UK Top 20: November 11, 1972 Ft. Chuck Berry

Big Mover: Chuck Berry climbs to Number 6

Presenting the UK Top 20 music chart for the week ending 11 November, 1972

A new week and a new Number 1 as Gilbert O'Sullivan climbs one place to the top of the UK charts with his sentimental ode to his manager's daughter, Clair.

Elsewhere, there were some big movers climbing into the Top 20 as songs from Elton John, Archie Bell and the Drells, Chuck Berry and The Stylistics replaced hits by Bread, The Sweet, David Bowie and David Cassidy.

Read on...

Gilbert O'Sullivan at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (02) Gilbert O'Sullivan - Clair 
• 02 (01) Lieutenant Pigeon - Mouldy Old Dough 
• 03 (03) 10cc - Donna 
• 04 (05) Alice Cooper - Elected 
• 05 (07) Shag - Loop Di Love 
• 06 (23) Chuck Berry - My Ding-A-Ling 
• 07 (04) Python Lee Jackson - In A Broken Dream 
• 08 (06) The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack 
• 09 (11) The Carpenters - Goodbye to Love 
• 10 (13) Junior Campbell - Hallelujah Freedom 
• 11 (24) Archie Bell and the Drells - Here I Go Again 
• 12 (10) Johnny Nash - There Are More Questions Than Answers 
• 13 (14) Family - Burlesque 
• 14 (09) Elvis Presley - Burning Love 
• 15 (19) Chris Montez - Let's Dance 
• 16 (08) Peter Skellern - You're A Lady 
• 17 (12) Gary Glitter - I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock 'n' Roll) 
• 18 (15) Judge Dread - Big Six 
• 19 (31) The Stylistics - I'm Stone in Love With You 
• 20 (42) Elton John - Crocodile Rock

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

Stream This Week's New Hits:



06: Chuck Berry: My Ding-A-Ling

More than seven years after his last British hit, rock'n'roll pioneer Chuck Berry returned to the UK charts in 1972 with an entirely different sound.

Originally recorded in the early 1950s by Dave Bartholomew, Berry recorded a version of My Ding-A-Ling in 1968 called My Tambourine. However, it was a live recording of the song which would eventually top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

The innuendo laden lyrics caused some (American) radio stations to refuse to play it and even the UK's clean-up campaigner Mary Whitehouse tried to (unsuccessfully) ban it.

Nevertheless, the single sold by the shed load, hitting Number 1 in the UK for four weeks and for two weeks in the USA.

11: Archie Bell and the Drells: Here I Go Again

Having missed out on a British chart placing for their American Number 1 Tighten Up four years earlier, US RandB vocal group Archie Bell and the Drells eventually hit the UK listing with the re-release of a 1969 recording, Here I Go Again.

Fuelled by its popularity on the Northern Soul scene, the single peaked at its highest placing of Number 11 this week during a run of ten weeks on the chart.

Its surprise UK success led to the re-release of the 1968 track (There's Gonna Be A) Showdown, but this US Top 30 hit could not repeat its predecessor's climb up the British chart, eventually peaking at Number 36.

This would not be the last time we would see Archie Bell and the Drells in the British Top 20, though. They would return on one more occasion in the Spring of 1976 with the song Soul City Walk.

19: The Stylistics: I'm Stone in Love With You

Taken from their album Round 2, I'm Stone in Love With You became The Stylistics' second UK chart entry and their first to enter the British Top 10 (No.9).

Written by Linda Creed together with Thom and Tony Bell, it was among the many tracks which helped define the soulful "Philly Sound" of the early 1970s.

Although recorded by a number of acts during the Seventies, only Johnny Mathis was able to bring the song back onto the British charts when it hit Number 10 in 1975.

20: Elton John: Crocodile Rock

After the relative failure of his previous single, Honky Cat (No.31) in the UK, it would be Crocodile Rock which returned Elton John to the British Top 20 (No.5).

Released as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player, Crocodile Rock would go on to become the singer's first US Number 1 - and the first to be released on the newly formed MCA label.

It also helped the album to top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic - his first to do so in the UK.




The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Various Artists: 20 All Time Greats of the 50s

The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)



The song at Number 9 in the USA this week was by The Delegates and called Convention '72, a parody record about the American Presidential contenders.