Richard writes:
The ten best selling songs of 1975 in the UK were not necessarily the ten best songs of the year. Let me explain. The mid 1970s were a fairly stagnant time for innovation in singles. The end of the glam rock era was appearing on the horizon, while the explosion of the punk rock era was still two years away.
What was filling the void was an upsurge in sales for teen idols, such as the Bay City Rollers, David Essex and Pilot. There were some bright spots however amongst these artists and the middle of the road from the likes of Roger Whittaker, Art Garfunkel and unbelievably, Telly Savalas!
The group 10cc had been recording for several years, and 1975 witnessed one of the band's biggest selling and lushly produced hits in I'm Not in Love. The song just missed out on registering in the list of the ten best sellers, but has since become a classic and included on many lists of favorite tracks.
Another rock staple, and one which changed the concept of mainstream rock music, was also released in 1975. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was not available until late in the year, and because of this, the song did not make the year-end best sellers list. Were it released earlier in the year, it would surely have been the Number One song of 1975. In fact, in the UK, it has gone on to become one of the biggest selling tracks of the 1970s.
A career best seller, at least in the UK, was Rod Stewart's Sailing. While we had been used to listening to Rod rock out, this track saw Mr. Stewart in a more mellow mood while registering the second best seller of the year behind The Bay City Rollers. It was a cover of a Sutherland Brothers track and later used as the theme to a BBC documentary series called Sailor. This repeated playing ensured that Rod would return to the UK music charts the following year, making Sailing his biggest song ever in the UK.
While these tracks stood out among an uninspiring and somewhat stale list of what the British public was buying, there were some fun highlights. Billy Connolly brought us his comedic twist on the Tammy Wynette country classic D.I.V.O.R.C.E. and there was the summer pleasure of Barbados by Typically Tropical. But this was not enough to allay the revolution that was about to blow away the cobwebs of British popular music: Punk rock.
Thanks, Richard! I can see similarities with what was going on in North America although I am not expert enough to know that the music scene looked exactly the same. 1975 was just a wee bit before I was listening to much music but of course many of these artists and their hit songs will be with us forever.
What do you remember of the music of 1975?
See you
at the movies!
Brenda
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3 comments:
Thank you again, Brenda, for allowing me to contribute here. I'll be checking in regularly to see what's happening in the world of movies and music.
I recognize Cat Stevens'face there in the montage. 1975 was a bit before I was listening either, but some of the songs found their way to me later.
Richard, you are welcome. It's great to work with you!
I'm pretty sure we were dancing to Queen's Rhapsody a number of years later...that song must have had amazing staying power although I'd say it is one of the lesser known ones now.
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