculate and influential in the late 60's and early 70's with the Philly Sound. Love Train is a classic "Let's all just love each other and get along" song, and was highly relevant in 1972, and is highly relevant in 2025. It's just the fashion for singing for peace and love in song was dead and buried long ago, presumably because it never happened and never will happen because people just can't get along. I still believe in it though, as an aspiration, and 15-year-old me still hadn't had the optimism knocked out of me cynical reality. So this remains a celebration to that, a top 10 fave of the year then, and now.

8 (NEW) THE COLDEST DAYS OF MY LIFE (PART 1) - The Chi-Lites I didn't know this record in 1972, but I did love The Chi-Lites and their 2 UK hits, one of which is shuffled to my 1971 run-down and the other, Oh Girl, is at 31. Oh Girl topped my charts, but this track has never charted - because it's a recent discovery! The older I get the more I find I love Eugene Record's soul creations, sentimental, beautifully-produced, sweetly-sung, and dealing with all sorts of people-related topics and social commentary. Poetic, though I can see how some might not go for the very-polished final product. This track is slow, gentle, violin-and-strings set against the sound of waves on the ocean, flute, and a long story, heavy on imagery of past-times and nostalgia. Nostalgia, of course, increases as you get older, times change, and people and places are lost to you, especially from your childhood and teen years. The album version is over 8 minutes long, but part 1 works on its own merit, it doesn't repeat itself, there's no hook, there's earnestness and mood and it's a journey led by the lead vocal from Eugene. Can he do hooks? Oh, my, yes - 1969's instrumental version of Am I The Same Girl with Barbara Acklin as co-writer was a fab hit as Soulful Strut and then got covered by Dusty Springfield, and post-Chi-Lites among many samples was the intro to Beyonce's Crazy In Love cos Eugene could do funk as well as ballads. I just love the sad ballads most of all!

9 (17) 10538 OVERTURE - Electric Light Orchestra It would be very fair to say I was a fan of ELO from day one - this topped my charts after a Top Of The Pops appearance, the strings (cellos especially) and that guitar riff were just fab, so terrific that Paul Weller nicked it in the 90's. Best of all though was the song, especially the dark menacing lyrics and melody. ELO was a side project of The Move as main man Roy Wood, long a fave with records such as Blackberry Way and Flowers In The Rain, joined up with new-ish fellow Brum band-mate Jeff Lynne to sort of cross orchestral pop with rock. And not in an entirely unlike-the-Beatles way. I did buy the album 4 years later, but this single edit is the highlight, still a brilliant track. Sadly, Roy & Jeff suffered immediate "musical differences" by the end of the year, so The Move bowed out with California Man, drummer Bev Bevan stayed with Jeff in ELO as they carried on the Rockorchestra vibe to end the decade second only to ABBA in terms of classic pop singles, for me. Roy set up his new Glam Rock band Wizzard, had 2 years of fabness, wrote some top notch singles and one christmas perennial, entirely self-created solo albums, especially the fab Boulders, and then more or less vanished for most of the years afterwards bar annual Christmas returns, touring, and the odd project here and there. But Roy was my number one pop hero for 1973/4!

It's been hectic for weeks but I'm hoping I can grab a few lazy days to finish this off! 10 (29) WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE - Love Unlimited featuring Barry White This one introduced me to Barry White, though I had already been a fan of his hit with Felice Taylor, I Feel Love Coming On, and his stuff with The Banana Splits musical numbers on the Hanna-Barbera show. OK I didn't know his name at the time, but his deep growl was a key part of the record, as much as his wife's lead vocal in Love Unlimited, his song, and his production. His brand of sultry soul had arrived, and I loved it, the song was atmospheric, sexy, lush and I loved the raindrops sound, it reminded me of cooling down in Singapore after stonkingly hot equatorial days and standing out in the garden getting soaked during thunderstorms as monsoon drains turned torrential. I love this track even more than I did at the time, from top 30 to top 10: it's a comforting, lovely and sedate production and performance. They would both be back in due course with more classics.

George and Andrew arrived with an attitude statement on Top Of The Pops then repeated it for 8 months or so until Club Tropicana suggested they might have a bit more to them. Careless Whisper confirmed that, virtually a Wham! record anyway as it was labelled in the USA so 5.8 million is arguable. The rest of Wham's career was great, but not as great as George's solo career, never prolific, but pure class, meticulous, varied, and one of the great singers of the 80's. He made it look easy, which disguised just how good he was, but he could always keep up with whoever he was duetting with, or more usually shine. Last Christmas remains the most-popular christmas ballad in the UK each christmas, which is pretty impressive. That's in all of music history with no sign of easing off or new competition.