THE SEVENTIES - A RETROSPECTIVE

1975

This was the year I made my professional debut as a Disc Jockey. However the world seemed unimpressed by this world-changing event. As ever there were other events that were deemed worthy of consideration.

Margaret Thatcher was elected as the first female leader of the Conservative party.

In February 50 people are killed on the London underground when a train goes down a dead end tunnel at Moorgate.

King Feisal of Saudi Arabia was killed in March by his nephew.

In May Japanese climber Junko Tebei becomes the first woman to scale Everest.

Actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor tied the knot for the second time on June 2^nd.

Women were finally entitled to equal pay.  

The first kidney transplant was televised.

Lego was Toy of the Year for the second year running. 

The wedge-shaped Lotus Esprit was launched. 

June 5^th saw the reopening of the Suez Canal after 8 years of closure.

5^th July saw Arthur Ash win Wimbledon in the UK.

Britain sweltered under a summer heat wave.

The pop video was born. A seven-minute rock opera complete with dodgy visuals gave Queen their first number one single, "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Polyester ruled disco fashion. Only animals wore fur, as lobbyists took to throwing blood  over women draped in fox or mink.

MUSIC

Disco tunes continued to make their assault on the chart. K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Hamilton Bohannon, Gloria Gaynor and Disco Tex & The Sex-o-lettes all had crossover hits. Humour was supplied by Jasper Carrott (Funky Moped), Mike Reid (Ugly Duckling), Billy Connolly (D.I.V.O.R.C.E.) and not forgetting The Goodies string of hits. Oldies that made a comeback included Bryan Hyland's 'Sealed With A Kiss, David Bowie's 'Space Oddity, and 'Honey' by Bobby Goldsboro.

They'd been around since 1968 and after years of perseverance, Status Quo finally hit the big one on Jan 18^th with their tenth hit single 'Down Down'. It lasted a mere week however, and the Tymes could only manage a week at the top of the tree as well with 'Ms. Grace' before it was removed on the 1^st of February by a song about the previous month. 'January' was the song in question and Pilot were the band that recorded it. 

In February Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel stormed up to  the summit with 'Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)' and spent two weeks at the top. The song that holds the record for having the shortest title ever to be number one replaced Steve and the boys. Telly Savalas was enjoying fame as US police detective Kojak, a popular TV series at the time. 'If' was the song that took him to the top of the chart for a fortnight, commencing on March 8.

Away from the upper echelons, in February Supertramp made their chart debut with 'Dreamer' and went on to secure a disappointing number 13 hit. Jamaican artist Pluto Shervington pulled off a number 6 reggae hit with a song titled simply 'Dat'. Around this time a young lady with a weird name, and an even stranger vocal style, made her chart debut. Noosha Fox was her name and her eponymous group Fox secured a number 3 position with their debut hit. 'Only You Can' was the first of three hits for the band. 

Northern Soul continued to be popular and Wigan's Chosen Few scored a hit in March with 'Footsee'. Wigans Ovation also had a Northern Dance favourite with 'Ski-ing In The Snow'. On 29^th March Bobby Goldsboro re-entered the chart with the reissued 'Honey' and scored a number 2 hit with the song. This matched its peak position of 7 years previously. Also in March the immortal Shadows, Britain's most successful instrumental group, enjoyed their first UK hit for 8 years Surprisingly for the 'Shad's' this track featured vocals. 'Let Me Be The One' was Britain's Eurovision entry, which peaked at number 12. However they didn't win and were beaten by Teach In with the euro friendly 'Ding A Dong'.

It was May 3 when Mud attained the number one position again. 'Oh Boy' notched up two weeks there. Country Queen Tammy Wynette then removed Mud with 'Stand by your Man'.  Windsor Davies and Don Estelle (2 stars of the BBC comedy series "It Ain't Half Hot Mum") came along with 'Whispering Grass' on June 7 and claimed the throne from Tammy. On the 28^th of June 10CC provided the perfect soundtrack to the long hot summer with 'I'm Not in Love'. 

Some hits that never quite made the top included 'Night' by the Four Seasons fronted by Frankie Valli. This was a popular record on the Northern Soul scene and provided the group with a chart comeback after 8 years. They were to produce a string of hits during the next 2 years. The song made number 7 entering the chart on April 19th. Another dance favourite was provided  by Van McCoy and was called 'The Hustle'. It peaked at number 3 after entering on May 31. Ex Mott the Hoople front man Ian Hunter scored a solo hit with 'Once Bitten Twice Shy'. 

Johnny Nash spent a week at the top with 'Tears on my Pillow' before the tartan boys came along again with 'Give a Little Love'. The Bay City Rollers remained as the nation's best selling act for a further 3-weeks until August 9^th. The next number one act was Typically Tropical who hit the top with 'Barbados', which fell from grace after just one week. They were shown the door by the Stylistics and their song 'Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)'. 

Three weeks later Rod Stewart was back. This time he had covered an old Sutherland Brothers and Quiver song entitled 'Sailing' and struck gold. The song cruised for 4-weeks at the top and went on to become one of the years biggest sellers. US giants the Eagles soared over the charts for the first time on August 9^th with the classic 'One of These Nights'. However, their singles never achieved the successes that they were used to in the States and the song could only muster 23^rd position.

Another tartan terror upstaged the Chameleon of Pop with a bit of comedy. 'D.I.V.O.R.C.E' was the offering from the 'Big Yin' himself, Billy Connolly. It only managed a week on top however because an absolute monster of a hit had arrived on the scene that just happens to be the third, all time best selling song in UK chart history.

Away from the top and November witnessed the long awaited chart entry of the classic 'Imagine' by John Lennon. On this occasion it rose to number 6 and was to be his last UK chart entry for 5 years. Also in November Hot Chocolate paid yet another of their numerous chart visits with a song that was destined to be revived in the late 1990's. 'You Sexy Thing' was the track in question and 22 years before featuring in the soundtrack of the Full Monty it reached number 2 in the UK. Another song that did well without making it to number one was by UK folk stalwarts Steeleye Span fronted by Maddy Prior. 'All around my Hat' was the song in question and after charting on November 15^th it climbed to a high of number 5. Also around this time Sailor scored a number 2 hit on their chart debut with 'Glass of Champagne'. The song entered chart-land on Dec 6^th. Incidentally 1975 was the first year since his chart debut in 1958 with 'Move It' that Cliff Richard failed to have a song on the chart. In fact, only this year and 1978 saw him absent from the singles chart right through to the end of the millennium.

TELEVISION

Michael Parkinson was the king of BBC 1 on Saturday evenings. Billy Connolly probably made more appearances on that show than any other and who could forget Rod Hull's attack on Parky with his Emu puppet. Speak of the devil, Emu's Broadcasting Company started in late 1975

ITV had Les Dawson starring in two of his own series: The Loner and Dawson's Weekly. Roy Barraclough was a principal support to Dawson, as one half of their Cissy and Ada double act.

The BBC provided the comedy of the year. Torquay’s tourist industry prepared to take a dive as John Cleese’s comic creation Basil Fawlty welcomed the first guests to his hotel called Fawlty Towers. Only 12 episodes were ever filmed, but almost all are now regarded as classics - the most famous being "The Germans" and "The Hotel Inspector".

ITV offered its response in the shape of 'Get Some In' a comedy series about RAF National Servicemen in the Fifties with Tony Selby as the brutish Corporal Marsh.

The top quiz this year was Celebrity Squares where contestants were helped, and some times hindered, by Bob Monkhouse and a plethora of Star guests. The show was an anglicised version of a top American show in which contestants had to decide whether guest celebrities had answered questions correctly.

'Jim'll Fix It' first appeared in 1975. New-age Santa Jimmy Saville promised to make the dreams of thousands of children come true. Thousands of requests flooded in. The winners, who each went away with a shiny ‘gold’ medal, were usually those who asked to visit a biscuit factory or learn how to feed the poor.

Gerry Anderson produced another cult show to thrill Sci-fi fans around the world. The lunar epic 'Space 1999' starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain.

The following is a typical programme line-up for Thursday 28th November from the pages of the Radio Times.

PRESS THE BUTTON BELOW TO RETURN TO THE HOME PAGE