Jason’s Jukebox Volume 39

Jason Maloney reviews

JASON’S JUKEBOX
V o l u m e # 3 9 Chart Date: 12th November 1977 Online Date: 12th November 2004

Abba: Gold The very first UK chart – a list of the ten best-selling gramophone records of the moment – was published in 1952, and dated for the week ending 14th November. A quarter of a century later, the Top 40 (as it had long since evolved into) had become an integral piece of British culture. One of the most successful acts during those first 25 years were the Scandanavian pop maestros ABBA. 1974’s Waterloo got them off and running with a debut #1, and then after a handful of misfires the big hits really started rolling in almost without a pause. Latest smash, The Name Of The Game had risen with typical haste to the very summit, and now on its second week the track held the honour of being at #1 for the UK Chart’s silver anniversary.

Former #1, Yes Sir I Can Boogie by European disco-lettes Baccara held on to the #2 spot and Rod Stewart‘s You’re In My Heart remained at its peak of #3, but Status Quo and The Tom Robinson Band were both moving upwards; Quo’s version of the John Fogerty song Rockin’ All Over The World inched up from #5 to #4, while 2-4-6-8 Motorway made inroads into the Top 5 by moving up from #8.

The single which would make the biggest advance 7 days later, however, was stuck at #6. Queen‘s We Are The Champions, featuring the unofficial double A-side We Will Rock You, went on to hit #2.

---

Santana:
The Ultimate Collection The award for longest title for any charting UK hit between 1952 and 1977 went to Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognised Anthem Of World Contact Day), the quirky #9 single from The Carpenters. They enjoyed several Top 10 hits during the 1970s as well as huge success on the album charts, but Calling Occupants.. would be their last significant entry on the Top 40, the duo’s career tragically cut short when Karen Carpenter died in 1983.

A pair of oldies straddled the Top 10: Smokie‘s cover of 60s classic Needles & Pins was up to #10, just keeping out a re-issue of Virginia Plain by Roxy Music which originally made #4 in 1972 but had to settle for #11 second time around. Santana, meanwhile, were up from #25 to #18 with a version of the 1964 Zombies hit She’s Not There.

Two of the decade’s most consistent hitmakers, David Bowie and Electric Light Orchestra, weren’t having the best of times; Bowie’s majestic Heroes strangely failed to go beyond #24, and was already falling to #25. Turn To Stone, taking over the #24 slot, eventually became a modest Top 20 hit for ELO. New releases by The Jacksons (Goin’ Places) and Slade (My Baby Left Me) similarly fell a long way short of earlier glories; the former went nowhere but #26, while the latter’s debut position of #32 was also its highest.

---

Kenny Everett:
The Complete Naughty Bits! The Bee Gees, though, were about to hit unprecendented heights courtesy of their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. How Deep Is Your Love made a subdued entry at #36, but just two weeks later was as high as #12 and on course for the Top 3. 1978 and 1979 would see an incredible run of Gibb-penned hits, both for themselves and for other acts, not only in the UK but especially in America.

Other future Top 10 hits included Darts‘ Daddy Cool (moving #37-#21), Belfast by Boney M (up 12 to #22), Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers’ Egyptian Reggae (new at #31) and Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue by Crystal Gayle (in at #35 and finally a Top 5 hit some 9 weeks later in January 1978). Elvis Costello & The Attractions‘ Watching The Detectives – holding at #33 having debuted there the week before – would also prove to be a slow-burner, ultimately reaching #15 on its 10th chart appearance.

Any comment on the Top 40 of November 12th 1977 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the single entering at #39: Captain Kremmen, by Kenny Everett and Mike Vickers. Everett fared better in 1982 with Snot Rap, the #9 peak of that single comprehensively beating the eventual #32 high of Captain Kremmen.

Page Content copyright © Jason Maloney, 2004.