UK Music Chart: March 20, 1971

Number 8: Deep Purple
All change at the top of the UK Chart this week in 1971, as Hot Love by glam rock kings T.Rex leapt six places to Number 1 for the first of its six-week run at the summit.

Lower down the Top 20, four very diverse bedfellows made their latest appearances on the listing, as new tracks from Deep Purple, Frank Sinatra, Ray Stevens and John Lennon all entered the top end of the chart.


The Chart:
  • 01 (07) T. Rex - Hot Love 
  • 02 (01) Mungo Jerry - Baby Jump 
  • 03 (02) Paul McCartney - Another Day 
  • 04 (04) Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden 
  • 05 (05) Perry Como - It's Impossible 
  • 06 (03) George Harrison - My Sweet Lord 
  • 07 (06) The Mixtures - Pushbike Song 
  • 08 (22) Deep Purple - Strange Kind of Woman 
  • 09 (08) Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline 
  • 10 (11) Ashton, Gardner And Dyke - Resurrection Shuffle 
  • 11 (13) Atomic Rooster - Tomorrow Night 
  • 12 (--) John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band - Power to the People 
  • 13 (09) Judy Collins - Amazing Grace 
  • 14 (34) Ray Stevens - Bridget the Midget 
  • 15 (17) New World - Rose Garden 
  • 16 (14) Dana - Who Put the Lights Out? 
  • 17 (10) The Supremes - Stoned Love 
  • 18 (12) Chairmen of the Board - Everything's Tuesday 
  • 19 (25) Frank Sinatra - I Will Drink the Wine 
  • 20 (27) Jackie Lee - Rupert (RE)
*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
Image: Singles & E.P. Anthology '68 - '80: Deep Purple

8: Deep Purple: Strange Kind of Woman

It wasn't often that English heavy metal rock band Deep Purple appeared in the UK Singles listing, but this week in 1971 it made a massive jump into the Top 20 with the follow-up to Black Night, the classic Strange Kind of Woman. This week's Number 8 would be its peak position and, to date, it has been the last Deep Purple 45 to reach the Top 10.


12: John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band: Power to the People

Lennon's anthemic Power to the People became his fourth UK Top 20 hit since his first post-Beatles chart entry in the summer of 1969. His appearance with this song marked one of the very few occasions that three ex-Beatles would register hits in the Top 20 at the same time. Ringo Starr's first UK hit was still a couple of weeks away, a time when all four of The Beatles would appear together, but individually, within the Top 30.



14: Ray Stevens: Bridget the Midget

It's not a secret that the UK loves a novelty song, so it's probably not surprising that Ray Stevens' Bridget the Midget stormed up the British charts in March, 1971. The song was far removed from his gospel influenced hit of 1970, Everything is Beautiful, instead recalling the sound of Fifties rock and blues tracks. Add a sped up Chipmunk-style vocal from "Bridget" and you had a fun, if not somewhat annoying, three minutes or so of nonsense. Stevens' homeland was not so impressed (No. 50), but British record buyers pushed it to Number 2.



19: Frank Sinatra: I Will Drink the Wine

While Frank Sinatra's 1969 release, My Way, was still pottering around the lower reaches of the Top 30, a new song by Ol' Blue Eyes was climbing the UK chart, making its debut at Number 19 this week. The previous November, Sinatra had introduced I Will Drink the Wine at his two-show performance at London's Royal Festival Hall. The song, written by English singer/songwriter Paul Ryan, became very popular in the UK, peaking at Number 16 and included on the album, Sinatra & Company.


The American Top 10 (W/E March 20, 1971)
  • 01 (02) Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin 
  • 02 (05) She's A Lady - Tom Jones 
  • 03 (04) Just My Imagination (Running Away From Me) - The Temptations 
  • 04 (01) One Bad Apple - The Osmonds 
  • 05 (03) For All We Know - The Carpenters 
  • 06 (07) Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner 
  • 07 (09) Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted? - The Partridge Family 
  • 08 (18) What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye 
  • 09 (15) Help Me Make It Through the Night - Sammi Smith 
  • 10 (10) If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

The Number 1 album this week:
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison



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