Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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You can't accuse the British public of not being cosmopolitan. After all, this week in 1975, it fully embraced the genuine and authentic sound of the Caribbean by propelling Totally Tropical's Barbados to the very peak of the UK singles chart.
Over on the album rankings, things were as they had been the week before, with the Carpenters ruling the roost, thanks to their latest LP Horizon.
I must confess Barbados isn't one of my favourite reggae tracks of all time. However, tracks I did approve of on that week's chart included:
Give a Little Love - the Bay City Rollers
If You Think You Know how To Love Me - Smokie
Jive Talkin' - the Bee Gees
The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker
Misty - Ray Stevens
Fame - David Bowie
That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and The Sunshine Band
and
I'm Not In Love - 10cc.
Should you wish to investigate the matter further, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.
While its accompanying LP chart dwells within.
As for me, it's August 1975!
I'm on holiday - in Blackpool!
Quatermass and Tarzan are on TV!
Comics by a brand new publisher called Atlas are everywhere!
Ray Stevens' cover of Misty is on the sound system in the big Woolworths by the Tower!
Spaceships of Ezekiel by Josef F Blumrich is for sale in the smaller Woolworths that's not by the Tower - and proving that it is possible to write a boring book about ancient astronauts!
Elsewhere, in the window of Ripleys' Believe It Or Not, a giant tap floats in mid-air, as an endless stream of water flows from it.
Those are delights enough for any man. What can even Marvel UK possibly hope to add to them?
Spider-Man's campaign against drug abuse continues.
Spider-Man's campaign against drug abuse continues.
But, because things are never easy for him, he also has to contend with the return of the Green Goblin!
Elsewhere, Iron Man succeeds in defeating Titanium Man and then guides Half-Face away from the path of Communist evil!
And I do believe that Thor somehow manages to defeat Galactus and convinces Ego to let a load of space refugees live on him.
Despite what's claimed on the cover blurb, I have a strong suspicion that, this week, Conan is, in fact, on his way to inadvertently encounter a big frog monster at some standing stones while the siege of Makkalet continues without him.
And just where has the Vision vanished to?
And why has Ultron just smashed his way up through the floorboards while claiming to be indestructible?
Meanwhile, after several weeks' absence, Shang-Chi's returned to this comic and is confronting Razor-Fist, the man with two huge blades where his hands should be. A set-up which does seem a trifle impractical when it comes to performing day-to-day tasks.
Thrills are piled upon spills when the Defenders travel to Rutland, Vermont, to prevent a cult from unleashing Dormammu upon our world!
After that, I think we may be getting the story in which the Jester "murders" himself and lumbers Daredevil with the blame for the death!
And I believe we reach the conclusion of the Fantastic Four's first encounter with Psycho-Man. Although - as far as I can remember - of that quartet, only the Thing and Human Torch show up for the fight.
Fortunately, the Black Panther and Inhumans are also on hand to help introduce the villain to the five knuckles of justice.
But the big news is that, The Day of the Triffids having been wrapped up, a brand new series is launched. One in which, sent to Earth to infiltrate humanity on behalf of his Kree masters, Marvel's Captain Marvel makes his space-hopping UK debut!
I remember reading this issue on a bench somewhere near Lewis's department store. As a child, I thought Lewis's department stores were owned by Jerry Lewis. Reader, to the shock of everyone, it turned out I was wrong.
Dracula's got his work cut out for him because he must put up with people firing wooden bullets at him, from a helicopter - and must brace himself for The Coming of Doctor Sun!
I remember reading this issue on a bench somewhere near Lewis's department store. As a child, I thought Lewis's department stores were owned by Jerry Lewis. Reader, to the shock of everyone, it turned out I was wrong.
Jack Russell's got problems too because not only is his sister worried that she's also going to become a werewolf upon her eighteenth birthday, there are also schemes afoot from Baron Thunder who wants to set a stone monster on our hero.
Quite what that character gets up to, this week, I'm not sure but I'm assuming we're going to get some sort of origin tale for him.
But, first, someone called Yarro Gort is helping to prop up a dictatorship but Shalla-Bal gets injured and the Surfer's forced to send her back to Zenn-La, without him.
Next, the aforementioned man of bronze encounters The Doom on Thunder Isle!
And the X-Men visit the Antarctic, for reasons I'm not totally sure about, where they encounter a man called Ka-Zar.
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25 comments:
Gents - google “Jack Kirby Dingbat Love Twomorrows Publishing “ and ye shall be rewarded!
Didn’t Doc just get done encountering the Doom on Thunder Isle in his own mag? At least he gets a big ol’ ziggurat behind him on the cover this time.
I approve of all the Steve-approved songs on today’s post. One of em — “Jive Talkin “ hit #1 on the Hot 100 fifty years ago. “I’m Not In Love” was still stuck at #2 for the third week in a row. One of my favorite ABBA songs, “S.O.S.”
debuted at #89. The absolute oddest track on the chart was the “Theme from JAWS” at #95. I don’t ever remember hearing that one on the radio. It definitely has a beat but you can’t really dance to it…
b.t.
I remember the Theme From Jaws on the radio!
I was Jaws-obsessed in 1975, and I have a visual snapshot of it playing, in the front room of our little suburban house in Kent.
I kind of detest 10CC. I feel like I should like them, that there are layers of depth and irony to their songs I should appreciate. Every time I read an anniversary appreciation of them to commemorate yet another box set, I think 'hmmm, I should give them a go again'. But when I do they make my teeth hurt.
'I'm Not In Love' is amazing though.
As is 'SOS'.
And it's 50 years since the new Bee Gees funk sound was unveiled! The beginning or their godlike Imperial Phase. Some of the greatest pop music ever produced. Or was 'Nights On Broadway' before this one?
So at this point we were getting Shang Chi, Doc Savage, Captain Marvel and Silver Surfer but still no Captain America reprints? I never really understood why. Did they think he was so patriotic that nobody outside the us would be interested in him?
Not that ever got to read anything other than SMCW, mind.
I also wondered why Marvel UK never used Captain America at this time, he was in the Avengers and seemed popular. Of course in a few months he would appear in Marvels new comic the Titans.
I believe “Nights On Broadway” was their next single after “Jive Talking” .
b.t.
The release of S.O.S. was the point when ABBA's popularity really took off in Britain - yes, they'd already reached #1 with Waterloo but that song was dismissed as a novelty Eurovision one-off and the follow-up singles were all flops. It wasn't until S.O.S. came along that ABBA were taken seriously and they were able to finally shake off their Eurovision novelty-act image.
Matthew, wasn't Jaws rather scary and violent for a 4-year old? Didn't you have nightmares?
You picked some fine tunes for your list, Steve! Upon checking out your link to the UK chart, I noticed that Brian Hyland was sitting at #7 with "Sealed With a Kiss". The chart listed it as "1975"; was this his original release of that song from the mid 60''s or an updated version (kind of like Neal Sedaka did with "Breaking Up is Hard to D0")?
As to the US chart- agreeing with you, b.t. and Matthew, regarding "S.O.S.". That song blew me away the first time I heard it, and remains one of my all -time favorite tracks. Probably mentioned this before, but apparently Pete Townsend named the song to be the greatest pop song ever...
Also moving up was Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz"; another winner.
Then there was Ambrosia with "Holdin' On to Yesterday" . A song I really enjoyed, and whose performers would soon be involved with what became the Alan Parsons Project. Busy musical year, 1975 (and with Frank Sinatra at #70)...
I didn’t see it until a year or two later.
It came out in 1976 in the UK, and I don’t think I was taken to see it until a re-release in 77 (and even then my mother tried to cover my eyes for the nasty bits).
I was obsessed with the marketing in 75 and 76. It was Jaws / sharks everywhere. So my little ears pricked up whenever that 7” got airplay.
Red, for some reason, it was common in the mid-1970s for old songs that had re-entered the UK charts to have the current year added to the title in parentheses. Why, I have no idea, as they always seemed to be the original version.
Speaking of music… today is the 21st anniversary of the Dave Matthews band dumping 800 pounds of human waste from their tour bus, while on a bridge in the city center of Chicago, onto a tour boat passing underneath.
You can’t make the is sh!t up.
CH.
For the Tottenham fans, your former star Son makes his debut in MLS playing for LAFC against our midling Chicago Fire.
Will he use MLS as recovery therapy like Ibrahimovich and return in a year?
Anyhow EPL starts in 6 days and Charlie needs a team to cheer for! He is thinking he could get behind Newcastle top 4? Or is that too much a stretch?
Help Charlie. He wants an underdog with a legit chance of top-6.
And if you have EPL Champion League (tier 2 not the tournament) i would appreciate any advice!
Pedants Corner:
It was Typically Tropical, Steve. Not Totally.
'Barbados' isn't one of my reggae favorites either. I tend to prefer topically tripical records like the 'King Tubby Meets the Aggrovators at Dub Station' lp, which came out this month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXHSoXQoNsM
Can't say that I really approve of that much in the singles or album chart you linked to. But I think the mid 70s was an era for interesting genres outside the mainstream - 'krautrock', dub, funk, afrobeat etc - and there were a lot of great records being released this month.
Like Harmonia's 'Deluxe' album. Here's the brilliant title track -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcmObwhFir8
And if you think that sounds like a slightly less conceptually rigorous Kraftwerk, that's probably because one of them - guitarist Michael Rother - was a former member.
Along with his other previous band Neu!'s '75' album, which came out a few months earlier, it was a big influence on encouraging a certain British singer to move to Berlin in '76. Also from Germany this month: jazz/rock/noise outfit Dzyan's 'Electric Silence' album, and the somewhat better known Munich singer Donna Summer's 'Love to Love You Baby'.
-sean
Well, top six is pretty certain to be some permutation of Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Villa. So depends what you mean by an underdog with a chance of top 6. With these six, all being pretty certain of top 6, I wouldn't call them underdogs.
So we're looking at a team that might flirt with finishing in the top 6 but not finish there. Won't be Forest, they had their year last time. Man Utd or Spurs? Both too big to be called underdogs. I think there's only one club for you to follow Charlie…..
Brighton! Great to watch. Flashy new stadium. Always around there, never quite making it. Always signing new unknown players and selling them at a profit to the big boys. In a football365 article this week with a list of ten players clubs have signed this summer who will move on for big money to big clubs next summer, there were three Brighton players, which sounds intriguing.
Good old Sussex by the sea
Good old Sussex by the sea
Well we're going up
To win the cup
For Sussex by the sea
You know it makes sense.
Yeah, Steve's thinking of pineapple and grapefruity flavour, Lilt's the drink that you love to savour: Lilt with the totally tropical taste 🌴
I've just heard about the death of Norman Eshley, aged 80, who was most famous for playing the snooty neighbour Geoffrey Fourmille on George & Mildred - his death comes only six months after Brian Murphy who played George.
And I've finally completed my marathon watch of The Good Life on BBC iPlayer, all 28 regular episodes and two one-off specials. Watching the episodes back-to-back revealed the curious fact that the view from Margo's french-windows was continually changing and even the furniture and the pictures on the wall would change from episode to episode!
I've never liked the song Barbados much either - in 1999 it reached #1 again only this time the title was changed to We're Going To Ibiza by The Vengaboys.
Colin - As well as George & Mildred's estate agent neighbour, Fourmille, Norman Eshley played two different characters on 'Man About the House'. First of all, he played an older man Chrissie was going out with, who didn't tell her he was already married. Later, Norman Eshley played Robin's brother, whom Chrissie married, in the final episode - if memory serves. The audience, the writers obviously believed, either wouldn't recognize Mr. Eshley, or wouldn't care! His small but memorable role in the Sweeney also springs to mind.
Phillip
Thanks DM! I was pondering Brighton! And this past year, i would watch them over the Big 4-ish teams as a rule unless they were playing each other.
If you can see Southpark in the UK it is worth a look. Episode 1 and 2 of this year (Season 27?) cut the white house to… the… bone! Maybe look at youtube “shorts” if unavailable in the UK. My big boss Noeme deserves evey last bit of it.
Good shout on The Sweeney, Phillip.
As someone who found Regan and Carter (and in one of those two cases the actor playing him) a bit thuggish, I always thought Norman's character got a poor deal in that episode. Getting a hypocritical bollocking for roughing up some dodgy geezer when Regan and Carter do that all the time and then being thrown into a gunfight with seemingly no training, and no psychological profiling. And then getting some snotty comment from Regan at the end about how he'd spend the rest of his career as a bobby on the beat, occasionally getting invited to visit junior schools to talk to the kids.
dangermash - Yes! Norman Eshley always put in a good performance. Why was breaking down under stress something to be scoffed at, anyway? A good actor, who cut his teeth on the stage. I'll remember him well!
Phillip
I watched Brighton for three or four years when I was living and working in Sussex. Here's my favourite football moment ever.
Background. It's the last fixture of the season and we're in the second tier (these days it's the Championship). Brighton are at home to Stoke. Brighton have struggled all season but have saved themselves from relegation with a match to go, so are in a happy place. Stoke have been abysmal, certain of relegation since about February, not won an away match all season. Just happy the season is over. And their last game is at the seaside, so they bring down huge numbers of fans, all up for the party and decked from head to toe in red and white. Part of the ground that's normally for Brighton fans is handed over to away fans - that's how many there were.
Stoke end up winning 3-1 but nobody really cares because there's a bug party atmosphere. Every time there's a Stoke goal, there's a pitch invasion. And at the final whistle there's a huge pitch invasion from both sets of fans, all hugging, shaking hands, swapping scarves. A great advert for football.
But then on come the police to a chorus of boos. Brighton fans all chased back to the North Stand behind one of the goals, Stoke fans chased back to the other end of a pitch where a line of coppers stretches the width of the pitch and holds them back. And then…
A football is launched into the air from somewhere in the Stoke melee, over the top of the police line. A couple of coppers look behind them and one Stoke fan spots his chance, darting between then and chasing after the ball. He's heading for the Brighton end with the ball at his feet. The whole ground goes deathly silent.
A couple of coppers decide to break rank and chase after him. But are they too late? He's still going but they're gaining. He's on the edge of the area…he shoots…he scores. And the whole of the North Stand erupts in cheers. This Stoke fan can't believe it, wearing his Stoke shirt and with Stoke scarves tied to his wrists and he's celebrating in front of all these Brighton fans.
And then the police catch up with him, take him away and get booed by everyone.
A great moment that I'll never forget.
Phillip, I do indeed remember Norman Eshley playing Robin Tripp's brother on Man About The House and it did seem odd that the very same actor turned up in George & Mildred mere months later!
Charlie, JD Vance is visiting the UK at the moment and Trump himself is coming here on a State Visit next month but Parliament won't be in session so Trump won't be able to make a speech to Parliament and we won't have to endure his unhinged ramblings.
DM - that is a really great story! Glad you were able to experience it!
I cant recall a truly memorable sporting experience besides going to disco demolition night at White Sox baseball field in Chicago 45 years ago. It was one of a kind:
Dynamite blowing up like thousands of disco records in a huge crate in the center field. And then the place descended into total anarchy.
Alas I and two comrades could not get inside. I refused to park and even try though we deove around the stadium a few times. Absolutely chaotic.
For the curious who haven't seen recent South Park episodes, there's a clip introducing the puppy-hating Director of Homeland Security here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD4EE6qVIBI
And one of her boss in the White House at -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1xR3Xidq84
Anyway, backing back up a bit, I agree with Matthew on 10cc.
Not that they make my teeth hurt, but I don't really get their appeal at all. In fairness though, I have long been intrigued by Godley & Creme's first release after they split from the group, 'Consequences'.
You have to wonder how that conversation with the suits at the record label went - So boys, now you've left a hit band what are you doing next?
A triple concept album with music made by using a new device we've invented that can bow guitar strings separately at the same time...
-sean
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