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1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
1971 1972
1973 1974
1975 1976
1977
MIKE SMITH’S HOT HUNDRED UK HITS 1978 In 1978 Disco music continued to be very popular in the charts, with the Bee Gees, Boney M and American newcomers, Earth, Wind & Fire enjoying several hits. However, there was still room for plenty of other music, especially the hits from the soundtrack of the film "Grease" which was the biggest grossing film in both the UK and USA during 1978. American New Wave act Blondie, fronted by the charismatic Debbie Harry, had four Top 20 hits, which kicked off a long and successful chart career. Revival bands Darts and Showaddywaddy had three Top 10 hits each, and more chart success came to Rod Stewart and American middle-of-the-road star Barry Manilow. Swedish group Abba had two big hits whilst also releasing their own film and topping the album chart. The biggest selling single came from Boney M whose double-A side "Rivers Of Babylon" and "Brown Girl In The Ring" reigned on the UK chart for 40 weeks, five of which were at Number One. These are my personal favourite recordings from this particular year, listed in the order in which they entered the UK hit singles chart. You may not agree with my choices, but these were UK chart hits that had plenty of air play on the music radio stations of the day, such as BBC Radio 1, Capital Radio, and other commercial radio stations. |
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1 Title: Wishing On A Star Rose Royce was an American Soul and R&B group featuring lead singer Gwen Dickey (born 1 Dec 1953 in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA). It was an eight-piece band, including a small brass section, based in Los Angeles. They came to fame when their producer and songwriter, Norman Whitfield, was asked to compose and produce songs for a new film called "Car Wash". Whitfield wrote the songs and used Rose Royce to perform them for the soundtrack. The film and soundtrack album were a success, with the single "Car Wash" peaking at Number One in the USA. It was a Top 10 hit in the UK during early 1977. More hits followed, with two more UK Top 10 hits during 1978. Singles after that were less successful and Dickey left the band in 1980. She was replaced and the act continues to perform in the USA. |
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2 Title: Figaro The Brotherhood Of Man
was the project of songwriter Tony Hiller, started in 1969. Originally
it was a vehicle for an ever-changing selection of session singers.
In 1970 they had a Top 10 hit with "United We Stand" (see
year 1970, song 12) with vocalists Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, co-writer
Johnny Goodison and two female singers.
In 1973 Hiller decided to stabilise the group, having two males and two females
on a permanent basis. This led to the group eventually recording the song
"Save Your Kisses For Me" in 1976, which reached Number One in the UK
charts and was the British entry in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which the
group won (see year 1976, song 18).
The singers were Martin Lee, Nicky Stevens, Sandra Stevens and
Lee Sheriden.
Two more chart-toppers followed in 1977 and 1978 respectively. Although the
hits stopped at the end of the 1970s, the group continues on the cabaret and
nostalgia circuits. |
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3 Title: If I Had Words Scott Fitzgerald
was born on 28 Apr 1948 in Glasgow, Scotland. He issued his
first recording in 1974, but did not reach the UK charts until 1978
when he recorded this song in duet with Dutch singer Yvonne Keeley.
The song was also a hit in the Netherlands. He went on to represent
the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Go"
in 1988, coming second in the contest. |
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4 Title: Lovely Day Bill Withers (4 Jul
1938 - 30 Mar 2020) was
born in West Virginia, USA. Withers enlisted with the United States
Navy at the age of 18 and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in
singing and writing songs.
He left the Navy in 1965 and relocated to Los Angeles in 1967.
He had a variety of manual jobs whilst he developed a career in
music. In early 1970 he gained a recording contract at the age
of 32 and recorded an album. His second album
came in 1972 and included the single "Lean On Me" which became a
Number One hit in the USA and a Top 20 hit in Britain (see year
1972, song 64). This
was his first UK hit since "Lean On Me". He had
problems with CBS records during the second half of the 1970s and
early 1980s, and thus only recorded sporadically during that
time. Disillusioned with the recording industry, he retired in
1985. However, his name was kept alive with remixes and
compilation albums, as well as by songs he wrote for other
performers. In the 21st century he was inducted into three different
halls of fame in the USA. |
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5 Title: I Was Only Joking Rod Stewart was
born 10 Jan 1945 in north London, England. His father was
Scottish, and Stewart has always celebrated his Scottish
roots. He came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s
in the Jeff Beck Group, and then the Faces, but he recorded solo in
addition to his group duties. Stewart's 1971 solo album "Every Picture Tells a Story" made him a household name,
reaching Number One in the UK and USA. The album contained the
Tim Harding song "Reason To Believe", which was issued as
a single. The B-side of that record was "Maggie May"
which soon became the dominant side, reaching Number One on both
sides of the Atlantic. His fame grew to
worldwide proportions, and he has sold over 120 million records
throughout the world. He has had nine Number One albums in the UK
Album chart, and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the
Top 10, six of which were chart toppers. Stewart has had 16
Top 10 singles in the USA. From 2002 to 2010 he issued five
albums in his "Great American Songbook" series, which were
all successful in the charts. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.
He issued a new album, "The Tears Of Hercules", in 2021, which reached number five on the UK album chart.
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6 Title: Come Back My Love Darts was a nine-piece
British revival band that achieved chart success in the late 1970s and
early 1980s with revivals of early US Rock 'n' Roll, R&B and Doo-wop songs.
They achieved their first hit in November 1977 with a medley of
"Daddy Cool" (a hit for the Rays in 1955) and "The
Girl Can't Help It" (a hit for Little Richard in 1957).
In total they had six Top 10 hits plus a further two Top 20 hits by
1980. With falling popularity, the band broke up in 1983, and
members pursued other avenues in the music business. |
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7 Title: Mr Blue Sky The Electric
Light Orchestra (commonly known as ELO) was formed in 1970 by two
members of the band The Move, Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood. Wood
left ELO in 1972, and Lynne became the band's lead vocalist, songwriter
and record producer. Bev
Bevan was the drummer, and he remained a fixture until 1986. The band's sound is
characterised by a
full orchestral backing, often with classical overtones. During ELO's original 13-year period of active recording and touring,
they sold over 50 million records worldwide, and collected numerous awards.
From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated 27 top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart, and
fifteen top 20 hits on the American charts. They also achieved
seven Top 10 albums in the UK, including two that reached Number One
on the album chart. Lynne disbanded the group in 1986,
following which, drummer Bevan created ELO Part II and a couple of
small hits ensued for them. That incarnation ceased in
1999. Lynne finally reformed the band in 2014 as Jeff Lynne's
ELO. They toured frequently, and issued a new album in 2019.
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8 Title: Take A Chance On Me Abba was a
Swedish group who shot to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision
Song Contest with the song "Waterloo". The members were: Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 Apr 1950 in
Jönköping, Sweden),
Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 Nov 1945 in Ballangen, Norway), Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 Apr 1945 in Gothenburg, Sweden),
and Benny Andersson (born 16 Dec 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden).
Following their "Waterloo" success, there was a slight gap
in record sales until 1975 when they began a run of 18 UK Top 10
hits, lasting until 1981. They were the most successful
Scandinavian act, with success in the USA, Australia, most of Europe
and other parts of the world. They toured the world
extensively during the second half of the 1970s. In 1977
"ABBA: The Movie" a drama-documentary about their Australian
tour was released. Three 'greatest hits' albums were issued
between 1976 and 1982, but in 1992 their "Gold"
compilation album was released, which reached Number One in the UK,
eventually staying on the chart for 328 weeks. The group split
in 1982, and Benny and Björn
went on to write the musical "Chess" (with Tim Rice) which
opened in London in 1986. In 1999 a musical called "Mamma Mia!",
which featured numerous Abba songs opened in London. A film
version of the musical was released in 2008. Agnetha has
issued several solo albums, the most recent in 2013. Frida
initially retired from the music business and moved to Switzerland.
However, in late 2021 it was announced that Abba had reunited to
record a new album called "Voyage". |
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9 Title: Emotion Samantha Sang
was born on 5 August 1951 in Melbourne, Australia. She began
singing at a young age, using the name of Cheryl Gray. At the
age of 15 she issued her first single and by 1967 she was in the
Australian charts Top 10. In 1969 she travelled to the UK
where she met the Bee Gees pop group and signed a deal with their
management, changing her name to Samantha Sang (Sang was her real
surname). Some singles were recorded and released, but none
reached the UK charts. In 1977 she recorded the song
"Emotion" which was co-written and co-produced by Barry
Gibb. It reached number three in the USA, number two in
Australia and number eleven in the UK. Although she continued
to record and release new material, she had no other hits in the
UK. She eventually returned to live in Australia. |
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10 Title: Stayin' Alive
The Bee Gees were brothers Barry Gibb (born 1 Sep 1946, Isle of Man), and twins
Robin Gibb (22 Dec 1949 - 20 May 2012) and Maurice Gibb (22 Dec 1949 - 12 Jan 2003), also born on the Isle of Man. The three
brothers grew up in Manchester, UK, but in the mid-1950s the family moved to Australia. They began performing at a young
age, and by 1960 they were appearing on TV. After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with
"Spicks and Specks", they returned to the UK in January 1967, when producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to
a worldwide audience. In 1967 they had their first UK hit, the somewhat morbid song "New York Mining Disaster
1941", which reached number twelve. Hits continued through the remainder of the 1960s, when they enjoyed success
in the USA as well. Things went quiet in the early 1970s, but in the mid-1970s they jumped on the Disco bandwagon and
became superstars. They wrote several songs for the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever" which starred John
Travolta, and singles as well as the soundtrack album were worldwide hits. Their success continued through the
following decades, and they also wrote and produced many hits for other artists. Their final new album came in 2001,
but with the death of Maurice two years later, the other two embarked on solo projects apart from a couple of charity
events where they performed together. Robin died in 2012, and Barry has since performed and recorded solo.
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11 Title: Fantasy Earth, Wind
& Fire is a Soul/Funk/Disco band with as many as ten members,
including a horn section. The band was formed by Maurice White
(19 Dec 1941 - 4 Feb 2016), and he and Philip Bailey were the joint
lead singers. They first recorded in 1971 and gradually became
more and more successful with their first USA Number One single hit
coming in 1975. They first charted in the UK in 1977 when
"Saturday Nite" reached the Top 20. Their most
successful year in the UK charts was 1979 when three hits reached
the Top 10. They have continued to perform, with a changing
band membership, although Philip Bailey, Verdine White (Maurice's
brother) and Ralph Johnson are still part of the band, having been
present since the early 1970s. |
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12 Title: Baker Street Gerry Rafferty (16
Apr 1947 - 4 Jan 2011) was born in Paisley, Scotland. Rafferty
had humble beginnings in Scotland, but in his teens began writing
music. Moving to London, he spend time busking whilst trying
to make it in the music business. In 1969 he joined with later comedian
Billy Connolly to form the group the Humblebums. They recorded
a couple of albums, but separated in 1971. In 1972 Rafferty
joined with old school friend
Joe Egan to form
the group Stealers Wheel, and they enjoyed some success in the
charts (see year 1973, song 41). However, that success was
short-lived and they broke up in 1974. He went solo from that
time, but contractual issues prevented him from recording until
1977. His album "City To City" was a Top 10 success
in the UK album chart and it spawned the single "Baker
Street". Another Top 10 single and album followed in
1979, but sales of new material slowly diminished after that.
Nevertheless he continued to record periodically, his final album
coming in 2009. Sadly he died from liver failure in 2011 at
the age of 63. |
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13 Title: I Can't Stand The Rain Soul/Disco band
Eruption was formed in England in 1974 with lead singer Precious
Wilson. In 1977 they went to Germany where they signed a
record deal, and toured with Boney M. Their first UK hit came
in early 1978 when their recording of "I Can't Stand The
Rain" reached the Top 10. They had one more Top 10 in
1979, but no more hits came their way in the UK. They did have
a few more hits in Germany, but the band broke up in 1985.
Precious Wilson still tours, either solo, or with a new band also
called Eruption. |
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14 Title: Denis Blondie is an American
Rock band founded during 1974 in New York City by singer Debbie Harry
(born 1 Jul 1945 in Miami, USA) and guitarist Chris Stein (born 5
Jan 1950 in New York City). The band was a pioneer in the New
Wave scene. Fronted by the charismatic Debbie Harry the band
had their debut UK hit in 1978 with the song
"Denis". They went on to considerable success during
the last two years of the 1970s and into the early 1980s.
During that time they enjoyed four Number one hits in the USA and
five chart-toppers in the UK. There were also six Top 10
albums in the UK album chart from 1978 to 1982 including a 'best of'
album. However, by 1982 things were not going well. A UK and European tour was cancelled due to poor ticket
sales, and in November 1982, the band publicly announced that they had
disbanded. In 1983, Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus, and
Debbie Harry took on the roll of carer for him. Harry embarked on solo career in the mid-1980s,
and had the UK Top 10 single "French Kissing In The USA"
in late 1986. Several more lesser hits continued into the
early 1990s. In 1997, with Stein fully recovered, the members
of Blondie reunited, and they hit the UK Number One spot in 1999
with "Maria". The band has continued to record and
perform into the 2020s. |
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15 Title: Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats
And Dogs Brian and
Michael was a Folk music-style duo who had been working mainly in
Denmark, Sweden and Germany during the first part of the
1970s. They were also friends with Kevin Parrott who was lead
guitarist with a local Manchester band. Parrott arranged for
the pair to record the song which he produced. However, Brian
Burke decided to leave the duo after the recording had been made,
and when it became a hit, Parrott took on the role of Brian for all
the live performances that followed. Although further
recordings were made, none were hits, and this remains the duo's
only hit record. Coleman and Parrott continued in the music
business for many years, but Coleman finally retired in 2016. |
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16 Title: Baby Come Back Player was an American Soft-rock band formed during the late 1970s in Los Angeles, USA. Peter Beckett was the lead singer and song writer who originated from Liverpool, England. He had been in some local bands in the UK but moved to Los Angeles in 1974 at the age of 26. He met John Crowley at a party and the decided to form Player. They recorded their debut album in 1977 and the track "Baby Come Back" was taken from the album. The single became and American Number One hit, but in the UK it only managed number 32. No other recording reached the UK charts. Even by late 1978 there were disagreements among the band members, and this resulted in the departure of John Crowley who returned to his native Texas where he developed a career in Country Music. The remaining members continued and recorded sporadically for the following decades, most recently in 2013, although during the 1980s Beckett was mainly working as a songwriter for other artists. |
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17 Title: Is This Love Bob Marley (6
Feb 1945
- 11 May 1981) was born in Jamaica. He was a Reggae singer,
songwriter, musician, and guitarist who achieved international fame
and acclaim.
Starting out in 1963 with the group The Wailers, he forged a distinctive
songwriting and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide.
Marley's first UK hit came in 1975, the classic live recording of
"No Woman, No Cry". "Jamming" was his
second UK Top 10 entry. Following an assassination attempt,
Marley relocated to London at the end of 1976. However, in
1977 he was diagnosed with a form of cancer. Despite that he
continued recording and performing world wide, and performed his
last concert in the USA during 1980. His health deteriorated
soon after that, and he died in spring 1981. A compilation of
his greatest recordings, called "Legend", was issued in
1984 which entered the UK album chart at Number One, where it would
eventually clock 330 weeks on the chart. Further albums were
released, including another 'best of...' in 2001 which reached
number five on the UK album chart. |
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18 Title: Sometimes When We Touch Dan Hill was
born on 3 Jun 1954 in Toronto, Canada. He began singing and
performing as a teenager, and released his first single in
1972. He recorded his first album in 1975, but it was not
until 1978 that he enjoyed his first major success when
"Sometimes When We Touch" was released. The
recording reached Number One in his native Canada and number three
in the USA. Although he continued to have hits in Canada, it
was not until 1987 that he entered the USA Top 10 again, when he
recorded a duet with American singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard.
Titled "Can't We Try", it peaked at number six, and began
a short run of USA Top 10 hits until 1991. He continued to
write and perform into the 21st century, with a new album "On
The Other Side Of Here", released in 2021. |
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19 Title: Every 1's A Winner Hot
Chocolate is a five-piece Soul band from London, England which
became one of the most successful acts during the 1970s and
1980s. It was formed by
Errol Brown (12 Nov 1943 - 6 May
2015, born in Jamaica) and Tony Wilson (born in Trinidad on 8 Oct
1947). They started in 1968 as a Reggae band, but from 1970,
under the guidance of producer Mickie Most, they moved to a Soul/Pop
style. Their first hit was "Love Is Life" in 1970,
and this began a run of 25 UK Top 40 singles (12 Top 10) until
1984. Later in the 1980s, reissues returned them to the
charts. There were some personnel changes from time to time,
with Wilson leaving in 1976 and Errol Brown departing in 1986.
The band broke up after Brown's departure for a solo career, but it
was reformed with a new vocalist in 1992, with another new vocalist
in 2010, and it continues to perform in Britain and Europe until the
present.
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20 Title: I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass Nick Lowe was
born on 24 March 1949 at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. He
began his music career in 1969 when he joined with school friend
Brinsley Schwarz to form a band named Brinsley Schwarz. No
hits came for the band and Lowe left in 1975. He became a
record producer at Stiff Records, and recorded an album and singles
whilst there. Lowe's first chart success came in 1978 when
"I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass" reached number seven
in the UK charts - his only Top 10 success. From the 1980s he
worked with various bands, notably Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, and
wrote many songs, some of which were picked up by other
artists. He is still performing, and has appeared at the
Glastonbury Festival in 2011 and again in 2019. |
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21 Title: Follow You Follow Me Genesis was
formed in Surrey, England during 1967. It was a five-piece
Progressive Rock band which in addition to the three band members
who wrote this song (see above), included vocalist Peter Gabriel and
guitarist Steve Hackett. Their first hit album came in 1972
but Gabriel left in 1975 and went on to a successful solo
career. Following Gabriel's departure, drummer Phil Collins
took over vocal duties. Hackett left in 1977, and their 1978
album was titled "And Then There Were Three". That
album spawned this single which was the band's first entry in the UK
Top 10 singles chart. They went on to considerable success
with hit singles, and in particular hit albums, six of which reached
Number One. Whilst Genesis was fully active, Phil Collins
began a concurrent highly successful solo career from 1981, and for
several years he performed with the group and solo. Although
they performed through the 2010s, with Collin's deteriorating
health, the band's last performance was in 2022, when he sang but
did not play drums. It is not expected that there will be any
further performances or recordings from the band. |
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22 Title: If You Can't Give Me Love Suzi Quatro was
born 3 Jun 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She had a musical
father, and learned to play drums and bass guitar at an early age,
and in 1966 joined with her two sisters and others in the all-female
band the Pleasure Seekers. She moved to England in 1971 after
being seen by record producer Mickie Most. Her first release
in the UK during 1973, "Can The Can" went to Number One,
followed by the number three hit "48 Crash". She was
back at Number One in 1974 with "Devil Gate Drive", and
later that year "The Wild One" reached number seven.
Things went quite chart-wise after that until 1978 when she was in
the Top 10 again with "If You Can't Give Me Love".
That was her last major hit in the UK. She continued
performing and making some recordings into the 21st century.
During the 1980s she turned to acting and appeared in several TV
dramas and stage musicals. In the 2000s she hosted some music
shows on BBC radio. |
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23 Title: Never Let Her slip Away Andrew Gold (2 Aug 1951 - 3 Jun 2011) was born
in California, USA. Gold's parents were both musicians, so
Gold was destined to go into the music business. As a
multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter he worked with numerous
other musicians in the 1970s, in particular with Linda Ronstadt.
His debut solo album was released in 1975, but it was his second
album, "What's Wrong With This Picture?" that spawned his
UK debut
single "Lonely Boy" (see year 1977, song 26), which reached number seven in both
the USA and Canada. In 1978 he reached the UK Top 10 for the
only time with "Never Let Her Slip Away". In 1981
Gold worked with 10cc on their new album, and when 10cc broke up in
1983, band member Graham Gouldman formed the duo Wax with
Gold. The duo had a couple of modest hits in the second half
of the 1980s, but separated in 1989. Gold continued as a
composer, producer and session musician during the 1990s and 2000s, but died from heart failure in
2011 at the age of 59. |
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24 Title: I Wonder Why Showaddywaddy is a Rock 'n' Roll band specialising
in revivals of songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s. The
band was formed in Leicester, England in 1973. They came to
prominence after appearing on the TV talent show "New
Faces". The group was fronted by Dave Bartram (born 23
Mar 1952), and he remained in the group until 2011 when he then
became their manager. They first reached the charts in 1974,
and went on to have 23 hits, ten of which made the Top 10, until
1982. They have continued to perform until the present, although
there have been several personnel changes, especially in recent
years. |
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25 Title: Too Much, Too Little, Too Late Johnny Mathis
was born on 30 Sep 1935 in Texas, USA, but his family moved to San
Francisco, where he grew up. His father encouraged him to
sing, and he was having voice lessons from the age of 13. He
began singing in clubs in 1955, and was soon given a recording
contract. His crooning style was very popular with
the older generation, and TV appearances increased his popularity.
He issued dozens of albums of ballads and standards, as well as
having some success in the singles market. In 1976 his Christmas perennial,
"When A Child Is Born", first entered the UK charts,
reaching Number One. A few further hits continued in the UK
until 1979. |
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26 Title: Let's All Chant Michael Zager was born on 3 Jan 1943 in New Jersey, USA. He is primarily a record producer, but also a composer of mostly TV commercial jingles and film music. In 1977, he wrote, produced and recorded this Disco song, which was his band's only major hit in the UK and USA. Since that time he has produced recordings for numerous artists, and has written a couple of books about the art of composing and producing. |
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27 Title: Night Fever This was the
group's follow-up to their hit "Stayin' Alive" (see song
10 above). Like its predecessor, it featured in the film
"Saturday Night Fever". It was a Number One hit in
the USA too, remaining at the top for eight weeks (only two in the
UK). It has become a Disco classic, but is arguably not now as
popular as "Stayin' Alive". |
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28 Title: Rivers Of Babylon Boney M was a Euro-Caribbean vocal group created
in 1976 by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter.
Originally based in Germany, the four original members were Liz Mitchell and
Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby
Farrell, a dancer from Aruba.
In reality, only the two female vocalists Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett
sang on the recordings, and any male voice was that of producer
Frank Farian, not Bobby Farrell, backed up by session singers as
necessary. However, all four performed on live presentations
of Bonny M recordings. They became extremely popular
throughout Europe during the Disco era, and they had scored ten Top
10 hits on the UK charts by the end of the decade. Their
albums "Night Flight To Venus" and "Oceans Of
Fantasy" both went to Number One on the British album chart in
the years 1978 and 1979 respectively. In 1980 their "20
Golden Greats" compilation album also topped the album
chart. After 1985, the members had gone their separate ways,
although some continued performing Boney M songs with the addition
of different singers well into the 21st century. |
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29 Title: Brown Girl In The Ring This recording was on the same physical record
as "By The Rivers Of Babylon", although originally it was
the B-side of the disc. However it began to get airplay on the
radio, and it started to sell in its own right. It was not
until 5th August 1978 that it was listed in the charts as a separate
entity, eventually peaking at number two. However, as it was
on the same record as the Number One hit, it is normally shown in
listings books as being a joint Number One hit. |
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30 Title: Love Is In The Air John Paul Young was born on 21 Jun 1950 in
Glasgow, Scotland, but emigrated to Australia with his family in
1962. Still in his teens, he began a singing career that saw
him appear in the Australian production of "Jesus Christ
Superstar". His first hit in Australia came in 1972, and
several hits followed in that country. It was not until 1978
that he made his mark in the UK with the song "Love Is In The
Air", which was a Top 10 hit also in the USA. However,
his popularity began to wane after that, even in Australia.
Nevertheless he has continued with live performances, and has
appeared on Australian TV numerous times into the 2010s. |
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31 Title: If I Can't Have You Yvonne Elliman was born on 29 Dec 1951 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She began learning piano at a young age and performed in her high school band until she graduated. Encouraged by her music teacher, she relocated to London, England in 1968 when she was 17 years of age. The following year she was invited to perform in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar", and she continued to perform in the stage show as it toured the UK for the next four years. She then went on to appear in the Broadway version and film version of the musical from 1971 to 1973. She recorded a few albums but they only had moderate success in the USA and did not chart in the UK at all. In 1978 she charted on both sides of the Atlantic with her recording of "If I Can't Have You", which was featured in the film "Saturday Night Fever". That was her final appearance in the UK charts, and having married in 1981, she had two children and settled into a domestic way of life. She has occasionally performed at benefit concerts and other special events over the following years. |
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32 Title: Can't Smile Without You Barry Manilow
was born on 17 Jun 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an American
singer-songwriter, arranger, musician, producer and actor, with a career that
has spanned more than 50 years.
He began as a songwriter in the 1960s, but turned to singing in the
early 1970s. His hit recordings include "Mandy", "Could It Be Magic",
"I Write the Songs", "Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the
Copa)". He recorded and released numerous hit singles and
albums from the mid-1970s to the beginning of the 2000s. He
has had six Top 10 albums in the UK, but in the USA he has scored numerous
Top 10 albums up to 2014. He has produced albums for other
artists including Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson and Sarah
Vaughan, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award (winning once) as a producer,
arranger and performer a total of fifteen times (and in every decade) from 1973 to
2015. Manilow has sold more than 85 million records as a solo artist
worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling
artists of all time. |
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33 Title: More Than A Woman Tavares was a
Soul and R&B group from Massachusetts, USA. The band
comprised five brothers: Ralph, Arthur, Antone, Feliciano and Perry
Tavares, who were born between December 1941 and October 1949.
They recorded and performed through the 1960s under different band
names, but with no major successes. By 1973 they were known as
Tavares, and began having some modest hits. In 1975, with the
advent of Disco music, they hit the USA Top 10 with "It Only
Takes A Minute" (a hit for Take That in 1992), and they finally
reached the UK Top 10 in 1976 with "Heaven Must Be Missing An
Angel" (see year 1976, song 58). More hits followed until the end of the decade,
including their recording of "More Than A Woman" in 1978
for the soundtrack of the film "Saturday Night
Fever". A couple of the brothers left in the 1980s and
1990s, but the others continued performing. Antone recorded a
solo album in in 2012, and all the brothers reunited in 2013 for a
one-off performance at the National R&B Music Society Gala,
where they received a lifetime achievement award. |
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34 Title: (I'm Always Touched By Your)
Presence Dear This was the
band's follow-up to their debut hit "Denis" (song 14
above). The track is taken from their 1978 album "Plastic
Letters", which reached number ten on the UK album chart. |
|
35 Title: The Boy From New York City This was the band's follow-up their January hit "Come Back My Love" (see song 6, above). This release was another revival. It was written in 1964 and recorded by American group The Ad Libs. Their recording reached number eight in the USA in early 1965. Darts' next hit came in August (song 56). |
MORE TO COME
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Acts with most appearances in this list: Bee Gees: 3 + 1
Samantha Sang with Barry Gibb Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Darts |
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1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
1971 1972
1973 1974
1975 1976
1977
Comments and corrections to: mjs@onlineweb.com Compiled August
2023
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