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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Mortification after the fact, I’d guess. I can’t believe Bill Martin was that on the ball. It’s not like he wrote a slew of skateboard songs in 1977.
You’re dead right with the ‘Rods though. Logo of the US mag, as I think was mentioned a while back on this verrrry long thread.
Swede, you’re right too. Could’ve sworn the ‘Waddy hit no.1 in November. They must have been mighty close to getting the Xmas no.1.
Elton gave a much more powerful solo performance of “Sorry” on that year’s Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show, which both Lena and I agree is one of the weirdest programmes to appear on television this side of “Fall Out.”
Skateboard songs? Anyone remember “L.A. Run” by the “Carvells” from the following year, a.k.a. John Carter (who also put out a single in ’77 – possibly under the First Class banner – called “Too Many Golden Oldies” which to put it mildly was mistimed)?
A quick Google and yep, you are right it’s there on Youtube.
There was “Who stole my skateboard?” by The Photos. Also, something about “He’s my Skateboard hero” by Lucy Lastic, which is forward looking (subject matter) and ancient (the nomdeplume) at the same time…
The original broadcast date for this edition was 25 November 1976, thus the week before the Pistols interview. As most of you will know, Queen were originally scheduled to appear on the show but pulled out, and it was EMI plugger Eric Hall, later to become the archetypal football agent, who had the idea of getting the Pistols in as a replacement (“a monster, monster plug”). Hadn’t realised until the other day that Bill Grundy’s co-host was none other than Eamonn Andrews – wonder what would have happened if he’d taken the interview?
So Showaddywaddy hit number one in the chart announced on Tuesday 30 November, making Wichita right but only just!
The Hot Rods had supported the Kursaal Flyers on tour in early ’76, and the article announcing the tour was the first time the phrase “new wave” had been used in Record Mirror.
Re 452: A pedant writes: LA Run was the work of Alan Carvell, hence the band name. It turned up on K-Tel’s Disco Stars alongside the futuristic likes of Meco’s Star Wars and Hot Choc’s Put Your Love In Me.
John Carter DID do a skateboard 45 but the title escapes me and I don’t have my superbook of superpop facts to hand. So instead can I recommend a cracking ’77 John Carter-written single, The Sound Of Summer by Starbreaker? Very unseasonal, I’m sorry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rgFQtqF1iM
Must check that Morecambe & Wise Show…
Re 454: Phew! I’m struggling in my old age, but clinging on. That ‘New Wave’ ref is fascinating. Can anyone think of an earlier one? Might have mentioned this before but I saw the term ‘indie’ used to describe Modern English (their music, that is) in a 1981 Record Mirror review. Thinking that might be a first, too.
Funnily enough, I did see in Record Collector, a reference to a Donnie Elbert single on “New Wave” records, 1968 or so..
*I was far too young for punk (besides being probably the most un-punk person who posts on here) but I do remember the next day my friend came into school and told me about this outrageous pop group who’d been on ‘Today’ saying “fuck” etc the night before – of course I didn’t believe him so he said go and look in the papers and sure enough that evening I spent an interesting few minutes reading the ‘Sun’ getting itself all worked up.
**This would have been the last ‘Top Of The Pops’ before the Bill Grundy
appearance as the 1/12/76 was a Wednesday, the next TOTP was broadcast the day all the shock/horror headlines were out.
***It’s amazing how quickly everyone (even your granny) heard about punk rock though as I believe Charlie Drake’s cash-in single (and another similar cash-in record) both came out before Christmas 1976. And then there was Bruce Forsyth quickly appearing on the ‘Generation Game’ with a rock and a safety-pin which he described as ‘punk rock’.
****Quite interested in the first actual printed reference to musical terms – as I may have said on here before’Northern Soul’ is a rare example of a term being unarguably pinned down – to a Dave Godin column in 1970 in ‘Blues and Soul’ although he’d had it as a section in his London record shop since 1968.
I’d be interested in the first printed references to ‘acid house’ ‘rave/ravin’ (in post-mid-80s context) and ‘hardcore’ (earliest for this I know is the tune ‘Hardcore Hip House’ by Tyree from 1988/89).
I suppose the expression ‘new wave’ had been used for years (eg French ‘New Wave’ films)in many different contexts.
*****Thought that the Abba video they used to show for ‘Money Money Money’ was different than that with pictures of coins interspersed with the group.
******That Carvells record “(Ride My Skateboard Down) “The LA Run” is due an appearance on TOTP in 1977 I remember it well.
“Sounds”, which invested in punk more than most through Jonh Ingham and Giovanni Dadomo (whom Marcello and Sukrat may well remember) took great pleasure in covering the mainstream papers’ awakening to punk. They highlighted a Sunday People story and photo a week or two before the Grundy interview which read (IIRC): “Here’s the latest pop craze – and it’s SCARY. You’re looking at a Punk Rocker – the shocking new youth cult. The fad has sprung up in Wales [sic] where kids follow bands like Sex Pistol [sic]…”. Sounds’ comment: “how long before this shocking new cult reaches London we wonder?!”
Re 457: Likewise, the points at which hardcore, breakbeat, jungle, and drum n bass were coined.
Re 452: The John Carter skateboard single was Sidewalk Johnny by the Southbank Wheels. It’s on the Cherry Red John Carter comp A Rose By Any Other Name. Or a single on Epic, which will probably set you back £2.50.
Ha! It tickles me endlessly that my CD ripping software of choice invites me to tag a recording with any number of tags for electronica of the 1990s onwards but (ab)uses only one tag, Classical, for everything from Schütz to Schoenberg! Such balkanisation of music can’t be healthy, surely?
(At last I contribute to this ultramarathon thread – anybody would think 1976 was a vintage year for pop, which it wasn’t.)
The Morecambe and Wise Christmas business with Elton was indeed most odd. The sketch involved Eric and Ernie dressed as old lady cleaners who plonk themselves down on a couple of seats inside a theatre. The stage has a piano on it and Elton enters and figuring that there was no audience, sits down and sings “Sorry”, whilst Eric and Ernie watch in silence. As Marcello says, the performance is extremely powerful but it’s all very bloody strange.
As Erithian notes, Grundy’s co-presenter that infamous evening was indeed Eamonn Andrews. Dear Eamonn may have been known best for his “twinkle-in-the-eye” charm but he had also been one of the finest amateur heavyweight boxers ever to have come out of 1950s Ireland, not exactly a mamby-pamby qualification. My own take is that the former quality would have prevented the bunfight in the first place. But had Jonesy still kicked off, the latter quality may well have caused Mr Andrews to have spread him and the smug, lounging Lydon all over the studio and the history of punk well well have been sufficiently altered.
Then again, we might have had to marvel in wonder at PiL’s version of “The Shifting Whispering Sands”…
Well, that’d just be “Religion 1″ with new lyrics.
And another star of 1976 TOTPs leaves the stage – Billie Jo Spears, RIP.
Meanwhile the Swede and I have decided that when Brian Cox finally gets around to inventing a time machine, we’re going to go back to 1 December 1976 to swap the Thames TV interview rota so that Eamonn Andrews gets to meet the Pistols. Steve Jones was reputed to be the “handiest” Pistol, and a former QPR hooligan as well, but although Andrews was giving him a few years he’d soon have seen him off and then marmalised Rotten. Cook and Matlock would have just run.
And just off camera in the green room, Siouxsie turns to Grundy and says, “I’ve always wanted to meet you.” “You’re as drunk as I am,” Grundy slurs as he pulls her closer and we draw a discreet veil over the pair of them.
Eamonn was far too civil and urbane a fellow to engage in such unbecoming behaviour.
Meanwhile, in the control room, Thames producer Tommy Boyd and Freddie Mercury giggle conspiratorially: “It WORKED!”
The current-day johnny would have done “make friends make friends never ever break friends” with Eamonn Andrews, easy. Possibly, the 1976 version might have as well. Which might not have pleased Steve Jones that much.
#465 – Eamonn may well have been civil and urbane but he would have brokered no nonsense from that lot. And if Jonesy had launched into one in front of him, the big man would have without question “escorted” him off the set, passing, as he did so, Grundy and Siouxsie enjoying each other’s company in the green room.
Erithian, Rosie and I are very big fans of a sublime piece of writing, which asked the question of what would have happened had Gordon Banks played instead of Peter Bonetti against West Germany in the 1970 World Cup and England had won instead of lost. The whole of the history of this country is altered in what is an extremely far-fetched but entirely believable account. It’s brilliant stuff.
Whilst “What if Eammon had interviewed the Pistols…” would hardly have had the same effect, it nevertheless would certainly have altered the path of the UK somewhat, I think.
Not to puncture this fantasy, but the incident occurred only because Grundy — the actual grown-up in the room — goaded and coaxed them into some (in modern terms) very mild swears.
That, of course is perfectly true, Mark, but there still remains the slight possibility that the Pistols may still have spoiled for a fight; and the point Erithian and I would make is that had Eammon been in the chair instead of the pompous half-wit Grundy, that would have been less than wise.
And on tonight’s show…
Kursaals – kicking the show off, again. Teeth still bad, as was the BBC backing. Something genuinely depressing about this lot.
Paul Nicholas – dear god, what drove him to make this weird and thankfully unique records?
Dana – someone pointed out on twitter that it looked like she was climaxing for most of this performance. She does have a kind face, doesn’t she? I like Fairy Tale a lot – a late Glam/early Abba hybrid.
“Legs And Company” – as Diddy Dave would have it. Odd pirate outfits, not as good as that sounds.
Tommy Hunt – not singing Lover or I’ll Make You Happy unfortunately. Middling Northern thing I have no memory of but great to see him on proper telly.
‘Waddy – no.1, but apparently Dave Bartram has celebrated this anniversary by quitting the band and “is now concentrating on promoting his book, a humorous account of the band’s 2005 tour of 33 caravan parks”. Could he be more Creme Brulee if he tried?
Ah great, thought we’d given up doing this:
Yeah, the Kursaal’s were the last ‘big band of the future’ to get hyped before punk happened, pretty much.
The last time I heard about the showads, they were about 2 thirds of their 1976 rollcall, and DBartram was all “we should have done it years ago”. I wonder if that book is around that momentous occasion…
Moving on from the Eamonn/Pistols scenario (although I’m sure those “mild swears” would still cause a furore on a teatime news programme even now!) – the “What If Gordon Banks Had Played?” alternative history posits that the Labour defeat in the General Election, attributed by some to the feel-bad factor after the World Cup match, turns into a victory. Ted Heath loses the Tory leadership, not to Thatcher who wasn’t yet enough of a force, but to Enoch Powell, with dire consequences. Powell, as revealed in a documentary a while back, was the man who believed in the virtues of giving a speech on a full bladder so as to enhance the intensity of your delivery. Most of us watched that and thought “what a crank”; our Prime Minister watched it and thought “what a good idea”. Scary.
Anyway, TOTP – good to see Tull and the Abba video, Dana lovely but overdoing the pained look a touch (looked more like tummyache than orgasm I thought), Tommy Hunt pretty forgettable. Paul Nicholas was just Mr Showbiz and I don’t get too irritated by him – but did you see that glance as one of Legs and Co danced past him front of stage? I suspect he wasn’t as cuddly and loveable when he caught up with her afterwards.
I’d have thought he was all about “it’s only an extension of cuddling”.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention Tull and Oldfield getting in a late blast of woodwind-led folk “rock”. I bought the Tull 45 with a record token.
Btw, from memory the Stranglers were on TOTP EVER such a lot and so to me had the highest public profile of any punk/new wave-related act in ’77. I was 12. But we’ll get there soon enough…. another ’76 wing ding on Monday!
Hey-ho!
Kursaals again – More detergent and undies but as Erithian said to me in another place, you take a look at that lead singer and you go: “Do you know what, mate. I’m not surprised she’s two-timing you, you pig-ugly c—!”
Abba again – This time a different footage and the girls get close a la “Mamma Mia”. Yum!
Tull – To my shame, I’d forgotten about this one. Excellent stuff and Anderson (following on from four other Andersons) was typically bonkers.
Now we have the Gals morris-dancing to Oldfield’s “Portsmouth” (I wonder how many copies were bought in Southampton?) Mucky Sue sports an eye patch but there’s very little to excite the Swede. Lots of horseplay and the odd piggy-back ride and oh so merry. But that’s it.
Tommy Hunt live – Shouldn’t have bothered really. Tosh. Sorry, Tommy but it’s a no.
Then Diddy introduces a delegation from the Northern Ireland Youth Peace Group (very laudable) before introducing Dana, who is an Ulsterwoman herself, despite, of course, winning Eurovision for the Republic. She looks very dreamy and welcoming and adult, quite different from the uber-virginal, hands-off, you perv, school girl of 1970.
Paul bastard Nicholas! AGAIN! – In the name of God, was this muppet’s old man the Director General? And the song has exactly the same melody as “Captain”. But then, what’s this?.. Yes, it’s the Gals back again. WOO-HOO! But then D’OH! they’re dressed as grannies in overcoats. Just bloody great. No Swede value there either. What a swizz!
Number one are Showaddywaddy. Perfectly fine this. A well-deserved reward for a decent hardworking provincial band. Romeo Challenger looks well hard. I would strongly suppose that he would have really given our old friend Steve Jones a “mashing-up” had he been in the chair instead of Grundy or Andrews. (“I think you’re over-egging this concept now” – Ed)
Time to say goodbye and Hamilton flirts with a pretty, smily girl in a red jumper, who is a fellow Fulham supporter. Diddy really did adore the lovlies. Fade out to Billy Ocean and shots of a drab, dancing audience. Average show for me. As Lino says, more on Monday. And if Nicholas is on again, the Beachy Head chaplain will have to talk me down once more.
@jimmy, erithian etc.. I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, do you call TOTP dancer Sue ‘Mucky Sue’ just because she’s (by common agreement) a little more flirtatious/hotter than the rest? Or is there some specific scandal/history about her that’s prompted the name?