GATW: UKT40 January 12,1974 Part One

And now to the beginning of 1974.  The government of Prime Minister Edward Heath had just instituted a three-day work week to conserve electricity in the face of job action by the National Union of Mineworkers.  This lasted until March 8, after the Labour Party's Harold Wilson gained power.  When people did have the power to listen to music, this is what they were playing.

40 - "Walk Right Back," Perry Como
Mr. Relaxation's penultimate British Top 40 was this cover of a song that The Everly Brothers took to #1 here in 1961.  He blands it up and makes you want to encourage his lover to keep on walking away.

39 - "Photograph," Ringo Starr

This pop-rocker about  dwelling on lost love was co-written with George Harrison.  #1 in the States, but only #8 here.   Britain got it right.

38 - "All of My Life," Diana Ross

Miss Ross with a big cheesy wedding ballad.  She recites some of the lyrics in the middle.  Just reflective of her formula at the time.

37 - "Mind Games," John Lennon 

And classic call to strive for peace through the power of thought.  I don't think it would hurt to start putting some soul power to the Karmic wheel right about now, do you?

36 - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," Elton John 

Maybe the best of his best.  Once again, it was up to Canada to make it the #1 it deserved to be.   Do we have to do everything for you guys?

35 - "Eye Level," Simon Park Orchestra 

This brass-heavy instrumental was originally composed for Dutch libraries, but was then recorded by British Park and Co. for the Amsterdam-set cop show Van der Valk.  Sounds more like a parade march than a scene-setter for drug busts and murders, but Britain made it a #1.  Maybe I'd get it if I'd seen the show.

34 - "Take Me High," Cliff Richard 

Sir Cliff again, this time with an uptempo pop song about longing to find solace in a lover's arms.  Sounds like the Partridge Family, but in a good way.

33 - "Keep on Truckin'," Eddie Kendricks

His only American solo #1 was his biggest hit here too, but it only hit #18.  Much too good for that.  A funk tour de force that I'may finally giving it's due.  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

32 - "Amoreuse," Kiki Dee

The first and biggest of the Eltonless hits by Bradford's Pauline Matthews was this post-coital ballad adapted from a French hit by Veronique Sanson.  Well-sung and affecting, but I can't help imagining Adele getting hold of this and just, as the kids say, slaying.

31 - "Dyna-Mite," Mud
This composition by prolific songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn was turned down by Sweet, but then ended up the first of eleven Top Tens for another glam band.  It's your basic peppy pop-rock about a woman walks into a room and turns it into a party, but it's hooky and fun enough to stand out.

30 - "Sorrow," David Bowie

Bowie was arguably at the peak of his U.K. stardom when hereleased the LP Pin-Ups, a collection of covers of songs he liked by British artists between 1964.  This one was a 1966 hit by The Merseys, a song about being under the spell of a blue-eyed blonde.  Simple, but unmistakably Bowie.

29 - "For the Good Times," Perry Como 

Perry again, this time with his last British Top Ten, a covery of a Kris Kristofferson song made famous by Ray Price.  Better than "Walk Right Back," but still not much.

28 - "Daydreamer/Puppy Song," David Cassidy 

Although his time in The Partridge Family was wrapping up, Cassidy's star had never been brighter, particularly in Britbain.  His second day and last #1 there was double-sided. The A was a loping ballad of lost love, the B a jaunty cover of a Harry Nilsson song about longing for friendship.  The latter is definitely the one to seek out if you're not a hormonal teenage girl who somehow time traveled from 1974 London.

27 - "Vaya con Dios," Millican and Nesbitt 

Alan Millican and Tom Nesbitt, two miners from Northumberland, won the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1973, and they went on to score two Top 40 hits, the first and biggest being this cover of a Spanish-flavored farewell song popularized by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1953.  You forget it the second it's over.

26 - "Step Into Christmas," Elton John 

Sir Elton's one venture into holiday music was this trifling invitation to "hop aboard the turntable" with him.  That seems pointless and impractical.  It only reached #24 in the charts, but it's become a perennial.  Well, it's at the very least better than "Wonderful Christmas Time."

25 - "Helen Wheels," Paul McCartney and Wings 

Speaking of Macca, here he is with his song about his Land Rover.  A middling rock n'roll car song.  The man certainly coasted sometimes.

24 - "Do You Wanna Dance," Barry Blue

Ironically, this London glam rocker was born Barry Green.  The second of his five Top 40s was this okay example of the genre.  It also must be noted that it's not a cover of the oft-remade 1958 Bobby Freeman hit.  That actually might have been better.

23 - "Top of the World," Carpenters

Karen and Richard weren't quite the hit machine here that they were at home, but they had some success, and this bit of country joy was the second of their three Top Fives.  Happy beauty.

22 - "Solitaire," Andy Williams 

The veteran crooner's last Top Five was this version of a Neil Sedaka loneliness ballad.  The Carpentersecond took this to the U.S. Top Twenty a year later, and while Karen's unbeatable, ol' Andy does pretty well by this.

21 - "Let Me In," The Osmonds

Williams' former proteges were at the height of their U.K. popularity when they hit #2 with this square ballad from their Mormom-themed album The Plan.  It's only intriguing because it's a love song, but you aren't sure who it's for.

In Part Two:  more glam, more Christmas, and more Osmonds.