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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#374: Given that putting on people like Can was (presumably) one of the reasons why BBC4 was set up in the first place, reasons for my signing their save-us petition become fewer and fewer.
The BBC are a bunch of cowards, treating their audience like two-month-old infants or 95-year-old Victorian ladies who will faint or worse if shown a glimpse of ankle or anything remotely out of the ordinary.
Eddie and the Hot Rods is on next week!
Don’t bank on it, Mark!
FWIW, that Can on TOTP clip is available on youtube. The host Edmonds(?) wonders jokingly whether they might make it into the top tin…
Last night’s show wasn’t too bad. The highlights/lowpoints for The Swede:
Eddie and the Hot Rods — You were right, Mark G. And what an opener! This was the shape of things to come, was it not? An awakening!
The Wurzels — Seriously pushing their luck. And the Whistling Jack Smith rip-off was still to come. Boo!
Lou Rawls — And you’ll never find (see what I did there?) a deeper voice than that. He makes Barry White sound like Graham Dott. Ruby Flipper accompanied it. This time it was Cherry’s show and very lovely she looked too. Mucky Sue, meanwhile, was shunted away to a raised platform and covered in large blue feathers. Fucking boo!!
The Rollers — The only thing I can say about that is remembering their nemesis (and my great hero) Johnnie Walker reading a letter out he had sent to him from a Rollers fan after he (Johnnie) had played Dusty’s original. It was on the lines of how dare he play this woman stealing the Rollers’ hit?
Kiki Dee (having dumped Dwighty finally) — I’d forgotten just what a lovely song this was and how wonderfully Kiki sang it. She also looks delightful and for me, this had been the hightlight of the night.
Until… Abba, of course — A rather strange little interjection from Saville, who otherwise had a good night, popping up during the first verse to apologise for…erm…interrupting. We were then left to enjoy the girls, both attacking the voacls with gusto. A remarkable pop record indeed.
Good show on the whole.
Jimmy Saville predicably described Mr Rawls as ‘Loo Rolls’ and you could almost think Ruby Flipper dancing on top of 2 what looked slightly like giant toilet-rolls was some kind of in-joke if it wasn’t TOTP doing it.
Wasn’t the picture of Jocky Wilson in the 1980s a rare time post-1972 when TOTP attempted subtle humour?
Noticed Jimmy had groups of nurses from the LGI in Leeds and Stoke Mandeville hospitals the two places he used to do voluntary work so he obviously been giving the tickets out which was pretty good of him.
Thought the Bay City Rollers was a stark example of how quickly they’d fallen from the peaks in less than a year.
Didn’t think much of this show aside from Lou Rawls (which was only Ruby Flipper anyway), Abba and I suppose Manfred Mann.
re The Wurzels I’ve read that the original (more rootsy, folky) Adge Cutler and the Wurzels ‘Drink Up Thee Zider’ barely grazed the Top 50 but sold over 100,000 copies virtually all in the West Country hence it not being a bigger hit nationally.
Aside from football records (and probably certain Scottish and Welsh records)I wonder if there’s ever been another instance of a record selling so many copies but all in one region.
Loads of unhits that sold hugely only in Scotland.
A record could sell only in London, and that would be alright.
punctum could add a ton to that question…
DISCO DUCK! I’m speechless. Quite hilarious.
TOTP 23/09/76
Tony Blackburn hosts
Smokie – one of their better songs thanks to a memorable hook, but the verses are insipid
Wurzels – hideous
Kiki Dee – great voice, good song
Bay City Rollers – were they aiming for greater respectability with this cover? Losing the silliness of their earlier hits makes them more anonymous
Rod Stewart – good song which an alarmingly made-up Rod exploits the hell out of – complete with swaying kids choir
Disco Duck – efficient groove – dreadful vocal – dance from Ruby Flipper even worse
Manfred Mann – lively beards
Drifters – great vocals and arrangement
Abba – glorious song – love the uncoordinated dance moves from the singers
For me, the Smokey track was a dirge and I think the young people surrounding the band seemed to agree.
Kiki Dee, in the studio this time, was fabulous and I’m afraid that The Swede has developed Kitty Kallen Syndrome (Copyright Lineman, I think) over her. She looks particulary amazing singing this song, which is lovely. A very striking effort.
Disco Duck was a number one in the US and if you ignore the core of the lyric and the supposed interjecting duck, we are left with a great arrangement, which I would like to think pulled in the sales more than the novelty element. But I’m probably wrong. And as Erithian remarked to me, Flick Colby had a bad day this time. Mucky Sue was doing fine in shorts and a yellow top, grooving away, before the duck element dovetailed into the routine, enveloping everyone, including Mr Blackburn. Not good.
The Abba gals certainly went their only way on DQ and the routine is magnificent. They hammer it. And is this not such a bloody perfect pop record anyway?
Or as I put it: “errr, Flick, you know those fabulous costumes you’ve sorted out for the gals tonight? Well, it’s just that there’s this song about a duck…”
They have added subtitles to these performances!
They are as approximate as ever they were, “another moonlight” for example. Although I looked away and missed the one for “Blinded by the light” so still don’t know if “little urlyburly gave my anus curly-wurly” is right or not.
Well, it’s TOTP time again:
Can get to be the opener after all, and it’s fine to see it (again)
But now the record that’s “bound” to be number one! Randy Edelman, looking like he was young once!
Sherbet. Hmmm. Again, it’s ‘inoffensive’ satin jacket mild-rock-pop that got killed off by punk, never to return.
The Richie Family get represented by Ruby Flipper, and it’s a dance routine without pretensions so fine. Was this the first ‘disco-medley’ hit? It’s a few years before Stars on 45, certainly. A shame, in a way, it was a good enough song to have been able to fill the record without the ‘excerpts’…
Tina Charles keeping the BBC orchestra in work…
Jesse Green
Demis gets another hit single, turns up in-studio to sing it. Gets the BBC orchestra. Bet he regrets it now. (by now I mean in 1976)
Abba are back to the kiddie disco.
Um, there seems to be a sense of ‘will this do?’about the production. DLT manages to present the show using a slice of bread as a sidekick.
Randy Edelman. I hated this at the time and was surprised to find that the downtown downbeat guy’s single was actually much worse than I remembered. The muppet voice. The Clayderman frills. Is he trying to get our sympathy? Correct me if I’ve got his story wrong… his wealthy gf goes to work early in the morning, works her ass off, comes home late… while he plays with himself on a “bed of silk and lace” and “soon learn(s) to despise” her. The sponging misogynist.
Tina Charles dressing herself and doing her own make-up again. Bless. The song is a stinker, though. This, along with the Ritchie Family’s aimless medley before it*, is a reason why so many people had a downer on disco in the seventies; Dance Little Lady is, after all, as much a part of the genre I Want Your Love. She’ll be back with her best hit at the end of the year – in the meantime here’s a much better slice of TC disco
And apparently that was Cherry’s last bow. Mark Knopfler was obviously a fan and got her out of retirement for this video.
* “It’s the place to sit in your seat” is hardly a ringing endorsement for the “best disco in town”. Which town was this? Bexhill?
Proof that Tina can’t blame her tent dresses on a stylist: great Biba cape, though
I found DLT’s food-themed presentation very annoying.
Randy Edelman — He may have sung and indeed looked like a muppet (that barnet and them bins were hilarious) but the song, for me, is a nice effort. If Lineman has got the story right, perhaps Karl Pilkinton should cover it.
Sherbet — Always loved this. Can’t say anything bad about it.
Richie Family — Yes, Stars on 45…in advance. And Mark’s right. Why did they do it? They had a plesant enough number without all the extras. Good routine from Ruby Flipper and it’s bye-bye Cherry. Not so Mucky Sue, thank goodness.
Tina Charles — The girl next door tries to boogie at her birthday party. So we can’t boo the dear girl even though the song is rank.
Dennis — This was fabulous. The bloke is just top. The way he flings his arms wide with a beaming smile to the incredulous kids at the end is pure quality.
Last gasp for Abba as one of the best number ones of the decade gives way to one of the most mystifying. That’s for next time, folks!
Yeah I love that Sherbet song as well. Funnily enough I always thought of it as a summer hit, from around when Clive Lloyd’s men were inflicting the final humiliations on England, but clearly not – although it may have had some early radio plays. Had a curious chart run too – 14-4-8-4-6-8-18. Only dealt in even numbers, those Aussies. Jesse Green, nice little song, with a chorus that Demis Roussos would have been suited to. I don’t recall the Demis song at all and I’m staggered to see that it reached number 2! It hasn’t been favoured by radio over the years. Tina C, not a patch on ILTL obviously, but had a catchy chorus. I don’t suppose we’re going to see the Starland Vocal Band at some point, are we?
“Afternoon Delight” is fabulous and was as totally hilarious as it was entirely shameless. On a first listen, one would be forgiven for assuming that it was merely an easy-listening offering from The Johnny Mann Singers. It’s only when you actually listen to what they’re singing that you know that it’s something quite different. And yet I cannot recall any hoo-ha coming from anyone at dear innocent old Auntie. Sky rockets in flight? Afternoon delight indeed! It’s a great record.
I thought this was another pretty good edition (aside from DLT and the overall production standards)how could the show have gone from the happening spectacle of circa 1970-71 to this shite in 5 or so years?
Can – great to see this on here – finally
Randy Edelman: one of my all time favourite records – surprised it’s being criticised – good storytelling lyrics, nice tune and piano, good live performance – the disco girls looked pretty entranced. I’ve also understood the story as a bloke in a dead-end job meeting a proto-yuppie-type woman hence the fact that he’s already home when she comes in and catches him packing his stuff -I don’t know if a lot of American factory workers back then worked from 8-4 like they did/do in this country – but anyway she’s obviously working herself to death while he can’t wait to get away from his job so he’s at home by himself a lot of the time feeling insecure and shit waiting for her to come in.
Sherbet – I remember them doing this on ‘Basil Brush’ at the time and to me its really redolent of Autumn evenings.
Ritchie Family – the only other early disco medley I can think of is ‘Uptown Festival’ by Shalamar although that’s a few months later.
All the way from this to all those anonymous white label hardcore medleys like Rawkuts in less than 15 years.
Tina Charles – iffy song but as usual she gives it her all and the fact that she can actually sing always helps
Jesse Green – very respectable British production with full disco backing band with him on stage. Flute geezer could have come straight out of MFSB. Bloody cool disco guitarist with short hair and cowboy hat too.
Demis Roussos – I love this – the man is a legend – and what with Telly Savalas it turns out that 2 of the 70s coolest blokes were both Greeks. I remember Demis sitting down with DLT but in mind over the years it had become transposed to a TOTP Christmas Day edition for some reason.
Abba – and we got the whole performance for once.
Think that’s my best so far – nopthing I really disliked.
ooh so much to go at with this week’s episode.
1. The continuity announcer introduced this by saying words to the effect of “A chance to meet Pan’s People but the competition closing date was 35 years ago”. Then I heard no further mention of the competition. What was I watching? Was the late night re run edited? Or did I get distracted and forget about it later?
2. Similar vein, how do we know it was Cherry’s farewell appearance?
3. #389 / Randy Edelman. Gosh, how I laughed; a hilarious description. I wanted to add some funny observations of my own, but just ended up laughing “Yeah…sponging misogynist”.
HWVR two things:
a) it seems to me inconceivable Rowlf from the Muppets was not based on Randy Edelman. (I dismiss the reverse as somewhat unlikely),
b) “I was round in third” is the most cited version of the lyric, but apparently it must be “I was roundin’ third”. In the UK, these days, American English (phraseology, cultural idioms etc) is adopted at the drop of a hat, yet “roundin’ third” has never stuck. What makes me curious is how this slipped under the radar?
4. Wichita, The Best Disco In Town is NO place to sit in your seat. An equally idle boast, I think, to the one you suggest.
5. DLT should have identified the problem with his food based presentation: You shouldn’t talk with your mouth full. That this is a matter of practicality not mere manners became apparent with the projectiles that emerged from his hairy face prior to the opening song.
395 – not so much idioms but there are plenty of instances of where the American word has remained resolutely unadopted by British English – even though the article described has only really come to prominence in the last 30 or so years – in the era of mass instant communication when you’d imagine things would have become standardised:
For example mobile phone (American – cellphone), video recorder (American-VCR), mohican (as in the haircut) (American- mohawk), ghettoblaster (American – boombox) – especially weird those last two as Americans have the Indians and the ghettos described and we don’t).
ps I haven’t a clue what this ‘misogynist’ interpretation of ‘UUW’ is all about.
He says he despises her. Doesn’t really give a reason – if she shoots kittens for fun Randy neglects to mention it.
I didn’t know about Edelman’s pop career in the ’70s. In case someone’s not aware of it, Edelman’s been reasonably successful with somewhat cheesy movie/tv soundtracks since, including Bruce and Linda from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story which went on to be widely used used in promotions/trailers for other films/shows. Indeed, I recall going to see some movie around 2000 where consecutive pre-film trailers for The Truman Show and some undistinguished Robert De Niro movie used the same rousing Edelman piece. Those 2.5 minutes of music probably paid Edelman’s mortgage several times over; Uptempo Woman not so much. But it only takes one….
So, it seems the Glitter and the King are to be presented “the way they were” from now on!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2050698/BBC-apologise-paedophile-Jonathan-King-deleting-Top-Pops.html
No JK for a good eighteen months (from memory) in any case… when he returns with his multi-coloured afro. As for GG, just three months until the breathily “suggestive” It Takes All Night Long, which might furrow a few brows*. I’m not in favour of this selective TOTP history at all, but must admit the bedraggled, tragic looking late-period Rollers the other week made for uncomfortable viewing.
*or was it on another show? Billy, do you have Jan ’77 TOTP listings?