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Jimmy James & the Vagabonds: Where Your Music Takes Me
The long, parched summer of 1976 was soundtracked by the first UK
chart-topper by Elton John, joined by Kiki Dee on the 6-week #1 Don't Go Breaking My
Heart. On his own, Elton had reached #2 with Rocket Man, but it wouldn't be
until 1990 that he'd score a completely solo #1 in Britain. Don't Go Breaking My
Heart was enjoying the fifth of its 6 weeks at the summit, while A Little Bit
More by Dr. Hook continued to shadow it all the way; the single had climbed
to #2 the week Elton & Kiki hit the top and it was still there, making it
one of the longest-running #2 of all-time.
Several of the acts in the Top 10 of 28 years ago have long since been
forgotten; David Dundas (at #3 with Jeans On), Johnny Wakelin (up from #7 to #4
with In Zaire), Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (down to #7 with Now Is The Time)
and 5000 Volts (stuck at #8 with Dr. Kiss Kiss) didn't manage to carve out
lengthy chart careers for themselves.
The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Among the more familiar names, however, were mainstays of the 70s Top 40
listings such as Wings and the Bee Gees. Paul McCartney's outfit were on course
for consecutive UK #2s as Let 'Em In climbed 8 places to #5, and a
pre-Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees inched up a place to #9 with the glorious You Should
Be Dancing. The Beatles, despite splitting up in 1970, also had a presence in
the Top 10 thanks to Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's faithful cover of Here
Comes The Sun, which was up from #16 to its peak position of #10.
The George Harrison-penned track originally appeared on the Fab Four's Abbey Road album in
1969 but was never released as a single. Curiously, another Beatles album
cut, Back In The USSR (from 1968's douple opus The White Album), had just fallen
off the chart after a posthumous release on 45, having risen as high as #19
during a 6-week run.
The Very Best of Status Quo
Outside the Top 10, Status Quo's Mystery Song proved to be one of their
lesser hits, failing to go higher than #11 and now already in reverse. Bryan
Ferry's Extended Play EP, including a cover of the Everly Brothers' Price Of Love,
was moving in the opposite direction; hot on the heels of the #4 smash Let's
Stick Together a month earlier, Extended Play quickly climbed the Top 40;
debuting at #40 while its predecessor was still charting, it soared 25 places to
#15 and now stood at #14 where it would remain the following week before
vaulting up to #7.
Swapping places with Bryan Ferry were the Isley Brothers and
their seminal Harvest For The World, a former #10 hit. Nine years later it
would be covered by Duran Duran/Chic supergroup The Power Station on their
eponymous debut album (although it wasn't released as a single), and eight years
after that it became a hit again for The Christians.
Billy Ocean: The Ultimate Collection
At #20, Billy Ocean was in the midst of his first flush of success. Love On
Delivery had been as high as #19, the second of four back-to-back Top 20 hits
that included a pair of #2s, but he would have to wait until 1984's comeback
with Carribean Queen to grace the UK Top 40 again. Climbers in the bottom
half of the Top 40 were few and far between; only Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak (up 8
to #31) and Jesse Green's Nice And Slow (up from #35 to #25) making notable
advances.
New at #22 and #23 respectively, Rod Stewart's The Killing Of Georgie and
Dancing Queen by ABBA subsequently found themselves occupying the top two
positions a month later, although the latter's #23-#16-#1 progress eclipsed the
slightly slower upward movement of Rod's single, which would climb
#22-#18-#8-#6-#2.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
