Comments on: Popular ‘76

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:24:12 +0000

NME Readers’ poll for 1976, ‘Best single’ category;

1. Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
2. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Live At The Marquee EP
3. The Rolling Stones - Fool To Cry
4. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
5. Blue Oyster Cult - Don’t Fear The Reaper
6. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now
7. 10CC - I’m Mandy, Fly Me
8. Status Quo - Mystery Song
9. Steely Dan - Haitian Divorce
10. Queen - Somebody To Love

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:47:03 +0000

For a sense of context, let’s look at the same chart upside down - here’s a list of all the singles that peaked at number 40 in 1976;

13 Mar London Boys - T. Rex - 1 week

27 Mar You Belong To Me - Gary Glitter - 1

19 Jun Could It Be Magic? - Donna Summer - 1

9 Oct Under One Roof - The Rubettes - 1

27 Nov Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac - 1

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:35:53 +0000

Luxembourg-only number ones: Glass Of Champagne, Rodrigo, Convoy, Love Really Hurts Without You, Love Me Like I Love You, Convoy GB, S-S-S-Single Bed, Silver Star, My Resistance Is Low, Silly Love Songs, Young Hearts Run Free, A Little Bit More, Jeans On, In Zaire, Let ‘Em In, Can’t Get By Without You, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, Somebody To Love.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:31:39 +0000

no idea how this happened - something askew in the poll counting. there are really 139 voters (and ~650 ticks). will try to rectify that…

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:48:45 +0000

No, when we reset the FT back end the other week every individual vote somehow got counted as a separate voter. I will ask Alan if there’s anything that can be done about it.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:26:07 +0000

ABBA 18%? 609 voters? I suspect that you may have been spammed!

The phantom NME Chart number ones of 1976; Glass Of Champagne, Silly Love Songs, Young Hearts Run Free. All of which are ace.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:34:17 +0000

A lot of great singles in that poll.

I’ve never heard ‘Boogie On The Streets’, though I’ve always thought that - for that title alone - it must be the definitive 1976 pub rock Stiff Records record.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:12:30 +0000

Just to add to and reinforce the missus’ excellent list above, here’s the NME critics’ Top 20 singles of the year list:

1. The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
2. Live At The Marquee (E.P.) - Eddie & The Hot Rods
3. Anarchy In The U.K. - Sex Pistols
4. Don’t Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
5. So It Goes - Nick Lowe
6. Police And Thieves - Junior Murvin
7. Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Staton
8. Love And Affection - Joan Armatrading
9. I’ll Be Good To You - Brothers Johnson
10. Couldn’t Get It Right - Climax Blues Band
11. War In A Babylon - Max Romeo
12. Take The Money And Run - Steve Miller Band
13. Hurricane - Bob Dylan
14. Lowdown - Boz Scaggs
15. Let’s Stick Together - Bryan Ferry
16. Little Johnny Jewel - Television
17. I Want More - Can
18. Shake Some Action - Flamin’ Groovies
19. Roast Fish And Cornbread - Lee Perry
20. Boogie On The Street - Lew Lewis

By: Linda B

Linda B — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:31:46 +0000

I’m not at all surprised that Dancing Queen is at number one, it was the anthem of all us ’sweet young things’ in the seventies along with Elton & Kiki. Real Thing,Tina Charles and Pussycat all remind me of going to the Moonraker Nightclub in Preston in my hayday.I’m surprised they haven’t had more votes. As for Chicago, what a tear jerker! Some of these songs are still played quite often on radio here in Aus’.

By: Lena

Lena — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:42:40 +0000

I wanted to mention some songs from this year that I don’t think have been mentioned yet…some of which are still radio regulars:

“More Than A Feeling” by Boston

“The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy

“More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection

“Tear The Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up The Funk)” by Parliament

“Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry

“The Rubberband Man” by The Spinners

“Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs

“Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways

“Dazz” by Brick

“The Things We Do For Love” by 10cc

At the time I am sure I heard at least half of these, The Runaways, Brick and Parliament being the only ones that were beyond ‘regular’ radio in Canada.

By: Doctor Mod

Doctor Mod — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:58:43 +0000

I managed four. All of the ABBA made the cut, which may show that I wasn’t crazy about most of the recording artists of the 70s.

Also Elton & Kiki; but, no slight to Kiki, I will forever wish that it had been Elton & Dusty, as originally planned.

By: Drucius

Drucius — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:54:27 +0000

I managed 4. None of the Abba songs made the cut.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:09:56 +0000

I polled 7 out of the 16, all of which turn out to be in the top 8. My only dissent from the consensus: Fernando.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:34:59 +0000

I found 8, which may show that I’m a comparatively easy man to entertain.

It most assuredly was NOT me who voted for Barrie or Mathis, though.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:21:20 +0000

I prefer “Wishing You Were Here,” which was not a hit in the UK, though I suspect this has a lot to do with the Beach Boys’ backing vocals.

Plus one of my favourite singles ever is “Hold Me Now” by DJ Kaos (1996) which takes “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” into a new dimension.

By: David Belbin

David Belbin — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:17:15 +0000

I only found five, but I’ve always had trouble with ‘Fernando’, not my kind of Abba song. And I had to vote for Chicago. I played an mp3 of this after the discussion below and it’s turned into a bit of an earworm. I half hated it at the time, having once been a big fan of the far more respectable ‘25 or 6 to 4′, the meaning of whose title I only discovered in the comments box here…

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:13:18 +0000

Not really “pop”, I don’t think.

Despite the generalised direness of the year I still found six entries worth 6 or more (”December ‘63″ is a borderline 5) which is two more than I found in 1971 so I’ve no idea what, if anything, that proves.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:48:22 +0000

I think ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ is just about the only Sir Elton song I can bear to listen to.

Less than 50% voting for Chicago surprises me… I’d have had that down as a surefire Poptimist fave.