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.
For whatever reason, this was only a hit in the UK for Lobo a year after its initial release, I'm guessing this was due to it being a chart topper here in Australia and the Brits considering it an Australian release despite it being a decent hit in his native America that almost topped the Billboard charts. This means that he technically had the most recent hit in the world with this entry over there.
This was the big hit that Tavares had over in NZ, although why the kiwis decided to make this a hit whilst completely ignoring their earlier entry I'll never know as this was the only hit they had over there. We did skip over an entry from them with "Don't take away the music" which was sandwiched between these two entries chronologically in their catalogue.
Seeing this go from one of the biggest hits of the decade worldwide to a mere decent hit for the brothers Gibb in their native UK is a bit of a headscratcher for me, although admittedly the other two hits from Saturday night fever were among the biggest of the decade over there so it's just confusing as far as what their biggest hits were. We still have one more entry from them on this list to come.
I sort of jumped the gun when I said that these two only had two hits each in the UK this decade, for whatever reason, I keep forgetting this collaboration whenever I think of their biggest hits respectively even when I'm writing commentary for these lists. In any case, this was the final hit from him as well as a major jumping pad for her given how big Barbra would be going into the 80's over there.
Whereas this was the final hit of the decade that Abba had here in Australia, that honour goes to "I have a dream" which would've made it on this list and my 80's list just like Pink Floyd did had it been a hit in Australia or NZ. It's the only entry I've skipped over on my RYM list from them since we last looked at their catalogue, one of only three once I'm done with this list.
This was the follow-up to the sole entry I skipped over from Kenny Rogers on this list, again "Ruby don't take your love to town" would've been a shoe in for this list had I allowed songs from the 60's to appear on this list which means Kenny would've had three out of three candidates on my RYM list appear on here. He would of course continue to have massive success in the UK going into the 80's.
It's a been a while since we looked at the king of rock and roll, although had "I just can't help believing" been a hit here in Australia like it was in the UK, the wait wouldn't have been as long given how he was seeing sound success over there during the first stretch of the decade just like he was here in Australia. He still has three entries to come on this list, although he also had a ton of other minor hits in the UK.
Here we are with the big international hit that the Bellamy brothers had, again it's a bit weird how their earlier entry on this list was their biggest hit in the UK even if lyrically it makes sense that it was. I guess that explains why it was a sleeper hit here in Australia for the family duo even though it was a massive failure for them in their native America.
This is the only other success that Roger Whittaker had even in his native UK, although how this managed to appeal to the kiwis is beyond me given how low it appears on this list and that it only barely cracked the UK top ten. Equally as confusing is to how his earlier entry failed over there initially only to then become one of the biggest hits of the decade worldwide three years later.
Given how this was a massive chart topper for Paper lace in America, it's a bit surprising to see that this wasn't even a chart top for them in their homeland, let alone a massive hit for them. Again, I feel this only crossed over to America as penance for Bo Donaldson stealing the bands well-earned chart topper on Billboard, although it could also be due to it being an inescapable hit here in Australia.
Well, we looked at the Nazareth version of this ballad on my Billboard list, time to look at Jim Capaldi's version which was also a huge hit here in Australia and thus worthy of an appearance on this list from the English crooner. I have a feeling this charted with the Nazareth version in Australia due to us Aussies trying to decide which version was better due to the rest of the world seemingly making their mind up on that debate.
Oh boy has it taken me far too long to revisit the title track from Grease on this list, especially considering how Frankie Valli already had success in the UK with his earlier entry with the Four seasons. I guess the Brits weren't too interested in reviving his popularity over there like the rest of the world was but briefly changed their minds when this dominated the airwaves worldwide.
This is the only other appearance from the Rolling stones on this list, although both "Fool to cry" and "Tumbling dice" were candidates for this list as they were on my Billboard list which makes their respective failures in Australia and NZ all the more puzzling now that I think about it. That means that "Angie" was the only hit they had in America that didn't qualify for this list even though it was a minor hit in their homeland.
I'm a bit torn with this only being a decent hit for Genesis in their homeland, on the one hand it makes sense as though this isn't prog rock, it did come from a prog album which their fellow Brits seem to be allergic to. On the other hand, it begs the question how we Aussies came across it or for that matter how the kiwis came across their previous album which failed to yield any hits in their homeland.
Much like my Billboard list, this is the only other appearance from the Village people on this list meaning that they're a two-hit wonder on both sides of the pond with these two entries. This almost topped the UK charts for the LGBT band; however it clearly came at the expense of it lasting on their charts given how low it appears on this list of mine.
This is the only appearance from John Lennon on this list as the only other candidate he had to appear on here was with "Power to the people" which coincidentally was the song he released after this in his catalogue (albeit a year later.) If you're wondering why "Imagine" isn't appearing on this list, that's because it didn't rack up enough points to do so, meaning it was a mild hit at best on its 1975 release in his homeland.
Much like John Lennon from a minute ago, this was one of only two candidates for this list for the Fortunes as "Storm in a teacup" was also a decent hit for them in their homeland during their brief moment in the spotlight this decade. That said, their initially breakthrough over there came in 1965 where they scored two more hits on the UK charts, meaning this was actually a comeback hit for them.
This is the penultimate appearance from Elton John on this list, it proved to be equally as popular in his homeland as it was in America even though it had no chance at getting to number one over there like it did on Billboard. This means that he only has one appearance from the album this is named after, although its lead single "Saturday night's alright" was a minor hit over there.
I bet you forgot about Peter Shelley while going down this list, so much so that he actually had a huge hit in Australia that's been absent so far on this list. While we'll get to that big hit in a bit, it wasn't as big in his homeland as this was which was a sleeper hit on our charts for the pop crooner. Honestly, I'm more surprised it wasn't a big hit in his homeland given it's another love song involving a puppy.
This is the only entry from Bread on this list, it's interesting how these guys and Three dog night were one hit wonders in the UK as they're often affiliated with each other when it comes to what people describe as soft rock bands for white people. It's also interesting how both songs are from the first year of the decade, as if something happened following their respective successes to prevent them from finding further success over there.
And surprise, we're looking at the other big hit that Peter Shelley had here in Australia much sooner than I'm sure you all expected. Indeed, this was a massive hit for the singer here in Australia which again makes you wonder why it was only a decent hit at best for him in his homeland back in the day. In any case, it appears his popularity in his homeland only lasted for two years as he was yesterday's news by 1976.
I bet you thought I forgot about Donna Summer on this list, I haven't as there's only one entry I've skipped over and that's "Down deep inside" which came from an album that as far as I can tell, was only released in the UK due to how much of a failure it was internationally. Even though this wasn't a chart topper for her on Billboard, that didn't prevent it from finding an audience for her in the UK.
This is our penultimate entry from Abba on this list, it was roughly as successful as "Voulez vous" from the album of the same name which I did skip over due to its failure in Australia and NZ. Indeed, this was only a success down under and not in NZ, although that might be due to "Chiquitita" being a chart topper over there as opposed to a mere top ten hit over here for the Swedish quartet.
Here we are with the other big entry from Chicago on this list, again the fact that by far their heaviest hit in their catalogue managed to make the cut over so many other rock and roll tracks is a bit puzzling to me even if it was released at the start of the decade where rock and roll was more tolerated on the UK charts. From what I can gather, this was only a flop for the band in NZ where it didn't even chart.
We're this far down on my list and only now coming across the weakest chart topper in the UK for the decade, honestly how the Brits managed to come across this track from the Tymes is beyond be given how much of a failure they were in their native America throughout their long tenure. It being a chart topper over there seemed to be all the incentive the kiwis needed in making it a hit in NZ.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit for Morris Albert in the UK given how Latin pop usually does better over there than it does in America, although it at least had a higher peak on their charts as opposed to it being a bit of a sleeper hit on the Billboard charts. Another reason I'm surprised at its mediocre success is that the Brits would usually eat up cheesy love ballads like this.
I wasn't expecting Patti Smith's success here in Australia to be attributed to it being a success in the UK, especially given how it was a massive failure for her in her native America as well as it being quite a heavy track compared to other entries on this list. Maybe she had a Countdown appearance back in the day (it's lost media if that's the case) but its success over there is all I got to explain its success here.
This is one of only two hits that KC and the Sunshine band had in the UK, the other was "Queen of clubs" which came out shortly after George McCrae's entry on this list which likely explains its success over there given how much bigger that song was in the UK compared to George's native America. I'm not sure why the Brits only gave them one more hit this decade; however they would of course regain popularity in the 80's over there.
I bet you weren't expecting to see this sleeper here in Australia hit as Johnny Wakelin's sole representation on this list, were you? It appears his fellow Brits had no interest in his tribute to Muhamad Ali like we Aussies did but were interested in this follow up given how it was a decent hit on the UK charts. I don't know if we Aussies were just bigger fans of the boxing legend than anyone else, but that song was only a success here.
This is the final entry from Donna Summer on this list, it appears that the Brits were interested in everything she had to offer this decade except ironically enough anything to do with Bad girls. There's no definitive explanation for why that album was a complete failure in the UK despite its international success, however Donna reckons it was due to the marketing campaign that presented her as a sex worker.
This is the final entry from Elton John on this list, this also happens to be the one entry from him that didn't appear on my Billboard list as the Americans weren't too happy with him coming out of retirement back in the day when he released A single man like the rest of the world was. Indeed, this bitterness didn't seem to subside over there given how much of a failure his 80's material was on Billboard.
Not to be confused with her Bond theme "The man with the golden gun," this was the only hit that Lulu had in her native UK this decade and only makes the cut due to how well it did on the Listener charts in NZ back in the day. Her success in Australia was limited to her debut single "To sir with love" from the film of the same name and a duet with Ronan Keating in 2002 with "We've got tonight."
Even though this appears so low on the list for Gloria Gaynor, I will say that it came ever so close to topping the UK charts which seemed to be all the incentive we Aussies needed to make it a hit on our charts for the (at the time) queen of disco. This means that she was a two-hit wonder in both countries with this cover of the Jackson 5 classic, having one more hit than she did in her native America.
This is the final appearance from the brothers Gibb on this list, again it's with a song that was only a sleeper hit at best here in Australia despite us Aussies being the first to give them a hit back in 1966. I should point out that though this appeared on the Saturday night fever soundtrack, it didn't see any success anywhere in the world because of that film given how it was released two years prior.
If you're wondering why it's taken me this long to feature another entry from Boney M on this list, that's because they actually had a slow start to their success in the UK given how their first two singles were only decent hits at best over there. This explains why neither were hits in both countries in the southern hemisphere as this was their introduction in NZ whilst a later entry on this list was the first impression we Aussies had of them.
We have our final entry from the Grease soundtrack on this list, although if you can believe it, these last two entries we looked at from the soundtrack were pushed aside in the UK in favour of "Sandy" from John Travolta. This means that John actually had a hit in his career that didn't have the presence of Livie, although "Let her in" also appeared on a Billboard year end list despite it otherwise being a flop in America.
We have one final appearance from David Bowie on this list as this managed to be enough of a success in NZ for it to quality for my NZ list and thus this one. At least this was a success in his homeland the same time as it was in NZ despite it also coming from the 60's much like "Space oddity" from earlier, seriously I don't know why audiences wanted to revisit his earliest material in that year in particular.
If you're wondering how this became a hit in Australia and NZ despite its mediocre success in 5000 volts native UK, then your guess is as good as mine as this was before Tina Charles embarked on her solo career which seemed like a natural progression from what she achieved with this entry. If you're wondering who the blonde woman is on the cover and in the video, it's actress Luan Peters who promoted the song in Tina's place.
I'm not sure how we Aussies came across this one and only hit that Tom Robinson and company had here and their native UK, I guess this is another Countdown endorsement, but that endorsement is currently lost to the sands of time if that's the case. This being so low on the list is proof that the Brits were slowly but surely pivoting away from rock and roll in their mainstream given how many other rock tracks from the first half of the decade are accounted for on this list.
It was a huge success in their native America, so naturally this second single from Destiny would also be a huge hit for the Jacksons in the UK given how its lead single managed to appear earlier on this list for the family band. Again, it's fortunate that it was a hit in NZ (on its initial release no less) otherwise we wouldn't be able to look at it on both these lists from across the pond.
As this was the final hit that Boney M had in Australia and NZ, you can safely assume this was also the case in the UK as even the Brits had grown tired of their brand of Euro disco by the time the decade was coming to an end. They still have one more entry to come on this list, proving that they were quite popular over there even if their top two entries on this list carried most of their success.
This is the second appearance from ELO on this list, it appears that the band saw the bulk of its success here in Australia which might actually make sense as there's traces of evidence on the internet that they did appear on Countdown throughout the decade (although when they did varies widely depending on the source.) Unless you count their collaboration with Olivia Newton John on "Xanadu," they never had a chart topper in the UK.
This is the final entry from Earth wind and fire on this list, this means that the RNB disco band technically owe their international success to the Brits given how it was them who made their greatest hits album a success despite not having any success prior to its release outside their native America. This also means that Australia was the only place in the world where this wasn't a hit for them.
I've only skipped one entry from Olivia Newton John on this list, that being "Sam" which was a huge hit for her in the UK around the time "Come on over" was a huge hit for her in NZ. I should also mention her previous entry from Grease was a bridesmaid on the UK charts just like it was here in Australia, proving that having a high peak position didn't guarantee you having a huge hit.
This was a minor hit for Les Crane in his native America, although it was likely due to its success in the UK that the radio jokey managed to have this become a huge hit here in Australia and NZ more so than it did on either side of the pond. Admittedly there haven't been too many spoken word tracks to become a hit anywhere in the world over the years, this being one of the lucky few to do so.
If you want to know why there's been so few entries from the Bay city rollers on this list, that's because I've skipped over three entries they had on my RYM list as well as there being one more candidate from them that would've still been to come. I did this because all these entries were from their first two albums which didn't see any success in the world outside of their native UK.
Again, I'm not sure how this managed to be a hit in the UK given how it was far from the biggest hit in America for Andrea True connection, although the fact it was a success on both sides of the pond was all it took for it to be a sleeper hit for her here in Australia. Given how this wasn't that big anywhere in the world, it naturally meant it would be the only hit she had in her catalogue.
Here we are with the final entry from Glenn Campbell on this list, that's right, his big Billboard chart topper in his homeland was only a decent hit at best in the UK despite how well he was doing when the decade began over there. There's still one question I haven't been able to answer going over these lists, that being how on earth "Bonaparte's retreat" became a huge hit for him here in Australia and nowhere else.
We have our final appearance from Abba on this list; this was originally the second single from their self-titled album but got pushed back as its third single in the UK due to the surprise success of "Mamma Mia" here in Australia. As such, it didn't do quite as well over there as it did over here, this is despite the fact that both of these songs were competing with each other on our charts.
Well, this had to be a hit here in Australia somehow, although that's the only reason why I'm surprised this wasn't a bigger hit for Fiddler's dram in their homeland given how this would've felt out of place at any point in time past the 50's (even that's being generous.) It was the last hit of the decade in the UK that wasn't eligible for my 80's list, making it the third last hit of the decade overall.
We have a return entry from Joan Baez on this list, you'd think at this point she would've been inescapable in the UK given how much the history books love to reference her. You'd be wrong as this was the best she could do over there which makes sense compared to what we've seen on this list but leaves me wondering where in the world she acquired all of her success to be put in the history books.
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