UK Music Chart: December 12, 1970

Number 11: Gilbert O'Sullivan

I Hear You Knocking by Dave Edmunds entered its third week as the UK's Number 1 song this week in 1970, but there were several challengers to its crown, among them three new entries to the Top 20.

Included in their number were both the debut hit by Ireland's Gilbert O'Sullivan and a novelty song from actor Clive Dunn.

The Chart:

• 01 (01) Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knocking 
• 02 (06) McGuinness Flint - When I'm Dead And Gone 
• 03 (03) Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie 
• 04 (18) Glen Campbell - It's Only Make Believe 
• 05 (02) Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile 
• 06 (07) T. Rex - Ride A White Swan 
• 07 (17) Andy Williams - Home Lovin' Man 
• 08 (05) Chairmen Of The Board - You've Got Me Dangling On A String 
• 09 (04) Don Fardon - Indian Reservation 
• 10 (09) Elvis Presley - I've Lost You 
• 11 (30) Gilbert O'Sullivan - Nothing Rhymed 
• 12 (12) Gerry Monroe - My Prayer 
• 13 (15) The Jackson Five - I'll Be There 
• 14 (08) White Plains - Julie, Do Ya Love Me? 
• 15 (14) Christie - San Bernadino 
• 16 (24) Peter Noone And Herman's Hermits - Lady Barbara 
• 17 (32) Clive Dunn - Grandad 
• 18 (19) CCS - Whole Lotta Love 
• 19 (10) Jimmy Ruffin - It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You) 
• 20 (13) Edwin Starr - War

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
Image by AVRO (Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1974) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

11: Gilbert O'Sullivan: Nothing Rhymed

In the UK, Gilbert O'Sullivan was to become one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. Although he had released several songs in the late Sixties, none of them had sold in any great  quantities. It wasn't until he'd secured himself a new management team that the hits began to flow. He was helped in this endeavour by a newly adopted image which included a cloth cap worn over a pudding basin haircut and short trousers held up by braces. It worked. Nothing Rhymed became the first of thirteen Top 20 hits for him in the UK and he would go on to enjoy success throughout the decade in both Europe and the USA.

16: Herman's Hermits: Lady Barbara

Asked to name a Herman's Hermits hit, Lady Barbara is probably not one that would instantly spring to mind. Unless you are a fervent fan, it probably figures among the group's "lost hits". In fact, it seemed the record company was trying to market the quintet a little differently at the time by crediting the single to Peter Noone and Herman Hermits. However, even though this record peaked at Number 13, it would prove to be the last time the band would appear in the UK charts. Peter Noone would soon leave for a solo career and consequently the hits would dry up for good.

17: Clive Dunn: Grandad

Released to cash in on the Christmas market, Clive Dunn's sickly sweet ode to grandads everywhere owes its success more to seasonal sentimentality than to good taste. Grandad entered the Top 20 at Number 17 this week and quite possibly should have been the Christmas Number 1 for 1970. However - fortunately or unfortunately depending on your view - due to strike action at the time which affected the record company's pressing plant and distribution, Dunn's record stalled at Number 6 over the Christmas period. It had to wait until January to finally secure the Number 1 spot, spending three weeks there and a total of 28 weeks on the chart.

The Number 1 album this week:

Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin

The Number 1 Song in the USA:
The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles