UK Music Chart: January 1, 1972 Ft. The New Seekers

The New Seekers

Welcome to 1972 and the first UK music chart of the year. 

It reveals that Benny Hill retained the Number 1 position for a fourth week with his comedy song, Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West), it having already secured the title of Christmas Number 1 of 1971.

Elsewhere, the New Year began with a bang for The New Seekers as their latest record vaulted 28 places to Number 4, while young newcomer Neil Reid dispensed with the niceties and jumped straight into the chart at Number 18.

Two other songs completed the line-up of new entries into the Top 20 for this first week of 1972: the recent release from Elvis Presley, along with an instrumental hit from composer Johnny Pearson.

Benny Hill at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Benny Hill - Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) 
• 02 (02) T. Rex - Jeepster 
• 03 (07) Cilla Black - Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) 
• 04 (32) The New Seekers - I'd Like to Teach the World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) 
• 05 (04) Isaac Hayes - Theme From 'Shaft' 
• 06 (12) The Congregation - Softly Whispering I Love You 
• 07 (06) John Kongos - Tokoloshe Man 
• 08 (05) Gilbert O'Sullivan - No Matter How I Try 
• 09 (18) Middle of the Road - Soley Soley 
• 10 (08) Cher - Gypsies Tramps and Thieves 
• 11 (09) Olivia Newton-John - Banks of the Ohio 
• 12 (19) Val Doonican - Morning 
• 13 (26) The Johnny Pearson Orchestra - Sleepy Shores 
• 14 (03) Slade - Coz I Luv You 
• 15 (16) Labi Siffre - It Must Be Love 
• 16 (22) Elvis Presley - I Just Can't Help Believing 
• 17 (15) Deep Purple - Fireball 
• 18 (**) Neil Reid - Mother Of Mine 
• 19 (10) Tom Jones - Till 
• 20 (20) Tony Christie - (Is This The Way To) Amarillo?

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold

*Intro image by Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 925-4081 (Nationaal Archief) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

4: The New Seekers: I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

As many people are already aware, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) started out life as a one-minute television commercial for Coca-Cola.

The melody was written by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway and adapted from their jingle called True Love and Apple Pie and later recorded by Susan Shirley. Two directors from the Coca-Cola Company, Billy Davis and Bill Backer, teamed up with Cook and Greenaway and ultimately came up with the lyrics to the now-famous advertisement.

Popular demand for the tune was such that new words were written to replace the advertising and The New Seekers were sought as the ideal group to record it, but were initially unable to do so. Consequently, a group of session artists called The Hilltop Singers were given the song and it began climbing the US chart. The New Seekers were subsequently persuaded to record their version and it soon followed, then overtook, The Hilltop's interpretation in America.

In the UK, The New Seekers took the song to Number 1 for a four-week stretch, eventually selling more than a million copies. The Hilltop Singers, however, missed out on any chart action on this side of the Atlantic, but peaked at Number 13 in the States where The New Seekers topped out at Number 7.

13: The Johnny Pearson Orchestra: Sleepy Shores

Johnny Pearson is best remembered as the leader of TV's Top of the Pops orchestra, as well as the composer of numerous television themes and stock music.

One of the most popular TV programmes of the day was a BBC soap drama called Owen MD which followed the life of a typical village doctor in rural Wales.

Pearson was commissioned to write and record its theme tune, Sleepy Shores, and its lilting melody caught on with the public in a big way. So big, in fact, that it sold enough copies to eventually send it to a peak of Number 8.

16: Elvis Presley: I Just Can't Help Believing

BJ Thomas had the hit with it in the USA, but it wasn't until a live recording of I Just Can't Help Believing by Elvis Presley was released as a single in the UK that it started climbing the British charts.

Recorded in August 1970 at the International Hotel in Las Vegas during Presley's summer season there, the track was later included on his soundtrack album, That's the Way It Is.

It was subsequently issued  in the UK as the follow-up to Rags to Riches - though not so in the US, due possibly to the success of the Thomas version.

Regarded as one of Presley's finest live recordings, the record would eventually reach a peak position of Number 6.

18: Neil Reid: Mother of Mine

Hailing from Scotland, Neil Reid was a mere 11-12-years-old when he was the three-time winner of the TV talent contest of the day, Opportunity Knocks. On the back of this success, his sickly sweet recording of Mother of Mine was quickly released and propelled into the Singles Chart.

This prompted a couple of appearances on the influential Top of the Pops music show, which in turn helped the record to rise to Number 2 in the charts for three straight weeks.

After a 20-week run, the song eventually dropped off the chart and, apart from a brief, lowly appearance with That's What I Want to Be, this was the last that anything was heard of Neil Reid.

(Around the same time, a self-titled LP was issued which took Reid to the top of the listings for three weeks. He, therefore, became the youngest artist to top the Album Chart at the age of 12 years 9 months - a record he still maintains).

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• T. Rex - Electric Warrior

The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)