REMEMBER WHEN - 7TH JULY 1979

1979

Week 27
WEEK ENDING 7TH JULY 1979

TOP 40 SINGLES

TW	LW
1	1	Tubeway Army	Are Friends Electric
2	3	Squeeze	Up The Junction
3	23	Janet Kay	Silly Games
4	2	Anita Ward	Ring My Bell
5	10	Gerry Rafferty	Night Owl
6	18	Amii Stewart	Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven
7	5	Quantum Jump	The Lone Ranger
8	4	Earth Wind And Fire & The Emotions	Boogie Wonderland
9	24	Sex Pistols	C'mon Everybody
10	6	Roxy Music	Dance Away
11	7	Blondie	Sunday Girl
12	15	Eddy Grant	Living On The Front Line
13	8	McFadden & Whitehead	Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
14	14	Dollar	Who Were You With In The Moonlight
15	9	Edwin Starr	H.A.P.P.Y Radio
16	13	John Williams	Cavatina
17	11	Sister Sledge	We Are Family
18	21	Village People	Go West
19	12	Shadows	Theme From The Deer Hunter (Cavatina)
20	26	Thom Pace	Maybe
21	22	Ruts	Babylon's Burning
22	NEW	Chic	Good Times
23	19	Lene Lovich	Say When
24	20	Chas & Dave	Gertcha
25	16	Skids	Masquerade
26	29	Thin Lizzy	Do Anything You Want To
27	31	Dooleys	Wanted
28	27	Beach Boys	Lady Lynda
29	NEW	Dave Edmunds	Girls Talk
30	34	Patrick Hernandez	Born To Be Alive
31	30	Slick	Space Bass
32	NEW	Supertramp	Breakfast In America
33	37	UK Subs	Stranglehold
34	NEW	Public Image Ltd	Death Disco
35	36	Bonnie Tyler	Married Men
36	NEW	Rickie Lee Jones	Chuck E's In Love
37	17	E.L.O.	Shine A Little Love
38	35	Wings	Old Siam Sir
39	NEW	Donna Summer	Bad Girls
40	33	Kevin Keegan	Head Over Heels In Love

Tubeway Army

Are Friends Electric

A four week stay at number one, and a whole new sound. I remember the week when it climbed from seven to two, Mr Bates announced the record and then said, "But, what does it mean ?"
It was of course Gary Numan's vision of the future where robots/androids would be used for everything (company, sex, whatever), and they would be called 'friends' and all look exactly the same, like tall grey men. The B side "We Are So Fragile" was pretty good too, as was the album 'Replicas'. This was the beginning of perhaps the last great movement in music. Other synth bands such as OMD, Human League, Depeche Mode would soon follow him into the chart, but Gary himself had been influenced by Ultravox, who in turn had been obviously influenced by David Bowie's 'Low' and 'Heroes' albums. Kraftwerk should also be credited with having a lot of influence on the whole movement, as well as Giorgio Moroder.

Squeeze

Up The Junction

Another narrative song from Squeeze. This went to number two, just as "Cool For Cats" had earlier in the year. They never got that high again, but many excellent singles followed.

Janet Kay

Silly Games

This surprised all chart watchers when after moving up five places to number 23, it leapt twenty places to number three. It eventually peaked at number two, and then Janet vanished, only to reappear again in 1990 in a duet with Lindy Layton with a remake of the track that reached number 22.

Anita Ward

Ring My Bell

This song had been written with Stacy Lattisaw in mind. But schoolteacher 'Anita Ward' ended up recording it and taking it to the top of the chart for a two week stay. Copies of this single had leaked out to Radio stations about a month prior to release, and it was already popular in discos before it's entry into the chart at the beginning of June. But this was her only hit, and I believe she went back to teaching a few years later, only to have another stab at stardom in the 90's.

Gerry Rafferty

Night Owl

Another wonderful single, this reached number five. It was Gerry's first hit since "Baker Street" over a year earlier, despite a few releases. I actually like this one more than his most famous hit, and it also had a good B side in "Why Don't You Talk To Me".

Amii Stewart

Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven

Amii was having her second hit of the year, and what would turn out to be her biggest hit when it peaked at number five. Amii of course came from what would turn out to be a hitmaking family. Her Mother "Miquel Brown" was to have minor success in the mid 80's with songs such as "He's A Saint, He's A Sinner", while Amii's sister "Sinitta" had many hits during the late 80's/early 90's including "So Macho" and something about a big red "GTO" (though why she'd want to sing about the Dooley's record company is beyond me).

Quantum Jump

The Lone Ranger

This single probably sold more copies due to it's inclusion of the longest word, than the actual song. The song started with the word "Taumatwacky etc" and it was spoken again during the course of the song. The word was used weekly during 'Kenny Everett's Video Show' during 1978 & 1979, when a cartoon face appeared on screen saying it. The song itself dealed with the possibility that the Lone Ranger and Tonto were possibly lovers as they spent every minute of every day together. If the powers that be at the BBC had noticed the lyrical content, they would probably have "acted in our best interests" and removed it from the playlist. But they didn't and the single went to number five.

Earth Wind And Fire & The Emotions

Boogie Wonderland

Earth Wind And Fire were going through the most successful phase of their career, and this was taken from the brilliant 'I Am' album. They credited their girl backing singers 'The Emotions' on this track, and peaked at number four.

Sex Pistols

C'mon Everybody

This would be the Sex Pistol's last top ten hit when it reached number three. Despite John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) no longer being with the band, 1979 was most successful year in the chart. This was the second Eddie Cochran cover sang by Sid Vicious to make number three. So tame that even my Mother liked this. It has to be said though, it was good.

Roxy Music

Dance Away

And the comeback was complete. Roxy Music had split in 1976, but after three solo albums Bryan Ferry was starting to experience difficulty in selling his music. So the band reformed, but the first single "Trash" was considered just that by many people and struggled to number 40. But then "Dance Away" was quickly released and became their biggest hit to date spending three weeks at number two, and signal the beginning of the most successful period in their history.

Blondie

Sunday Girl

This was the fourth single to be pulled from the 'Parallel Lines' album. This was still quite unusual at the time (Michael Jackson hadn't started his comeback yet), but even more unusual was that it spent three weeks at number one, and wasn't actually very good really. This was one of those rare occasions in the 70's when an act reached number one due to their popularity rather than the actual content of the single. Of course Blondie would start to give us good stuff again with their next single release.

Eddy Grant

Living On The Front Line

This number 11 peaking single was Eddy's first solo hit. It was his first appearance in the chart since early 1971 when he had charted as a member of the Equals with "Black Skinned Blue-Eyed Boys". I presumed that he would be yet another one hit wonder reggae act.

McFadden & Whitehead

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now

This is one of the all time great dance records and went as high as number five. This has been covered so many times. It was used at the beginning of, and as the title of Enigma's number eleven peaking 1981 hit, was taken to number 22 by Luther Vandross in 1995. The melody was used as the backing track for Jocko's "Rhythm Talk" Rap single in 1980, and was even on the CD single of Wet Wet Wet's huge 1994 hit "Love Is All Around".

Dollar

Who Were You With In THe Moonlight

This was the second hit for Dollar, and also the second to peak at number 14. I clearly remember on one particular Sunday as the record faded out (with the song's title being repeated), Simon Bates quipped "Not telling you, ner ner ner ner ner". I can never hear this song without thinking of that.

Edwin Starr

H.A.P.P.Y. Radio

This number nine peaking single was Edwin's second top ten hit of the year. The 12 inch extended version of this track is brilliant, and I have a story behind it. In 1996, I was at a record fair in my local area, and who walked in, but Edwin. He was there for the sole purpose of buying this 12 inch single, and he got it.

John Williams

Cavatina

See number 19

Sister Sledge

We Are Family

This song is annoying. Don't get me wrong, I liked it when it was first released , but by the time it had charted for a third time in 1993 it had just got plain annoying. It reached number eight on this, it's original release.

Village People

Go West

This was their third hit of 1979, and the smallest only reaching number 15. It was also the least suspect (if you get my drift). Of course it was encouraging people to go to San Francisco, but most didn't realise the implications of that. I'm not condemning them for any of the songs (they were after all, good disco records), I'm just stating that such things were not as easily tolerated then as they are now.
The Pet Shop Boys reached number two with a cover of this song in 1993, since when it has become a football terrace anthem (1-0 to the Nottingham/Arsenal/whatever).

19		Shadows		Theme From The Deerhunter (Cavatina)
16		John Williams		Cavatina

Like Edwin Starr, the Shadows were also making a brief comeback. This was their last top ten hit ever. This track was featured on their highly successful 'String Of Hits' album. The other version was the only hit for Classical Guitarist John Williams who peaked at number 13 with his accoustic version. John should not be confused with the American orchestra leader with the same name.

Thom Pace

Maybe

A number 14 peaking record that my Grandfather liked. This was the title song from the TV show "The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams". Thom never returned to the chart.

Ruts

Babylon's Burning

This was their first and biggest hit. It reached number seven, but I didn't particularly like it. I much preferred their next two hits. But as time has gone on, I can now tolerate it more than I could back then.

Chic

Good Times

THE bass line. Yes, this is the one that they all copy, and if it wasn't for this, rap may never have crossed over into the mainstream. Ok, it probably would have done, but Sugarhill Gang would not have recorded such a masterpiece as "Rappers Delight". It peaked at number five here and went to the top in the States.
Most people didn't buy singles until they were already in the chart in 1979, hence the (what now seems like a strange) phenonemon of singles climbing the chart. Even Radio stations didn't tend to put a single on their playlist until it was actually released. But those of us who read the music press, did know about the new releases and were able to buy them on the release date (normally a Thursday or Friday), and this was one that I did buy on Thursday 28th June. On Friday 29th (my Dad's birthday), I went to a disco in the Wynnstay Arms Hotel (at the end of my street). I was most impressed that the DJ already had a copy of this single and played it quite a few times. My on-off thing with Bridget was off at the time, but she asked me to have a dance with her to this song and things picked up again within a few days.
What didn't go so well was how I felt the next morning. I had been getting other people to visit the bar for me all night (I had no chance of getting served), and I ended up having one or two too many. But I had to go into work for overtime on the Saturday morning, from 7:30am - 12:30. Well, I eventually got there for 9:00am, where Bram was waiting half expecting me to turn up late or not at all. He gave me the usual handclaps an inch from my head, revved up the Ransom Multimower right next to me. When he eventually realised that there was no chance of anyone getting any work out of me that morning, he told me to go home. The good thing is, the bosses didn't find out and I still got paid for it.

Lene Lovich

Say When

I often prefer the lesser known songs by certain acts as is the case with this number 19 peaking hit by Lene. The reason is likely to be a a case of the smaller hits not being overplayed on the radio. She had previously hit number three with the stupid "Lucky Number" in March of this year.

Chas & Dave

Gertcha

For those of you who remember all those annoying early 80's hits by Chas And Dave, well, this wasn't as bad as them, it was quite amusing. It reached number twenty.
They had actually come close to having their first hit the previous November with "Strummin", a single that I remember a work colleague (known as Steve Peas) buying.

Skids

Masquerade

This was their second hit in this, their best year for chart success. It climbed to number 14.
I had a portable radio at the time, it was the 'Masquerade' model. One day Harry asked me if the radio was related to the Skids. Daft question really, I can't see how a radio could be related to anyone, but I humoured him anyway. Harry was a few years older than me, and I'm not sure whether Harry was his real name, or whether he earned the nickname due to his likeness to "Flash Harry" from the St. Trinians films (played by "George Cole"). He lived up to the "Flash Harry" thing for a while, he drove a replica of the John Player Special car. I had something of a run in with him a couple of years later though. One Saturday night there was a disco on in the Ruabon Community Centre, so myself and a friend went to see if we could get in. Harry wasn't someone you would think of straight away when it comes to choosing a doorman, but there he was. He seemed so full of his own self importance as he told us that we couldn't go in, but that was that, we went elsewhere. That night, someone stole the brake lights from his car. The following day and everytime I saw him afterwards, he accused me of being the culprit. I always protested my innocence and even suggested that he reported it to the police, but he wouldn't have it. I haven't seen him since the beginning of 1983, but if I bumped into him tomorrow, he'd still accuse me. I should have taken his new ones and slashed his tyres.

Thin Lizzy

Do Anything You Want To

Thin Lizzy were having a great deal of commercial success in 1979. The album "Black Rose" had reached number two in the album chart, and this was the second top Twenty hit from it reaching number 14.
This was also the second hit this year to mention the death of Elvis Presley. The first by Generation X (King Rocker) included the line "Round Five, Elvis took a dive, waiting for the towel more dead than alive". This hit included the lines "Elvis is dead, the king of rock and roll is dead". These facts won't change the world, but I thought I'd mention them anyway !

Dooleys

Wanted

Incredible ! The Dooleys had managed four hits in the previous two years. All four were simple inoffensive songs that your grandparents would whistle along to. Then came this. It was also inoffensive, but after what had come before, it seemed as though the Dooleys rocked (well, kind of). They had the biggest hit of their career reaching number three.

Beach Boys

Lady Lynda

Regulars will know that I found those surfing records that the Beach Boys gave the world during the 60's at best, irritating. For those of you who think that all singles by Status Quo sound the same, and they're a bit of a joke, or all records produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman (Kylie, Rick Astley, Mel & Kim etc) sound the same and are also a joke, then that's how I feel about the Beach Boys and their 60's output (except for "Good Vibrations" which is a true classic). But they had come back earlier in 1979 with a minor hit "Here Comes The Night" which was disco influenced and very good. They now followed it with "Lady Lynda" which used the melody from a hymn ("Jesu Joy Of Man's Desire") at the beginning, climbed to number six and became their biggest hit for nine years.

Dave Edmunds

Girl's Talk

Great Elvis Costello song that gave Dave his real comeback (after his not entirely successful attempt two years previous). It spent three weeks at number four, his highest position since the 1970 number one "I Hear You Knocking.

Patrick Hernandez

Born To Be Alive

This big disco hit made number 10 in the mainstreram chart. But, this single is now more famous for the rumour that Madonna sang backing vocals on it. If this is true, then maybe Madonna should have sang the lead vocal. I know she isn't exactly a singer of the calibre of Gladys Knight, Elaine Paige or Diana Ross (though she has improved through the years), but this Hernandez character was simply awful. He sounded like he was straining to sing (I could say straining to do something else, but there is no room for toilet humour here).

Slick

Space Bass

Not to be confused with Slik the band that Midge Ure was a part of during the mid 70's, Slick were a disco outfit who reached number 16 with this great single. It was their only hit, but they almost charted with the follow up "Sexy Cream". If my good memory hasn't deserted me, "Sexy Cream" was banned by Radio One, I can't imagine why :D

Supertramp

Breakfast In America

The title track from THAT album. An extremely good album that I've never got around to getting. I never thought that this was one of the best tracks though, a little silly, which would have been fine if I didn't get the impression that they were trying to be a serious band. It reached number nine.

UK Subs

Stranglehold

This was the first hit for the Subs. During the next 16 months, they would have six singles peak between numbers 26 & 37. This was the biggest of those hits, from a band that didn't compromise like so many others to have come along with the punk movement. They played it fast and furious.

Public Image Ltd

Death Disco

Swan Lake on acid with John Lydon wailing about something in somebody's eyes. Seems a bit iffy I suppose, but it worked for me, I liked it. Reached number twenty, and the next time they appeared in the top twenty was in 1983.

Bonnie Tyler

Married Men

This peaked at number 35 and become Bonnie's last hit for almost four years (which was a shame as she had waited 18 months for this one). This track was taken from the film "The World Is Full Of Married Men" and Bonnie was shown singing the track as the opening credits were on screen. Mick Jackson was shown singing the song as the closing credits ran, and his version was also released as a single, but failed to chart. That is Mick Jackson, not Michael.

Rickie Lee Jones

Chuck E's In Love

This is one that I heard every Saturday for months on Paul Gambaccini's US chart show before it finally made the chart over here. It was the kind of thing that needed many listens before I liked it, but by the time it did make our chart, I felt that I'd heard it so many times that I didn't want to buy it. It reached number four over there, and number 18 here in a run that lasted just eight weeks.

E.L.O.

Shine A Little Love

This was also their best year for commercial success. This was the first single from the 'Discovery' album, and had been their fourth consecutive (official) single release to peak at number six. Many of their diehard fans seemed to have abandoned them by this stage due to their commercial approach. But, I still liked them, and 'Discovery' is my favourite E.L.O. album.

Wings

Old Siam Sir

Not the best single they ever made. Sounded a little messy to me, like it had just been thrown together in five minutes. This was a complete turnaround from the polished performance of the previous "Goodnight Tonight" single. It peaked at number 35, while the next single "Getting Closer" fared even worse by failing to make the 40 at all.

Donna Summer

Bad Girls

The title track from yet another double album from Donna, the third in a little over 18 months. This album was probably Donna's finest moment, and the way in which the tracks were segued seemed magnificent to me at the time. This reached number 14 over here, and gave Donna her second successive American number one.

Kevin Keegan

Head Over Heels In Love

Yes, it's that Kevin Keegan, the one who says "tremendous" more often than Hilda Ogden used to say "Would you credit it ?". Complete with his permed hair, this football icon took this to number 31. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as you might imagine, but he had no further hits apart from his appearance on "This Time" by the 1982 England World Cup Squad.

These were in the top 50 this week, but failed to reach the top 40.

Kiss

I Was Made For Loving You

They'd already been having US hits for five years, but they hadn't had a sniff of the chart over here. It took this disco influenced single to get them close. No cigar though as it peaked at number 50 (number 11 in the US). It was another four years before they finally made the UK top 40.

Manfred Mann's Earthband

Don't Kill It Carol

Taken from the brilliant "Angel Station" album, this was the last time that 'MME' got anywhere near the top 40. Throughout over a quarter of a century of music making, the Earthband have always seemed to sound different to anything else around at the time, and this 'Mike Heron' song was no exception. I would have thought that sales would have boosted by the inclusion of the full length version of "Blinded By The Light" on the flip, but it only reached number 45.
Despite no further hits in the UK, and only one further US top 100 entry (1984's "Runner"), they continued to release some good stuff right into the mid 90s, including 1987's "Masque". This album included a return to their 1973 hit "Joybringer", and their cover of the Jam's "Start" (re-titled What You Give Is What You Get). They had already covered the Jam's other 1980 number one "Going Underground" the previous year as well as the Rod's "Do Anything You Wanna Do". They even covered Del Amitri's "Nothing Ever Happens" in 1996.
Manfred Mann's Earthband - One of the great bands of our generation.

Sniff'n The Tears

Driver's Seat

A classic single for most that heard it, but that doesn't seem to have been many, not at the time of it's release/s anyway. I'm almost certain that it originally came out in 1978 but got nowhere at all. It was then re-issued just ahead of it's US release and reached number 42. Over in the US, it did much better spending nine weeks in the top 40 and peaking at number 15. It was re-issued again sometime in the '80s, but it seems destined never to become a UK hit. Shame.

Some 1979 MP3s

Match - Boogie Man

Some More 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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