Popular ’73
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I give each song on Popular a mark out of 10. In this poll, you should pick any YOU would have given 6 or more to from the 1973 number ones. As many as you like!
Loading ...My highest marks this year were a pair of 9s for the Sweet and Slade’s “Merry Xmas”. Lowest was a 3 for Tony Orlando and Dawn.
Tom in FT /Popular • Pop/popular year poll • 1,290 views
12 out of 16 for me.
The phantom number one of 1973 – that reached the top of the other (NME) chart were;
David Bowie – Jean Genie (1 week)
The Strawbs – Part Of The Union (2)
David Essex – Rock On (1)
The Sweet – Ballroom Blitz (1)
The Osmonds – Let Me In (1)
Sorry… I had to vote none. I didn’t really like any of these songs.
10 for me – some really great songs this year, and the Numbers 1 do justice to the diversity, energy and songcraft of a variety of interesting performers.
Favourites among these – 10cc, Dawn, Peters and Lee, the first and last of Slade’s chart-toppers and Sweet
Only 4 of these songs charted Top 40 in the States: Orlando, the 2 Osmond songs and O’Sullivan, with only Orlando going to #1.
1973 was a pretty raucous year for music – Aladdin Sane; Raw Power; Billion Dollar Babies; Berlin; For your pleasure; Stranded; New York Dolls; Space Ritual; Quadrophenia – to name more than a few.
The Beatles Red and Blue albums were released and Top of the Pops celebrated it’s 10th anniversary with a show featuring The Who performing 5.15 and IIRC finishing with extra special guest David Cassidy flying in to perform at an airfield somewhere.
11 for me – I might easily have handed out a couple of 10s in that lot.
13 for me – the ones you’d expect from an 11-year-old boy. Plus I was feeling generous towards David Cassidy, which I rarely was at the age of 11!
11 for me with Simon Park, P&L and Skweeze Me all just missing the cut. Welcome Home was surprisingly cosy rather than clunky (I remember feeling sorry for Lenny at the time even though they DID knock Slade off the top) but I still can’t give it a 6. It really was a year for pre-teens.
Those Canadian number ones in full:
“Clair” Gilbert O’Sullivan
“You’re So Vain” Carly Simon
“Last Song” Edward Bear
“Crocodile Rock” Elton John
“Danny’s Song” Anne Murray
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” Roberta Flack
“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” Dawn featuring Tony Orlando
“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” Vicki Lawrence
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” Keith Hampshire
“The Cisco Kid” War
“Little Willy” The Sweet
“Daniel” Elton John
“Frankenstein” Edgar Winter
“Playground in My Mind” Clint Holmes
“Will It Go Round in Circles” Billy Preston
“Yesterday Once More” Carpenters
“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” Jim Croce
“Monster Mash” Bobby “Boris” Pickett
“Brother Louie” Stories
“Delta Dawn” Helen Reddy
“Half Breed” Cher
“Angie” The Rolling Stones
“Could You Ever Love Me Again” Gary and Dave
“Photograph” Ringo Starr
“Top of the World” Carpenters
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” Elton John
“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” Charlie Rich
There’s normally a fair Anglo-American mix in the Canadian chart, but not in ’73. Was this the most complete disconnect between North American and British tastes in chart history?
Slam dunk for Elton’s ’73 45s. And… Gary And Dave anyone?
#5
The top of the pops 500th show was one you refer to, sometime in October 1973 – I remember pre-recorded messages from various celebs, including the Jacksons. The 10th aniversary show came a few weeks later.
Despite the depressing time that was 1973 (power cuts, oil shortage, the 3-day week, strikes, and Petrol rationing on the verge of being introduced), I recall the majority of the songs being very upbeat. There was a feeling of “sod all the crap news – lets just PARTAAAAY”. They made the summer months of ’73 seem a lot better than they probably were.
I think I’ve said this elsewhere on Popular, but to small lord sukrat the powercuts and strikes and three-day-week weren’t depressing at all, they were REALLY EXCITING. My parents were war-babies — my mum especially said that, aged 4-9, she loved the war — and turned the whole thing into a total adventure for their children. As a consequence, possibly, I TOTALLY LOVE STRIKES and wish there were more of them! I accept this is a minority view.
for reasons unknown we had a ten minute power cut last night as mrs casmile and I sat playing scrabble and it Totally Felt Like The Seventies, i was almost annoyed when the lights came back on…
us #1s 1973
carly simon – you’re so vain
stevie wonder – superstition
elton john – crocodile rock
roberta flack – killing me softly with his song
the o’jays – love train
vicki lawrence – the night the lights went out in georgia
dawn feat tony orlando – tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree
stevie wonder – you are the sunshine of my life
the edgar winter group – frankenstein
paul mccartney & wings – my love
george harrison – give me love (give me peace on earth)
billy preston – will it go round in circles
jim croce – big bad leroy brown
maureen mcgovern – the morning after
diana ross – touch me in the morning
stories – brother louie
marvin gaye – let’s get it on
helen reddy – delta dawn
grand funk – we’re an american band
cher – half-breed
the rolling stones – angie
gladys knight & the pips – midnight train to georgia
eddie kendricks – keeep on truckin (pt 1)
ringo starr – photograph
the carpenters – top of the world
charlie rich – the most beautiful girl
jim croce – time in a bottle
13 from me, though this time I let nostalgia get the better of me and gave a vote to Lenny Peters.
I know there’s a very Hope and Glory view that kids liked the war but my mum never did. All the stories she told me were pretty bad, maybe because she was in London. The power cuts were fun but I do remember one afternoon being ’round my Nan’s house and she couldn’t cook our tea because she had an electric cooker (which was very a fancy thing back then.) I still get a little thrill when I see a picket line too.
@taDOW, 13. Blimey, the US #1 list for 1973 is incredible: there are 5 or 6 tracks there that are better than anything on the UK list, and at least couple would surely rate as 10s.
11 for me – a good year. Maybe some nostalgia given I was only 6 and Blockbuster was the first single I ever bought. I won’t admit to how much I liked Donny Osmond at the time but in mitigation I will remind you of my age at the time!
New TPL on Zeppelin (might as well post it here): http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011/06/led-zeppelin-houses-of-holy.html
TPL gets to the Faces, who seem by this time to be getting up each other’s noses: http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011/06/faces-ooh-la-la.html
This week it’s compilation time again; interestingly, none of its twenty tracks made number one, which maybe speaks for itself (also the rear cover shows what I thought was Sly Stone – huh? He’s not on the record! He’s on CBS! – until I realised it was Diana Ross):
http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011/07/various-artists-pure-gold-on-emi.html
TPL looks at corporate rock as global brand which would give its shareholders a woody, and for reasons which have nothing to do with the money.
TPL says hello to ver Quo.
TPL presents Flashback: David Bowie’s 12 Great Hits Of The Sixties: http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011/08/david-bowie-pinups.html
TPL finally gets to the end of 1973 (had it not been for the back end of Hurricane Katia knocking my laptop signal out for the best part of a week it would have been much sooner) with a double album that really would have been much better as a single:
http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011/09/elton-john-goodbye-yellow-brick-road.html
…if TPL was Norwegian it would have had this lot to contend with in ’73:
Elton John – Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player
Deep Purple – Who De We Think We Are
Various – Norsk pa Topp
The Beatles – 1962-66
Cat Stevens – Foreigner
Rolling Stones – Goats Head Soup
Lillebjorn Nilsen – Portrett
while Popular would have had a Glam-free time with…
Cliff Richard – Power To All Our Friends
Dawn – Tie A Yellow Ribbon
Albert Hammond – Free Electric Band
…plus 3 local acts hogging the other 30 weeks.
Available to listen on iPlayer until Friday: Noddy Holder joins Radcliffe and Maconie to discuss the remastered reissue of “Sladest” – that particular section starts at around 1h34:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b015tz07/Radcliffe_and_Maconie_Friday_with_Noddy_Holder/
- and for reference, since I don’t think he posted the link, here’s Marcello’s review of said album: http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html .
I did – but not on this thread.
“Lost” footage of Bowie’s Jean Genie from Xmas ’73 on TOTP2 tonight. If there are any lurkers out there (I REALLY should be tweeting this).
I saw it at the NFT last week – its a terrific performance! The thing that struck me most watching it was realising how beautiful and precise properly preserved 2″ colour VT can be when shown on the best equipment – there were so many exciting, colourful and diverting things going on the Top Of The Pops studio in that performance, and I felt as though I could see them all in crystal clarity. Who needs HD?
It’ll be interesting to see this, as I remember the performance quite clearly. Mostly that it seemed quite long, and lots of harmonica.
Shall see how it compares to my memory.
Seen it now. A lot brighter than I remember, but pretty much exactly how I remember it. Lots of harmonica and quite long for a TOTP performance even in those days.
Just watched the Bowie on youtube. Wow, it’s a live performance and completely brilliant. Lots of harmonica, as Mark G. says, and not much drum but still sounds basically great. I’d bet Bowie himself is thrilled that this has turned up. And, yeah, the videotape quality is shockingly good.
Just seen it too – amazing to see it and really fascinating to read the thread about it on http://www.missing-episodes.com where John Henshall (the cameraman who saved it) fills us in on the background to its re-appearance heomes across as a great bloke whose foresight we should all be very grateful for.
I actually remember seeing this as a 7 year old (my vague memory is that I sought of knew that they were going for it in an extra special way – like they were all getting really carried away compared with the average group I’d see and it seemed extra long) and seeing it again after all this time my young self was spot on.
Wonderful thing memory – only today I was listening to “Searching For The Perfect Beat” by Afrika Bambaataa for I should imagine the first time in about 28 years – I’d bought the 12″ blind on the back of loving ‘Planet Rock’ and I remember I was a bit disappointed so didn’t even cane it that much- but found I still remembered nearly all the words. Even better and maybe with the frisson of nostalgia adding something to it I don’t even think it’s a bad track now.
Back to the TOTP find it appears that he possibly also has a 100 other saved tapes from the same era – my mouth is watering at the thought of what other early 70s presumed wiped TOTP performances he may have.
And what a difference 3 years made to the whole spectacle of TOTP when you compare this and the other survivals from 1973 with the light entertainment end of the pier production values of 1976.
DLT was so bad last night on the Christmas show he crossed the line and became watchable in a so bad it’s good completely horrifying way.
Gotta agree Andy, John Henshall’s dedication to saving these episodes for posterity has to be commended. Top bloke!
Superb performance, marred only by the cameraman’s over-reliance on fish-eye views.
Well, if it hadn’t been for the fish-eye lens use, the performance wouldn’t have been saved at all.
I’d say he’s playing the opening bars of Love Me Do on the harmonica.
(PS BTW, ‘it’ says here I’m making this comment on 25 December. I’m writing in the future! My own Christmas miracle!)
Re 31: “watchable in a so bad it’s good completely horrifying way” could also apply to Jessie J’s sensitive rendition of Price Tag on the 2011 TOTP. There were a couple of points where we shrieked in delight. Amazing.
I imagine the BBC will eke out the rest of John Henshall’s 100 saved performances. Has he mentioned what they might be anywhere yet?
That Jessie J performance was truly amazing. It brought to mind time when as a child I believed I could sing the lead and backing vocals AT THE SAME TIME. I implore anyone to watch it – there are moments when she appears possessed by the spirit of Larvelle Jones from Police Academy (you’ll know when you see it). This is why we need TOTP back back back.
“when music made us all u-NITE!” – FLINCHED SO HARD AT THAT. Also can someone tell her which is left and which is right? :(
I HAVE LOOKED INTO THE EYES OF THE MONSTER
(stage left, stage right, innit, what a pro)
Only Jessie J can do hand panties EXACTLY when the cameraman is attempting an up(skirt)shot of her SHINY GOLD (BETWEEN THE) LEGGINGS on a barstool during an unplugged performance of Price Tag on Christmas TOTP! “B-bbb-bb-b-break it down”.
LUH-LUH-LUH-LUH-LUH-LUH-LUH *holds microphone benevolently out to guitarist*
I keep coming back to this just to gawp at it!
Who knew Jessie J would give me my best Christmas gift?
She seems aware of the upskirt shots, but unfortunately sticking her hand down there to stop a Sharon Stone creates a whole new problem.
At first I wasn’t sure if it was terrible or amazing or terribleamazing, but now watching it for the fifth time it still just makes me smile and laugh, so that makes it an unqualified success. A+++
Well, compared to Pixie Lott’s effort on the Xmas show, Jessie J’s Darlene Love. (Jessie J was pretty impressive recently on some MTV awards show as the House band/chanteuse. She cranked out listenable live covers of most the nominated songs across a wide range of categories.)
It’s a bit like saying Marti Caine just nudged it over Faith Brown.
While undoubtedly funny, Jessie’s spaz impersonation at 3:21-3:23 is surely ill-advised in these “politically correct” times.
”Bowie is a skinny lad with a pasty complexion”
Great piece from Nationwide on the Dame here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6jNfjTxGWs
Happy Birthday Mr B.