Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
There was no separating Little Jimmy Osmond from the top of the UK singles chart, this week in 1973, as his Long Haired Lover from Liverpool held on to its crown for a fourth consecutive week.
Over on the UK album chart, the nostalgia-baiting compilation LPs that had been dominating things of late had to make way, as Slade smashed their way to the top of the pile, thanks to their mighty record Slayed? Could nothing stop the boys from Wolverhampton?
No, it couldn't.
Not yet.
I may not be a huge fan of Little Jimmy Osmond but these are the tracks on that week's UK singles chart that I do approve of:
Crazy Horses - the Osmonds
C Moon - Wings
You're so Vain - Carly Simon
Gudbuy T'Jane - Slade
Nights in White Satin - the Moody Blues
Happy Xmas (war Is Over) - John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir
Jim Starlin's joined by John Romita in the cover-drawing department when Marvel's most popular hero meets its most nefarious villain.
But that's not all.
After all, the Hulk must battle the Chameleon, thanks to the Leader having sent the master of disguise to Gamma Base to discover just what happened to his previous agent.
What happened was that Bruce Banner defeated both he and the robot he was inhabiting.
And, in the issue's third tale, the Fantastic Four are still having trouble with Kurrgo, while his Planet X faces total destruction.
Posts
48 comments:
CRAZY HORSES! Listen to it, watch it, feel it, hide from it, love it, make love to it!!! It’s the Un-Cola of the pop charts!
The only record that really appeals to me this week is 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone'. Good to see you approve Steve, although I thought it was the kind of thing northerners were against, when they were keeping the faith with sixties soul.
Not much on the albums chart either, which is a top 24 this week rather than a top 50.
The 'twenty-four album top fifty' was of course one of the tory Heath government's measures to conserve energy, like the later 'three day week'. Although some say it was also designed to deny Hawkwind's 'Doremi...' lp the no.25 position, as they'd been playing benefits for the miners. I believe at the Battle of Saltley Gate they turned up with Michael Moorcock, and the Pink Faries, playing on a flat bed truck.
Legend says it was the last time Arthur Scargill did acid.
-sean
Seriously! Where’s the love for Michael Jackson’s Ben??? I actually bought that album for my little brother for Christmas, lol. If I was 11 he must’ve been nine.
Also, I did get a chance to see the Temptations in Gary Indiana. It was quite the show! Perhaps the favorite song was “Ball of confusion” Though for sure, “my girl” was right there.
I had my whinge about Little Jimmy last week but keeping Jean Genie off the top spot was a crime. I also agree that Ben was a great tune. What ever happened to Little Mikey Jackson? I did have a scan through this week's MWOM and nothing much to add, other than it does seem particularly good value. All three storylines are on a roll.
DW
I’m sure it won’t surprise many folk but for me by far the best song in the top 20 was Bowies “Jean Genie” at number 2. It would no doubt have gotten to number one if it hadn’t been for The Sweets “Blockbuster” which had a very similar sound to “Jean Genie”. I remember that being the talk of the “steamie” at school with folk saying Sweet stole Bowie’s song (it was just a coincidence).
At the time I also liked Michael Jacksons “Ben” but wasn’t that song about a rat!”? I’m jealous I would have loved to have seen the Temptations, an amazing band.
I recently repurchased those "20 Fantastic Hits (vol 2)" and "20 Dynamic Hits (vol 2)" that were in the charts this week in 1973 from a couple of charity shops. My late brother and myself used to listen to these and then we would give each song marks out of 10 to find our favourite. When I saw the 20 Fantastic Hits LP on sale (only for £1) it looked as if the previous owner(s) had done the same thing as each song had a number out of 10 against it – it brought back a nice memory.
The opening lines of 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' are words I nearly could have said myself because my father died on 2nd September (1999) rather than 3rd September!
Steve, to your list I'd add 'Always On My Mind' by Elvis, 'Shotgun Wedding (1972)' by Roy C and 'Let's Dance (1972)' by Chris Montez.
And at #43 is 'Ooh, You Are Awful' by Dick Emery - by coincidence last week (January 2nd) was the 40th anniversary of Dick Emery's death.
Susan Boyle did a version of 'Crazy Horses' on her first album!
I didn't know Dick Emery's famous catchphrase had been used for a single and I've been looking for it on YouTube but no luck - just clips of him as Mandy saying "Ooh, you are awful...but I like you!"
Colin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUn0n9Yu7Vw
DW
Ben was indeed a rat. As was Willard. Both were movies. A pair of wrestlers took to calling themselves Ben and Willard. But Chicago’s own Dick the Bruiser and his cousin The Crusher showed them who was the boss. Dick was so mean he got thrown out of American professional football around 1964 lol so he took up wrestling.
Hi Colin,
Don't go rushing out to buy a copy of Susan Boyle's debut album, as it contains her version of "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones, rather than a cover of "Crazy Horses" by the Osmonds. Which is a pity, because it would have been hilarious to hear it!
Big D
Thanks Big D - I didn't know that.
Thanks DW, but I already found it after all.
I've been doing some research on the 'Ooh, You Are Awful' single (only the serious issues matter on Steve Does Comics) and I've concluded it probably comes from the film of the same name which was released at Christmas 1972, hence why the song was in the singles chart in January 1973 (my deduction skills are worthy of Sherlock Holmes). I vaguely remember watching the film 'Ooh, You Are Awful' on TV many moons ago but I can't recall a thing about it or any song from it.
Apparently I’ve been living under a rock these past 50 years because I don’t believe I’ve ever heard ‘Crazy Horses’ until this morning. Never even heard OF it. Thought maybe you guys were pulling my leg, so I had to go to YouTube to check it out. Now I can’t get the image of the Osmonds doing the Funky Chicken outta my head.
There are a bunch of terrific songs on the chart this week. If I could only have one of ‘em on my Desert Island, it would have to be either ‘You’re So Vain’ or ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’.
b.t.
Just think b.t. - if you didn't frequent this blog you still wouldn't have heard 'Crazy Horses'! Well done Steve, eh?
On the subject of serious issues that matter at Steve Does Comics, what about this years Eurovision song contest? Seems the artist formerly known as Johnny Rotten has thrown his hat in the ring to be the Irish entry...
www.rte.ie/entertainment/2023/0109/1345606-wild-youth-and-johnny-rotten-among-eurovision-hopefuls/
-sean
How did we make it through 2022, or our current winter, without mentioning Malcolm Mcclaren’s Buffalo Girls and Double Dutch which rolled out 40 years ago??? Talk about a chart busting, trend setting piece of work!!! Clearly the “Crazy Horses” 10 years on and a truly beautiful transmogrification of Donny O’s Chicken Dance!!!
Pretty sure I mentioned 'Buffalo Gals' in the comments at some point, Anon (who sounds suspiciously like Charlie).
But 'Double Dutch' and the associated 'Duck Rock' album came out in '83 - winter isn't over yet!
-sean
Shawn! This is the Charlie! And you are correct in that I contributed as anonymous. It depends on which phone I’m using. But your remarks about Johnny rotten and Eurovision obviously are a direct line to Malcolm McLaren which is obviously a direct line to Buffalo girls and double Dutch obviously which is a direct line to 1982 and 1983 which is where we are right now 40 years on of course.
SEAN not shawn…. Sorry amigo!
Did any of you watch the King’s Xmas speech this year? What’d you think? Did he do as well as his late mother?
Charlie (possibly?), I didn't see Charles' speech and I never saw any of his mother's. So, I couldn't possibly make a comparison.
Sean, it doesn't matter what John Lydon does, he'll never be up there with Jedward.
Bt, Steve Does Comics is truly educational.
Colin, I too saw Ooh You Are Awful on TV, thousands of years ago. I think it was basically just the same as his TV show but longer.
Big D, I have to come clean and admit that I love Susan Boyle's version of Wild Horses.
DW, thanks for the Dick Emery link.
McScotty, the great news is there's a Blockbuster/Jean Genie mashup on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCW1koWmWA
Sadly, it doesn't work as well as it could have.
I've just been watching an episode of 'George & Mildred' from 1976 on YouTube and Tristram (the little boy next door) was reading a copy of Uncanny X-Men.
Steve Does Comics is indeed educational! I too have been introduced therein to the wonderment of the Osmonds' "Crazy Horses". Surprised I don't recall my little sister playing it, but then again she was more into Donny's crooning the remakes...
Not to wander off topic here, but I'm going to throw out a question and wander off topic. My wife and I have gotten totally addicted to the US sitcom "Ghosts"; do any of you fine UK folk watch the original British show from which it as derived?
By the way, Charlie, I grew up watching the Bruiser and the Crusher. They came on Saturday afternoons after the cartoons were over. Of course wrestling is sort of a cartoon itself, come to think of it...
Ah, Kurrgo. Master of Planet X.
He was an ugly little spud. Head like a watermelon with hair on it. Reed Richards, in an act that strikes me as almost cosmically diabolical, shrunk down Kurrgo's entire race to peanut-size so they could all fit in one spaceship. This was so the Xanthans could escape their doomed planet. They had mastered interstellar travel but hadn't yet figured out a way to swat pesky planet-killing asteroids off course.
Uh, we have...more or less? One hopes, anyway.
Kurrgo had a big-ass robot, like Gort from When the Earth Stood Still.
Marvel kept bringing that fuzzy little rascal back in other comics.
Why, I don't know. Maybe they ran outta new ideas!
On another note, I always thought the "Ben" in that song was the name of the kid, which woulda made more sense for the song, but yeah, I googled it and it was the name of the rat.
Anybody remember that song "Shannon" about a dog that apparently drowns in the ocean? It still chokes me up a bit when I hear it. I've seen drowned rats before and was not particularly moved.
M.P.
Red, the UK version of Ghosts seems to be very popular but I've not seen it.
MP, your question makes me realise I'd never previously known what Shannon is about.
I've just played it on YouTube. And, for the first time, listened to the lyrics. I can only assume it's meant to be a send-up. The entire thing is so ridiculous.
Steve, I'm appalled by your callous attitude!
I, for one, hope that the dog did find an island with a shady tree.
M.P.
Another sad song about a dog was "Brandy", by the O'Jays.
Kurrgo was one of many macrocephalic (?) characters, along with the Gremlin, the Leader, Modok, the Mekon, etc.
To the Thing, Reed was always "Big Brain"...
I'll get my coat...
Phillip
Hmmm… Horses, rats, dogs…. Surely “Steve Does Farm Animals” can’t be far off? Admittedly it does have a certain ring to it!
DW - i know you are a Hammer but the Manchester derby’s a real cracker! Im not sure what time it is for you in Oz though. (6:30 am Chicago)
It’s half time! Charlie is now watching Donny Osmond Chicken Dance to Crazy Horses. The song is an addiction! Ben was too but CH just lent itself to screaming the refrain out loud, over and over… Crazy Horses Waaaah Waaaaah!!!
Red, I saw one episode of the British 'Ghosts' but I didn't think much of it. I didn't know there was a US version but there's a long tradition of US remakes of British sitcoms - 'George & Mildred' which I mentioned in a previous comment was remade for American TV as 'The Ropers'.
Is there any denying that the greatest dog song of all tome is Martha My Dear by Sir Paul… like 55 years ago lol!
Talk about the cosmic surrealism of SDC….!!! The number 1 song 50 years ago is Li’l Jimmy’s “Liverpool ” which has that 1920s feel like “Martha My Dear!” Steve!!! How do you do it???
The saddest dog song of all is 'Old Shep' by Elvis Presley.
I don't think I've heard that Beatles song "Martha my dear" will need to check it out.
A favourite of mine is "Chasing butterflies" by Frankly Speaking. Nice lyric "I won't forget all you've done for my live, my only hope is ghat your up there chasing g butterflies"
Last line ".. Chasing butterflies" sorry for losing the moment lol
Not a song, but a comic — the ‘best’ (saddest) pop culture item about dogs is a little one-page comic by Mark Glavin called ‘I Had A Wonderful Time’. Google it only if you’re not afraid to cry like a baby.
b.t.
Phillip, Charlie, Bt, MP, McScotty and Colin, my favourite soppy song about a dog is Love Me, Love My Dog by Peter Shelley who, of course, later became the original Alvin Stardust before handing that role over to Shane Fenton.
It does my heart good to hear mention of Dick the Bruiser. Also a legend here in metro Detroit.
The Jean Genie song is a great tune! So interesting (and baffling) the difference between UK and US sometimes, that song only got as high as #71 in the States.
Steely Dan's Do It Again is a favorite from that week.
Cheers!
B.t.just googled that Mark Glavin stip after a wee night out in Glasgow. I had a tear in my eye, lovely strip, thanks for sharing.
bt, I've just read the Mark Glavin strip too. Very poignant.
Phil-
Yeah, you're right. There were a lotta guys (villains, mostly) in the early years of Marvel, the Kirby years, who had big heads. All aliens did, remember Tana Nile? Because they're smart. Reed Richards always had a large head. It seems to me the Thing always had a small head, relative to his body. It made him look more burly, I guess.
In the very first appearance of the Destroyer, Odin's doomsday robot had a HUGE head in proportion to its body, which to me made it look rather scary.
I mean, it was like the size of a small car engine. Maybe a Hyundai.
In the early appearances of the Hulk, he had a pretty large melon. Apparently, it wasn't meant to signify intelligence in that case. Kirby was probably thinking of Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster. Big-ass head.
M.P.
A Manchester derby, Charlie? Never mind those northerners, its the big one later today - Arsenal against Spurs!
-sean
Charlie
Sadly I got up at 1am to watch West Ham lose to Wolves. I haven't watched any of the others games from yesterday, and there's no decent teams playing today. I also read the Mark Galvin strip. What a brilliant use of a single page.
DW
M.P. - Yes, I'd forgotten about Tana Nile. In addition to the Destroyer, I suppose another big head is the Mad Thinker's android. However, I suppose the award for Marvel's biggest head of all probably goes to Ego, the Living Planet!
As regards the Mark Glavin strip, it reminds you that, although it's great having pets, the terrible part is losing them.
Phillip
Oh dear, losing to Wolves. Even Spurs don't generally do that.
-sean
Red,Our primary viewing time of wrestling and the bruiser and the crusher was from 10 until 11 in the morning on Sundays. At least that’s when it came on in Chicago. The problem was that the best match always started around 10 thirtyish in the morning and we would need to go to church at 10:45. So, given the way the wrestling matches were scripted we were usually heading off to church when bruiser and crusher were being strangled between the ropes and we weren’t sure if they were going to survive, lol.
Post a Comment