Gezza

All we have left are the million sellers!

09. TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OAK TREE- Dawn (966,000) 1973 40 weeks in the chart Peak position: 1 The best seller of 1973 told the tie of an ex-convict returning to his home to see if his partner still wanted him, that would be displayed by tying the aforementioned round the tree outside their house. The song had it’s route in a story dating back to the US Civil war where woman would wear a yellow ribbon in their hair to denote devotion to their partner who was away fighting, yellow being the branch colour of the cavalry. In any eventuality the sentimental tale proved just the ticket for their second chart topper.

10. MY SWEET LORD- George Harrison (952,500) 1971 17 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Harrison’s first single after the break up of the Beatles was a plea for religious freedom, peace and praise of the Hindu god Krishna. He originally handed the track to Billy Preston to record and indeed the song first surfaced on Preston’s 1970 album “Encouraging Words”, Harrison himself was reluctant to record the track himself given its overtly religious theme. He needn’t have worried as the song soared to the top and became the biggest seller of 1971, it was also the first solo Beatle chart topper and made No 1 again in 2002 shortly after Harrison’s death. Famously the song was involved in a massive court case over plagiarism later in the 70’s when it was claimed the track sailed too close to The Chiffons “She’s So Fine”- that ended up with an award of £587,000 in damages being awarded against Harrison with the finer points of the case not resolved until 1993! It set new case law on the laws of copyright.

So only the top10 left and all sold over 900,000

11. EYE LEVEL- Simon Park Orchestra (896,800) 1972 24 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Originally intended as mere library music, the tune is based on a German Nursery Rhyme which is in turn partly based on Mozart’s “Le Nozze Di Figaro”, and in the early 70s it was selected as the tune to crime series “Van Der Valk” on ITV which gave it prime time exposure. By the time the second series ended the track was at No 1 as the show got a larger audience after making No 41 the previous year after season 1 aired. It became the first track to be No 1 off the use as a theme of a TV show but the final truly instrumental track (to feature no vocals at all) ever, odd given their prevalence in the 50s and 60s.

12. AMAZING GRACE- The Pipes And Drums Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (880,200) 1972 27 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Dating back to 1779 this was obviously a Christian hymn, this version seemed to connect with the UK public who sent it to No 1 for 5 weeks in 1972 becoming the best seller of the year! Combining pipes with a military band caused some minor rancor with the pipe major being summoned to Edinburgh castle to be chastised for demeaning the pipes! In truth the song had seen a significant revival thanks to the Vietnam War in the late 60s and inspired a cappella version by Judy Collins which had been a long running hit here In 1971 spending 67 weeks in the top 50 somewhat softening the pubic for this new version. By the way the full name of the band meant that (at that time) they were the longest act to ever reach No 1.

13. YMCA- Village People (848,600)* 1978 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Extolling the virtues of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), well kind of…..it was also clearly a nod to the men only environment in such hostels and the things that may happen there. The history of the group being based on gay stereotypes seen in the local gay neighbourhoods of New York is well known, only two members of the group were actually gay (confirmed at any rate as the Cowboy and the native Indian). This has gone on to be a staple of 70s nights and parties with the accompanying dance.

14. MOULDY OLD DOUGH- Lieutenant Pigeon (837,000) 1972 19 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Might have to chalk this one up to “it was the 70s”. Instrumental that contained only two lines, the title and “Dirty Old Man”, it was composed by the duo Lieutenant Pigeon with one of the member’s mother on piano, a fact which still makes it a record holder as the only UK number one single to feature a mother and her son. The song flopped originally but was a hit in some European markets which prompted a re-issue where it was championed by DJ Noel Edmunds which helped push it to No 1 for a month.

15. SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME- Brotherhood Of Man (833,400) 1976 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 By far the biggest Eurovision track of the 70s this was of course the UK entry for 1976 and marched home to victory though it only won the qualifying competition (“Song For Europe”) by just 2 points from Co-Co who themselves represented the UK at Eurovision in 1978 and contained Bucks Fizz’s Cheryl Baker. It went on to top the charts all over Europe and ensured the band would be successful for the remainder of the 70s.

16. MARYS BOY CHILD- OH MY LORD- Boney M (832,500)* 1978 8 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Rounding off a fantastic year for the group in 1978 they scored the festive chart topper with this track, itself a cover of the Harry Belafonte’s 1957 Christmas No 1. It was put together with a new track “Oh My Lord” which helped give the songwriters a share in the profits, and was a second No 1 in just 8 months though they never made it there again and the fifth song to top the charts for different acts.

17. PUPPY LOVE- Donny Osmond (824,400) 1972 23 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Written by 19 year old Paul Anka and a hit for him in 1960 (UK#33) it got a revival by an even younger 14 year old Donny Osmond in 1972. The Osmonds were the teen sensation of the early 70s having been regulars on “The Andy Williams Show” and becoming stars on the US charts in 1971, so Donny’s first solo single here was always going to be an event and true enough it took just 4 weeks to hit the top where it stayed for 5 weeks that summer becoming his biggest solo hit.

18. THREE TIMES A LADY- The Commodores (819,500) 1978 14 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Inspired by a toast that his father made to his mother on their wedding anniversary ("She's a great lady, she's a great mother, and she's a great friend”) Richie wrote this track originally as a waltz. Feeling that it wouldn’t suit the music the Commodores were making he twiddled around it imagining it being sung by Frank Sinatra and we got the final version which was their only UK chart topper and replaced Diana Ross’ “I’m Still Waiting” as Motown’s biggest seller in the UK.

Reissues and downloads would have done it pre streaming. Alan jones confirmed that it didn't sell a million in the 70s.

The Wombles never got a No 1 either but other than that @Spiceboy was on the money!

19. THE SMURF SONG- Father Abraham and the Smurfs (808,200) 1978 17 weeks on chart Peak position: 2 The stuff chart records are made of! Father Abraham was actually called Pierre Kartner and was a Dutch composer and popstar who later wrote the 2010 Eurovision entry for the Netherlands (though it didn’t make the grand final). He was asked to write a song for the cartoon series “The Smurfs” and the result topped the charts in 16 countries though it was cruelly denied here by “You’re The One That I Want”, it did spend 6 weeks at the runner up spot- a record equalled by Right Said Fred 13 years later and finally bettered by All-4-one 16 years later. It's also the best selling non No 1 track on the list!