Saturday, 2 April 2011

1976 - A Retraction

Last night, BBC4 began the process of methodically demolishing my argument that 1976 was a musical Annus Mirablis by immersing us in the horrors of every single edition of that year's Top of the Pops. By the end of that ordeal, the nation will once again be convinced that 1976 was indeed the Grand Nadir. However, it should be noted that I was making my case from albums not singles. Golden Years for singles do exist - mostly in the Sixties and mostly in dreamy retrospect: the reality was that for all the steady stream of classic singles in the mid-Sixties, the charts were much of the time dominated by the likes of Ken Dodd, Engelbert Humperdinck, Vince Hill and Herman's Hermits. Memory is kind...
Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. malty2 April 2011 at 10:07

    The collective sigh of relief was heard in Rome when Jerry Dorsey cleared off for Las Vegas where it is rumoured he fitted in perfectly.
    It was also rumoured that he and his buddies managed Gilbert O'Sullivan's career and paid him pocket money, not a salary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Spine2 April 2011 at 12:05

    Oy! What's wrong with Ken Dodd?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nige2 April 2011 at 13:58

    As a comedian, nothing - greatest standup I ever saw. As a singer... er...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joey Joe Joe Jr.3 April 2011 at 11:08

    Chart Success, and number ones especially, are usually a terrible way to judge any year's music. A quick look at wikipedia shows even in terms of no. 1 albums, 1976 doesn't fare very well. For a total of 37 weeks 'best of' style compilations occupy the top spot.Then for another three weeks the honour goes to something called the Rock Follies' TV show soundtrack. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't sound like one of the year's musical highlights?

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Spine3 April 2011 at 11:52

    Oh, this musical snobbery is too much to take. I defy you to tell me that Ken's version of 'That's The Wrong Way to Tickle Mary' isn't an instant classic.

    I suppose you're going to tell me that you also don't like Joe Dolce's 'Shaddap You Face', Steve Martin's 'King Tut', and Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers's Monster Mash.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nige3 April 2011 at 12:16

    Once again you set me to rights Spine - there is no finer version of the Wrong Way to Tickle Mary. And Joe Dolce of course stands alone...
    And Joey, that's terrifying - I'd forgotten all those compilation albums. Why on earth were they so popular? 1976 gets stranger and stranger...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Banished To A Pompous Land4 April 2011 at 06:45

    Rock Follies! Bloody hell I thought Julie Covington was the hottest thing on the planet.

    Oh and the Word Verification it just gave me was topshag.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)