UK Music Chart: October 16, 1971 Featuring Bay City Rollers

Keep On Dancing: Bay City Rollers: Original Sleeve

Rod Stewart's Maggie May completed its second week as the UK's Number 1 song this week in 1971. 

He also continued to reign supreme in the United States with the same track while his long player, Every Picture Tells A Story, dominated both the British and American charts.

The rest of the Top 20 was relatively quiet, bereft of very many new entries. 

Only the Bay City Rollers managed to cross the threshold, while discs by both Engelbert Humperdinck and Danyel Gérard returned after falling out for one week.

Rod Stewart at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Rod Stewart - Maggie May 
• 02 (04) Middle of the Road - Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum 
• 03 (02) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me 
• 04 (05) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend 
• 05 (03) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood - Did You Ever? 
• 06 (07) Shirley Bassey - For All We Know 
• 07 (08) Marmalade - Cousin Norman 
• 08 (06) CCS - Tap Turns on the Water 
• 09 (14) Redbone - The Witch Queen of New Orleans 
• 10 (09) The Fortunes - Freedom Come, Freedom Go 
• 11 (11) Jethro Tull - Life is a Long Song / Up the Pool 
• 12 (18) The Four Tops - Simple Game 
• 13 (23) Danyel Gérard - Butterfly (Re-entry: see post here) 
• 14 (17) Titanic - Sultana 
• 15 (21) Engelbert Humperdinck - Another Time, Another Place (Re-entry: see post here)
• 16 (12) The Supremes - Nathan Jones 
• 17 (10) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love) 
• 18 (13) Mungo Jerry - You Don't Have to Be in the Army 
• 19 (25) Bay City Rollers - Keep On Dancing 
• 20 (19) Daniel Boone - Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
 
19: Bay City Rollers: Keep On Dancing

The only new entry into this week's Top 20 was by a band that would become a worldwide sensation within the next three years.

The first hit by the Bay City Rollers came courtesy of a cover of a 1960s American hit by The Gentrys called Keep On Dancing. Their version had made the US Top 10 in 1965, but had completely missed the British chart of the time.

The Rollers, however, had just signed a deal with Bell Records and music impresario, Jonathan King, had become involved briefly with their output. It was King who appeared on the recording, contributing backing vocals while 'Nobby' Clark supplied the lead.

For performance purposes of the song, such as the BBC's Top of the Pops television show, brothers Derek and Alan Longmuir appeared along with Clark, Eric Manclark, Neil Henderson and Archie Marr. They took Keep On Dancing to a peak of Number 9 before a period of failures ushered in a change of members and eventual super-stardom.


The American Top 10 (w/e October 16, 1971)

• 01 (01) Maggie May / Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart
• 02 (03) Superstar - The Carpenters
• 03 (05) Yo-Yo - The Osmonds
• 04 (04) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez
• 05 (02) Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
• 06 (06) Do You Know What I Mean? - Lee Michaels
• 07 (07) Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
• 08 (09) If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
• 09 (10) Sweet City Woman - The Stampeders
• 10 (28) Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves - Cher

*Press play > to listen to each track

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story