Gezza

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!

20. WELCOME HOME- Peters And Lee (801,400) 1973 24 weeks in chart Peak position: 1 This duo rose to fame off the back of the talent show “Opportunity Knocks” which they won seven times (a record at the time) and from which they got a record deal. This was their debut single and spent no time hitting the top supported extensively by TV shows, indeed later on in the decade they got their own TV show but by 1980 the pair had split.

Definitely not in the 70s, though it definitely is now 😀

So the top 20 contains one track that never made No 1 and all the tracks sold over 800,000

Recap 50-21 50. DANCING QUEEN- Abba (650,500) 49. THE WONDER OF YOU- Elvis Presley (656,100) 48. MATCHSTALK MEN & MATCHSTALK CATS AND DOGS- Brian & Michael (656,700) 47. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME- Abba (658,000) 46. TIGER FEET- Mud (664,300) 45. IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW- Chicago (670,300) 44. SUNDAY GIRL- Blondie (671,900) 43. RAT TRAP- Boomtown Rats (676,900) 42. MAGGIE MAY- Rod Stewart (678,800) 41. UNDER THE MOON OF LOVE- Showaddywaddy (681,500)* 40. MY DING-A-LING- Chuck Berry (684,000)* 39. BLOCKBUSTER!- The Sweet (690,000) 38. ONE DAY AT A TIME-Lena Martell (691,800) 37. DANCE AWAY- Roxy Music (701,500) 36. IN THE SUMMERTIME- Mungo Jerry (721,400) 35. LONG HAIRED LOVER FROM LIVERPOOL- Little Jimmy Osmond (722,300) 34. ARE “FRIENDS” ELECTRIC- Tubeway Army (727,100) 33. I WILL SURVIVE- Gloria Gaynor (730,200) 32. HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK- Ian Dury & The Blockheads (730,500)* 31. DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART- Elton John & Kiki Dee (738,400) 30. DON’T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA- Julie Covington (739,000) 29. I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS- Boomtown Rats (747,300) 28. NIGHT FEVER- Bee Gees (758,400) 27. DON’T GIVE UP ON US- David Soul (759,900)* 26. BYE BYE BABY- Bay City Rollers (763,500) 25. MISSISSIPPI- Pussycat (770,500) 24. WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN- Dr Hook (779,700) 23. HEART OF GLASS- Blondie (781,200) 22. WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE- Cliff Richard (795,200) 21. WITHOUT YOU- Nilsson (797,000)

21. WITHOUT YOU- Nilsson (797,000) 1972 28 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Written by rock group Badfinger and appearing on their 1970 album “No Dice”, it was left unreleased as a single version until picked up by Harry Nilsson after hearing the song at a party and turned into a transatlantic chart topper (of course hitting the top again for Mariah Carey 22 years later). Rather tragically Nilsson died just a month before Carey hit the top of the UK charts.

22. WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE- Cliff Richard (795,200) 1979 14 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Cliff had had a poor 70s compared to the 50s and 60s with a mere 3 top 10 singles up until this track in the summer of 79 and hadn’t been at No 1 since 1968. This track was written by Alan Tarney for use by his own group Tarney/Spencer band and whilst producing another track with Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch he played the demo which Welch jumped on insisting it would be ideal for Cliff Richard.

23. HEART OF GLASS- Blondie (781,200) 1979 12 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A song that dates back to the mid 70s when it was called “Once I Had A Love” and recorded as a demo with a basic uptempo beat in keeping with the mid 70s. Over the years the group toyed with it, attempting a reggae version and a ballad but it was Producer Mike Chapman who put a disco twist on it, the song made them huge but it alienated a lot of their peers in the new wave movement who considered a sell out and they lost the support of many critics.

Talking of 1979............

No shows tomorrow. Back on the 18th

I blame @Popchartfreak 😃

24. WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN- Dr Hook (779,700) 1979 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Sneaking to the top spot in the final few months of the decade was this ditty which gave Dr Hook their biggest hit. They had been signed by Clive Davis originally in the early 70s as “Dr Hook & The Medicine Show” only abbreviating their name in 1975. It had the dubious honour of being announced as the new number one due to an error at BMRB which was corrected an hour later- they made it legitimately the following week!

25. MISSISSIPPI- Pussycat (770,500) 1976 21 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Dutch 7 piece fronted by three sisters performing country tinged pop might seem an odd combo but clearly 70s Britain was here for it. The song they did it with was inspired by the Bee Gees “Massachusetts” and was a hit across most of Europe in late 75/ early 76 taking a while to finally take off in the UK but we did relent finally before the year was out. First Dutch act to top the UK charts.

26. BYE BYE BABY- Bay City Rollers (763,500) 1975 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Undoubtedly one of the biggest teen scream bands of the decade, this cover of the Four Seasons 1965 US#12 track was the pinnacle of their appeal spending a cool 6 weeks at No 1 in 1975 on the way to being the bestselling single of that year. In part that’s because it was rather less well known over here with the only version to be a chart hit by the Symbols in 1967 (#44), but it helped the group achieve international success conquering the US as well. Changes in line up and the pressure of international success took its toll however and it was all over in the UK by 1977 and led to the eventual split before lawsuits were filed in later years over royalties and allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by the groups then manager.

27. DON’T GIVE UP ON US- David Soul (759,900)* 1976 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A transatlantic chart topper for Soul who decided to return to singing which was one of his career options when he was younger. Trading heavily on the success of “Starsky and Hutch” proved just what the UK seemed to want! It was written by Tom Macauley who had already written No 1’s for Edison Lighthouse, The Foundations, Long John Baldrey and the New Seekers.

28. NIGHT FEVER- Bee Gees (758,400) 1978 20 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Most tracks which are written as a theme for a movie have the movie title to work with but when the Bee Gees Manager called the group asking for songs for his movie, provisionally called “Saturday Night”, he got a few songs back but nothing with the movie title in it. The group weren’t keen on the title but had already written a song called “Night Fever” (albeit it wasn’t quite finished)- they played the track to their manager and he was so impressed that he changed the title of the film to “Saturday Night Fever” and the film became one of the most successful of the decade and turned the Bee Gees into megastars. So ubiquitous were they in the US that 5 Gibb compositions spent a total of 18 weeks at No 1 over a 21 week period in 77-78 giving Barry Gibb the record of writing 4 consecutive US #1’s in a row.

29. I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS- Boomtown Rats (747,300) 1979 12 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Surely one of the most famous songs ever to be written about a high school shooting, this was the second and biggest of their singles. Written whilst the band were on a US tour it was only intended as a B-side but it got such a positive reaction on the tour that it was decided to make it the main event. The family of the culprit for the murders (Brenda Spencer) tried to prevent the US release but were unsuccessful but Geldof admitted later to regretting writing the song as it had made Spencer famous (or more famous at least).

30. DON’T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA- Julie Covington (739,000) 1976 18 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Starting off as a concept album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, this track was seen as the stand out moment and quickly got a single release. Covington was an established west end star, and when Elkie Brooks turned down the offer of the soundtrack Lloyd Webber asked Covington if she would do it, she did and got herself a No 1 hit. She was offered the chance of lead role when the album was staged in 1978 but turned it down as she didn’t like the character of Peron, the track was, at the time, the biggest selling single by a female solo act until topped by Jennifer Rush in 1985. The song was not only a top 10 again for Madonna in 1996, but the melody formed the basis for David Essex’s “OH What A Circus” which made No 3 as Essex starred in the original west end production. Trivia titbit- the song was originally called “It’s Only Your Lover Returning” but it didn’t sound quite right so it got this title instead.

31. DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART- Elton John & Kiki Dee (738,400) 1976 14 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Famously Elton’s sole chart topper….until 1990 that is. The track was written as an homage to Motown records with the first choice of duet partner being Dusty Springfield who ultimately declined it. It spent 6 weeks at the top during the long hot summer of 76 and was remade into a top 10 single by Elton with Rupaul 18 years later.

32. HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK- Ian Dury & The Blockheads (730,500)* 1978 15 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A quirky number which seemed to capture the spirit of Winter of discontent, the group were one of the leading lights of the new wave movement of the late 70s building up a good following through touring and the hits started rolling. This track was their only chart topper and was marketing towards the end of its run with a promotion that the dealer that ordered the millionth copy would get a mystery prize- it never got there so we’ll never know.

33. I WILL SURVIVE- Gloria Gaynor (730,200) 1979 15 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Whilst adapted at various times as an anthem for both Woman’s rights and gay rights, the song was actually written with an entirely different genesis. Dino Fekaris (principle songwriter) had been dropped by Motown as a writer after several years and conceived of the idea for the song as a response to them. It went unrecorded for a few years until he was co-producing a track called “Substitute” for Gloria Gaynor and presented this track as a possible B-side, she loved it and tried to get the label to flip the slides without success. “Substitute” only made No 78 but the B-side started getting club play and the label were convinced to promote it as the a-side and rest is history.

34. ARE “FRIENDS” ELECTRIC- Tubeway Army (727,100) 1979 16 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 The sound of the future- well in 1979 it seemed that way at least, but what exactly the song about? Well Numan explained it in 2014 "All my early songs were about being alone or misunderstood. As a teenager, I'd been sent to a child psychiatrist and put on medication. I had Asperger's and saw the world differently. I immersed myself in sci-fi writers: Philip K Dick, JG Ballard. The lyrics came from short stories I'd written about what London would be like in 30 years. These machines – "friends" – come to the door. They supply services of various kinds, but your neighbours never know what they really are since they look human. The one in the song is a prostitute, hence the inverted commas. It was released in May 1979 and sold a million copies. I had a No 1 single with a song about a robot prostitute and no one knew.” Consider yourself updated, and though it didn’t sell a million in 79 it did provide the inspiration for the Sugababes “Freak Like Me” so bonus points there.

35. LONG HAIRED LOVER FROM LIVERPOOL- Little Jimmy Osmond (722,300) 1972 27 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 In the record books as the youngest act to ever reach the top spot in the UK, Little Jimmy Osmond was only 9 years old when this stormed to the top at the height of Osmond mania in the country. Needless to say it’s a cover, this time the original was recorded by the composer Christopher Dowden in 1969 which flopped but was released on the same label in the US as the Osmonds were on which is how the track to the attention of the Osmond camp. The song became the festive Number one of the year and on the day it made No 1 The Osmonds own “Crazy Horses” stood at No 5 while brother Donny was at No 9 with “Why”- never before had 1 family so dominated the top 10!