UK Music Chart: October 2, 1971 Featuring The Fortunes

The beginning of October 1971 saw The Tams continue at the top of the UK Singles Chart with the now-Northern Soul classic, Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me. It would prove to be the group's third and final week at Number 1.

The Top 20 was also relatively static, with just Jethro Tull making any significant gains at Number 12.

A few places below, three records made their debuts, headed by the English pop outfit, The Fortunes.

The Tams at Number 1

The Chart:

01 (01) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me
02 (03) Rod Stewart - Maggie May
03 (02) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever?
04 (04) Middle of the Road - Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum
05 (06) CCS - Tap Turns on the Water
06 (07) Marmalade - Cousin Norman
07 (05) The Supremes - Nathan Jones
08 (09) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend
09 (08) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love)
10 (13) Shirley Bassey - For All We Know
11 (11) Curved Air - Back Street Luv
12 (19) Jethro Tull - Life is a Long Song / Up the 'Pool
13 (10) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting
14 (14) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love
15 (15) Carole King - It's Too Late
16 (12) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue
17 (21) The Fortunes - Freedom Come, Freedom Go
18 (17) Daniel Boone - Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast
19 (23) Engelbert Humperdinck - Another Time, Another Place
20 (30) Danyel Gérard - Butterfly

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

17: The Fortunes: Freedom Come, Freedom Go

It had been more than five years since The Fortunes had appeared on the British chart, when This Golden Ring peaked at Number 15 in March 1966.

However, a change of record label and reuniting with songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenway changed the group's fortunes. They went on to achieve a substantial hit in the US with Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again and a Top 10 placing in the United Kingdom with this contagiously catchy track, Freedom Come, Freedom Go.

Within a few weeks it would reach Number 6.

19: Engelbert Humperdinck: Another Time, Another Place

Engelbert Humperdinck was coming towards the end of his huge singles sales potency, at least in the UK.

Among his final entries on the British chart was Another Time, Another Place, a song which had originally been put forward as a contender for the UK entry at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest.

It only managed fourth place in the national final when performed by Clodagh Rodgers, but Humperdinck decided to record the song and it eventually climbed to a peak of Number 13.

20: Danyel Gérard: Butterfly

Danyel Gérard was relatively unknown in the UK, but was a star in his native France - at least up until the mid-1960s.

He was considered one of the country's first rock stars, but had not enjoyed much commercial success in the then-recent years. Having worked as a record producer for a while, he experienced a revival in his singing career in France during 1970, but the song Butterfly would see him break into music charts across the globe.

Originally recorded in French, it was translated into most European languages - the German version spending fifteen weeks on Germany's national chart - while this English version peaked at Number 11.

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The American Top 10 (w/e October 2, 1971)
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