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 • 9,635 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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oh, and “The Continental”, which was a contemporaneous recording, I think.
Vivian Stanshall was just about to release “Lonesome Pine” as a solo single (might even have been for UA), but they ended up selling the L&H version instead, which (presumably) soured relations somewhat (the recording never got released)
197: it was more complicated as although there was the fancy-dress angle, and I think the record companies tried to make it bigger than it was there was also a legacy of 40′s jazz and swing in jazz rooms at weekenders and certain jazz-funk clubs throughout the rest of their existence.
198: Chris Hill: undeniably at his peak one of the most influential black/dance music DJs the UK’s ever had – although he concentrated on the South East he also played quite a bit in the jazz-funk/modern soul scene in the North West and hence you’ll see that opinion echoed by many outside his home territory of the South East.
A question I heard posed for example on ‘Soul Source’ a Northern Soul forum (of all places – and in relation to the joke that was the series ‘Soul Britannia’) “why the hell did Norman Jay (maybe a nice bloke but given to making dubious statements about Northern Soul being racist and dubious contentions about his own contribution to British black music)get an MBE but people like Chris Hill or Richard Searling (Northern Soul DJ) (ie the 2 most influential pre-house British djs) not get anything?
When Chris Hill made those type of comments it was around time (mid-80s)when like many people who see the writing on the wall as far as their career goes they make desparate and ill-conceived comments to hang onto their positions. Not coincidentally hindsight shows 1983/84 being the last years when he was still on the top of his game and in a position of prominence.
He flogged it a bit longer and was still vaguely at the forefront until acid House completely changed everything about British underground dance club culture. Incidentally the other day I found what in respect of the dance culture is verging on a historical document on YouTube.
If you search for “Prestatyn1989″ (this is incorrect as as people point out it is actually 1988) you’ll see before your eyes the death of the old mass soul/funk culture. Its a video of the 2nd 1988 Dance Weekender and you have what previously was the old main (funk) room taken over by thousands of smiley-t-shirt wearing Acid people* and moaning soul and hiphop fans skulking around in the smaller rooms (with Chris Hill who hated acid house) moaning about “too much house”.
This is probably the first ever mass Acid rave too as 1988 was really about club and warehouse parties big but not in the 1000s attendance wise and they didnt get massive until 1989 (or possibly Genesis in December) but at Prestatyn you had a massive number of people in the main room.
Really fascinating if you’ve got any interest in the British dance continuum.
April 1988 was my last real weekender but wish I’d been at this!
*Many of these people would have bought their tickets straight after the previous one in April 1988 when they’d have still been funkers and Acid House as a movement didn’t even exist it happened the quickly!
Re 198: Err, I was there! Well, not at his shows in Scotland…
The Faith Healer is pretty impressive, really tight groove, somewhere between Sympathy For The Devil and Hell Raiser.
It’s the panto element I don’t get. But then maybe that’s just me (see also Queen).
Re 202: Fascinating stuff. The rise and fall of the Acid House movement is so incredibly swift.
Some terrible unmemorable stuff this week, apart from Frampton and Bolan. I couldn’t tell some of those not-hits apart. Still, the Wurzels are still hundreds of times better than ‘No Charge’.
btw, Candi Staton is playing in a church down my road this week, should I go?
re 204: Utterly bewildering edition – DLTs constant need to be centre of attention, Brotherhood of Man being joined by a puppy at the end of that cynical Save your Kisses rip-off, another appearance by Mud?? presumably they had aquired those compromising photos of BBC executives (previous owner Mr P.Nicholas), Ruby Flippers Orton-esque routine for one of the best records ever made*, those mind-warping visual effects for that rather goregous tune by Liverpool Express.
* Yes I think you should go and see her.
I quite like ”Heart On My Sleeve”, deeply unfashionable as Gallagher and Lyle may be.
I was unsure about remembering RFlip dancing to Young Hearts.. and uh-oh and oh dear yes I do…
Actually, I thought it was one of the better ones so far! Only one flop this week, Murray Head.
When did Travis stop hosting TOTP? I’ve seen footage of him presenting a show from 80/81 (not long before the show had a major makeover I believe), and even then he was dressed pretty much identically to tonight in a half unbuttoned shirt/medallion combo.
He was presenting that German pop show back in his Pirate days, and nothing much was different apart from no beard!
Beat Club it was. Musikladen was still being repeated on a regular basis on a number of the publicly funded regional channels in Germany when my satellite receiver packed in 2/3 years ago. Typical scene: The Gibson Brothers giving their all in brightly coloured jumpsuits whilst a totally disinterested audience sit around small cafe tables chatting about whether to book their next holiday in Crete or the Algarve.
206 Memorably sampled on Lemon Jelly’s 2nd (?) album.
Surely DLT is the ultimate embodiment of everything bad about the Radio 1 DJ – there were others almost as bad but most had some redeeming features but DLT…
I only found out this week that Froggy (late and much lamented club DJ who brought mixing to Britain and was one of the names behind the legendary Hardcore ‘Feel The Power/New Science’ track) was on the road with DLT (and another completely unacceptable Radio 1 ‘character’ Smiley Miley of Radio 1 roadshow crapiness)for 4 years in the 70s – how the hell did he put up with that for any amount of money!
Well, I kind of gave him a free pass for the scene in Esso’s “Lurkers” autobiography.
Basically, The Lurkers are on TOTP with “I don’t need to tell her”, and on sharing a lift/elevator with DLT, Esso asks why he plays Demis Roussos, at which DLT basically says all he does is to play what’s in the chart, he doesn’t like it either, and it was up to bands like themselves to make good records, get them into the chart and basically take over.
DLT pushed “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” for a whole year until it went Top 40 and he also pushed other great singles including “Me No Pop I” and one of the best Popular entries from 1993 so for that I can forgive him his rant against “Complete Control” and later moans about Society Today, Casio Cowboys, etc., shortly before he quit.
Murray Head’s appearance was by way of an apology for us not getting Say It Ain’t So into the chart.
There’s a woozy narcotic feel to You Are My Love and I’m Not In Love that I REALLY wish I could find more of. Like a mid 70s take on psychedelia. Any suggestions?
205: those special effects they used for Liverpool Express were quite rare by 1976 on TOTP but previously what they always wheeled out a couple of years before this when they had a hard rock-type band on – maybe on the guitar solo if my memory serves me correctly – and as we only had a black and white telly until 1975 I’d always thought of them as monochrome until now
What an extraordinary dance routine (not really in a good way) from Ruby Flipper to “Young Hearts (Run Free)” featuring ironing, newspaper-reading, two adults dressed in babies bonnets. Weird times 1976…
Really rather enjoyed that episode, occasional bits of dross notwithstanding. (Gallagher and Lyle are OK with me, too) Can’t go wrong with Peter Frampton doing “Show Me The Way” – but Liverpool Express are entirely new to me, and on the basis of that performance quite a delight that I will seek out more from.
@wichita, 215. Might Can be what you are looking for? I don’t know their stuff that well but everything from Tago Mago to Future Days (1971-1977) is just outstanding and has this slight wooziness about it at the same time as it’s super-tight and well-played.
Partly relatedly, I wrote a blog post about I’m not in love here a while back that traced some of the specific tracks that built directly on I’m not in love (e.g., Just the way you are and How deep is your love).
Chelovek #217 – as your researches may already have told you, the bassist from Liverpool Express, Billy Kinsley, had like the Real Thing’s Eddie Amoo been around Merseybeat – as a member of the Merseys who went top five with “Sorrow”.
Extraordinary dance routine featuring ironing, newspaper-reading and drag – a watching Freddie Mercury thinks, “that gives me an idea…”?
Thanks Swanstep. Good call on How Deep Is Your Love, definitely cut from the same cloth, I’d never thought of that. I think it’s the tempo and subject matter as well as the swimmy production that links the songs. So, Can don’t really fit.
Witchita – Dollar’s Give Me Back My Heart is I think very much an intentional nod to I’m Not In Love, in arrangement and production
Thanks Conrad. It’s a specific mid 70s atmosphere I have in mind, but I think you’re right about GMBMH. Marcello has mentioned another contender on his blog – Stay With Me by Blue Mink
Considering how dire most of their hits were (bizarrely so, considering their pedigree), it’s a true miracle of diazepam pop. The version on Pure Gold, by the way, is the same as the single. That’s how it fades, leaving you wanting more (much like another Cook & Greenaway mind-cleaver Gene Pitney’s Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart).
I was also forgetting the bulk of Art Garfunkel's solo career, a little woolier and cuddlier, less druggy but partway there.
@wichita. How about Jobriath’s astonishing Inside from 1974-ish? Also, late ’70s Split Enz stuff such as Stuff and nonsense.
Hmm. There’s a weightlessness to what I’m looking for – Jobriath is HEAVY!
Ferry with ‘spiv’ tache
Pilot perform first decent ‘non-hit’* performance I’ve seen so far
Demis Roussos: ”An incredible man”
Ruby Flipper reach new heights
The New Seekers reform – they needn’t have bothered
The ‘Long Hot Summer of 76′© is alluded to by Hamilton a couple of times
* At least I presume so but I’m unable to find any information on chart positions.