Seventies Music Archives: The Fortunes

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UK Music Chart: February 12, 1972 Ft. Slade

Slade at Number 9

This week, one British glam rock band (T. Rex) continued its reign at the top of the UK Top 20 with the track Telegram Sam, as another (Slade) made an impressive jump into the new Top 10 with their latest release, Look Wot You Dun.

That track was one of four new songs making their debuts in this week's chart. Others came from well-established acts, The Fortunes, Bee Gees and Badfinger, the latter of which was about to repeat their US Top 10 success.

T. Rex at Number 1

The Chart:

01 (01) T. Rex - Telegram Sam
02 (11) Chicory Tip - Son of My Father
03 (03) Neil Reid - Mother of Mine
04 (02) The New Seekers - I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
05 (07) The Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her?
06 (04) America - Horse With No Name
07 (09) Al Green - Let's Stay Together
08 (05) Melanie - Brand New Key
09 (25) Slade - Look Wot You Dun
10 (16) Sonny and Cher - All I Ever Need is You
11 (06) The Faces - Stay With Me
12 (08) Donnie Elbert - Where Did Our Love Go?
13 (10) Elvis Presley - I Just Can't Help Believing
14 (12) Greyhound - Moon River
15 (17) Don McLean - American Pie
16 (23) The Fortunes - Storm in a Teacup
17 (28) Badfinger - Day After Day
18 (14) Bread - Baby I'm-A Want You
19 (15) Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair
20 (26) Bee Gees - My World

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
*Intro Image: Slade by AVRO (Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1973) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

09: Slade: Look Wot You Dun

Climbing sixteen places into this week's Top 10 was the third British Top 20 hit from rockers Slade.

Look Wot You Dun was one of a very few of the band's singles to fail to top the UK singles chart during this period of the group's career, instead peaking at Number 4 for three weeks.

Its success triggered an outcry from educational authorities across the country because of the title's bad spelling, coming quickly on the heels of the band's previous chart hit, Coz I Luv You.

Of course, these protests only seemed to inspire Slade to further crimes against the English language, as follow-ups continued the band's preference for misspellings.

16: The Fortunes: Storm in a Teacup

Two different hit singles - one in the US (Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again) and one in the UK (Freedom Come, Freedom Go) - had brought The Fortunes back to the public's attention the previous year, so it was no surprise to see the group back in the British chart with their latest song.

Written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker, Storm in a Teacup was first recorded by de Paul and eventually became the B-Side to her hit song, Sugar Me.

However, The Fortunes got their hands on the track and decided to release their cover version. Entering the Top 20 at Number 16 this week, it would ultimately climb to a peak of Number 7, but would fail to make a dent on the American charts. It would also become the group's final hit.

17: Badfinger: Day After Day

Produced by George Harrison, and the follow-up to Badfinger's previous Top 5 hit No Matter What, Day After Day returned the group to both the UK and the US charts.

Included on the band's third studio album Straight Up, the track had recently climbed to a peak of Number 4 in the USA and was about to surge to Number 10 at home.

20: Bee Gees: My World

Returning to the UK chart for the first time in nearly three years were the Bee Gees with their latest single, My World.

In the interim, Robin Gibb had departed and then returned to the group, they had scored a Number 1 hit in the USA with How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? and the British public had more or less deserted them.

So, it was something of a UK return to form for what at this point was the quartet of the Bee Gees. Written behind the scenes at the game show The Golden Shot, My World would peak at Number 16 in both the US and the UK, as well as provide the group with yet another worldwide hit.

The track is also notable as the last appearance by drummer Geoff Bridgford on a Bee Gees single, as he quit the group in March of 1972.

The UK Number 1 album this week:

T. Rex: Electric Warrior

The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)

UK Music Chart: October 2, 1971 Featuring The Fortunes

Number 17: 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)
*Press play > to listen to each track