UK charts 70's I

Well, I feel it's about time I tackled the UK charts for the 70's just like I did for the Billboard charts, again I'm using a homemade chart on RYM to determine the order each entry appears on this list as well as stopping at a particular point to highlight only the best of the best over there this decade. I'm also skipping over entries that didn't become a hit in the southern hemisphere whilst providing alternate art where possible for each entry to give them a visual difference compared to their other appearances on this site.

It looks like the world owes the success of Grease's soundtrack to the Brits rather than America as this was the biggest hit of the decade over there (we'll technically second biggest but we'll get to why that is in a bit.) I don't have box office numbers for countries other than America this far back, however it's obvious that the film was a massive success over there given its multiple entries from the soundtrack on this list.

From barely appearing on my Billboard list to being the third entry on my RYM list (I skipped over "Sugar sugar" from the Archies as that's a 60's hit that stuck around in the UK this decade) we have this breakthrough single from Queen which was indeed one of the biggest hits not just of the decade but of all time upon its initial release. This isn't even counting its rerelease following the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991.

There's going to be quite a number of controversial tracks on this list, although thankfully several of them will come from the same artist given how Gary Glitter was one of the biggest names in music throughout the 70's. This obviously isn't one of his hits and is instead the big hit that Rolf Harris had worldwide entering the decade, it was innocuous at the time and only became problematic in recent years.

This barely missed the cut for my Billboard list for this decade, so to see it in the top ten of this list should give you an idea of how much more popular the king of rock and roll was in the UK compared to even here in Australia when the 60's became the 70's. Of course, he would wind up being more successful in Australia mainly due to the sheer quantity of hits he had here compared to over there.

I don't think there's any country in the world where this wasn't the biggest hit of 1973, this is quite impressive given how music historians like to pretend this cheesy ballad from Dawn doesn't even exist, let alone acknowledge how inescapable it was worldwide back in the day. These guys weren't as successful in the UK as they were worldwide which is odd considering their cheesy music would be a shoe in for the Brits playlists.

While my American readers might not have felt the absence of this ballad on my Billboard list, the rest of my readers certainly would have given how inescapable it was worldwide for Paul and company back in the day. That said, they didn't do nearly as well in his homeland as they did in his wife's homeland, meaning we won't see them flooding this list like they did on my Billboard list.

We're not even out of the top ten on my RYM list yet and we already have our first entry on this list where we have to thank the kiwis for making a hit back in the day as we Aussies didn't have much love for this ballad between Lennie Peters and Diane Lee like they and the duo's fellow Brits did. They only had one other hit in their homeland which of course wasn't as such in NZ.

This is the only hit to come from Harry Nilsson in the UK, although he did see massive success with his album over there which means his success was identical with the Brits to what it was with us Aussies and kiwis. The song itself also saw the same trajectory over there as it did in NZ as the Mariah Carey version also went to number one on the UK charts around the time he passed away.

Given how this was a big hit in America for Mungo Jerry, you can imagine how inescapable it was in their homeland which no doubt inspired the Americans to see what all the fuss was about. Unlike the rest of the world, these guys had a few other hits in their homeland during the first stretch of the decade, although none of them will be appearing on this list due to the rules I've established for it.

As it turns out, we Aussies have the Brits to blame for why this debut single from Jimmy Osmond managed to become such a massive success here given how much the UK loved this kid back in the day. It's a bit staggering actually that Jimmy managed to have more success with this single than any other member of his family, although we'll be revisiting the singles from Donny and Marie throughout this list.

This is the only appearance from Simon and Garfunkel on this list, hey at least the folk duo managed to have one of the biggest songs of the decade with the title track from their final album even if said album didn't spawn another hit for them over there like it did globally. In any case, we'll be seeing plenty of entries from both members as we go further down this list as they did quite well in the UK.

Even though this was released on time in the UK, it appears that the Brits felt it wasn't worth giving these guys a second single like us Aussies given how this will be their only appearance on this list. I would ask how on earth they managed to become one of the biggest names of the decade in music over in NZ, but then I remember they seem to have an unwritten rule of allowing Dutch artists overwhelming success over there.

Given how he's a British artist, you can expect to see plenty of Rod Stewart entries on this list as well as the fact that he had several candidates for this list that didn't make it due to their failure in the southern hemisphere. As you can see, his solo debut single wound up being the best he could do in his homeland even if his fellow Brits kept him around for quite some time after this.

Given how Eurovision was a phenomenon on the UK charts back in the day, you can naturally expect there to be a few entries from the competition on this list with this entry from Brotherhood of man being the biggest success from the contest this decade (and arguably of all time.) This gave a major boost to their popularity given how their previous success was "United we stand" which was only as such here in Australia.

There's going to be quite a number of entries on this list from British actors given how the Brits were a bit more lenient when it came to allowing their celebrities to find success with novelty tracks back in the day than the rest of the world was. Even so, this only makes the cut due to how big this was for Dad's army star Clive Dunn as we Aussies were only a fan of the TV series and not the music.

Dawn is back again on this list much sooner than I expected them to be, I wasn't expecting the reason for their international success to be the success they had in the UK of all places, that's for sure. It'll be a while since we have another entry from the trio, however the fact that their two biggest hits have already been featured on this list should tell you just how inescapable they were over there.

Although this didn't last an entire season at number one in the UK like it did here in Australia, the fact that this was Abba's biggest hit over there should tell you how much the world loved this bonus track from their greatest hits album even if few Abba enthusiasts will tell you this is their best song. In any case, expect to see a ton of entries from the Swedish foursome going forward.

A bit of a fun fact about this track, the official UK charts fail to list this on any of their yearend lists despite it appearing on the original year end list for 1971. If that doesn't tell you how badly they want to retcon this ever being a hit, I don't know what will. In any case, we have the first of two entries from Middle of the road, their other one appearing only due to how big it was in NZ and not in Australia.

Given how this was a shoe in for my Billboard list, it makes sense that his would be one of the biggest hits of the decade in Dave Edmunds native UK. While he did have several other hits in his homeland including one we'll be revisiting in a bit, he still managed to have an Australian exclusive track in the form of "The promised land" which naturally won't be appearing on this list.

You know, I was expecting there to be more representation from George Harrison on this list compared to my Billboard list, alas it turns out he did equally as well in his homeland this decade as he did in America as "What is life" won't be appearing on this list despite how well it did here in Australia. This is odd as normally songs from highly successful albums are duds on our charts.

I hope you're up for seeing several entries from this sequel band to the Seekers, because there's plenty of representation from them to come on this list. This was by far their biggest hit in their homeland which is curious as it was one of their last hits worldwide before the genuine article reformed albeit with a different lead single. While they didn't call it quits, their popularity faded quickly once this happened.

Well at least Rolf Harris only has the one entry from earlier on this list, here's that problematic artist I was referring to when we looked at his entry as Gary Glitter was indeed one of the most prolific artists of the decade in his homeland. This was his biggest hit over there just like it was here in Australia, although we won't have to wait as long on this list to look at his other hits like we did on my Australian list.

We haven't skipped over many entries on my RYM list so far, one of the few we did was T Rex's biggest hit in their homeland "Ride a white swan" which is also one of two songs so far that didn't get to number one on the UK charts (the other being a holdover song from the 60's.) This means that despite this being a chart topper for the band, it wasn't their biggest hit over there like it was internationally.

Now according to the UK charts website, this was the biggest hit of the decade in the UK, however upon going over their weekly charts, I discovered that this "rebounded" on their charts when the B-side "Brown girl in the ring" was pushed as a single which convinced me to count each entry as a separate single when constructing my list on RYM. The B-side appears right outside the top 100 on my list for the record.

As I repeatedly said on my Billboard list, this was Elton John's only UK chart topper for the 70's and his only chart topper over there until the release of the double A side single "Sacrifice" and "Healing hands." OK so a bit of a correction from something I said on my Billboard list, it turns out Kiki Dee only had a minor hit with "Amoureuse" in her homeland, meaning I have no idea how we Aussies came across that track.

This is the first song on this list to not make it to number one on the UK charts, although like I said, I skipped over two songs on my main list on RYM that also failed to get to number one. This is also the first appearance from an Australian band given how this was easily one of the biggest hits of the decade here for the Mixtures as well as how well it did over in NZ.

Given how this is second to only their earlier entry as Abba's biggest hit in the UK, it makes sense that this would be their sole Billboard chart topper and even their signature tune for the longest time. Whereas their popularity began to decline here in Australia once this came out, that wasn't the case in the UK due to the Brits doing a better job in balancing out the success they had from their self titled album.

It didn't take us long before we started seeing a bunch of songs that failed to get to number one in the UK, did it? Even though this was easily Alvin Stardust's biggest hit in his homeland, he had another song in his cataloguer that did give him a chart topper on the UK charts which sadly flopped internationally. Even so, it's easy to see how this was an inescapable success here in Australia.

Even wanted to know how this was a huge hit in NZ for the brothers Gibb? It turns out this was the biggest hit they had from the Saturday night fever soundtrack and not "Staying alive" which was their big hit here in Australia. Whereas they had a least two songs from their pre disco days on my Billboard list, no such track will appear on this list as it's all from the second half of the decade from them.

I wasn't expecting the Brits to be the reason why this track was so inescapable throughout the rest of the world, again this feels completely naked when divorced from the scene it soundtracks in the film which is why many point to it as the reason why the soundtrack sucks. Naturally these people are bad faith given how again, the criticisms it receives only work as a single and not for the scene it plays in.

Given how his younger brother had one of the twenty biggest hits of the decade in the UK, it only makes sense that Donny Osmond would see massive success over there with this ballad which more than explains the international success it had despite it being a decent hit at best in his homeland. Indeed, the fortunes for the Osmond family changed for the better because of Jimmy's big hit over there.

Here's another surprise for the list this early on, it turns out Freda Payne was far more successful in the UK than she was anywhere else in the world with this pseudo disco number given how it was a massive chart topper for her over there. Admittedly she did see success in her homeland, so it's not like the Brits had to dig this up or anything, rather they just astroturfed a song from America on their airwaves.

This is one of only two entries from Neil Diamond, he would've had three had I allowed songs that were hits in the 60's in Australia and NZ to appear on this list as "Sweet Carolina" was a surprise hit for him in the UK three years after its release. In the meantime, he scored a huge hit with this Billboard chart topper over there even if it didn't lead to lasting success with his singles.

This is the first of only four entries from the Bay city rollers on this list, mainly because their popularity in their native UK only lasted until 1976 where their fellow Brits gave up on their prospects despite how well they were doing here in Australia. That said, that had several candidates on this list that predate their Australian breakthrough, so it's not like they were unpopular on the UK charts or anything.

Given how this was a huge hit for the Royal Scots dragon guards here in Australia and NZ, you can imagine just how inescapable this was in their homeland even if it has novelty written all over it. While this was the regiments only hit in their homeland like it was internationally, there were other regiments to tried to copy the success of this track and even found varying degrees of success over there.

Whereas this guy was a one hit wonder in his native America, all three of his international hits will be appearing on this list given how much the Brits loved his music back in the day. Admittedly he was more lucrative as an actor given how starring role in Starsky and Hutch, however the fact he found plenty of success as a singer/songwriter is still staggering to think about.

Although Abba's success trajectory was more predictable in the UK than it was here in Australia, there were exceptions such as the third single to Arrival which proved to be more successful than the second single "Money money money" (which we'll look at in a bit.) It was yet another chart topper for them in the UK despite it being a decent hit at best in Australia and NZ.

Upon constructing this list for RYM, I discovered that Dr Hook was in fact more popular in the UK than they were in their native America given how they have several entries on here that failed to appear on my Billboard list. This of course is one of them which curiously was their biggest hit over there despite it failing to get to number one on the UK charts, no doubt leading to its success in Australia and NZ.

I bet you weren't expecting to see this guy back on the list so soon after his earlier entry, were you? Here we are again with the second single to David Soul's second album which proved to be a massive worldwide success for him except for his native America. I guess his fellow Americans weren't committed to having him be a successful singer/songwriter due to his day job as the star of Starsky and Hutch.

This is one of only two hits that Chicago had in the UK throughout the decade, we'll revisit their other big hit over there later down this list but suffice to say that their success over there was more or less the same they had in most parts of the world. In fact, they only had one more hit here in Australia than they did over there, suggesting that we Aussies were following the Brits lead with their career trajectory.

If you're wondering why this didn't appear on my Billboard list despite it being a hit here in Australia, that's because this was in fact a huge hit for Lee Marvin in the UK which suggests that the Brits were into the soundtrack of Paint your wagon but not his fellow Americans. Admittedly the film has received backlash for the poor quality of the singing, suggesting this was a criticism American audience had even at the time.

I wonder if we would've been spared from those awful live action Smurf movies had there been an animated film from the 70's, granted it would've served as little more than the pilot to the highly successful TV series from 1981, however there's little doubt that there's a demand to see the blue creatures on the big screen. In any case, we have this theme song from the cancelled film that was huge in the UK for its composer.

From one theme song to an animated children's film to another, we have this surprise hit that Art Garfunkel had due to it being released months after the film it serves as the closing theme for Watership down. Given how A: it's a British film and B: is often considered one of the more messed up films made for children, it wasn't a huge box office success in America, hence why the theme song bombed on Billboard.

Well at least these guys aren't clogging up my list early on like they did on my Billboard list, here we are with the lead single to Saturday night fever which appears quite high on this list despite this failing to get to number one in the UK like it did in America. Even though the singles overall weren't as inescapable in the UK as they were worldwide, the soundtrack was nonetheless a massive success there.

For a while, I thought Norman Greenbaum was a British singer/songwriter given how much better he did internationally than in his native America. The song's placement on this list more than explains why it was a massive hit for him here in Australia as it appears the Brits were also feeling religious during the dying days of the hippy movement, although he's predictably a one hit wonder over there.

This is the only other entry from Brotherhood of man on my list, namely because none of their other singles managed to become a hit outside their native UK despite how well they were doing in their homeland following their Eurovision victory with their earlier entry on this list. Indeed, this only makes the cut due to its sleeper success here in Australia, likely because we Aussies mistook it for an Abba track.

Whereas these guys had two hits here in Australia, this was the only hit that Lieutenant pigeon had in their native UK as well as the second of several instrumentals on this list following the appearance from the Royal Scots dragoon guards from earlier. I'm not sure why we Aussies gave them a second hit when their fellow Brits didn't, however we did which is why they're not a one hit wonder here.

I don't know how to feel about this being a chart topper in the UK and not in the Village people's native America, what I do know is that both of their entries on my Billboard list will be appearing on this list given how they seem to be the only two tracks anyone in the northern hemisphere cared about from the LGBT band. Again, they had much better luck in Australia and NZ than they did in America or the UK.

If you're wondering how Judy Collins managed to score two hits here in Australia despite failing to appear on my Billboard list, it turns out that both of her big hits were as such in the UK which means the Brits somehow discovered her music despite it being rejected by her fellow Americans. That said, this appears high on the list mainly for its refusal to die on their charts as it didn't get to number one over there.

I should point out that we've already skipped over an entry from the New seekers as "Never ending song of love" wasn't enough of a hit on the Listener charts to appear on the NZ side of my site even though it did crack their top ten. As such, this wound up being the band's third biggest hit in their homeland as well as it being their only hit in America, although I'm not sure if the coca cola campaign impacted its success in the UK.

It turns out it was the Brits idea to release this song two years after the album it was pulled from came out rather than it being an Australian and NZ exclusive for Rod Stewart, the gambit obviously paid off given how inescapable it was in NZ and his homeland. Technically "Sailing" was the biggest hit off that album, however that's only because it was a hit twice in his homeland.

Given how this was a massive hit in Australia and NZ for Julie Covington, it makes sense it would be equally as popular in her homeland which more than explains why we Aussies and kiwis allowed for a showtunes number to top our charts during the height of disco and singer/songwriter ballads. Even in her homeland, this was her only hit as nothing else she released managed to find an audience.

We have another British actor on this list; this time it's Benny Hill who managed to score a surprise hit not just in his homeland but around the world with this comedy track right at the height of his show's popularity. Benny did have acting roles in Hollywood movies, most notably Chitty chitty bang bang and the Italian job, however it's his show that he's best remembered for.

Given that they had four entries on my Billboard list, you can imagine just how inescapable the Sweet were in their homeland even if only three of their four entries will be appearing on this list. This obviously isn't one of them and only appears on here thanks to how big it was in NZ as we Aussies passed up a lot of their earlier material for whatever reason.

It appears that Barbra Streisand wasn't as popular in America as she was throughout the rest of the world in the 70's, heck she only has one more entry on this list which is her collaboration with Donna Summer. This wasn't even a chart topper for her over there like it was on Billboard, although to be fair, that was also the case in Australia and NZ.

Even though this was Don Mclean's biggest hit in the UK, I should point out that his failed to top the UK charts like it did everywhere else in the world which is somewhat puzzling to me. That said, he did get to number one with his other entry on this list, which I feel balances out the success he had here in Australia given how he had three hits here but two of them not being as big as the two he had there.

As this was the final song Elvis Presley released in his lifetime, it would naturally be an instant chart topper for him in the UK given how the Brits are well known for giving out sentimental hits to those who have recently passed away at any given moment. It's still staggering to think that his fellow Americans completely ignored his final album even after it was announced he was no longer with us.

I guess we Aussies wanted to wait to see if this was a success in the UK before committing to making it a hit for Lionel Richie and company, it's similar to how we waited for Toni Braxton to conquer the British charts before making "Breathe again" a hit in 1994. They have one more entry on this list as the Brits decided they were worth keeping around following the success of this track.

It's a good thing the kiwis decided to make this a hit for Christie, otherwise they'd have to miss out on this list as we Aussies went with an inferior cover from a local act known as Jigsaw. They had a minor follow up with "San Bernardo" in their homeland, however it was too minor for me to have it as a candidate for this list.

If you're wondering how these guys managed to score a massive hit here in Australia despite this being a huge failure for them in their native America, it turns out the Brits are the reason why as they came across this novelty track and made it one of the biggest of the decade over there which prompted us Aussies to follow suit in making it a hit. They're of course a one hit wonder there just like they are here.

This will be Cliff Richard's only appearance on this list given how surprisingly unpopular he was in his homeland this decade, in fact I'm not even sure how the Americans came across "Devil woman" as that was a complete failure for him back at home. Naturally this would be a big hit on Billboard into the 80's as we saw on that list of mine a while back.

In a bit of surprising twist, Shirley Bassey's big hit here in Australia was only a decent hit for her in her homeland, although we will be looking at it further down this list. This was the biggest hit she had throughout the decade and only makes an appearance on this list due to it being a huge success in NZ, it was curiously her only hit in NZ as "Never never never" didn't even chart on the Listener charts.

I would've skipped over this entry from Elvis Presley were it not for the fact that it was also a straggler on the Australian charts, meaning it was able to appear on here due to it appearing on my 70's list for that side of my site. For what it's worth, this was a huge chart topper for the king of rock and roll in his native America, meaning it would've been a shoe in for my Billboard list had it survived to the 70's over there.

Although it's taken me this long to feature an entry from Slade, I should point out that these guys are second to only Abba for having the most candidates for this list with an impressive eleven hits as opposed to the fourteen that Abba have. That should give you an idea of how well loved these guys were among their fellow Brits especially considering how that love would die out by 1975.

Much like the rest of the world, this is the only solo hit that Marie Osmond had in the UK given how she would find further success worldwide with duets with her younger brother Donny that have widely been mocked over the years due to the implications of the siblings singing love songs to each other. We'll be revisiting one of these duets later down this list as that too was a hit over there.

Even though this was Wizzard's only international success and thus their only appearance on this list, they were one of many bands from the UK to have multiple hits in their homeland including a second chart topper in the form of "Angel fingers" due to how prevalent the glam scene was during the height of their popularity. Of course, remnants of this band would go on to join ELO later in the decade.

It's rather surprising to see that this big hit form Hot chocolate didn't get to number one in their homeland, although considering it got stuck behind "Bohemian rhapsody," it makes sense that it would be a huge international success for Errol Brown and company regardless of this fact. They have two more entries to come on this list, neither of which was their other big hit in America.

I told you this was a bigger hit in the UK for the Three degrees than it was in their native America, so much so that it was a chart topper over there as well as how much higher it ranks on this list compared to that list. They had other hits throughout the decade including "Woman in love" which was a massive success during its final months, however this is their only appearance due to the lack of success they had here.

I wasn't expecting this to be Status quo's biggest hit in their homeland this decade, namely because they did get to number one over there and this wasn't that chart topping single (we'll get to what was in a bit.) Unlike in Australia where this was their final mainstream hit and penultimate hit overall, these guys continued to have success in their homeland throughout the 80's and even early 90's.

Unlike the rest of the world where Gary Numan's solo project "Cars" was his biggest hit, it was his one and only hit with Tubeway army that proved to be what his fellow Brits wanted the most from him given how it outranks his solo entry on this list. This makes the lack of success he had with this track in America all the more puzzling given how big his other hit was on Billboard.

Much like Dave Edmunds earlier entry on this list, this was also a mega success for Edison Lighthouse in their homeland to the point where it makes sense that it would crossover to America. Despite them scoring a second hit in NZ with "She works in a woman's way," this will be their only appearance on here as even their fellow Brits didn't have the love for that track that the kiwis did.

If you've just come from my Billboard list for the decade, you'll notice the absence of the Beach boys on my list. That's because the only candidate I had from them was with "Rock and roll music" which of course bombed everywhere outside of their homeland. This means that it was the Brits who convinced us Aussies to give them one final chart topper here with this ballad even if it wasn't as such over there.

This is only one of three hits that Kenny Rogers had this decade in the UK, actually technically it's only two as "Ruby don't take your love to town" was a holdover from the 60's and thus won't be appearing on here despite it also being a hit in Australia (it's actually number seven on my RYM list.) That said, this was his first UK chart topper which is interesting given how it wasn't as such in his homeland.

Oh look, another country ballad from an American artist to get to number one in the UK where it failed to do so in their homeland, this time it comes to us from Dr Hook who managed to score a massive worldwide hit with this entry except for here in Australia where it was a bust for them. As we saw in my 80's UK list, they didn't last very long over there which was the case worldwide.

There were plenty of TV themes that were candidates for both this list and my Billboard list, this was by far the most successful on this list given how popular the series Van Der Walk was during its run back in the day. We still have another TV theme to get to much later down this list, which means there will be two more of these than there were on my Billboard list.

Well at least Gloria Gaynor isn't a one hit wonder in the UK like she is in her homeland as this won't be her only appearance on this list, indeed she had much better love with the Brits as well as us Aussies than she ever did with her fellow Americans given how it feels like this was only a hit in her homeland due to her fellow Americans likely confusing her with Donna Summer during the height of her popularity.

Huh, it turns out this was a massive success in the UK, meaning that we Aussies and kiwis were following the lead of the Brits when we made this a hit despite its mediocre success in Lynn Anderson's homeland. Admittedly this failed to get to number one over there, however the early 70's had much floatier chart runs due to how long songs tended to last at number one over there at the time.

Thought that it was strange that this guy had two massive hits here in Australia, it turns out he had a third hit in the UK with "It's impossible" which would've come minutes prior had that been a hit in either country in the southern hemisphere. Despite that, this was Perry's highest charting single of the decade over there, which wasn't even as high as it charted here in Australia where it peaked at number two.

We have the first of three appearances from David Essex; he had an additional two candidates for this list but neither "Lamplight" nor "Oh What a circus" found an audience in the southern hemisphere like these three entries did. It's interesting this was his biggest hit there given how "Rock on" was hit big hit over in America, although admittedly this feels way too cheesy for American audiences of 1975.

This was the song that put Gary Glitter on the map worldwide, so much so that it came close to appearing on my 70's list but didn't due to it being too minor of a hit to do so. Interestingly this didn't get to number one in his homeland like it did here in Australia, although he would have other chart toppers over there including with his earlier entry on this list.