UK Music Chart: April 8, 1972 Ft. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards at #3

Harry Nilsson was celebrating his fifth week at the top of the UK Charts with Without You this week in 1972, but a surprise hit from an unlikely source was about to knock him off his perch.

An instrumental version of the hymn Amazing Grace was just about to take the worldwide charts by storm - most likely because the recording featured the bagpipes, on this occasion played by members of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Elsewhere, the Top 20 was relatively uneventful. Last week's new entries continued to progress further, while new entries this week were thin on the ground.

Apart from Amazing Grace motoring up 28 places, only the latest 45s from Labi Siffre and Elvis Presley were able to make their débuts.


Nilsson at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Nilsson - Without You 
• 02 (02) The New Seekers - Beg, Steal or Borrow 
• 03 (31) The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Amazing Grace 
• 04 (03) Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally) 
• 05 (05) Argent - Hold Your Head Up 
• 06 (06) Lindisfarne - Meet Me on the Corner 
• 07 (04) Don McLean - American Pie 
• 08 (15) The Chiffons - Sweet Talkin' Guy 
• 09 (07) Les Crane - Desiderata 
• 10 (09) The Supremes - Floy Joy 
• 11 (17) Neil Young - Heart of Gold 
• 12 (11) The Partridge Family - It's One of Those Nights 
• 13 (19) Tom Jones - The Young New Mexican Puppeteer 
• 14 (08) Paul Simon - Mother and Child Reunion 
• 15 (18) Ringo Starr - Back Off Boogaloo 
• 16 (20) Olivia Newton-John - What Is Life? 
• 17 (14) Engelbert Humperdinck - Too Beautiful to Last 
• 18 (26) Elvis Presley - Until It's Time For You to Go 
• 19 (12) The Chelsea Football Team - Blue is the Colour 
• 20 (23) Labi Siffre - Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying 

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

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03: The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards: Amazing Grace

Judy Collins' vocal version of Amazing Grace had already spent the best part of a year on the UK Singles Chart when a bagpipe rendition suddenly took the Top 20 by storm and became one of the most unexpected hit records of recent times.

The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - to give them their full name - not only managed to invade the British charts, but also saw success worldwide with the recording.

It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa and would begin a run of five weeks at the peak of the British charts in mid-April.

By the end of the year the recording had become the biggest selling disc of 1972 in the UK and would go on to sell around seven million copies around the world by 1977.

18: Elvis Presley: Until It's Time For You to Go

Elvis Presley's latest UK Top 10 hit was the much-recorded Buffy Sainte-Marie composition, Until It's Time For You to Go.

Originally included on her 1965 album Many A Mile, the song has been covered by many artists over the years.

Neil Diamond took it into the American charts in 1970 while the British group The Four Pennies enjoyed some UK chart action with the song in 1965.

Presley's recording was included on his 1972 album Elvis Now, rose to a peak of Number 5 in the UK but only managed to climb to Number 40 in his homeland.

20: Labi Siffre: Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying

Possibly one of the most underrated artists of his era, British poet and songwriter Labi Siffre was back in the Top 20 this week with his latest release Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying.

Also the name of his latest album, the single progressed to a Number 11 peak, making it the biggest of his three hits during the 1970s.

It failed to chart in the USA, however.

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Lindisfarne: Fog on the Tyne

The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)

The Number 10 song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Robert John, is unavailable.  This has been substituted by the Tight Fit version from the 1980s.