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Post by suedehead on Jul 23, 2020 18:14:01 GMT 1
On 24 September, I will mark six decades on this planet. That means that so far, including the day I was born, there have been sixty number ones on my birthday. Over the next couple months, I shall be counting down a list of those number ones, starting with the worst and making my way up to the best. That, of course, means that I will be starting with songs that I consider to be utterly dreadful before progressing via the mediocre and the fairly good up to some great songs at the very top.
In order to put them into some sort of order, I first gave each of them a mark from one to five before ranking them in each of those five groups. I then checked those at the top and bottom of each batch just to see whether any songs needed to move up or down. I have ranked them using a vague combination of what I think of them now and what I thought at the time (apart, obviously, from those in the first few years of my life that passed me by at the time). That means some are ranked higher than they might be purely for sentimental reasons.
Two British bands and one American singer have two songs in the list. One person is in the list both as a member of a band and as a solo artist while another makes it as a solo artist and as a featured artist.
My 61st birthday number one - the one that will be number one the day I turn 60 - will be known nearly a week before my birthday, on Friday 18 September. Unless it is really excellent, I will be able to say where it would have been placed straight away.
I should add that I have Andy at Haven to thank for this as his 50 birthday number ones thread earlier this year inspired me to do my own version.
So, let’s start with the one-pointers. Which of the sixty number ones has been selected as the worst of the worst? The answer to that question will be posted shortly.
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Post by suedehead on Jul 23, 2020 18:43:45 GMT 1
OK, here goes. There are some songs which I have absolutely loathed from the first time I heard them. I’m referring specifically to songs where my hatred of them can be considered almost irrational rather than songs which seem to have been designed to irritate millions while appealing to enough people to make them a hit.
One of these is Lady Marmalade (all versions) while another was number one on my birthday in 1989. Viewers of the Top of the Pops repeats on BBC4 will just have endured the period when Italian outfit Black Box topped the chart with the diabolical Ride On Time, screeches and all. It managed the remarkable feat of making the song it replaced, Jive Bunny’s Swing The Mood, seem positively brilliant.
The chart was announced on my birthday that year so I was left hoping that it might be replaced only to see my hopes dashed when it got its fifth week (of an eventual six) at the top. There were at least 35 (if not 39) better songs in the top forty that week. Among the best were Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus, Kate Bush’s The Sensual World and The Wonder Stuff’s Don’t Let Me Down Gently.
Black Box’s reign of terror was ended by the immediate return of Jive Bunny. That’s What I Like was the second of Jive Bunny’s three successive number ones in the second half of 1989 meaning the cartoon rabbit became only the third act (and the first not from Liverpool) to hit number one with their first three singles.
The song title was, apparently, a mistake. According to Black Box’s keyboard player they misheard the words used in the sample (originally sung by Loletta Holloway) as RIde On Time rather than Right On Time. By the time they realised their mistake, they decided to stick with their version. Because of a dispute over the rights, the Holloway vocal was re-recorded by a session musician. Rumours that it was Heather Small have never been confirmed or denied.
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Jul 23, 2020 18:50:14 GMT 1
I refuse to believe your 60 (soon)
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Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 23, 2020 19:04:18 GMT 1
Looking forward to this... I can't believe you hate 'Ride on time' though. For me that's the pinnacle of early house/dance music.
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,397
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 23, 2020 19:04:24 GMT 1
I refuse to believe your 60 (soon) I know its just not right why cant we all be the same age we were when we joined this forum hehe
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Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 23, 2020 19:05:32 GMT 1
And I was feeling bad enough about turning 50 in 3 years!
That said, I am so grateful I grew up in the 80s when there was good music everywhere!
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,397
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 23, 2020 19:16:07 GMT 1
And I was feeling bad enough about turning 50 in 3 years! That said, I am so grateful I grew up in the 80s when there was good music everywhere! 1 1/2 for me!! We are going to be a bunch of old gits here As for 'Ride On Time' it was just so overplayed and was number one for too long, its a great tune just when you were 17 out going for the first time, it was everywhere!!!!
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Post by suedehead on Jul 23, 2020 19:16:37 GMT 1
Looking forward to this... I can't believe you hate 'Ride on time' though. For me that's the pinnacle of early house/dance music. I thought that might provoke a reaction
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Jul 23, 2020 19:19:58 GMT 1
I refuse to believe your 60 (soon) I know its just not right why cant we all be the same age we were when we joined this forum hehe Oh no I don't want to be 19 again ha, maybe 24, looking forward to this too
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Roo.
Member
Posts: 17,801
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Post by Roo. on Jul 23, 2020 19:34:19 GMT 1
I get the feeling putting Black Box last will get more and more controversial as we go!
It's a good song, although I don't think it's quite as great as people make it out to be.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 23, 2020 19:42:30 GMT 1
I even have a chart for the date you were born:
1 ( 3 ) Pineapple Princess - Annette Funicello < 1st week at #1 > 2 ( 1 ) Let's Think About Living - Bob Luman (#1[1]) 3 ( 8 ) Caribbean Honeymoon - Frank Weir 4 ( 2 ) Little Boy Lost - Michael Holliday (#2) 5 ( 7 ) Chain Gang - Sam Cooke 6 ( 10 ) Never On Sunday - Don Costa And His Orchestra And Chorus 7 ( 5 ) Going Back To My Home Town - Hal Paige & The Whalers (#4) 8 ( -- ) Wondrous Place - Billy Fury 9 ( -- ) Save The Last Dance For Me - Drifters 10 ( 4 ) It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley (#1[5])
11 ( -- ) Nine Times Out Of Ten - Cliff Richard 12 ( 6 ) Dreamin' - Johnny Burnette (#2[2]) 13 ( 11 ) Kiddio - Brook Benton (#11) 14 ( 16 ) Nice 'N' Easy - Frank Sinatra 15 ( 9 ) White Cliffs Of Dover - Mr Acker Bilk (#4) 16 ( 17 ) Let's Have A Party - Wanda Jackson 17 ( 26 ) So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) - Everly Brothers 18 ( -- ) Kookie Little Paradise - Frankie Vaughan 19 ( 12 ) Girls Girls Girls - Steve Lawrence (#5) 20 ( 18 ) Yogi - Ivy Three (#18)
21 ( 27 ) How About That - Adam Faith 22 ( 14 ) Lorelei - Lonnie Donegan (#10) 23 ( 19 ) Hello Young Lovers - Paul Anka (#19) 24 ( 28 ) Devil Or Angel - Bobby Vee 25 ( 15 ) I'd Do Anything - Mike Preston (#11) 26 ( 13 ) The Twist - Chubby Checker (#3) 27 ( 21 ) Them There Eyes - Emile Ford & The Checkmates (#21) 28 ( -- ) Three Nights A Week - Fats Domino 29 ( 24 ) My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own - Connie Francis (#24) 30 ( 22 ) Ain't Gonna Be That Way - Marv Johnson (#14)
-- ( 20 ) Apache - Shadows (#1[2]) -- ( 23 ) Walk Don't Run - Ventures (#3) -- ( 25 ) Mais Oui - King Brothers (#7) -- ( 29 ) Theme From The Apartment - Ferrante & Teicher (#18) -- ( 30 ) (You Were Made For) All My Love - Jackie Wilson (#13) -- ( -- ) Lucille - Everly Brothers
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Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 23, 2020 19:48:15 GMT 1
Your birthday chart you never knew you wanted!
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Post by suedehead on Jul 23, 2020 20:34:29 GMT 1
I even have a chart for the date you were born: Plenty of songs there that I don't know!
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Post by suedehead on Jul 23, 2020 21:08:37 GMT 1
I get the feeling putting Black Box last will get more and more controversial as we go! It's a good song, although I don't think it's quite as great as people make it out to be. Yes, tomorrow's revelation of a song I judge to be not quite as terrible as Ride On Time might be controversial!
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Post by Sm1ffj on Jul 23, 2020 21:17:22 GMT 1
I must look in to all the number 1s on my birthday, first UK charts then Irish charts
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Post by o on Jul 23, 2020 22:43:03 GMT 1
Copycat! Look forward to it! I also cant believe you're almost 60!
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Post by Sm1ffj on Jul 23, 2020 23:20:01 GMT 1
Just looked at mine..... When I was 2.... I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) - Gary Glitter.....Nice.....Not....
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Jul 24, 2020 0:50:50 GMT 1
Just looked at mine..... When I was 2.... I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) - Gary Glitter.....Nice.....Not.... Not the best gang to be associated with. My birthday is 4 days before Christmas so probably have 10 x factor songs in mine
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Post by onehitwonder on Jul 24, 2020 5:47:29 GMT 1
All of a sudden, I feel so young!
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Post by o on Jul 24, 2020 10:31:54 GMT 1
Just looked at mine..... When I was 2.... I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) - Gary Glitter.....Nice.....Not.... Well it was a great glam rock song, just not by a very nice person. And Earl Purple never told me what his chart was on my birthday! (feels left out)
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