The greatest number one single not written by Geldof

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

The greatest number one single not written by Geldof

suss · In the Long Grass

Makes you realise just how many fantastic songs never got to the top.

The Whyteleafe (fairly impromptu) vote goes to:-

1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Winner Takes It All

3. Nothing Compares 2U

4. Three Lions

5. Merry Christmas Everybody

6. Wandrin Star

7. I Love You Love Me Love

8. Telstar

9. Ernie

10. Come On Eileen

Virtually everyone for the memories or emotive nature, to me at least. First to admit they're not music classics in many cases.

Bubbling under included...Glad All Over, Help, You Really Got Me, Good Vibrations, Mouldy Old Dough, Blockbuster, Make Me Smile, House of Fun, Prince Charming, Don't Look Back in Anger, Beautiful, I Gotta Feeling, Relax, Seasons in The Sun and (it goes without saying) any of Boney M's chart toppers smile

All 3 Geldof number ones would make it into top 10 for me.

Suspect fairly strongly my true top 10 doesn't include any of the above.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:

First to admit they're not music classics in many cases.

Yep. Ernie disbelief I will confess to having a liking for My Ding-a-Ling and Two Little Boys, for personal reasons, but as far as novelty number ones are concerned, I'm with Midge Ure.

suss wrote:

Suspect fairly strongly my true top 10 doesn't include any of the above.

Help!, Good Vibrations, and Make Me Smile weren't too far away for me either. There were probably another twenty or so I came across when I looked at the list of number ones, from Jailhouse Rock through to Viva la Vida, but aside from Blockbuster, I don't think any would threaten my top ten songs ever, and even then The Ballroom Blitz is a better Sweet song.

A lot of number ones appeal to the lowest common denominator. I still can't believe Pulp were held off number one by Robson & Jerome disbelief . Rat Trap is an honourable exception. Knocking JT & ONJ off their perch was pretty sweet at the time.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Checked all these on the Wiki Uk no 1's site so they are all official no 1 songs. They are listed not in order of preference but rather as ten really good no 1 songs.

1 The Jam- Going Underground

2 Dexys Midnight Runners - Geno

3 Blondie- Sunday Girl

4 The Verge - The Drugs Don't Work

5 Blur -Country House

6 Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You

7 Stones -Satisfaction

8 Walker Brothers - Make It Easy On Yourself

9 kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

10 Village People - YMCA (guilty pleasure/taste lapse)

suss · In the Long Grass

ArrGee wrote:
Yep. Ernie I will confess to having a liking for My Ding-a-Ling and Two Little Boys, for personal reasons, but as far as novelty number ones are concerned, I'm with Midge Ure.
A lot of number ones appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Ernie just conjures happy memories of carefree days, and I was a sucker for the romantic story too, even at age of 6 smile . Took me until about 2008 to work out that the line was 'hot blood through his veins did coarse' though. Spent nigh on 40 years wondering what a vainstead course was....

Your point about lowest common denominators is very interesting and astute. Never really thought about it before but the more cult or cool songs we've probably all got in our 'real' top 10s are by their nature more niche or of limited appeal, which is maybe why we value them more? There's something perverse in most of us that if it's too popular it loses some of the appeal. Maybe it's just musical snobbery, but for example I'd put When You're Young, Strange Town and definitely Tube Station way ahead of Going Underground. The latter I've just felt got rammed down my throat to the point of indifference. Same with Town Called Malice. Same applies for so many of those number ones...just too popular for me to want to join the herd.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
... for example I'd put When You're Young, Strange Town and definitely Tube Station way ahead of Going Underground. The latter I've just felt got rammed down my throat to the point of indifference. Same with Town Called Malice.

Best songs by acts are rarely their biggest hits. That's Entertainment was the best thing Weller ever did, but only a minor hit as it was only available on import. London Calling is the best moment from The Clash not the jeans song, yet never made the top ten. And Shipbuilding is arguably Elvis Costello's finest song, yet his version is not the best known.

However, I do think Rat Trap is the pinnacle of the Rats.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

I found it a hard task to get ten good number one songs from the last forty years. There was so much dross at number one over the years, anyone checking the decade by decade listings on Wiki would almost despair, particularly in the noughties and whatever the current decade is called.

For every good number one there were most likely nine rubbish ones in any period, but it all depends on ones taste in music I suppose and that varies so much from person to person. Music is endlessly fascinating.

Favourite Jam songs- Thick As Thieves, Bily Hunt, Smithers-Jones, Man In The Corner Shop, A Bomb In Wardour Street, Strange Town, Away From The Numbers, Standards, It's Too Bad to name but a few.

I always liked the Jam but they could come across as being a bit too po faced and 'political' and earnest.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
For every good number one there were most likely nine rubbish ones in any period, but it all depends on ones taste in music I suppose ...

When you look at charts in general from any era, there are precious few pearls cast among the swine. Despite the rewriting of music history by various rock journalists, the charts of the mid-sixties were not dominated by The Beatles and The Stones. Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck among others dominated the charts at times

http://www.ukmix.org/articles/charts/1960s.html

When the Rats hit number one for the first time, it's interesting to note some real classics in there. And how scandalous is it that Teenage Kicks peaked at #38. Having watched the Inbetweeners recently, the Chas 'n' Dave title seems very appropriate.

http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13167&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=325

Week Ending 18 November 1978

06 - 02 - 01 - Boomtown Rats - RAT TRAP
03 - 04 - 02 - Olivia Newton-John - HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU
10 - 01 - 03 - John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John - SUMMER NIGHTS
07 - 03 - 04 - John Travolta - SANDY
02 - 10 - 05 - Cars - MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL
06 - 06 - 06 - Frankie Miller - DARLIN'
03 - 16 - 07 - Showaddywaddy - PRETTY LITTLE ANGEL EYES
05 - 17 - 08 - Dan Hartman - INSTANT REPLAY
06 - 05 - 09 - Donna Summer - MACARTHUR PARK
09 - 08 - 10 - Jacksons - BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE
07 - 07 - 11 - Boney M - RASPUTIN
07 - 12 - 12 - Three Degrees - GIVIN' UP GIVIN' IN
04 - 13 - 13 - Queen - BICYCLE RACE / FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS
1 - NEW - 14 - Rod Stewart - DA YA THINK I'M SEXY?
07 - 09 - 15 - Electric Light Orchestra - SWEET TALKIN' WOMAN
08 - 15 - 16 - Father Abraham And The Smurfs - DIPPETY DAY
05 - 11 - 17 - Public Image Limited - PUBLIC IMAGE
02 - 27 - 18 - Blondie - HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE
06 - 18 - 19 - Sham 69 - HURRY UP HARRY
09 - 19 - 20 - Buzz****s - EVER FALLEN IN LOVE
05 - 20 - 21 - Jam - DOWN IN THE TUBE STATION AT MIDNIGHT
03 - 28 - 22 - Patrick Juvet - I LOVE AMERICA
03 - 26 - 23 - Heatwave - ALWAYS AND FOREVER / MIND BLOWING DECISIONS
05 - 24 - 24 - Elton John - PART TIME LOVE
03 - 29 - 25 - Streetband - TOAST / HOLD ON
08 - 25 - 26 - Rolling Stones - RESPECTABLE
09 - 14 - 27 - Dean Friedman - LUCKY STARS
02 - 45 - 28 - Darts - DON'T LET IT FADE AWAY
04 - 33 - 29 - Elvis Costello And The Attractions - RADIO RADIO
03 - 34 - 30 - X-Ray Spex - GERM FREE ADOLESCENCE
02 - 61 - 31 - Sarah Brightman And Hot Gossip - I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER
08 - 23 - 32 - Mick Jackson - BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE
02 - 62 - 33 - Elkie Brooks - DON'T CRY OUT LOUD
03 - 42 - 34 - Brecker Brothers - EASY RIVER
02 - 47 - 35 - Luisa Fernandez - LAY LOVE ON YOU
02 - 53 - 36 - Phil Hurtt - GIVING IT BACK
05 - 41 - 37 - Eric Clapton - PROMISES
02 - 66 - 38 - Alicia Bridges - I LOVE THE NIGHT LIFE
02 - 70 - 39 - Dollar - SHOOTING STAR
1 - NEW - 40 - Chic - LE FREAK
04 - 54 - 41 - Teddy Pendergrass - ONLY YOU / CLOSE THE DOOR
03 - 52 - 42 - Munich Machine - A WHITER SHADE OF PALE
13 - 31 - 43 - Frankie Valli - GREASE
10 - 30 - 44 - Leo Sayer - I CAN'T STOP LOVIN' YOU
08 - 21 - 45 - O'Jays - BRANDY
14 - 36 - 46 - Sylvester - YOU MAKE ME FEEL (MIGHTY REAL)
02 - 64 - 47 - Crown Heights Affair - I'M GONNA LOVE YOU FOREVER
13 - 32 - 48 - Crystal Gayle - TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP
02 - 73 - 49 - Kate Bush - HAMMER HORROR
1 - NEW - 50 - Ashford And Simpson - IT SEEMS TO HANG ON
04 - 57 - 51 - Eddie Henderson - PRANCE ON
03 - 48 - 52 - Skids - THE SAINTS ARE COMING
02 - 71 - 53 - Suzi Quatro And Chris Norman - STUMBLIN' IN
03 - 50 - 54 - Brothers Johnson - RIDE-O-ROCKET
09 - 37 - 55 - Third World - NOW THAT WE'VE FOUND LOVE
07 - 40 - 56 - Earth Wind And Fire - GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE
05 - 38 - 57 - Undertones - TEENAGE KICKS
02 - 74 - 58 - Chas And Dave - STRUMMIN'
10 - 35 - 59 - Rose Royce - LOVE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
04 - 39 - 60 - City Boy - WHAT A NIGHT
1 - NEW - 61 - Diana Ross And Michael Jackson - EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD
09 - 22 - 62 - Smokie - MEXICAN GIRL
05 - 43 - 63 - Hawkwind - SILVER MACHINE
1 - NEW - 64 - Sylvester - DANCE (DISCO HEAT)
05 - 51 - 65 - Peter Tosh - (YOU GOTTA WALK) DON'T LOOK BACK
12 - 55 - 66 - Ivor Biggun - THE WINKER'S SONG (MISPRINT)
06 - 56 - 67 - Olympic Runners - GET IT WHILE YOU CAN
03 - 63 - 68 - Captain And Tennille - YOU'VE NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT
05 - 59 - 69 - Elaine Paige - DON'T WALK AWAY TILL I TOUCH YOU
1 - NEW - 70 - Dean Friedman - LYDIA
30 - 65 - 71 - Boney M - RIVERS OF BABYLON / BROWN GIRL IN THE RING
1 - NEW - 72 - Musique - IN THE BUSH
07 - 44 - 73 - Chris Rea - FOOL (IF YOU THINK IT'S OVER)
04 - 60 - 74 - Peter Skellern - LOVE IS THE SWEETEST THING
1 - NEW - 75 - Squeeze - GOODBYE GIRL

-- Edited by ArrGee on Friday 9th of December 2011 12:38:08 PM

Lisa · Mondo Bongo

OK, probably varies from time to time, but have been randomly googling and taking a trip down memory lane, and come up with the following faves - though surprised to find some real favourites didn't make it to number one .......

1. Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie
2. Brass in Pocket - Pretenders
3. Stand and Deliver - Adam and the Ants
4. Call Me - Blondie
5. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
6. Down Under - Men at Work
7. If I Was - Midge Ure
9. Always on my Mind - Pet Shop Boys
10. Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie

Tempted by a few Shakin' Stevens numbers - but was strong and resisted

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Wiki number ones gives all UK number ones, by decade, if any memory prompts are needed. Read it and weep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_Singles_Chart_number_ones