40 Year Itch : The UK Top 10 August 11, 1973

UK Top 10 August 11, 1973

Gary Glitter has the top UK hit for four straight weeks. Lennie Peters ( who had the misfortune to be blinded in both eyes in two separate incidents) and Dianne Lee had already hit #1 with "Welcome Home" in May but apparently the song had staying power. At #3 is Mungo Jerry with a re-write of the Jacques Dutronc hit "Et moi, Et Moi Et Moi". And yes, I owe Suzy Quatro a write-up. Later this month.

1. Gary Glitter: I'm the Leader of the Gang ( I Am)


2. Peters and Lee "Welcome Home"



3. Mungo Jerry "Alright Alright Alright"



Jacques Dutronc "Et Moi Et Moi Et Moi"


4. Osmonds "Going Home"
5. David Bowie "Life on Mars"
6. Suzy Quatro "48 Crash"



7. Carpenters "Yesterday Once More"
8. Al Martino "Spanish Eyes"

9. Diana Ross "Touch Me in the Morning"
10. Blue Mink "Randy"

#7 Jacques Dutronc "Le Responsible" 1966

With a blast of feedback and no apologies to The Out of Our Heads era Rolling Stones, french rocker Jacques Dutronc is a misanthrope...but a responsible one.

I am worried I'm in trouble
I have trouble I torment
I have not the moral I've no money
I have no luck I have no friends
I am a responsible man



In the mid 60's Dutronc was a huge rock star. My stepmother, growing up in Switzerland, said all the schoolgirls had the biggest crush on Jacques. He kept his eyes and ears focused on what was happening in England at the time and, whether it was garage rock, Kinks-like pop or psychedelia he could translate it into a French hit. But he wasn't the only one borrowing riffs and ideas.

Mungo Jerry took Dutronc's "Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi" and scored a No 3 UK hit with its cover, called "Alright, Alright, Alright."


Finally, Dutronc gets name-checked in one of the best songs of the entire 90's, Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha":

Jacques Dutronc and the Bolan Boogie/
The Heavy Hitters and the Chichi music.

Dutronc married french singer Francoise Hardy in 1981. He's an actor of note, having won the French Academy Award, the Cesar for his role in the 1991 film Van Gogh.

Clearly an artist who deserves more than a cult following.