Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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This week in 1974 wasn't a good one for people with sizeable egos who wanted to keep their jobs.
That's because it was the week in which Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was deposed by the Derg, bringing an end to the Solomonic dynasty's near-700-year-long reign and launching a civil war.
Similarly, Brian Clough was dismissed after just 44 days as manager of defending league champions Leeds United, thanks to a disappointing start to the season. Fortunately, that didn't kick off a civil war.
There was good news for one man, though, as it was also the week in which, brand new President of the United States, Gerald Ford signed Proclamation 4311, gifting a full and unconditional pardon to his predecessor Richard Nixon.
When it came to the UK singles chart, that roost was still well and truly being ruled by the Osmonds with their latest platter that mattered Love Me for A Reason.
I must confess the Osmonds single isn't one of my favourite tracks of the 1970s but songs I did approve of on that week's UK Hit Parade included:
Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
Annie's Song - John Denver
When Will I See You Again? - the Three Degrees
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted? - Jimmy Ruffin
Mr Soft - Cockney Rebel
Rock the Boat - Hues Corporation
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
I've Got the Music in Me - the Kiki Dee Band
Pinball - Brian Protheroe
Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
Long Tall Glasses - Leo Sayer
and
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot.
It is strange and bizarre to see that Rock the Boat, Rock Your Baby and Rock Me Gently were occupying the Numbers 24, 25 and 26 positions, respectively, while Number 27 was held by Mud's Rocket. Why do I get the feeling people were going into their local record shop, asking for, "That song that starts with Rock," and being given a random selection from one of those four releases?
Whatever the truth of the matter, should one wish to investigate things in more depth, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.
While the accompanying LP chart resides within.
First of all he gets swatted away, like a mere flea, by the gigantic Klaatu. Then he gets knocked out and captured by Xeron the Star-Slayer. Then he wakes to discover he's a prisoner on a spaceship.
And then, to top it all off, he discovers his old foe the Abomination's also on board - and outranks him!
Elsewhere, John Romita's stint on the Daredevil strip comes to an end - and does so with our hero getting the better of the Gladiator and Masked Marauder, with the puddle-headed pair finally realising Foggy Nelson isn't the man without fear.
Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four and runaway Inhumans are all in the Great Refuge where Maximus unveils his genius plan to annihilate every human being on the planet by using his machine that will only kill people who are not Inhumans.
Is there any hope for humanity?
And for inhumanity?
How can a man, even one blessed with spider-powers, possibly hope to stop a foe who can literally run rings around him?
Very easily, it turns out, as Quicksilver has the brains of a rocking horse, and Spider-Man has very strong arms.
The Unicorn's still causing trouble at Tony Stark's factory. He kidnaps Pepper Potts and threatens to blow up the plant unless Iron Man comes out to fight him.
Therefore, Iron Man fights him.
I can't help feeling the Unicorn's plans would be better if they didn't all involve him fighting Iron Man.
Thor, meanwhile is getting a good battering from Ulik but is saved when the king of the Trolls shows up and gets in the way of things.
But not to worry. His absence is only to give Marvel UK breathing space until new Shang-Chi stories are created for it to reprint.
In the meantime, a brand new strip's here to keep us thrilled, as I: Ron Fist smashes its way into K'un-Lun and, no doubt, into our hearts too, thanks to Ron's unique third-person narration and his one-trick-pony fighting technique.
Elsewhere, the Avengers are off to the Iron Curtain to rescue the abducted Black Widow.
But to do that, it looks like they're going to have to take on the Soviet Union's answer to Captain America - the Red Guardian!
And, very, very elsewhere, still trying to find Victoria Bentley, Dr Strange has entered a surreal world where he encounters the super-scientist Yandroth.
From what I remember, Yandroth has Victoria but isn't in the mood to give her up.
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45 comments:
So Steve, you’re saying there’s actually no Shang-Chi story in that issue of AVENGERS, but they put him on the cover anyway? Is there a pin-up of him inside at least, or some other image of him, to somehow justify his presence on the cover? Or is this a total “bait and switch”, like putting a picture of sliced peaches on a can of peas?
There are some really good tunes on this week’s UK Hit Parade, some that don’t even have the word “Rock” in the title! Of the new ones you’ve listed, I think my favorites are
“I’ve Got The Music In Me” and “Kung Fu Fighting”.
Here in the USA, we had a different Osmonds (Donny and Marie) song on the Hot 100 chart, “I’m Leaving It All Up To You”.
Songs that I actually like on the U.S. charts this week in 1974 include Carole King’s “Jazzman”, The Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll”, America’s “Tin Man”, Joni Mitchell’s “Free Man In Paris”, Reunion’s “Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me), Blue Magic’s “Sideshow” and Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough”.
One song on the chart that I liked a lot back in the day, that totally triggers memories of September 74 for me is Lynrd Skynrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”. Unfortunately, it’s one of those songs that’s been played and re-played relentlessly on FM Radio stations for 50 years, to the point that I can barely enjoy it anymore.
b.t.
You know what I was thinking about today?
The Hulk. Why does he never use bad language? If he's permanently furious, shouldn‘t he be effing and blinding all the time like Gordon Ramsay?
Bt, I think this week's Avengers contains a full-page pin-up of Shang-Chi and Iron Fist stood side by side. One of the figures drawn by Gulacy and the other by Gil Kane. I remember colouring it in with felt-tip pens while watching The Persuaders, one Sunday afternoon.
Dangermash, I think the Hulk's clean-speaking ways destroy once and for all, the myth that people swear because they have a limited vocabulary.
Steve, I feel much better now, knowing that Marvel UK wasn’t deliberately trying to deceive anyone just to make a quick 7p.
Also, coloring a pin-up in a comic while THE PERSUADERS played on the TV — on a Sunday afternoon yet— that is a very specific comics-related memory. I love those!
dangermash, I’m amazed Mark Millar didn’t have the horny Hulk shouting “HULK #%€*!” while he was chasing the naked Wasp in that one issue of THE ULTIMATES.
b.t.
BAND ON THE RUN’s chart history is really an odd one! At this time 40 years ago it had zip in the Top Billboard 100 (in the USA)!
But that said it was the first time McCartney reconciled to strategically releasing singles to goose album sales.
Imagine if the Beatles had worked that angle! Wow!
CH
Steve, you didn't mention the most important, earth-shattering anniversary of them all...
...because today (September 13th) is exactly 50 years since the Planet Of The Apes TV series was first broadcast on CBS in the USA before arriving in the UK a month later. Yes, the adventures of Galen, Virdon, Burke, Urko and Dr Zaius are 50 years old today!
And Sylvia's Y Viva Espana reached its' peak of #4 in the UK singles chart!
This week Radio 4's All In The Mind (which discusses mental-health issues) reported on a new discovery that educated people swear more than uneducated people (despite the myth to the contrary as Steve mentioned) so that seems to explain why the Hulk doesn't swear, Dangermash!
Today is also the 25th anniversary of September 13th 1999 - the date on which the moon was blasted out of Earth's orbit in the first episode of SPACE: 1999!
Who knows what they're up too now, Colin!
I hope they and the moon are okay, wherever they are.
...in currant, American news, our former president informed us during this last presidential debate that somebody, somewhere, ate a dog.
M.P.
I meant "current". dang it.
Also "to" not "too."
With Doug Moench's Hulk (Rampage Monthly/Rampaging Hulk), even if he didn't swear, you felt like he could have done (off camera) !
Phillip
Phillip:
I thought Hulk looked particularly savage and beast-like in the issues drawn by Ron Wilson.
b.t.
Charlie has done an informal survey of his staff at work. The conclusion is, that if a Haitian eats someone who thinks they are a cat, it is cannibalism. However, if a Haitian eats someone who thinks they are a cat while they are peeing in a litter box, then it is not cannibalism.
And if a haitian eats JD Vance while he is sexing a couch, said haitian gets automatic citizenship!
But Charlie, if RFK JR. eats a barbecued lamb that just LOOKS like a dog, would that be enough to get him sent to an immigration detention center?
b.t.
Yesterday's edition of Soul Music on BBC Radio 4-Extra discussed the song Take Me Home, Country Roads and I was amazed to discover it was written by somebody called Bill Danoff and not by John Denver as I'd always assumed!
FUN FACT: John Denver died on October 12th 1997 - my father's 70th birthday.
MP, there's a theory that the moon's gravity is involved in creating the Earth's magnetic field so we'd be in big trouble if the moon ever did leave Earth's orbit to go wandering around the universe!
We won't really appreciate the Moon until it's gone, Colin.
And it it is moving away from us, albeit very, very slowly.
Who can blame it?
There is a long list of reasons why the Moon is somewhat responsible for life on Earth, including the tides, which used to be much higher.
Like, 30 feet. That's when the Moon was a lot closer. Certain animals had to figure out how to survive on land when the tides went out.
We have a fairly large moon that is completely out of proportion with our moderately-sized terrestrial planet. It's bigger than Pluto.
To get a sense of it, look at a full moon and imagine the disk, from one edge to another, being roughly the distance of Maine to California.
M.P.
That Spider-Man Weekly with Quicksilver- a fun story, and my first introduction to the speedster and his sister Wanda. It always seemed a bit questionable, though, that Pietro was defeated by (spoiler alert) essentially a single gut punch.
Colin- you mentioned Bill Danoff- he was half of the "Starland Vocal Band", you might recall they graced the world with "Afternoon Delight" a couple years later...
b.t.- once again, your song list contains all my favorites too! And as for Donny and Marie's "I'm Leaving it All Up to You", that's one of those guilty pleasure songs. My sister was a huge Donny Osmond fan, and I'd have died before admitting much liking for him at the time. Even so, I had to admit really liking theiir cover version of that song; I still prefer it to the original...
As for our current political situation here in the States- well, it's certainly not boring! When someone writes the history of this campaign, they might have to file it under fantasy. And Stray Cats might consider scrapping any plans to show in Springfield, Ohio...
Charlie woke up early this Saturday morning to watch EFL (English 2nd -tier soccer)! Based on CBS’s gsme descriptions CH dialed in Wimbledon vs. Meynard Keynes Don (???) as it was billled as “one of the most hotly contested EFL rivalries.
Alas, it was half time and two of the three hosts (much thicker accents than when watching EPL games) were having a laugh at Nigel’s expense. Poor Nigel.
One minute later it’s a commercial break and CH was treated to an advert for Peronie’s disease (bent boner problems). Funny how they use oddly shaped carrots to make the point.
It’s shaping up to be a good morning in Chicago land!
MP, apparently Earth will be uninhabitable in about a billion years from now due to the sun getting slowly hotter and evaporating all the oceans so luckily by the time the moon has migrated much further out into space we won't need it anyway as there'll be no life left on Earth.
As you say, MP, the moon formed very close to the Earth and is slowly moving away so it's an amazing coincidence that Mankind has evolved at the very same time that the moon and sun appear to be identical in size in the sky and it's rather strange that religious fundamentalists haven't seized on solar eclipses as proof of God's design or something. Perhaps they have already and if not I shouldn't give them ideas!
But if the moon has played an important part in the formation of life on Earth does that mean life on other planets is equally dependant on a similar-sized moon in orbit? Life on other planets might be a rare event anyway but even rarer if those planets need an accompanying large moon.
CH takes it back… after more channel flipping he realized EFL Two is the 4th level of English soccer. CH has now tuned to a proper English Championship League Game of Watford vs. Coventry! One of you recommend me Watford so now CH has some particular interest!
Red, thanks for the info about Bill Danoff - I do indeed know the song Afternoon Delight but Take Me Home, Country Roads sounds so folksy and typically John Denvery that it never occurred to me that he didn't write it!
ANOTHER FUN FACT: John Denver's Annie's Song reached No.1 in the UK but he had no other Top 40 UK hits at all. None. Zilch. Zero.
Regarding the astronomical theme, John Denver sang: "And the moon & the stars are the same ones I see; it's the same old sun up in the sky", in his song, "Shanghai Breezes" ! John Denver's "Calypso" (about Jacques Cousteau's ship) was big in the US (deservedly so), but not in the UK.
Phillip
A bit of football history for Charlie.
There used to be a Wimbledon FC in South London.They only made it to the football league (tier 4 upwards) in 1978 but rise up through the ranks and ended up in the top tier from 1976 to 2000, even winning the FA Cup in 1988. They were everybody's second favourite team, styling themselves as "the crazy gang", a top English team but one with an internal culture that was like a pub team that found themselves having to play professional sides.
Eventually, though, they dropped down a couple of divisions and started feeling frustrated. They had a pretty naff ground that they couldn't upgrade, so decided to build a new one in Milton Keynes, which is in Buckinghamshire, over 50 miles away. At the same time they renamed themselves MK Dons, "The Dons" being their old nickname.
This move was unpopular and they lost loads of their fans. But a new club sprung up, AFC Wimbledon, based in Wimbledon, around the time of the move, a out 2002 or 2003. They attracted all the fans that used to support Wimbledon FC before they moved out. And the new club made their way up through the leagues, becoming a football league team in 2011 and often finding themselves play8mg in the same division as MK Dons.
And that's why AFC Wimbledon fans hate MK Dons. It's like MK Dons are their first wife, the one that left them and changed their name, and AFC Wimbledon are the second or, as Mrs Mash calls me, the upgrade.
Oh, and Wimbledon FC's most famous player is probably Vinnie Jones. He spent nine of his 15 years as a professional footballer at Wimbledon in two spells, putting the crazy in crazy gang and going on to play the Juggernaut in X Men The Last Stand.
"I'm the Juggernaut and I need a pee"
Phillip, I owned a John Denver greatest hits album so I know both those songs you mentioned - yes. even though John Denver had only one Top 40 hit in the UK he was still widely known here and I think his albums sold OK.
If any UK readers are interested - there's a documentary called Bowie In Berlin on Radio 4 tonight at 8pm.
A bit disappointed to see you approved of John Denver, Steve.
Not particularly impressed by any of the tunes this time out really. I don't think 1974 was that good a year for records, not in the mainstream anyway.
The only big time star who made a decent album that year was probably Neil Young, and I notice that 'On The Beach' has already dropped out of the chart (after grazing it at around no.50 the previous month). Not only that, but going by the re-entry of 'After the Gold Rush' people seemed to prefer his earlier stuff.
There were interesting records made around this time, but they tended to be fairly marginal. Like my fave album of the 70s, 'Peace and Love' by Jamaican 'heads' Dadawah -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Kb8YGhXCw
Which didn't even get a release in Babylon tíl Trojan did a British edition in late '75. Kind of ironic it should originally have come out just as the Conquering Lion of Judah himself was being removed from power by the Derg.
Obviously it wasn't a good week for his imperial majesty Haile Selassie - especially as he wasn't replaced by a vice-crony waiting with an unconditional pardon for him - but it was also unfortunate for Ethiopian jazzman Mulatu Astatke who's 'Yekatit' (aka 'Ethio Jazz') lp was released in Addis Ababa the same week. That got lost in the chaos that followed, and didn't make it to the wider world tíl a reissue in the 90s -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5-GDArCL-k
Fortunately the man himself at least got out before Mengistu took over in 77, and is still going strong.
-sean
Oh, nearly forgot. Undeterred by the state repression of the Windsor peoples' free festival the previous month, there was a new Hawkwind album out in September '74, 'Hall of the Mountain Grill'.
"Sick of politicians, harassment and laws..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaGTFFcQ8A0
They don't make 'em like that anymore.
-sean
Charlie, M.P., b.t., don't be too embarrassed by the pet munching thing.
Its not just American crazies - the British press was spreading ridiculous scare stories like that years ago, with claims that asylum seekers and east European immigrants were eating the country's swans.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/dec/10/sun.pressandpublishing
-sean
Colin - A few years ago (well - maybe 8 or 10?) I got a super-cheap, massive John Denver collection, from Morrisons, entitled : 'John Denver: Annie's Song - A Collection of His Finest Recordings', with 36 songs, for only £2. Yet, despite its size and value, this collection failed to include a lot of JD's best stuff, with a lot of weak 'filler' used, to pad it out. Your greatest hits album's clearly a better bet. I was surprised at how disappointing my Morrisons JD album was, as I thought JD albums didn't generally include that much 'filler'. Nevertheless, I've still got a couple of great old John Denver tapes (if they're still okay, after decades!)
Phillip
The most ironic thing about Trump bleating about brown-skinned foreigners eating our pets is that he himself famously doesn’t even like animals, has never owned a dog or a cat or even a goldfish.
The most immediately alarming thing about this nonsense is that there have already been several bomb threats directed at the Springfield, Ohio city hall in the wake of Trump’s rant, accompanied by racist rhetoric.
The most horrifying thing about it all is that Trump could actually get elected again.
b.t.
The general verdict on the Trump/Harris debate in the coverage I saw was that he came out of it badly, b.t. But most of it led with the pet eating thing, so yeah - I'm inclined to think he could win too (although admittedly living on the other side of the Atlantic makes it hard to judge).
I mean, if that's the cut through from the debate - immigrants eating cats and dogs - that strikes me as being a plus for him?
Sure, its nonsense. But so was the building a big border wall thing in 2016. Everyone knew that would never happen, even - despite what they claimed at the time - his supporters. We know this because since 2020 none of them have been asking why there isn't a big wall along the border, paid for by Mexico...
-sean
MASH! Thanks for the history! Love it! Vinnie Jone of XMen’s Last Stand and Wimbledon FC is a real gem of trivia!
Alas, CH has a question… when someone refers to Wimbledon, how do you know if they are referring to AFC Wimbledon or FC Wimbledon? Like Vinny Jones… How OK honey Would I know if he played with the original or the reincarnation of Wimbledon?
You kind of have to guess from the context Charlie. Which probably means guessing from the year they're talking about.
It's like when people talk about mincemeat. If they say "This mincemeat is great in mince pies" or "This mincemeat is great for making a chilli" you know what sort of mincemeat they're talking about but if your mum sends you to the shops to buy some mincemeat, she's being ambiguous and it's not your fault if you get the wrong stuff and get the how the **** am I supposed to turn this jar of fruit into a burger treatment.
The documentary Bowie In Berlin on Radio 4 tonight was very interesting. Was Bowie the coolest pop star ever? He even somehow contrived to release his final album just days before his death.
Phillip, I once saw a John Denver greatest hits CD in WH Smith's which didn't have Annie's Song on it!!
According to Wikipedia John Denver's most successful British album was "Live In London" which reached No.2 in 1976.
MASH, et al. You have me wondering about athletes that did movies, music, etc. The only person that comes to mind is Chuck Connors who was a baseball player and played The Rifleman. Bruce Lee? But he was never a professional athlete?
And thanks a bunch for the Wimbledon trivia. Ms. Charlie (soon to be Mrs.
Charlie b/c we both decided make great upgrades lol) enjoyed the story because she did watch with me.
I do like the notion in soccer that teams can be relegated. I’d love to see it here for baseball… too many owners putting crap teams on the fields because they ultimately profit from national TV contracts shared by the league among all teams.
Charlie-
You ever notice that on every episode of the Rifleman, Lucas McCain, Chuck Conners' character, shot somebody with that rifle of his EVERY SINGLE EPISODE?
Sometimes multiple people!
Over five seasons. He probably wasted more guys in the Old West than ass-cancer.
But, that was his deal, I guess. Trouble in town, the sheriff was kind of a pussy, so out comes the rifle. Every episode.
M.P.
Is that not what you'd expect though, M.P., going by the title? Would you not have been disappointed watching something called 'Rifleman' if the man didn't use his rifle?
-sean
Colin - Yes, I've got 'John Denver: Live in London' - it's the best John Denver tape! Usually, live/acoustic recordings are worse than studio albums, but - on that album - John Denver really belts the songs out; so maybe the audience interaction helped!
M.P. - Connors also played unstoppable recurring psycho, 'Costanos' (?) on Matt Houston. Then again, 'Andre' (with his 'Chindi magic' ) was a similar figure. Were Matt Houston repeated on UK tv nowadays, it would get an outdated attitudes warning. The A-team - currently being repeated on tv channel Legend has one (Hannibal dressing up with goofy teeth, as 'Mr.Lee', & wearing 'black-face' as a hotel worker; BA referring to Murdock being in 'the nuthouse'; every foreign country they go to - e.g. Borneo - has residents who look hispanic, etc! ) Chuck Connors returning to 80s tv, after Westerns, as Matt Houston's recurring arch-enemy? James Arness got a starring role in McLain's Law! Then again, according to some actors, playing a villain's more fun!
Phillip
Charlie, on the subject of sportsmen who became professional actors, Johnny Weissmuller was an Olympic gold medal swimmer before he played Tarzan.
When it comes to football, at one point, before they settled for MIlton Keynes, Wimbledon tried to move to Dublin, which really got their fans protesting.
Sean, I''m generally immune to the appeal of John Denver but Annie's Song has a good tune and I can't resist a good tune.
Colin, by a strange coincidence, September 13th isn't just the date the moon blew out of orbit. It's also Barbara Bain's birthday.
For sportsman turned actor, there's also OJ Simpson
On YouTube I've just been watching part of Newsnight on BBC2 from November 22nd 1990, the day Maggie Thatcher resigned and it was fascinating to see it all again after 34 years and knowing everything that has transpired since. My uncle had died the day before too at the age of only 54 so it was a memorable time. He'd only recently bought a Baby Belling oven which then passed to me and I've still got it all these years later.
Other professional athletes who became actors: Carl Weathers, Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Alex Karras.
b.t.
If wrestling's included...there are many more!
Phillip
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