On Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 8:42:27 PM UTC+1, Mark Goodge wrote:
> On Mon, 10 May 2021 14:09:38 -0700 (PDT), Chris Brown
> <
extrem...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Brought this out to mark the death of Les from the Bay City Rollers. I think there are other interesting things in here.
> >As for the song title at 40 though...
Gaaah! Typo!
I meant 41.
I know quite a few of these were on there from looking at YouTube.
> >1. (1) Abba - Waterloo
> The Eurovision connection, of course. I do remember watching this live
> on TV at the time. You've used the official video in the playlist, but I
> prefer to remember the song from the Eurovision perfomance.
Eurovision clearly earlier in the year in 1974 than 2021.
It can be a bit of a dilemma which clip to use, I think on this occasion I plumped for the video because it matched the record people were buying.
>Unlike now,
> when everything except the vocals is pre-recorded, back then it was all
> 100% live. As the commentator put it, this is the Abba group...
Now I’m imagining how Mark E. Smith used to say “this is the Fall Group”.
You can’t get more *accidental* Partridge than before Partridge existed.
> >2. (27) Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love
> This feels a little odd, because listening to it now it sounds a lot
> older than the 1970s, but on the other hand I do remember hearing it on
> the radio and seeing it on TotP back then.
It’s very clear in retrospect that this is effectively an early Four Seasons song (as distinct with beefier production values.
> >3. (4) The Wombles - Remember You're A Womble
> As novelty songs go, this does go pretty well. Although, as has been
> widely remarked previously in this group, the actual musicians behind
> the band took it very seriously indeed.
I suppose the skill and the context are also part of the reason this has been more fondly remembered than Gimme Dat Ding or whatever.
>
> >5. (12) Bay City Rollers - Shang-A-Lang
> They weren't a one-hit wonder, but I doubt many people now would
> remember this without being prompted.
Well, they might now because of the recent news reports, but even though this is probably the second-most recognisable BCR hit I’d agree if you were asking at any other time.
> >6. (9) Wizzard - Rock And Roll Winter
> Slightly odd title to be charting in late spring. Although, apparently,
> it was originally scheduled to be released in winter, but got pushed
> back.
This is obviously why they wanted it to be Christmas every day, so this song wouldn’t have been out of season.
>Not one of their best, though.
True.
> >7. (5) The Chi-Lites - Homely Girl
> I don't really remember this, even after listening to it.
I think UB40 did a cover of it. Although that doesn’t narrow it down much I know.
> >8. (6) Limmie And The Family Cookin' - A Walkin' Miracle
> I do vaguely remember this, but only just.
I mainly know of it as a question that comes up Popmaster.
> >9. (3) Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun
> I remember this very well, though. It must have had a lot of airplay at
> the time.
Not just at the time, I know it only too well and I wasn’t even born in 1974.
> >10. (17) Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know-It-All
> Don't remember this.
It was in that advert where the smug bloke didn’t have any trousers on. At least that’s where I first heard it.
> >18. (28) Jim Stafford - Spiders And Snakes
> Bit of an odd song. For some reason I remember this very well from the
> time. DOn't think I've ever heard it since.
I don’t think I’d heard it until recently (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on streaming last time I did a chart it was in). It is an odd combination of novelty and contemporary pastiche.
> >22. (23) David Bowie - Rock And Roll Suicide
> I don't remember this from the time, but of course I know it very well
> now.
Of course it’s already a couple of albums old at this point.
The majority of Bowie's early stuff passed me by, but - like a lot
> of people of my generation, I suppose - I rediscovered it in the 80s
> following Ashes to Ashes.
Yeah, and although my Dad was a fan so I must have heard this on the album, it wasn’t until this century I started listening to him properly.
> >24. (13) Slade - Everyday
> Unusual for Slade, on two fronts - firstly it's a ballad, and, secondly,
> it doesn't have any humorous deliberate misspellings in the title.
I think this may even be the point they abandoned the practice, depending on whether you consider “Merry Xmas Everybody” a misspelling.
> >26. (38) Status Quo - Break The Rules
> For a band that's been milking precisely the same formula for decades, a
> song titled "Break the Rules" is veering into Alannis Morrisette levels
> of irony.
Yes, though more so in retrospect I suppose.
> >27. (48) Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
> One of my favourites at the time.
You weren’t scared of it like everyone else claims they were.
> >30. (30) The Wombles - Wombling Song
> See above for previous Womble comments.
I think this is the lesser of the two tracks in this chart.
> >31. (19) Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock Around The Clock
> Not quite sure why this was charting here.
It just seemed to be what people did in the 70s. And to be fair, with all the retro glam tracks it doesn’t sound that out of place for a 29-year old track.
Although it is, of course,
> genuinely one of the all-time classics.
As much for what it represents as what it is perhaps.
> >39. (34) Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl
> I remember this from the time. The time in question, of course, being a
> time when country was still mainstream.
I’m not sure whether the launch of an Absolute Country station this week implies it’s becoming more or less mainstream.
> >40. (31) Paper Lace - Billy- Don't Be A Hero
> I also remember this very well from the time. Although I don't get the
> point you're making about the title, either.
See above. But I’m sure there’s some joke you could make somewhere.
> >41. (20) Gary Glitter - Remember Me This Way
> Whatever posterity does remember him for, it's very unlikely to be this.
Exactly.
> >44. (35) The Carpenters - Jambalaya
> Rather annoyingly, I remember this from the time as well.
I think the Carpenters are a bit overrated now, and this is one of their more egregious works.
Chris