Thursday 15 December 2016

Christmas Day – Top of the Pops 1973

A review of the year's British number one singles surely one of the great Christmas line-ups a 13-year-old had the pleasure of viewing and listening to from someone yet to have developed any musical taste as confused as that sounds. I was open to all music but I shut the door on Jimmy Osmond. The hosts were Noel Edmonds, Dave Lee Travis, and Tony Blackburn.

A fairway to kick off the Christmas Day show with Slade, “Cum on feel the Noize” with Noddy Holder banging out the tune with his distinctive voice. During the 1970s, they had 17 consecutive top 20 hits and 6 number ones but by 1976, Glam Rock was over taken by the rise of new music trends and I got taste.

I think back then I kind of like Donny Osmond and I don’t know why. I was young and probably thought it with give me some kudos with the girls and “Young Love” is what all young teens was looking for. Today I could be beaten up for saying that but I was 13, and yet to have found my musical taste maybe I got away with it.

Next Suzi Quatro who gave this 13-year-old a strange tingly something while strutting her stuff clad head to toe in leather. She was a little hottie and caught my attention and for someone so petite to bang out this tune. Oh, I nearly forgot remembering all the leather the song was “Can the Can”.


A complete change of pace with the next song in the shows line up The Simon Park Orchestra with the theme tune for the television series Van der Valk “Eye Level”. Help I liked the TV show.

Time to leave the room I would rather sit on the outside bog in the cold than watch the cheesy Jimmy Osmond sing “Long Haired Lover from Liverpool”. It was even the number one the previous Christmas.

It was the year of glam rock, one of the biggest band of this year was Sweet with their smash hit “The Ballroom Blitz”, and all shiny on the TV with that catchy verse ‘We just haven’t got a clue what to do’ … Blockbuster.

Tony Orlando & Dawn were next with “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree”

Dad’s around the country sudden interest in Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Get Down” is soon apparent with Christmas Day – Top of the Pops 1973 dance troop hitting the screen with dogs as props. Still it was all about the dancers with Babs setting the pulse racing among the dads while it was Dee Dee for me.

At one end, there was Donny all sweetness and light while at the other end there was David Cassidy with the bad boy look battling for space on the bedroom walls of girls around the country. I have to say I liked the song “Daydreamer” and after listening to a lot of music of 1973 researching for this article and this Cassidy tune turns out to be a favourite of mine.

English rock band 10cc singing about America prison, cops, and the National Guard a bit strange in the titled “Rubber Bullets”.

A brief respite from jails and riots with the soft sound of Peters & Lee with “Welcome Home”. I always thought they were husband and wife but apparent not.

Wizard had a few hits this particular year with two number ones and the Christmas hit “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” which didn’t make it to the top spot for Christmas and they played “See My Baby Jive” on the show.

Christmas number one for the year was the iconic Slade ditty "Merry Xmas Everybody" which Noddy Holder has referred to his pension scheme, reflecting its continuing popularity and the royalties it generates. Not really going out on a limb here probably the greatest Christmas number one ever in the Christmas gene. The song charts regularly in the top 100.

There was another involved artist on this show but he is the pedo nonce Gary G no airtime for that twat.

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