My my and old chart from 1974

[Chris Brown]

Brought this out to mark the death of Les from the Bay City Rollers. I think there are other interesting things in here.
As for the song title at 40 though...


Playlists are here. Including the Sparks video I didn’t know existed.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Tduxrd0d9OkMacZDzQCBq?si=Qp_EZ2l6RtCCWa3R1rwXBA&dl_branch=1
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNrHjz4Y7g50OrOYdSsSy-5e

Chart dated 11 May 1974

1. (1) Abba - Waterloo
2. (27) Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love
3. (4) The Wombles - Remember You're A Womble
4. (11) Peters And Lee - Don't Stay Away Too Long
5. (12) Bay City Rollers - Shang-A-Lang
6. (9) Wizzard - Rock And Roll Winter
7. (5) The Chi-Lites - Homely Girl
8. (6) Limmie And The Family Cookin' - A Walkin' Miracle
9. (3) Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun
10. (17) Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know-It-All
11. (42) Alvin Stardust - Red Dress
12. (2) Mud - The Cat Crept In
13. (14) Mungo Jerry - Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black
14. (39) Paper Lace - The Night Chicago Died
15. (8) Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye - You Are Everything
16. (24) The Osmonds - I Can't Stop
17. (7) Sunny - Doctor's Orders
18. (28) Jim Stafford - Spiders And Snakes
19. (10) The Glitter Band - Angel Face
20. (16) The Three Degrees - Year Of Decision
21. (15) Little Jimmy Osmond - I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door
22. (23) David Bowie - Rock And Roll Suicide
23. (21) Charlie Rich - Behind Closed Doors
24. (13) Slade - Everyday
25. (29) MFSB - TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)
26. (38) Status Quo - Break The Rules
27. (48) Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
28. (25) Marvin Hamlisch - The Entertainer
29. (NE) David Cassidy - If I Didn't Care
30. (30) The Wombles - Wombling Song
31. (19) Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock Around The Clock
32. (33) The Intruders - I'll Always Love My Mama
33. (36) Genesis - I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
34. (NE) R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
35. (45) Diana Ross - The Last Time I Saw Him
36. (32) Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - Satisfaction Guaranteed
37. (46) Gigliola Cinquetti - Go (Before You Break My Heart)
38. (22) Mott The Hoople - The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll
39. (34) Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl
40. (31) Paper Lace - Billy- Don't Be A Hero
41. (20) Gary Glitter - Remember Me This Way
42. (43) Mouth And Macneal - I See A Star
43. (18) Hot Chocolate - Emma
44. (35) The Carpenters - Jambalaya
45. (41) Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain
46. (NE) David Essex - America
47. (NE) Cockney Rebel - Judy Teen
48. (NE) Harry Chapin - W.O.L.D.
49. (37) Ragtimers - The Sting
50. (36) Queen - Seven Seas Of Rhye

Chris

[Vidcapper]

Post by Chris Brown
Brought this out to mark the death of Les from the Bay City Rollers. I think there are other interesting things in here.
As for the song title at 40 though...

Yes, what about it?

Post by Chris Brown
Chart dated 11 May 1974
1. (1) Abba - Waterloo
3. (4) The Wombles - Remember You're A Womble
9. (3) Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun
14. (39) Paper Lace - The Night Chicago Died

With the recent riots there, an appropriate title. :p

Post by Chris Brown
30. (30) The Wombles - Wombling Song
31. (19) Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock Around The Clock
40. (31) Paper Lace - Billy- Don't Be A Hero

Surprising I know *this* many from a 1974 chart (not #14 though).

[Chris Brown]

On Mon, 10 May 2021 14:09:38 -0700 (PDT), Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown
Brought this out to mark the death of Les from the Bay City Rollers. I think there are other interesting things in here.
As for the song title at 40 though...

Gaaah! Typo!
I meant 41.

Post by Chris Brown
Playlists are here. Including the Sparks video I didn’t know existed.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Tduxrd0d9OkMacZDzQCBq?si=Qp_EZ2l6RtCCWa3R1rwXBA&dl_branch=1
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNrHjz4Y7g50OrOYdSsSy-5e
Chart dated 11 May 1974

I remember most of this from the time, although those memories are
fairly varied ones. IIRC, this was shortly after I'd discovered Radio
Luxembourg, so I'm pretty sure I heard some of these on that, although a
lot of memories are of TotP appearances by these songs.

I know quite a few of these were on there from looking at YouTube.

Post by Chris Brown
1. (1) Abba - Waterloo

The Eurovision connection, of course. I do remember watching this live
on TV at the time. You've used the official video in the playlist, but I
prefer to remember the song from the Eurovision perfomance.

Eurovision clearly earlier in the year in 1974 than 2021.
It can be a bit of a dilemma which clip to use, I think on this occasion I plumped for the video because it matched the record people were buying.

Unlike now,
when everything except the vocals is pre-recorded, back then it was all
100% live. As the commentator put it, this is the Abba group...

Now I’m imagining how Mark E. Smith used to say “this is the Fall Group”.

(Listen out for some classic acidental Partridges in the introduction,
too, or at least they would have been if Alan Partridge had been a thing
in 1974).

You can’t get more *accidental* Partridge than before Partridge existed.

Post by Chris Brown
2. (27) Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love

This feels a little odd, because listening to it now it sounds a lot
older than the 1970s, but on the other hand I do remember hearing it on
the radio and seeing it on TotP back then.

It’s very clear in retrospect that this is effectively an early Four Seasons song (as distinct with beefier production values.

Post by Chris Brown
3. (4) The Wombles - Remember You're A Womble

As novelty songs go, this does go pretty well. Although, as has been
widely remarked previously in this group, the actual musicians behind
the band took it very seriously indeed.

I suppose the skill and the context are also part of the reason this has been more fondly remembered than Gimme Dat Ding or whatever.

Post by Chris Brown
5. (12) Bay City Rollers - Shang-A-Lang

They weren't a one-hit wonder, but I doubt many people now would
remember this without being prompted.

Well, they might now because of the recent news reports, but even though this is probably the second-most recognisable BCR hit I’d agree if you were asking at any other time.

Post by Chris Brown
6. (9) Wizzard - Rock And Roll Winter

Slightly odd title to be charting in late spring. Although, apparently,
it was originally scheduled to be released in winter, but got pushed
back.

This is obviously why they wanted it to be Christmas every day, so this song wouldn’t have been out of season.

Not one of their best, though.

True.

Post by Chris Brown
7. (5) The Chi-Lites - Homely Girl

I don't really remember this, even after listening to it.

I think UB40 did a cover of it. Although that doesn’t narrow it down much I know.

Post by Chris Brown
8. (6) Limmie And The Family Cookin' - A Walkin' Miracle

I do vaguely remember this, but only just.

I mainly know of it as a question that comes up Popmaster.

Post by Chris Brown
9. (3) Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun

I remember this very well, though. It must have had a lot of airplay at
the time.

Not just at the time, I know it only too well and I wasn’t even born in 1974.

Post by Chris Brown
10. (17) Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know-It-All

Don't remember this.

It was in that advert where the smug bloke didn’t have any trousers on. At least that’s where I first heard it.

Post by Chris Brown
18. (28) Jim Stafford - Spiders And Snakes

Bit of an odd song. For some reason I remember this very well from the
time. DOn't think I've ever heard it since.

I don’t think I’d heard it until recently (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on streaming last time I did a chart it was in). It is an odd combination of novelty and contemporary pastiche.

Post by Chris Brown
22. (23) David Bowie - Rock And Roll Suicide

I don't remember this from the time, but of course I know it very well
now.

Of course it’s already a couple of albums old at this point.

The majority of Bowie's early stuff passed me by, but - like a lot

of people of my generation, I suppose - I rediscovered it in the 80s
following Ashes to Ashes.

Yeah, and although my Dad was a fan so I must have heard this on the album, it wasn’t until this century I started listening to him properly.

Post by Chris Brown
24. (13) Slade - Everyday

Unusual for Slade, on two fronts - firstly it's a ballad, and, secondly,
it doesn't have any humorous deliberate misspellings in the title.

I think this may even be the point they abandoned the practice, depending on whether you consider “Merry Xmas Everybody” a misspelling.

Post by Chris Brown
26. (38) Status Quo - Break The Rules

For a band that's been milking precisely the same formula for decades, a
song titled "Break the Rules" is veering into Alannis Morrisette levels
of irony.

Yes, though more so in retrospect I suppose.

Post by Chris Brown
27. (48) Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us

One of my favourites at the time.

You weren’t scared of it like everyone else claims they were.

Post by Chris Brown
30. (30) The Wombles - Wombling Song

See above for previous Womble comments.

I think this is the lesser of the two tracks in this chart.

Post by Chris Brown
31. (19) Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock Around The Clock

Not quite sure why this was charting here.

It just seemed to be what people did in the 70s. And to be fair, with all the retro glam tracks it doesn’t sound that out of place for a 29-year old track.

Although it is, of course,

genuinely one of the all-time classics.

As much for what it represents as what it is perhaps.

Post by Chris Brown
39. (34) Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl

I remember this from the time. The time in question, of course, being a
time when country was still mainstream.

I’m not sure whether the launch of an Absolute Country station this week implies it’s becoming more or less mainstream.

Post by Chris Brown
40. (31) Paper Lace - Billy- Don't Be A Hero

I also remember this very well from the time. Although I don't get the
point you're making about the title, either.

See above. But I’m sure there’s some joke you could make somewhere.

Post by Chris Brown
41. (20) Gary Glitter - Remember Me This Way

Whatever posterity does remember him for, it's very unlikely to be this.

Exactly.

Post by Chris Brown
44. (35) The Carpenters - Jambalaya

Rather annoyingly, I remember this from the time as well.

I think the Carpenters are a bit overrated now, and this is one of their more egregious works.

Chris

[Mark Goodge]

On Thu, 20 May 2021 16:15:43 -0700 (PDT), Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown

On Mon, 10 May 2021 14:09:38 -0700 (PDT), Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown
6. (9) Wizzard - Rock And Roll Winter

Slightly odd title to be charting in late spring. Although, apparently,
it was originally scheduled to be released in winter, but got pushed
back.

This is obviously why they wanted it to be Christmas every day, so this
song wouldn’t have been out of season.

Most of winter is after Christmas, though.

Post by Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown
30. (30) The Wombles - Wombling Song

See above for previous Womble comments.

I think this is the lesser of the two tracks in this chart.

This was the TV theme, though, and therefore wasn't originally written
with a single release in mind. Like most TV themes, it works very well
in the length of time that it takes to roll the titles, but it doesn't
stretch to a three minute pop song particularly well. But the later
Wombles songs were written to be consumed as music rather than a theme
tune, and therefore work better in that context.

Post by Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown
39. (34) Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl

I remember this from the time. The time in question, of course, being a
time when country was still mainstream.

I’m not sure whether the launch of an Absolute Country station this week
implies it’s becoming more or less mainstream.

I think it's less mainstream now. While alt-country and cowpunk have
sufficient crossover value for non-genre radio, most of the sort of
thing you hear on Absolute Country wouldn't get a look in (or a listen
in) these days.

There was actually a good illustration of that earlier this week on
Absolute Radio. On the breakfast show, they've been playing a song from
the Absolute Country playlist on the main station as a kind of taster of
the new station. And one day I happened to catch it, the chosen song was
'Let Your Love Flow' by The Bellamy Brothers. Now, I remember that from
when it was a hit in 1976, and it was played on Radio 1 at the time.
But, even though the main Absolute Radio playlist regularly includes
songs from the 70s, it sounded incredibly out of place on the breakfast
show now. Not in a bad way, just not in keeping with the overall vibe of
the rest of the playlist.

Mark

[Rink]

On Mon, 10 May 2021 14:09:38 -0700 (PDT), Chris Brown

Post by Chris Brown
1. (1) Abba - Waterloo

The Eurovision connection, of course. I do remember watching this
live on TV at the time. You've used the official video in the
playlist, but I prefer to remember the song from the Eurovision
perfomance.

Eurovision clearly earlier in the year in 1974 than 2021. It can be a
bit of a dilemma which clip to use, I think on this occasion I
plumped for the video because it matched the record people were
buying.

Unlike now, when everything except the vocals is pre-recorded, back
then it was all 100% live. As the commentator put it, this is the
Abba group...

Now I’m imagining how Mark E. Smith used to say “this is the Fall Group”.

http://youtu.be/Vp1_OKawHYw

And your commentator (BBC I presume) did not know
who is Benny and who is Bjorn......
(0:20 and 0:29)

Nice to see this again!

Rink