Gezza

64. SILVER LADY- David Soul (594,200) 1977 14 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Soul’s second chart topper of the 70s is probably the lesser known one, he was clearly still riding on the coat tails of his success in “Starsky And Hutch”. His chart career was over in under a year after this but he made his money whilst he was doing it!

Yes we're back on Sep 4th.

In case you ever wanted to hear what was edited out for the hit version.

65. DREADLOCK HOLIDAY- 10CC (589,500) 1978 13 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Based on real life events that members of the group experienced whilst on holiday in the Caribbean though the promo’s beach shots were filmed in Dorset. Godley & Crème had left the group by this point and strangely afterwards the hits pretty much dried up the group despite being fairly consistent hit makers for most of the 70s.

66. BAND OF GOLD- Freda Payne (584,100) 1970 19 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Written by the legendary Holand-Dozier-Holland, this is a song that Payne was not keen to record initially thinking that the song better suited a teenager or younger woman (she was almost 30 when she recorded it) but was convinced by the sheer wealth of talent on offer (besides the famous writers, there was a lead guitar by Ray Parker Jnr of “Ghostbusters” fame, and backing vocals by her sister Scherrie Payne- later of the Supremes). The song was an instant hit going top 3 in the US and spending 6 weeks at No 1 here and it illustrates the importance of an edit- the song’s lyrics imply a honeymoon night spent in separate beds and a failed attempt at consummation- this lead to supposition that it may be because the husband was either impotent or gay. Part of that confusion is due to edits made to the lyrics to reduce the length from 4 minutes to 3 minutes which omitted vital lines describing how the bride had turned the groom away and now regrets it. If you want to imagine what this would sound like if it were made in the 80s then look up Bonnie Tyler’s version produced by Jim Steinman….

67. WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN- Three Degrees (584,000) 1974 16 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A song which was, for a time at least, King Charles’ favourite song, it may be unique certainly in terms of UK No 1 hits in being a song where every sentence is a question. Written by Gamble and Huff, lead vocalist Sheila Ferguson famously hated the song too simple but was proved wrong when it became by far the biggest hit for the female trio

68. SPIRIT IN THE SKY- Norman Greenbaum (583,200) 1970 20 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Greenbaum wrote the song in roughly 15 minutes after challenging himself to write a gospel song, after trying it in different styles it eventually came together though he did get into trouble with some religious groups for ignoring the concept of original sin (“I’ve Never been a sinner, I’ve never sinned”). It was his sole hit making him a glorious one hit wonder though the song has stood the test of time topping the charts both in 1986 for Dr & The Medics and in 2003 for Gareth Gates. Curiously it also started the “God Rock” trend which saw musicals written such as “Godspell” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and a resurgence of hymns such as “Amazing Grace”.

69 STAND BY YOUR MAN- Tammy Wynette (580,400) 1975 12 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A US country No 1 way back in 1968 it also made No 19 on the main Billboard charts but it took until 1975 to be released here where it shot to the top. It received a lot of criticism from the woman’s liberation movement from its perceived support of traditional conservative values though Wynette herself disputed it any social or political slant and was written with that intent. Wynette was actually divorced for 2 months by the time the song made No 1 making her also qualified for her follow up track “D.I.V.O.R.C.E”.

70. KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU- Abba (579,000) 1977 13 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Abba’s 5th UK chart topper (putting them 2nd in terms of number 1’s in the 70s to that point) was a runaway success topping the charts for 5 weeks, not bad for a third single from an album and made up for the minor blip of “Money, Money, Money” only making No 3. Whilst tempting to see it as auto-biographical the track was written before either couple split up, interesting fact, it started a run of three No 1’s on the trot for them (their second hattrick) but it was the third slowest at 46 weeks (Only the Beatles-56wks, and The Police- 52wks took longer).

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.

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”.

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!

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

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.

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……

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 17th 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.

77. TRAGEDY- Bee Gees (569,600) 1979 10 weeks Peak position: 1 Imagine writing three US chart toppers in an afternoon, that’s what the Brothers Gibb did in the late 70s writing this, “Too Much Heaven” and “Shadow Dancing” (for Brother Andy Gibb)- though only this track reached No 1 here. Naturally it’s equally famous in the UK at least for the Steps version some 20 years afterwards, it reminds us of how popular they were in the slipstream of the success of “Saturday Night Fever” but it was a double edged sword as it tied them inextricably to the period which ultimately cost them dearly as the 80s dawned and their stock plummet (on their own records at least if not in their songwriting)

78. SEE MY BABY JIVE- Wizzard (566,000) 1973 17 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 After walking out on the E.L.O Wood promptly formed Wizzard and spent no time scoring the hits. This was only their second single and rushed to the top spot and was a tribute to Phil Spector’s “Wall Of Sound” in terms of production, it was later revealed that ABBA used this as their inspiration when composing and making “Waterloo”. The group had disbanded by 1975 proving a brief but glorious interlude in pop music.

79 FERNANDO- Abba (560,800) 1976 15 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 Originally written in Swedish for a solo Anni-Frid album it was later re-recorded in English for Abba and duly became a third chart topper for them in early 1976. It was named after a bar tender in Stockholm, the pub being one the band frequented and is substantially different to the first version which is about a lost love as opposed to the version we all know of two old freedom fighters reminiscing about the Mexican revolution. It was an even bigger hit in Australia where it stayed at No 1 for 14 weeks (a record until 2017) and was the biggest selling single of all time there until 1997. It spent 10 weeks in the top 10- the most weeks of any ABBA single, and also contains their only mistake in English in Ulvaeus’ songwriting “Since many years I Haven’t seen a rifle in your hands”- enormously impressive given it wasn’t his first language.

80. KNOCK THREE TIMES- Dawn (559,800) 1971 27 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A transatlantic chart topper with an air of mystery. Producer Hank Medress had produced a song called “Candida” and wanted Orlando to record the vocals (Orlando had been in a group called Wind who were moderately successful in the US), however in the interim Orlando had given up music and was working for another record label and therefore could not lend his vocals to a song on another label. He did the vocals anonymously and the track appeared merely as by “Dawn” (Medress’ daughter’s middle name)- it was a hit. This was the follow up and in order to promote it properly Orlando quit his job and was unveiled as the real singer.

81. GRANDAD- Clive Dunn (552,600)* 1970 28 Weeks on chart Peak position: 1 When actor Dunn met songwriter Herbie Flowers at a party he challenged him to write a song for him. He came back with “Grandad” which played into the character “Jones” that Dunn portrayed on the BBC comedy “Dad’s Army”, even though Dunn himself was only 51 at this point. Radio 1’s Tony Blackburn championed the song as it rose up the charts eventually making No 1 in early 1971 in a chart run which lasted 28 weeks.

82. DA YA THINK I’M SEXY- Rod Stewart (551,900)* 1978 13 weeks on chart Peak position: 1 A song that was on the face of it enormously successful yet killed Stewart’s career for a while. Rod slipped into the disco slipstream to score his 5th chart topper of the 70s topping charts on both sides of the Atlantic but it was at the tail end of the disco scene and to some extent got caught up in the disco backlash of 1980. On top of that the image of leery aging rocker in tight leopard skin trousers stuck a little too well (see Kenny Everett’s spoof as proof) and aged quickly, he also got in trouble after he was accused of plagiarism and lifting the hook from Ben Jor’s “Taj Mahal” plus the famous synth riff from Bobby Womack’s “Put Something On It” for which the claims were settled when he donated profits from the song to UNICEF in early 1979.

Well then we might

Just a reminder that there are no TOTP episodes tonight

83. SANDY- John Travolta (550,100) 1978 15 weeks on chart Peak position: 2 You’ll be hearing more from “Grease” later on but here’s one you might not have thought would have made it! Performed by Travolta in the role of Danny Zuko, the track was composed for the film and was not in the original musical, it peaked at No 1 behind Travolta’s own “Summer Nights” but did outsell Newton-John’s own solo “Grease” outing “Hopelessly Devoted To You” which almost sold 400,000 itself.