Pete Wingfield : 18 With a Bullet
I can't explain the top five. Maybe only grandparents were purchasing 45's this Summer. ( Ray Stevens? Johnny Nash? Whispering Grass?) Outside of the 10cc smash, we have to wait until we get to the bottom of the Top 20 before anything interesting emerges.
Nazareth's cover of Tomorrow's 1967 hit "My White Bicycle" and Roy Wood's Beach Boys homage "Oh What A Shame" come to mind.
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| Pete Wingfield |
But this week in 1975, session musician Pete Wingfield's very odd doo-wop throwback, "Eighteen With a Bullet", made the most dramatic move, leaping from #44 to #15 in just one week. It would peak at #7 in the UK and after a week at #18 in the US, all the way to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
UK Top 20, June 29, 1975
1. 10cc : I'm Not In Love
2. Johnny Nash : Tears On My Pillow
3. Van McCoy : The Hustle
4.Windsor Davies and Don Estelle : Whispering Grass
5. Ray Stevens : Misty
6. Hamilton Bohannon : Disco Stomp
7. Showaddywaddy : Three Steps to Heaven
8. Gary Glitter : Doing Alright With the Boys
9. The Chi-Lites : Have You Seen Her/ Oh Girl
10. Mud : Moonshine Sally
11. The Osmonds : The Proud One
12. Wings : Listen to What the Man Said
13. Kenny : Baby, I Love You, OK!
14: Gilbert O'Sullivan : I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You
15. Pete Wingfield : Eighteen With a Bullet
16. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel: Mr Raffles (Man It Was Mean)
17. Nazareth : My White Bicycle
18. Donny and Marie Osmond : Make the World Go Away
19. Rubettes : Foe-Dee-O-Dee
20. Roy Wood : Oh What A Shame
Yes, a pretty poor Top 20 all-round I think. I have absolutely no recollection of that Rubettes song, but unfortunately do recall that absolutely pile of tripe Whispering Grass - it came from a truly shocking "comedy" which was probably incredibly racist.....I don;t think it's ever shown on any british tv channels nowadays.
ReplyDeleteOk that stuff sux. Hahahahaha. However some folks still had some taste. "Listen What The Man Says" has some charm about it, although I didn't think so then. And "I'm Not in Love" is classic and sits at the top. And a particular favorite would be the Chi-Lites "Oh Girl". Heartfelt soul. But you know it's bad when the Osmonds have two showings in the top 20. Ugh.
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