The last month of 1977. On the date of this chart, Brits won Nobel Prizes in Economics and Physics. There were prizes on offer here too in the form of chart positions. Let's see who claimed them.
40 - "Really Free," John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett
From Buckinghamshire, folk-punk oddballs Otway and Barrett had their biggest hit with this rollicking rocker about girl trouble. Snottily charming.
39 - "You're Fabulous Babe," Kenny Williams
I can't find much about Williams, but this okay bit of heavily-produced disco-soul was created for a commercial for Faberge's Babe perfume starring Ernest Hemingway's actress-model daughter Margaux. It was so associated with the perfume that the BBC banned it to avoid providing free advertising. YouTubing the commercial rang some bells of familiarity, but it didn't stay on my mind like the jingle for another fragrance of the era, Wind Song. Damn you, Prince Matchabelli!
38 - "Run Back," Carl Douglas
The Jamaican behind the 1974 Triple Crown winner "Kung Fu Fighting," managed two more Top 40s here, the last being this disco reconciliation plea. Okay, but it could maybe use a visit from Funky Billy Chin and/or Funky Sammy Chong.
37 - "I Believe You," Dorothy Moore.
The second and last hit for the Mississippian who had a transatlantic Top Five with "Misty Blue" was this ballad about placing faith in a man who will presumably break one's heart. She was great at this kind of soul. She may have been bigger if she'd come along a decade later.
36 - "Only the Strong Survive," Billy Paul
Yet another singer mainly known for one song, in this case the 1972 American charttopper "Me and Mrs. Jones." That only got to #12 here, but Britain did reward him with five further hits, the last being this cover of a 1968 Jerry Butler hit about perseverance. On the right side of the border between Philly soul and disco.
35 - "Needles and Pins," Smokie
The fifth Top Ten for these prolific Yorkshiremen was a cover of a song co-written by a pre-Cher Sonny Bono that was a 1964 hit for The Searchers. It's okay, but future versions by the Ramones and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers blow it away.
34 - "Only Women Bleed," Julie Covington
The only other solo hit for the woman who hit #1 with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was a cover of Alice Cooper's 1975 surprise feminist anthem. The original wasn't released as a single here, so it was likely the first exposure to the song for much of Britain. It's a very theatrical performance, but it grows on you steadily.
33 - "I Love You," Donna Summer
Donna's disco celebration of found love just scraped into the Top 40 at home, but it was a Top Ten here. Another U.K.win.
32 - "Georgina Bailey," Noosha Fox
Australian Susan Traynor had moved to England when she changed her name upon joining a band called Fox. They picked up three hits between '74 and '76, then Noosha left the band and had this solo hit. It's a pop ballad about a girl who leaves home to go live with her uncle Jean-Paul in France. She develops forbidden romantic feelings for him, but when she finally reveals this to him, he tells her not only that he doesn't feel like that for her, but he "keeps company with a man from gay Paris." This too was banned by the BBC, though I can’t imagine why. And 40 years later, I am making it an extremely Uneasy Rider.
31 - "L.A. Run," The Carvells
I think this band's British, and I think they had their only hit with this Beach Boys soundalike about skateboarding in California. I do know that a band called Magnum Bonum did a Swedish version and took it to #1 there a year later. That's nice.
30 - "Goin' Places," The Jacksons
Not one of the boys' better post-Motown efforts, this is showbizzy horn-pop about riding in airplanes. Better suited to a variety show production number than a song sung by Michael Jackson rounding into his prime.
29 - "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," Rod Stewart
A transatlantic Top Five, this is a sorta sappy but somehow genuinely moving acoustic ballad about how much he loved Britt Ekland. And yes, the past tense already applied.
28 - "Going for the One," Yes
The second home hit single for the prog stalwarts contained their usually obtuse lyrics, but the music is uncharacteristically bluesy rock, although there is some keyboard noodling. A more interesting direction change then the flat out sellout that was "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
27 - "Gettin' Ready for Love," Diana Ross
Miss Ross with a peppy jazz-pop love song in the Natalie Cole vein. She works it like a pro, and raises it above average.
26 - "My Way," Elvis Presley
The King's posthumously released live version of Paul Anka's ode to living life on one's own terms was a Top Ten here, but didn't crack the Top 20 at home. He does his showy Vegas thing with it, and it's okay, but Frank and Sid did it better ways.
25 - "White Christmas," Bing Crosby
Irving Berlin's holiday standard returned to the charts a month after Crosby died of a heart attack on a golf course in Spain. You've heard it, you have your opinion of it, I can’t imagine Christmas without it.
24 - "Yes Sir I Can Boogie," Baccara
The Spanish female duo of Mayte Mateos and Maria Mendiola had two Top Tens, including their charttopping debut, this bit of ESL disco. They clearly aimed for Donna Summer, but they landed well short of even ABBA. I'd like to think that much of their success came from camp value, but it was the 70s, so who knows?
23 - "2-4-6-8 Motorway," The Tom Robinson Band
In 1963, at the age of 13, Cambridge native Thomas Giles Robinson realised he was gay, at a time when homosexuality was still a crime in Britain. It caused him shame and self-loathing at first, but he eventually embraced who he was and turned to political activism and punk rock. The debut single from his eponymous band, this catchy rock song about an all-night truck driver, was a Top Five hit. They never reached those charts heights again, but they would soon create a legacy with their 1978 anthem "Glad to Be Gay."
22 - "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)," Chic
The debut hit for the disco-funk kings went to #6 here, #6 in the U.S., and...#6 in Canada. Three sixes. Does this mean disco is the true devil's music? Um, no.
21 - "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue," Crystal Gayle
The pop ballad that made Gayle an international star was a Top Five on the big two charts, but Canada made it a Number One. That's right. It's a fantastic song. Shirley Bassey, for whom it was originally intended, would have done okay, but it ended up where it belonged.
In Part Two: multiple tributes to rhythmic movement and female education.
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