REMEMBER WHEN - 31ST MARCH 1979

1979

Week 13
WEEK ENDING 31ST MARCH 1979

TOP 40 SINGLES

TW	LW
1	1	Gloria Gaynor	I Will Survive
2	16	Village People	In The Navy
3	4	Sex Pistols	Something Else / Friggin' In The Riggin'
4	2	Elvis Costello	Oliver's Army
5	3	Lene Lovich	Lucky Number
6	7	Chic	I Want Your Love
7	5	Real Thing	Can You Feel The Force
8	20	Players Association	Turn The Music Up
9	13	Queen	Don't Stop Me Now
10	8	Gary's Gang	Keep On Dancing
11	6	Bee Gees	Tragedy
12	9	Thin Lizzy	Waiting For An Alibi
13	10	Skids	Into The Valley
14	15	Dennis Brown	Money In My Pocket
15	14	Toto	Hold The Line
16	33	Squeeze	Cool For Cats
17	21	Cars	Just What I Needed
18	23	Dire Straits	Sultans Of Swing
19	27	Art Garfunkel	Bright Eyes
20	17	Violinski	Clog Dance
21	18	Herbie Hancock	You Bet Your Love
22	11	Boney M	Painter Man
23	35	Kate Bush	Wow
24	22	Jam	Strange Town
25	38	Sister Sledge	He's The Greatest Dancer
26	NEW	Jacksons	Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)
27	25	Clash	English Civil War
28	28	Neil Diamond	Forever In Blue Jeans
29	NEW	Sham 69	Questions And Answers
30	NEW	Three Degrees	The Runner
31	26	Edwin Starr	Contact
32	12	Gene Chandler	Get Down
33	NEW	Siouxsie And The Banshees	The Staircase Mystery
34	NEW	Racey	Some Girls
35	29	Buzzcocks	Everybody's Happy Nowadays
36	32	David Essex	Imperial Wizard
37	36	Doobie Brothers	What A Fool Believes
38	24	Blondie	Heart Of Glass
39	NEW	Pointer Sisters	Fire
40	NEW	Voyage	Let's Fly Away

Gloria Gaynor

I Will Survive

This spent four weeks at number one. Gloria also reached number one in the States for a two week stay. This song is considered by many to be the best disco song ever, but I'm not convinced. I can count twelve better disco records that were on the chart when this entered, let alone what had come before and would follow. It's the intro for one thing, it spoils it.
Shortly afterwards 'Billie Jo Spears' just missed the top 40 with her country cover of the song, while Gloria was back with the number five peaking re-sicks in 1993. Three years after that two further covers of the song made the top 20 courtesy of 'Diana Ross' and 'Chantay Savage'.

Village People

In The Navy

The Village People so nearly made it two consecutive number ones as the tongue in cheek "In The Navy" was kept from the top by Gloria Gaynor for two weeks. It also did well in the US by reaching number three.
Personally I didn't really like it, and had a good reply to the question "What am I gonna do with a submarine ?"

Sex Pistols

Something Else / Friggin' In The Riggin'

The Sex Pistols seemed to be on a roll since Johnny Rotten's resignation from the band and Sid Vicious' death. "Something Else" with vocals by Sid went all the way to number three. It was backed by the X rated "Good Ship Venus" renamed "Friggin' In The Riggin". One thing that may have worried Sid had he still been with us, was that my Mum loved his version of "Something Else". She didn't like the other one though ;-)

Elvis Costello

Oliver's Army

This was Elvis' biggest hit and reached number two. Elvis only ever had three top ten hits, and on each occasion the follow up performed dismally.

Lene Lovich

Lucky Number

Lene told us all that her lucky number was one. Then near the end of the song decided that she would change it to two. But her lucky chart position was number three. Utter rubbish lyrics, but we seemed to like it.

Chic

I Want Your Love

This was Chic's highest charting UK hit and reached number four. Don't you just love those bells ?
I felt as though I got ripped off with this one though. I bought the 12 inch single and discovered that it was exactly the same length as the 7 inch. Great instrumental B Side called "Funny Bone" though.

Real Thing

Can You Feel The Force

Just when it looked as though the Real Thing were getting past their sell by date (the previous two singles had peaked at 39 + 40), they came up trumps with this classic hit. Full page advertisements to accompany the release of this single, 12 inch, and album didn't exactly do them any harm, and this single gave them a number five hit, their biggest since 1976. It re-appeared in the chart courtesy of a dreaded re-mix in 1986, when it reached number 24.

Players Association

Turn The Music Up

The Players Association were one hit wonders, but what a great number eight peaking single. Shame the follow up "Ride The Groove" with their instrumental of "Everybody Dance" on the flip didn't make the top 40.

Queen

Don't Stop Me Now

This was another one that I wasn't sure should have been released as a single. The record buying public seemed to take a while to be convinced too, as it took seven weeks to reach a peak of number nine.

Gary's Gang

Keep On Dancing

There were early rumours that this single was Gary Glitter using an alias, but of course it wasn't. It was a disco track (what else ?) that you either loved or hated. I fit into the former category, especially where the 12 inch is concerned. It peaked at number eight. The follow up "Let's Lovedance Tonight" was also good, but too similar to this one.

Bee Gees

Tragedy

Just about everyone knows this one, and most seemed to be waiting for it's release. It sounded like a number one on first listen, and sure enough it spent two weeks there. The surprising thing is, the Bee Gees didn't hit the top ten again until October 1987.
Almost twenty years later, Steps took their cover of this song to number one.

Thin Lizzy

Waiting For An Alibi

Thin Lizzy were in the chart with the first of three singles to be lifted from the excellent 'Black Rose' album. This number nine peaking single was their first top ten hit for almost three years.

Skids

Into The Valley

The Skids had finally got themselves a hit, and in reaching number Ten, it proved to be their biggest. The B Side was an odd thing titled "TV Stars" that consisted entirely of the names of TV Stars, mostly ones from Coronation Street such as Ena Sharples, Albert Tatlock and Annie Walker. But does anyone know if "Into The Valley" really meant anything, or was it just total nonsense ?

Dennis Brown

Money In My Pocket

Dennis Brown has been one of the biggest Jamaican singers since the mid-70's. At the last count he'd recorded about 230 lps, the international sales of which would put most artists to shame. Poor old Dennis only had this one hit and peaked at number 14 with it. In the song he sang "Money in my pocket, cos I just can't find no love". At the time I wondered to myself if this song was quite what it seemed (I was at an impressionable age). Instead of him having the money because he had no woman to spend it for him, I wondered if he had the money with the intention of finding a lady of the night !

Toto

Hold The Line

Toto were all ex-session musicians, and while it is widely known that they took their name from the dog in 'The Wizard Of Oz', what doesn't get mentioned is that the name also partly came from vocalist Bobby Kimball's real name 'Robert Toteaux'. This was their first single and had already gone to number five in the US before release over here. It reached number 14 in the UK, and it was to be four years before they hit the UK for a second time.

Squeeze

Cool For Cats

Squeeze had waited almost a full year to get their second hit, and did it well by reaching number two for the first of two occasions this year. Despite the vocals being sang by Difford rather than Tilbrook (or is that the other way around ?), a man who couldn't sing to save his life (allegedly !), it was still a great pop song and the 'couldn't care less' vocal style suited it perfectly.

Cars

Just What I Needed

The Cars were having their second hit in six months, and this one was even better than the first. But they had to settle for a number 17 peak and then wait five years for another big hit in the UK. It's always amazed me how this band were never accepted in the UK.

Dire Straits

Sultans Of Swing

It had been the winter of discontent. Not only had it been a time of strikes, but it had been bloody cold too. I'd spent most of it working in Belle Vue Park, clearing snow, salting the footpaths and climbing trees in order to prune and treat them with Arbrex (which I duly got all over myself and my Donkey Jacket).
March came and the snow began to clear. The grass was visible again, and so were the shrub beds, so it was back to gardening. One of my first jobs of the spring was to hoe the beds around the bowling green (NO, this didn't entail getting a loose woman between the sheets, a hoe is a garden tool). So I was there working away with the radio nearby, and I kept hearing this lyric,
"Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene, he's got a daytime job, he's doing all right". It's one of those lyrics that just stuck in my mind for the rest of my life (so far), and is one of the reasons why I never tire of hearing this first hit from Dire Straits.
It was the first of many hits and peaked at number eight. The single had been released the previous May, but as interest in them grew following the chart appearance of their debut album, it was decided to re-release it. Surprisingly, their follow up single "Lady Writer" failed to hit the top 40, despite not being lifted from the said album, but from the follow up "Communique" instead. "Sultans Of Swing" went even higher in the States by reaching number four.
For the next six years, Dire Straits grew in stature before peaking with the "Brothers In Arms" album. They left it far too long before following that album, six years in fact. By then, the public didn't want them anymore. They were sick of the appearances at every benefit concert staged, performing any two from five songs on every occasion (usually "Sultans" & "Money For Nothing". Only one of the four singles lifted from that album made a brief appearance in the top 40, and shortly afterwards the band were no more.
It's no longer fashionable to like Dire Straits, but lets not forget how much we liked this single and the "Making Movies" album (even if we won't admit to liking anything else by them).

Art Garfunkel

Bright Eyes

Art Garfunkel hit the top and had the biggest selling single of the year with this. "Bright Eyes" was taken from the film 'Watership Down', and spent a total of six weeks at number one. It was Art's second solo hit, and his second number one, his previous being "I Only Have Eyes For You" back in 1975.

Violinski

Clog Dance

Violinski was violinist 'Mik Kaminski', a member of E.L.O. since 1973. This was his only solo hit and reached number 17. It's ok if only heard once a year.

Herbie Hancock

You Bet Your Love

Another one that I loved. The follow up to "I Thought It Was You" was a slow climber that did a bit of bobbing up and down before finally peaking at number 18.

Boney M

Painter Man

I was ok about all that Boney M had done before this, in fact I even liked most of it (I know I probably shouldn't have, but there you go). But this was awful. It seemed as though they were deliberately trying to appeal to children,which would have been ok if that's what they had been doing all along, but they hadn't. They had built up something of a fan base who would have bought anything they released, so this was exploitation as far as I was concerned.
It was in fact a cover of a single by 'Creation' that had only got as high as number 36 in 1966. This version made number ten.

Kate Bush

Wow

Kate Bush must have been relieved to be back in the charts after the failure of her previous single "Hammer Horror". This was the second of two singles to be lifted from the 'Lionheart' album and peaked at number 14. "Wow" was of course one of Kate's catchphrases when being interviewed, along with "Incredible" and "Fantastic" which were also used in the song.

Jam

Strange Town

The Jam were still unable to crack the top ten as this seventh single peaked at number 15. Ok song, but they'd done better.

Sister Sledge

He's The Greatest Dancer

Sister Sledge were having their first hit in almost four years, and would not get a bigger hit than this number six peaking hit until 1984. They also did well on the billboard chart peaking at nine.This excellent 'tune' has recently been subjected to the 'Will Smith' treatment on "Gettin' Jiggy With It".

Jacksons

Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

The Jacksons reached number four with "Shake Your Body". Only two of their singles reached higher chart positions than this. This is an excellent single and for me, Michael has never matched it solo, despite coming close a few times. Over the water, this single peaked at number seven.

Clash

English Civil War

The Clash were following up their first top twenty hit with a song based on the traditional song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Come to think of it, I'm not really sure that they added anything to the original apart from the obvious anger, but they did OK anyway. It only reached number 25 but stayed for six weeks.

Neil Diamond

Forever In Blue Jeans

One of Neil Diamond's good 'uns. This peaked at number 16 in it's seventh week and Neil has failed to chart that high since.

Sham 69

Questions And Answers

Sham 69 were in the top twenty for the fourth time, but only got as high as number 18. The B Side featured an awful live cover of "With A Little Help From My Friends", it has to be heard to be believed.

Three Degrees

The Runner

The Three Degrees were continuing their comeback and peaked at ten with this excellent single, the 12 inch needs to be checked out. Incidentally, I saw Three Degrees lead vocalist 'Sheila Ferguson' in a Blackpool Summer Show in 1996 and she could still belt out all of the old hits including this one.

Edwin Starr

Contact

This was Edwin Starr's first hit in eight years. "Contact" is one of the greatest songs of the disco era, and one that I suspect is also liked by many who didn't particularly like disco music. It reached number six, failing to match the number three peak of "War" from 1970, and has since been included on almost every disco compilation album to be released since. I lived near Edwin a couple of years ago.

Gene Chandler

Get Down

The first six months of 1979 saw disco music hit a peak in the UK charts. Not only was there so much of it in the top 40, there was a hell of a lot of it that didn't make it, but was still good anyway.
This was Gene's first hit since "Nothing Can Stop Me" had reached number 41 in 1968, and was one of the best 12 inches of the disco years. It's number 11 peak didn't do it justice.

Siouxsie And The Banshees

The Staircase Mystery

Siouxsie And The Banshees were having their second hit with the weird "Staircase Mystery". It peaked at a lowly number 24, but is worth investing in for the B side, a cover of the T.Rex hit "20th Century Boy".

Racey

Some Girls

Racey were having their second top three hit in three months as "Some Girls" made it's way to number two. I thought it was ok to begin with, but saturation airplay put paid to that. Barry Manilow later covered this song on his "I Wanna Do It With You" album.

Buzzcocks

Everybody's Happy Nowadays

I suppose it depends how you feel at the time. If you feel like listening to the Buzzcocks, then this can be a great uplifting song. But if you're not in a Buzzcocks mood, then it's extremely irritating. It entered at number 29 and climbed no higher.

David Essex

Imperial Wizard

David was telling us to free the people or something. I was never quite sure about this one. It rose no higher than it's debut position of number 32.

Doobie Brothers

What A Fool Believes

The Doobie's had reached number 29 with both of their previous hits, but this looked a surefire bet to put those performances to shame. But it didn't happen like that. It went to number 31 in it's second week and then fell. It did make number one in the US though, as did it's parent album "Minute By Minute".
A cover by Aretha Franklin failed to make the top 40 a year later, and in 1998 ex 'Go West' frontman 'Peter Cox' made number 39 with it.

Blondie

Heart Of Glass

This was Blondie's first ever number one in the UK, and by the end of the following year, they had achieved five chart toppers with a combined total of 12 weeks at the summit (this attained four of them). The amazing fact about this (at the time), was that it was the third single to be lifted from the 'Parallel Lines' album. They didn't stop there either, as a fourth single from the said album also hit the top a few months later.

Pointer Sisters

Fire

The Pointer Sisters were also having their first hit, but would get no higher than number 34 with this Bruce Springsteen song. They did peak at number two in the States though.

Voyage

Let's Fly Away

Surely a criminal offence that such a 'nice' disco single could only climb to number 38. There again, the competition was particularly fierce in 1979. This was Voyage's last ever top 40 hit.

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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