UK Music Chart: December 18 & 25, 1971 Featuring Middle of the Road

Middle of the Road

The publication of the final new chart of the year saw Benny Hill retain the top spot, thus crowning his comedy hit, Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West), as the Christmas Number 1 of 1971.

Along with Hill, two immensely popular glam rock groups of the era, T.Rex and Slade, continued to nail down the top three positions for another week. 

While they were repulsing all-comers at the top of the chart, three records quietly debuted at the bottom of the Top 20. These were new hits from Tony Christie, Middle of the Road and Val Doonican. 

(No new chart was compiled for the week of 25/12/1971).

Benny Hill at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Benny Hill - Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) 
• 02 (02) T. Rex - Jeepster 
• 03 (03) Slade - Coz I Luv You 
• 04 (07) Isaac Hayes - Theme From 'Shaft' 
• 05 (09) Gilbert O'Sullivan - No Matter How I Try 
• 06 (04) John Kongos - Tokoloshe Man 
• 07 (12) Cilla Black - Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) 
• 08 (05) Cher - Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves 
• 09 (06) Olivia Newton-John - Banks of the Ohio 
• 10 (08) Tom Jones - Till 
• 11 (11) The Newbeats - Run Baby Run 
• 12 (20) The Congregation - Softly, Whispering I Love You 
• 13 (14) Cliff Richard - Sing A Song of Freedom 
• 14 (10) The Piglets - Johnny Reggae 
• 15 (18) Deep Purple - Fireball 
• 16 (17) Labi Siffre - It Must Be Love 
• 17 (15) Diana Ross - Surrender 
• 18 (23) Middle of the Road - Soley Soley 
• 19 (26) Val Doonican - Morning 
• 20 (21) Tony Christie - (Is This the Way to) Amarillo?

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
*Image by Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 925-3455 (Nationaal Archief) [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl], via Wikimedia Commons  

18: Middle of the Road: Soley Soley

Returning for another visit to the UK Top 20 was Sally Carr, together with her hot pants and boots and the rest of the Scottish band, Middle of the Road.

Soley Soley was their third consecutive British Top 10 hit (Number 5), but proved to be their last. Further releases failed to crack the upper reaches of the chart, the immediate two follow-ups only managing peaks in the 20s.

However across Europe, and in particular in Germany, their records continued to sell very well until the hits dried up in the mid-1970s.


19: Val Doonican: Morning

The Irish crooner Val Doonican had made regular excursions into the UK Singles Chart since 1964, when Walk Tall became his first British hit.

His last appearance in the Top 20 was in 1968 with If I Knew Then What I Know Now, so he had to wait over three years for this reappearance. Morning, written by Bill Graham, was once again an example of the MOR-styling which endeared him to his target demographic: the (much) older generation.

It would go on to peak at Number 12 in the weeks to come, but apart from one last brief appearance in the lower recesses of the Top 40, this would be Doonican's chart swansong.

20: Tony Christie: (Is This the Way to) Amarillo?

Back in this week in 1971, Tony Christie's recording of (Is This the Way to) Amarillo? made an unspectacular entry into the UK Top 20 and peaked at an equally unspectacular Number 18 some weeks later.

In the circumstances, one might be forgiven for thinking that this run would be the sum of its chart shelf life. Not so. Some thirty years later, British comedian Peter Kay included it in his highly popular sitcom Phoenix Nights, which ultimately led to its re-release as a means to raise funds for Comic Relief.

It then seemed to take on a life of its own: climbing to Number 1 in 2005 for a run of seven weeks and subsequently re-recorded for the 2006 World Cup as Is This the Way to the World Cup?, this time peaking at Number 8.

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• T. Rex - Electric Warrior

The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)

UK Music Chart: September 18, 1971 Featuring Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart: Buy This at Allposters.com

After four weeks, Diana Ross relinquished the UK Number 1 spot in favour of a track from 1964, which had been buoyed by the popularity of Britain's Northern Soul scene.

Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me was a long forgotten record by The Tams, an American soul vocal group which had not had a substantial hit on either side of the Atlantic for seven years. It suddenly started to gain popularity in Northern clubs and this provided the traction for it to cross to mainstream radio.

Elsewhere, a collection of records covering the spectrum of music genres made their debuts in this week's chart - headed by a now-classic tune from Rod Stewart.

The Tams at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (02) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me 
• 02 (01) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting 
• 03 (06) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever? 
• 04 (09) Curved Air - Back Street Luv 
• 05 (08) The Supremes - Nathan Jones 
• 06 (10) Carole King - It's Too Late 
• 07 (04) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love 
• 08 (15) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love) 
• 09 (07) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue 
• 10 (03) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday? 
• 11 (**) Rod Stewart - Maggie May 
• 12 (14) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend 
• 13 (05) The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah 
• 14 (14) Family - In My Own Time 
• 15 (21) Shirley Bassey - For All We Know 
• 16 (23) Middle of the Road - Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum 
• 17 (20) Marmalade - Cousin Norman 
• 18 (26) CCS - Tap Turns on the Water 
• 19 (28) Ken Dodd - When Love Comes Round Again 
• 20 (18) Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
 
11: Rod Stewart: Maggie May

This classic track from Rod Stewart featured as a hit in its own right beginning with this chart from September, 1971.

Previously the B-Side to Reason to Believe (which entered last week's chart at Number 19), the popularity of Maggie May forced radio stations to feature it on their playlists instead.

By default, it became the A-Side and, in the process, one of Stewart's biggest hits of his career. Not only did it top the charts in the UK, but also concurrently in the USA - making Rod Stewart one of the few artists to achieve that feat. He also captured the Number 1 spot on the album charts in both countries with the single's parent album Every Picture Tells A Story, again concurrently.

15: Shirley Bassey: For All We Know

Originally featured in the movie Lovers and Other Strangers, The Carpenters covered For All We Know and took it into the Top 3 of America's Billboard Hot 100.

Their version was released in the UK as well, but Dame Shirley's interpretation of the song won the ensuing chart battle, peaking at Number 6.

The Carpenters would also enter the UK Top 20 with For All We Know, but to try and bolster sales  it was coupled with Superstar, which helped it up to Number 18.

The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1971 Academy Awards ceremony.

16: Middle of the Road: Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum

Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum was Middle of the Road's follow-up to their mega-hit, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.

Like the latter, part of the songwriting was due to the late Lally Stott, who went on to compose further hits for Middle of the Road.

Trivia: In Italy this song was used to advertise the then-new Fiat 127, while in France a French version by Sheila called Les rois mages (The Magi) became a big hit on that country's music chart.



18: CCS: Tap Turns on the Water

If you love your music brassy, bluesy and gravelly, then you'll enjoy this track from CCS entitled Tap Turns on the Water.

CCS (or Collective Consciousness Society), headed by blues man Alexis Korner, was a short-lived musical conglomerate of mainly session musicians who had formed primarily for recording purposes. This was their third hit in approximately eighteen months and proved to be the biggest of them all.

It peaked at Number 5 and became the group's final Top 20 hit.



19: Ken Dodd: When Love Comes Round Again

His first Top 20, Love is Like a Violin, had appeared in the UK charts in the summer of 1960 and When Love Comes Round Again would prove to be Ken Dodd's final brief appearance.

He often covered successful Italian language songs and this was another of them. Originally recorded by Sergio Endrigo under the title L'arca di Noè, it was an entry at the 1970 Sanremo Festival where it finished in third place.







The American Top 10 (w/e September 18, 1971)
*Press play > to listen to each track

• 01 (01)  Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
• 02 (02) Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
• 03 (04) Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
• 04 (10) Maggie May / Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart
• 05 (05) Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
• 06 (03) Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
• 07 (07) I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth
• 08 (12) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez
• 09 (06) How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? - The Bee Gees
• 10 (11) Whatcha See is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• The Who - Who's Next

UK Music Chart: July 10, 1971

Number 16: The Supremes & The Four Tops

Middle of the Road's Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep continued its run as the UK's Number 1 song on this date in 1971, making it four weeks at the top.

Elsewhere, another Motown production claimed a place in the Top 20, when The Supremes duet with The Four Tops joined recordings by Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and The Elgins among the British best selling singles.

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Middle of the Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 
• 02 (05) The Sweet - Co-Co 
• 03 (02) Hurricane Smith - Don't Let It Die 
• 04 (03) Blue Mink - The Banner Man 
• 05 (04) John Kongos - He's Gonna Step on You Again 
• 06 (07) Tami Lynn - I'm Gonna Run Away From You
• 07 (06) Tony Christie - I Did What I Did For Maria 
• 08 (10) The Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
• 09 (19) Greyhound - Black and White
• 10 (08) Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose 
• 11 (12) Bob and Marcia - The Pied Piper
• 12 (11) Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - I Don't Blame You at All 
• 13 (16) White Plains - When You Are A King
• 14 (18) Lobo - Me and You and a Dog Named Boo
• 15 (09) Dawn - Knock Three Times 
• 16 (22) The Supremes & The Four Tops - River Deep, Mountain High 
• 17 (17) Dave and Ansel Collins - Monkey Spanner 
• 18 (26) New World - Tom-Tom Turnaround 
• 19 (14) Neil Diamond - I Am...I Said 
• 20 (15) The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold 
 Image: Magnificent - The Complete Studio Duets

16: The Supremes & The Four Tops: River Deep, Mountain High

Although neither The Supremes nor The Four Tops were at their commercial peak at this point, the powers that be at Motown thought it a good idea to bring the two legendary vocal groups together for a series of albums. The first was entitled The Magnificent Seven and contained cover versions of recent soul and pop hits. One of them was River Deep, Mountain High, originally released as a single by Ike and Tina Turner. This version was commercially more successful in the States than the Turners, peaking at Number 14, while it topped out at Number 11 in the UK chart.

18: New World: Tom-Tom Turnaround

Although recorded, but not released as a single by The Sweet, Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman's composition Tom-Tom Turnaround eventually became a hit when recorded by the Australian act, New World. The trio had already seen UK chart action during the Winter of 1971 when their version of the Lynn Anderson hit, Rose Garden, peaked at Number 15. This one, though, would prove to be the biggest of their five chart visits, topping out at Number 6.

The American Top 10 (w/e July 10, 1971)

• 01 (01) It's Too Late - Carole King
• 02 (02) Indian Reservation - The Raiders
• 03 (03) Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
• 04 (04) Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters
• 05 (05) Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
• 06 (08) You've Got A Friend - James Taylor
• 07 (12) Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
• 08 (06) Want Ads - Honey Cone
• 09 (09) When You're Hot, You're Hot - Jerry Reed
• 10 (16) That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be - Carly Simon

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

UK Music Chart: June 26, 1971

Number 16: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 
Image by ABC Television (eBay item) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

While half of the UK Top 20 was on its way up, the all important Number 1 position remained static as Middle of the Road completed their second week at the top with the infectious Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.

Further down the chart, we saw only a single new entry into the Top 20, as one of Tamla Motown's classic groups graced the UK chart for the final time.

The Chart:

• 01 (01) Middle of the Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 
• 02 (03) Tony Christie - I Did What I Did For Maria 
• 03 (04) Blue Mink - Banner Man 
• 04 (05) Tami Lynn - I'm Gonna Run Away From You 
• 05 (06) Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose 
• 06 (07) John Kongos - He's Gonna Step on You Again 
• 07 (02) Dawn - Knock Three Times 
• 08 (18) Hurricane Smith - Don't Let It Die 
• 09 (19) The Sweet - Co-Co 
• 10 (09) Neil Diamond - I Am...I Said 
• 11 (08) The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You 
• 12 (13) Peter Noone - Oh, You Pretty Thing 
• 13 (17) The Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) 
• 14 (12) Elvis Presley - Rags to Riches 
• 15 (10) R. Dean Taylor - Indiana Wants Me 
• 16 (22) Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - I Don't Blame You at All 
• 17 (11) Free - My Brother Jake 
• 18 (16) The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar 
• 19 (14) McGuinness Flint - Malt and Barley Blues 
• 20 (15) Perry Como - I Think of You

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

16: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: I Don't Blame You at All

I Don't Blame You at All was the final UK Top 40 hit with Smokey Robinson as lead vocalist of The Miracles. The song was the official follow-up to the group's international Number 1 hit, The Tears of a Clown, the success of which delayed Robinson's plans to leave. He would eventually depart the band in 1972, leaving The Miracles in the more than capable hands of Billy Griffin.

This song, however, features all the elements which made the sound of the classic line-up great, in particular the smooth vocals from Smokey. He would see it peak at Number 11 in the UK and within the Top 20 in the United States.

The US Top 10 this week:

• 01 (01) It's Too Late - Carole King
• 02 (02) Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters
• 03 (03) Want Ads - Honey Cone
• 04 (07) Indian Reservation - The Raiders
• 05 (06) Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
• 06 (04) Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
• 07 (05) It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
• 08 (19) Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
• 09 (12) When You're Hot, You're Hot - Jerry Reed
• 10 (10) Sweet and Innocent - Donny Osmond

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Tarkus - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

UK Music Chart: June 12, 1971

Number 15: John Kongos

This week in 1971, Dawn completed their fifth and final week as the UK's Number 1 song, eventually racking up enough sales to register as the fourth best-selling single of the year.

It was succeeded at the top of the charts by this week's new entry at Number 16, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, while the debut hit by John Kongos entered the Top 20 just one place higher.

The Chart:

• 01 (01) Dawn - Knock Three Times 
• 02 (08) Tony Christie - I Did What I Did For Maria 
• 03 (02) R. Dean Taylor - Indiana Wants Me 
• 04 (06) Neil Diamond - I Am...I Said 
• 05 (03) The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You 
• 06 (04) Free - My Brother Jake 
• 07 (13) Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose 
• 08 (11) Tami Lynn - I'm Gonna Run Away From You 
• 09 (16) Blue Mink - The Banner Man 
• 10 (05) The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar 
• 11 (07) McGuinness Flint - Malt and Barley Blues 
• 12 (19) Peter Noone - Oh! You Pretty Things 
• 13 (09) Elvis Presley - Rags to Riches 
• 14 (10) East of Eden - Jig-A-Jig 
• 15 (22) John Kongos - He's Gonna Step on You Again 
• 16 (36) Middle of the Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 
• 17 (14) Perry Como - I Think of You 
• 18 (12) Waldo De Los Rios - Mozart Symphony No. 40 
• 19 (23) Sakkarin - Sugar, Sugar (RE)
• 20 (15) Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold 
Image: John Kongos: The Tokoloshe Man

15: John Kongos: He's Gonna Step on You Again

Having enjoyed success in his native South Africa, John Kongos moved to the UK in the mid-1960s as a part of the group Floribunda Rose and later Scrugg. However, these ventures were commercial failures. It wasn't until he went solo in 1970 that he came to the attention of the record-buying public across Europe and, eventually, in the UK. He's Gonna Step on You Again was the first of his two hits on the British charts, which later became the major influence for the Happy Mondays' 1990 hit, Step On.

16: Middle of the Road: Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

Formerly known as Los Caracas, and winners of the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, the band Middle of the Road was born in 1970. Enjoying little success in the UK, they moved to Italy where the group was given Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep to record. It had already been a minor hit in the US by its composer, Lally Stott, but both MOTR and vocalists Mac and Katie Kissoon  decided to release cover versions for the UK market. The Kissoons lost the chart battle in this country, but scored well on the US chart. However, Middle of the Road went on to enjoy five weeks at Number 1 with the song in the UK, with it eventually ending the year as the third best-selling single of 1971.

The American Top 10 (w/e June 12, 1971)

• 01 (03) Want Ads - Honey Cone
• 02 (01) Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
• 03 (05) Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters
• 04 (04) It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
• 05 (02) Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
• 06 (09) It's Too Late - Carole King
• 07 (07) Sweet and Innocent - Donny Osmond
• 08 (15) Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
• 09 (11) I'll Meet You Halfway - The Partridge Family
• 10 (06) Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Ram - Paul & Linda McCartney