REMEMBER WHEN - 21ST JANUARY 1978

1978

Week 3
WEEK ENDING 21ST JANUARY 1978

TOP 40 SINGLES

TW	.......	LW	.......		.......
1		1		Wings		Mull Of Kintyre / Girl's School
2		13		Althia And Donna		Uptown Top Ranking
3		3		Donna Summer		Love's Unkind
4		4		Bonnie Tyler		It's A Heartache
5		2		Brighouse And Rastrick Brass Band		The Floral Dance
6		5		Crystal Gayle		Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
7		7		Bee Gees		How Deep Is Your Love
8		20		Odyssey		Native New Yorker
9		6		Chic		Dance Dance Dance
10		8		David Soul		Let's Have A Quiet Night In
11		17		Bob Marley		Jamming / Punky Reggae Party
12		14		Julie Covington		Only Women Bleed
13		9		Ruby Winters		I Will
14		NEW		Brotherhood Of Man		Figaro
15		11		Yannis Markopoulos		Who Pays The Ferryman
16		10		Donna Summer		I Love You
17		30		Bill Withers		Lovely Day
18		12		Darts		Daddy Cool
19		15		Dooley Wilson		As Time Goes By
20		16		Elvis Presley		My Way
21		34		Heatwave		The Groove Line
22		28		Terry Wogan		The Floral Dance
23		18		Hot Chocolate		Put Your Love In Me
24		22		T.Connection		On Fire
25		19		Muppets		Don't Dilly Dally / Waiting At The Church
26		33		War		Galaxy
27		31		Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley		If I Had Words
28		27		Jonathan Richman		Egyptian Reggae
29		38		Imperials		Who's Gonna Love Me
30		21		Boney M		Belfast
31		23		Dooleys		Love Of My Life
32		25		Carl Douglas		Run Back
33		NEW		Baccara		Sorry I'm A Lady
34		NEW		Rose Royce		Wishing On A Star
35		NEW		El Coco		Cocomotion
36		NEW		Gordon Giltrap		Heartsong
37		NEW		Modern Lovers		Morning Of Our Lives
38		RE		Boz Scaggs		Hollywood
39		NEW		Eric Clapton		Lay Down Sally
40		NEW		People's Choice		Jam Jam Jam

Wings

Mull Of Kintyre / Girls School

Well, we know all about this one. For seven years it reigned supreme as the biggest selling single of all time in the UK. It actually spent it's first chart week just outside the top 40, but then took a massive leap to number five, before spending nine weeks at number one. This song does tend to get ridiculed, but the fact still remains that it must have appealed to over two million people in order to have sold that many copies.

Althia And Donna

Uptown Top Ranking

This duo were one of the Ultimate One Hit Wonder acts. They spent one week at number one but then had nothing else, not even a top 75 entry. But they do have another claim to fame, this single displaced the biggest selling single of all time ("Mull Of Kintyre" by 'Wings') at the top of the chart after a nine week run at pole position. IT has also been claimed that they stole this song from someone else.
Ali & Frazier took their cover of this to number 33 in 1993.

Donna Summer

Love's Unkind

Donna Summer spent three weeks at number three in January, stayed in the 40 for 13 weeks with this track. It taken from the 'I Remember Yesterady' album, and also her first 'Greatest Hits Album' (there have been many). I received the 'Greatest Hits' album for Christmas that year. I remember being woken after my Mum got home that night. She'd brought back some of her friends and took them to sit in the front room (the room kept for best of course). I remember her best friend Anne giving me some lecture on why I should behave myself and keep out of trouble from now on. But the worst thing of all, the very worst, I had to unwrap the present that Anne had bought for me.
Surely not, it may have gone midnight, but it's not really Christmas Day until the morning (unless you're at a disco AND they play "Merry Christmas Everybody" at midnight). I don't open any presents now do I ?
Yes, I opened it and it was a Music For Pleasure 'Glitter Band' LP. It wasn't bad, I still have it to this day in extremely good condition and Anne was a lovely woman. BUT, this opening of the Christmas presents on Christmas Eve was well out of order. While I'm ranting, another thing I dislike is the dumping of the Christmas presents under the tree. Don't be lazy cheapskates. Get a sack, put them in, and put it at the end of your child's bed so that he/she discovers them upon waking.
So, the following morning I discovered the Donna Summer LP and thought that she looked very, mmmm, nice on the sleeve and I felt a bit funny when I looked at it ;-)
"Love's Unkind" was covered and taken to number 21 by soap star 'Sophie Lawrence' in 1991.

Bonnie Tyler

It's A Heartache

Another one that took seven weeks to reach it's peak, this time number four. This is when we discovered that Bonnie now had a gravel like voice following an operation.
She released a follow up to this called "Here Am I" that sounded almost identical.

Brighouse And Rastrick Brass Band

The Floral Dance

Not to my taste and like many others, I did get sick of it at the time. But there were also many that did like it as it spent six weeks at number two, only being deprived of those weeks at the top by the (then) biggest selling single in the UK ever. Terry Wogan was to blame, he played it to death on his breakfast show, the most listened to Radio show in the country. It doesn't seem so bad now anyway.
I can't drive past junction 25 of the M62 (the Brighouse junction) without this tune entering my head.

Crystal Gayle

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Very pleasant song from a beautiful lady. It was a slow burner though, not reaching it's number five peak until the second week of January, it's tenth week in the chart. It spent a total of 14 weeks in the chart.

Bee Gees

How Deep Is Your Love

I must have seen my Mum cry more than once. I only remember one occcasion though, and it's relevent to this song.
After the chip shop business came to light, I was kept in for over a month (they call it being grounded these days). The day that I was finally released, I met up with a friend who's name I won't reveal. To cut it short, for reasons that I can't remember, I set fire to a car that was less than six months old. Thing is, the fire brigade were on strike and the Army had to come in their green goddess and put it out. There was a report in the Evening Leader the following night in which the owner said "I looked out of the window and the car was burning merrily away".
It took about four days this time for Mr C.I.D. (my pet name for him was Bulb Head) to knock the door. I denied it of course, that is until he asked me a second time, then I admitted it. Well, he wouldn't have come to my house if someone hadn't told him it was me would he ?
So, off to the cop shop again for another statement. Funny thing, my accomplice was not charged with anything (just as he wasn't for his part in the chip shop burglaries).
When I eventually went to court on Valentines Day 1978, I was charged with both offences as well as a charge of receiving 50p from someone who'd burgled another property. When it came to me, the magistrate announced the compensation that I had to pay for the chip shop and the 50p, before coming to the car. It was over two thousands pounds damage and he said that he couldn't see how there was anyway possible that I could repay that money and then took a long pause.
........
...........
You can guess what I thought was coming, I thought that I was going away to be a guest at her Majesties pleasure.
But I was lucky, he decided that I should be fined twenty five pounds instead. Yes, I had been extremely lucky and I didn't burn any more cars after that. I did get convicted of criminal damage to a JCB in late 1978, but I didn't do that, just got fined for it. I still maintain my innocence over that today. Four times over the last 8 years I have been stopped by the police while driving. Each time, they have come up with that one as last Criminal offence on the police computer. Each time, I have said "I didn't do that". But they've always argued with me about it.
Anyway, while this lovely record from the Bee Gees was being played on the top twenty while it was spending one of it's five weeks at number three, that was when my Mum cried. It was something to do with how I seemed to be turning out, even after the strict (but fair) way in which she'd brought me up.
I still feel guilty for that.

Odyssey

Native New Yorker

What a great single this was. It was the first hit for the wonderful 'Odyssey' and spent two weeks at number five. They were absent from the chart for almost two and a half years after this has dropped out, but they then returned with a number one.

Chic

Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)

The debut hit for the team responsible for so many hits during the following five years or so. It took seven weeks to climb to it's number six peak and spent eleven weeks in the top 40.

David Soul

Let's Have A Quiet Night In

Seemingly released with the intention that it would be poised nicely within striking distance of the number slot in the New Year clearout. But this time it didn't work and he had to settle for number eight. Not a bad thing as it wasn't very good anyway.

Bob Marley

Jamming / Punky Reggae Party

I'm going to be truthful about this. Just as I think Nirvana's 'Bleach' is worse than all of the Bros albums, and I would rather listen to Cilla Black than most of the Beach Boys surfing songs, I didn't like Bob Marley very much before this single. Most of his pre "Jamming" stuff just passed me by as very repetative, but above all 'Boring'. That changed with this single. It became his first top ten hit and reached number nine. As far as I was concerned he didn't put a foot wrong from then on, and it's a great pity that he passed away just over three years later.

Julie Covington

Only Women Bleed

A cover that WAS superior to the original, much better than the Alice Cooper original. I also thought that it was better than her big hit "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", but it was nowhere near as big. It took seven weeks to peak at number 12. Julie didn't chart again, though she did release a really food cover of "I Want To See The Bright Lights Again" in late 1978. She later went back to the boards in London's West End.

Ruby Winters

I Will

Very nice song. It finally reached number four in it's sixth week and spent three weeks there, taking it right through Christmas. In all, it spent 12 weeks in the top 40.
Billy Fury had previously taken this song to number 14 in 1964.

Brotherhood Of Man

Figaro

Brotherhood Of Man were having their third number one in less than two years, with possibly the weakest of the three songs to hit the top. It was clearly very Abba inspired,so I suppose it was fitting that Abba should depose them at the top. This was their last top ten hit.

Yannis Markopoulos

Who Pays The Ferryman

A Greek orchestra with the theme to another TV show that I didn't watch. It reached number eleven and I could take it or leave it.

Donna Summer

I Love You

Here was the latest Casablanca Records contribution to the continued chart residency of Donna Summer. Here was another excellent single (if you like this sort of thing), and it debuted just a week after the chart debut of GTO's latest Donna single "Love's Unkind". In my opinion this should have at least matched the number three peak of the other, but it struggled to begin, and after reaching number 25, dropped for two successive weeks to find itself at number 30. Then, in the second week of January, it suddenly moved back up twenty places to peak at number ten.
This was the first single to be taken from the 'Once Upon A Time' album, the first of four successive double LPs to be released by Donna, and that's not including her contributions to the 'Thank God It's Friday' soundtrack.

Bill Withers

Lovely Day

Did he really have to repeat the title so often ?

This was Bill's first chart hit since "Lean On Me" had leaned on number 18 in 1972 (I know, corny but effective), and he had such a lovely time of it that he spent a couple of weeks at number seven this time around. He must have thought that he was on to a good thing as his follow up was "Lovely Night For Dancing", but it failed miserably. His next appearance in the chart was as the uncredited vocalist on Grover Washington Jr's 1981 minor hit "Just The Two Of Us" (yes Will Smith made an arse of it in 1998). But in 1988 "Lovely Day" came back to annoy us with a re-sicks version and peaked at number four.

Darts

Daddy Cool

In late 1976, Boney M made their chart debut and reached number six with a song titled "Daddy Cool". Twelve months later, and Darts were making their debut with an identically titled song. It sounded nothing like the other one of course. This was a rock 'n' roll type thing, and the first of eight top 40 hits. And, it reached number six of course.

Dooley Wilson

As Time Goes By

More commonly known as "Play It Again Sam" from the film 'Casablanca'. Complete with the famous dialogue from Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, the release of this single must have been very pleasing for fans of films from a bygone age. Not really my thing, but I don't dislike it. It reached number 15.
It is said that the film 'Casablanca' can be synched with the Pink Floyd album 'Animals' to make it seem as though the music was written for the film. But having been disappointed by the Wizard Of Oz/Dark Side Of The Moon & Longest Day/Final Cut synchs, I haven't bothered trying this one out. But if you want to try any of them go here for more info http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/3528/

Elvis Presley

My Way

Excellent cover, I'm not saying that it was better than Frank's, but this is the kind of thing that I feel Elvis did best. I was surprised that it didn't make number one for Christmas, instead it peaked at nine in the first chart of 1978.

Heatwave

The Groove Line

Eight months since the release of their last hit single, Heatwave had returned with the first of two consecutive hits to peak at number 12. I liked this one more than their previous releases, but my favourite was the one that followed.

Terry Wogan

The Floral Dance

Terry's vocal version of the instrumental that he'd helped become a hit by spinning it every day on his Radio Two breakfast show. Not as bad as it's usually made out to be, but hardly a work of genius. Reached number 21.

Hot Chocolate

Put Your Love In Me

Probably my least favourite Hot Chocolate single, it just tended to drone on and on without getting anywhere. Pity, as it was the follow up to their only number one hit. It reached number ten in time for Christmas.

T. Connection

On Fire

Thought that it was much better than their first hit "Do What You Wanna Do" from the previous summer. But this one didn't fare so well and peaked at number 16.

Muppets

Don't Dilly Dally / Waiting At The Church

I know it was the silly season and all that, but the charts around Christmas 1977 did seem to have more than it's fair share of old and unusual songs. These were covers of the songs sang by cockneys in 1960s' British films that were set in the early decades of the Twentieth Century. The Muppets were of course puppets who before having their own show, were featured in Sesame Street. I used to watch it when it began, and now over thirty years later, it's still going strong and my daughter loves it.
The single reached number 19.

War

Galaxy

The third hit in two years for 'War' gave them their second biggest hit and peaked at number 14. I much preferred it to "Low Rider". This was their last hit to climb beyond number 40.

Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keely

If I Had Words

Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keely were one hit wonders with this number three peaking single, but Scott would just miss the top 40 ten years later, with the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry, "Go". Yvonne did release at least one solo single, her cover of "Concrete And Clay", it was quite a decent version but failed to chart.

Jonathan Richman

Egyptian Reggae

Good instrumental and much easier to listen to than "Roadrunner". Reached number five just before Christmas and spent 11 weeks in the 40.

Imperials

Who's Gonna Love Me

This began with "You can't take the car", and went into a nice pop-soul song that I felt should have gone higher than it's number 17 peak. There was another version of this doing the rounds too, I think it was by someone called 'Alfie Davidson'.

Quite soon afterwards, they released a follow up called "Do What I Gotta Do", a song that was in my opinion much better, but failed to chart. It heavily featured the line "I'll do what I gotta do to get over". Some 12 months later, Tony Blackburn was playing it almost day on his afternoon show as he lamented about his break up from actress wife Tessa Wyatt.

Boney M

Belfast

In hindsight, it seems unbelievable that the group who gave us "Rivers Of Babylon" and "Mary's Boy Child" gave us this slice of politics about the situation in Northern Ireland. But we should also remember their 1981 single "We Kill The World", a song that may have been a huge hit if it didn't have the stigma of being recorded by Boney M attached to it.
"Belfast" struggled a little and took seven weeks to reach it's number eight peak. In all, it spent 12 weeks in the top forty.

Dooleys

Love Of My Life

Second hit for the Dooleys, and though I didn't think it was as catchy as the first one, it reached number nine to become a bigger hit.

Carl Douglas

Run Back

Forget the Kung Fu stuff from 1974, here was a really good single (even if it did lean a little towards Northern Soul). It only reached number 25 though, and that was the last we heard of Carl until 20 years later when his vocals were sampled for Bus Stop's 'cover' of "Kung Fu Fighting".

Baccara

Sorry I'm A Lady

No need to apologise for the fact, they were a couple of fine looking ladies (well, one of them was anyway).

They were following up the number one single "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and peaked at number eight this time. They too tried for further success by entering the Eurovision Song Contest this very year. Despite being Spanish, they represented Luxembourg in the contest, and finished seventh with a song called "Parlez Vous Francais" !

One of the music mags of the time carried a letter damning Baccara for their loose morals, appearing on TOTP in their bras last time around, and in their knix this time !

Rose Royce

Wishing On A Star

Rose Royce were having their biggest hit to date with a song that has since been covered many times. As recently as February 1998 original lead vocalist Gwen Dickey guested on the top 20 cover by 'Jay-Z'. Rose Royce would better the number three peak of this single six months later.

El Coco

Cocomotion

It was ok when listened to within the confines of a disco compilation album. But it didn't stand up too well on it's own. Number 31 peak.

Gordon Giltrap

Heartsong

There seemed to be a lot of attention paid to Gordon at the time, but I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. It did little for me and peaked at number 21.

Modern Lovers

Morning Of Our Lives

Loved this one and remember listening to it on the Luxy chart, maybe I could enjoy Jonathan Richman's music after all (see Roadrunner). Sadly it struggled to a number 29 peak in the Music Week chart.

Boz Scaggs

Hollywood

And this was it for Boz. It reached number 33 and he never made the top forty again.

Eric Clapton

Lay Down Sally

Not a prolific maker of big hit singles, this only reached number 39. Note Marcy Levy on backing vocals, later to become Marcella Detroit of Shakespear's Sister.

People's Choice

Jam Jam Jam

Not sure about this one but I probably do know it and have it on a compilation. Only made number 40.

In the top 50 this week, but failing to reach the top 40.

Roberta Kelly

Zodiacs

One of the best singles from the beginning of 1978 and Luxembourg seemed to be obsessed with it, I'm sure it was a powerplay. It only made number 44 though.

Babys

Isn't It Time

John Waite's band with the only one of their singles to get anywhere near the top 40 over here. An excellent track in my opinion, but it only made number 45.

Some MP3s

Disclaimer All comments concerning the quality of the songs in this and any other chart, are purely my opinion and not a statement of fact. I believe that we are all equal when it comes to deciding what makes a good song. I do not believe that good songs have to be serious or dull. I am of the opinion that if a single sells many copies, then many people like it, so it must be good whether I like it or not. Good music is everything YOU like, and it's also everything I like.

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Email: nige@innotts.co.uk
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