I give marks out of 10 to every song – based on whatever criteria you like, here’s your opportunity to say what you’d have given more than 6 to from 1976. Tick as many as you like.
Loading ...And use the comments to discuss the year as a whole, if you like.
Tom in FT /Popular • featured content/Pop/popular year poll • 9,617 views
All, 1–25, 26–50, 51–75, 76–100, 101–125, 126–150, 151–175, 176–200, 201–225, 226–250, 251–275, 276–300, 301–325, 326–350, 351–375, 376–400, 401–425, 426–450, 451–475, 476–500, 501–525, 526–551.Back up to post. More comments: All, 1–25, 26–50, 51–75, 76–100, 101–125, 126–150, 151–175, 176–200, 201–225, 226–250, 251–275, 276–300, 301–325, 326–350, 351–375, 376–400, 401–425, 426–450, 451–475, 476–500, 501–525, 526–551.
All the UK number ones since 1952, reviewed in order and rated by whim. As featured on Radio 2, The Times, Metro, Paul Cornell's LiveJournal, etc etc.
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Index of reviews and scores so far
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Popular Lucky Dip (a random post)
Calm down, dear.
What you had to do was to precede your assertions (since assertions they were, as you had not yet converted them into facts by way of evidence-based quantification) with the phrase “I believe” or “I think.”
Certainly your general response to a perfectly innocent query was, if I may say so, overwrought, pompous and disproportionate when welded to an entirely forgettable, minor pop single from thirty-five years ago, which leads me to believe (note that last word) that there are other unspoken issues at stake here. The terms right and wrong are meaningless when applied to perspective rather than evidence.
Do you really hate your day job that much?
To be honest I’d hoped it was Bill Oddie’s Olympics tie-in that would have attracted the most comment from that post. (My source for that information was someone on another message board who seems to know. I didn’t think people would take it as fact to be sourced to the letter, it’s a throwaway line on a stupid blog)
HGTH. I’m curious to know what your job is. And whether you are as intrigued by the way the 50s charts were compiled as I am. Has anyone ever spoken to/interviewed anyone working at NME in the 50s who might know what the criteria were, or which shops were surveyed?
Hi Wichita. I am indeed intrigued by the charts of the 50s – and 60s -but I have not done any research into them at all. If I were to start, I’d be following the line you suggest – these are the really fascinating questions, and it would be tremendous to locate someone who could answer. Sadly, Percy Dickins, the founder of the charts at NME, passed away in 2002.
However, researching old charts does not pay my bills. Getting to the bottom of some of the issues around the charts of the 70s and 80s takes all the spare time I can give to such matters. Thus, my research into the charts of the 50s and 60s, has not been deep: extending only to what was in them, not how they were compiled etc.
I’ve an awful feeling that this might sound a little guarded. Sorry in advance if that’s the case.
Ha! Yes it does, but I won’t pry.
the latest rerun was a fairly palatable affair despite a few dodgy haircuts – Tony Blackburn was an enthusiastic host – even Ruby Flipper’s performance was made compelling by the wtf disco version of Tubular Bells (which you can download here if you so desire – http://www.feelmybicep.com/2009/04/08/the-champs-boys-orchestra-tubular-bells-cosmic-mix/ )
I thought that was the best show yet.
Dorothy Moore’s Misty Blue is (Percy Sledge aside) the truest deep soul record to have ever reached the UK Top 10; it’s hard not to well up whenever I hear it.
Billy Ocean does a pretty good knock off Chairmen Of The Board.
Tubular Bells condensed into a 3 min disco 45 – never heard this before!
Candi Staton has very kind eyes.
The Real Thing – sounds better with every performance.
Kiki and Elton – sweeeeet! Kiki, 13 years after her first single and still not 30 (feel free to correct me HTGH or Punctum). I feel much kinder towards this record after that ‘video’.
SAHB spoil the good time atmos – sweatier and uglier, on every level, than on previous shows. 3 appearances (to date!) and it peaked at 13.
Tony B, easily the best tv dj the BBC had in ’76.
SAHB spoil the good time atmos
Exactly – that being the point!
You’re right; Kiki was 29 when she and Elton mucked about in the studio.
Not sure what “truest” means in that context, since emotion isn’t the Barclays Premiership, but “Misty Blue” is one of those records that makes more and more sense the older one gets (see also “Kiss And Say Goodbye” – that awkward time in not quite middle age).
I never want to hear “Young Hearts Run Free” again (not because it’s a bad record, but because it’s played a million times a day on radio; Lena will not have to refresh her memory when she comes to it on MSBWT) but no doubt Candi had to step in after watching what Lena calls: “Dancing With A Fucking Iron.”
Yeah, the best show so far, following last weeks “worst”. I do remember JKings performance of “It only takes a minute” on TOTP, and it was pretty bad, himself straining for the high notes…
Thankfully, not being subjected to ‘classic oldies’ radio, I could appreciate Candi Staton’s performance anew. And whatever was missing from the earlier SAHB performance was righ there in this one, definitely classic this time.
Finally, I’m sure that video performance of Kiki/Elton helped enormously towards making it as big a hit as it was. Of course, chart curmudgeons still stated it didn’t count as Elton’s first number one, and he stayed on the list of “acts with lots of hits but no number one” along with The Who. (who remain on that list).
259: But wasn’t ‘I’m A Boy’ number 1 as far as everyone in 1966 was concerned ie in the charts that everyone looked on as THE CHART back then?
Re 260: Don’t you start! Not sure… I’m A Boy was an NME no.1, but not sure about the various other charts. Definitely not a Guinness/Record Retailer no.1 of course.
Is Boston Tea Party literally about the Boston Tea Party? Rather like Status Quo’s In The Army Now is like a Jobcentre description of life in the forces? Or am I missing something deeper?
No, it peaked at #2 (on both Guinness and NME). The culprit in both cases was “Distant Drums.”
#261: think bicentennial and environmental
I just seemed to remember some of the Who saying in a biography of them I read years ago that ‘I’m A Boy’ had been number 1.
But obviously my rapidly failing memory playing tricks or maybe The Who talking rubbish.
Read the Bee Gees’ biography and you’d think they had about two dozen no.1s.
They always claim Spicks And Specks went to no.1 in Australia while they were on the boat to Southampton, and that Lonely Days was a US no.1.
@264: At the end of Young Man Blues on Live At Leeds (at least the version I have – one of the expanded editions I think), Pete Townshend talks about the next three songs that will be played in the set – the third of which is I’m A Boy – which he claims was their first Number One “according to the Melody Maker, our first number one in England, I think for about half an hour”.
#265 – According to W*k*p*d**, Spicks and Specks was a number one in New Zealand rather than Australia; and Lonely Days was a number one in Canada rather than the US. I wonder if the Bee Gees think Birmingham City won this year’s FA Cup?
I think that’s one of those “a matey told us” situations.
Ditto on the “best TOTP yet” thing. My memories of the summer holiday charts of 1976 have always been fond ones, so it was heartening to see this borne out. Also, I’m developing an unexpected fondness for Blackburn’s guileless enthusiasm – see also R2′s Pick Of The Pops, where I just love that he’s loving it.
Yes I agree a good edition.
*Was it compulsory to have a soft rock band with a flop on first every week?!
*It’s noticeable how the girls in the audience really get into stuff like Candi Staton and 5000 Volts – just the kind of stuff they’d have been buying and dancing to down their local nightclub.
*Never knowingly heard ‘Love on Delivery’ or ‘Dr Kiss Kiss’ since or to be honest at the time although I obviously did – but they were both big hits.
*Tony Blackburn missed the opportunity of saying “the sensational Sensational Alex Harvey Band”. I remember their TOTP performances fascinated me as a little kid and their still pretty watchable now.
People heard Tony and thought they were called “Alex Harvey Band”
Oh, and other keywords for meaning of “Boston Tea Party”: Scottish independence, allegorical call for.
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band!
This week’s TOTP rerun was an odd mixture of chugging rock, drippy ballads and niteclub schmaltz. Noel Edmunds less irritating than usual:
Sunfighter – Drag Race Queen
no memory of this lot at all – a bit of a Sweet style glam rock hangover
a quick google reveals that guitarist John Hardman is the father of Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding
Liverpool Express – You are my love
Ethereal and a bit wet
Beatles – Back in the USSR
This was a pastiche back in 1968 and seemed doubly so in the context of the energetic and ridiculous dance routine
Bobby Goldsboro – A butterfly for Bucky
I like his voice – but this is one of the worst lyrics ever – even Noel Edmunds struggled to keep a straight face
Dr Hook – A little bit more
A manipulative confection not helped by that beard
Glamourpuss – Superman
This lot seemed to have wandered in from a Seaside Special – dreadful
Status Quo – Mystery Song
A burst of energy – almost punk like
Jimmy James and the Vagabonds – Now is the time
Soul by the numbers with a reactionary message – did JJ have a spare key to the TOTP studios? This is the 2nd song this year where he seems to have sneaked in for no good reason
Demis Roussos
This always makes me think of Beverley from Abigail’s Party and that is the only positive association this song has for me
Can’t remember the final song
Erithian and I had to chuckle over a little bit of camp naughtiness going on with Doctor Hook at the end of their (ahem!) piece.
We also agreed that Dennis was indeed phenomenal. That lad was top. And this week he literally was!