The Top 3 of the UK chart this week in September 1970 remained the same, with Freda Payne's Band of Gold still leading the way. Meanwhile, there was a lot of movement further down the listing as five new songs entered the Top 20 - all from big names in the world of rock and pop.
Image: White House photo by Knudsen, Robert L. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The greatest gainer on this week's chart was the first international hit by American duo, The Carpenters. Moving up sixteen places to Number 15 was (They Long to Be) Close to You, a song that had previously been recorded by Dionne Warwick, Richard Chamberlain and Herb Alpert. However, it was The Carpenters' version that became a Number 1 song in the US, a Grammy winner (Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus) as well as a Number 6 hit in the UK.
The second new track on the listing was the then current US Number 1: Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross. It was her second single release following her decision to split with The Supremes and became one of the biggest of her solo career. A cover of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell track, it remained as America's bestseller for three weeks and earned Ross a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In the UK, it peaked at Number 6.
Meanwhile, unlike Ross and The Carpenters, The Tremeloes were approaching the end of their British chart career. Following the departure of Brian Poole in 1966, the band had enjoyed a number of UK hits - including the Number 1, Silence is Golden. This week, however, they entered the British Top 20 for the last time with this track, Me and My Life. Two minor hits would follow, but this would prove to be their chart swansong.
Ozzy Osbourne and his band mates were already well on their way to world rock domination even without the success of the single, Paranoid. With a debut UK Top 10 album already behind them - which also registered well in the States - and an almost contemporaneous UK Number 1 album of the same name, Black Sabbath was soon to become synonymous with the heavy metal genre. Never a singles band, this was Sabbath's only ever excursion into the UK Top 20, eventually settling at a high of Number 4.
Although it was a Number 2 hit in the US, I've a feeling the bulk of Creedence Clearwater Revival's British fans already owned Long As I Can See the Light when they bought the album on which it was included, the UK Number 1 Cosmo's Factory. CCR's UK single sales were never as strong as their US counterparts and this one was no different. It stalled at Number 20.
Until next time...
- 01 (01) Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
- 02 (02) Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Tears Of A Clown
- 03 (03) Chairmen Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time
- 04 (08) Desmond Dekker - You Can Get It If You Really Want
- 05 (04) Elvis Presley - The Wonder Of You
- 06 (05) Three Dog Night - Mama Told Me Not To Come
- 07 (10) Poppy Family Ft. Susan Jacks - Which Way You Goin' Billy?
- 08 (15) Bobby Bloom - Montego Bay
- 09 (20) Deep Purple - Black Night
- 10 (07) Bread - Make It With You
- 11 (06) Hot Chocolate - Love Is Life
- 12 (09) Jimmy Cliff - Wild World
- 13 (17) Aretha Franklin - Don't Play That Song
- 14 (18) Family - Strange Band
- 15 (31) The Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You
- 16 (21) Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
- 17 (12) Chicago - 25 Or 6 To 4
- 18 (30) The Tremeloes - Me And My Life
- 19 (28) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
- 20 (26) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Long As I Can See The Light
Image: White House photo by Knudsen, Robert L. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The greatest gainer on this week's chart was the first international hit by American duo, The Carpenters. Moving up sixteen places to Number 15 was (They Long to Be) Close to You, a song that had previously been recorded by Dionne Warwick, Richard Chamberlain and Herb Alpert. However, it was The Carpenters' version that became a Number 1 song in the US, a Grammy winner (Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus) as well as a Number 6 hit in the UK.
The second new track on the listing was the then current US Number 1: Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross. It was her second single release following her decision to split with The Supremes and became one of the biggest of her solo career. A cover of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell track, it remained as America's bestseller for three weeks and earned Ross a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In the UK, it peaked at Number 6.
Meanwhile, unlike Ross and The Carpenters, The Tremeloes were approaching the end of their British chart career. Following the departure of Brian Poole in 1966, the band had enjoyed a number of UK hits - including the Number 1, Silence is Golden. This week, however, they entered the British Top 20 for the last time with this track, Me and My Life. Two minor hits would follow, but this would prove to be their chart swansong.
Ozzy Osbourne and his band mates were already well on their way to world rock domination even without the success of the single, Paranoid. With a debut UK Top 10 album already behind them - which also registered well in the States - and an almost contemporaneous UK Number 1 album of the same name, Black Sabbath was soon to become synonymous with the heavy metal genre. Never a singles band, this was Sabbath's only ever excursion into the UK Top 20, eventually settling at a high of Number 4.
Although it was a Number 2 hit in the US, I've a feeling the bulk of Creedence Clearwater Revival's British fans already owned Long As I Can See the Light when they bought the album on which it was included, the UK Number 1 Cosmo's Factory. CCR's UK single sales were never as strong as their US counterparts and this one was no different. It stalled at Number 20.
Until next time...
