Successful Uk Soul 45's Back In The Day

[Roburt]

As each year (hell, decade) passes, it gets harder to recall which soul 45's were UK chart, UK radio & / or UK club hits.

Memories get muddy and 'myths' grow up about certain records that were 'massive in Manc' or 'charting on Caroline' ... so I thought I'd post up a few bits of info to 'put the record straight' ..... you might even say 'put the 45 straight' .......

........ Here's an extract from the Radio London chart / playlist for 13th Nov 1966 ....

No.3. Holy Cow -- Lee Dorsey (climbing from 6)

No. 4 A Love Like Yours -- Ike & Tina Turner (still at 4)

.... 6 ......... Ride On Baby -- Chris Farlowe (not soul really but a mod guy)

No.15. I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round -- Shotgun Express (from 19)

No.19. Crazy Feeling -- Carl Douglas & the Big Stampede (from 34)

No.20. Reach Out, I'll Be There -- Four Tops (dropping from 9)

... 22 ..... My Mind's Eye -- Small Faces (mod band)

.... 25 .... La-La-La-Lies -- Who (mod band)

No.26. What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted -- Jimmy Ruffin (up from 29)

No.27. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) -- Otis Redding

No.28. A Corner In The Sun -- Walter Jackson !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No.33. Stop, Look And Listen -- Chiffons

No.40. I'm Ready For Love -- Martha & the Vandellas

........ DJ Climbers:

Heaven Must Have Sent You -- Elgins .......... Tony Blackburn

Another Night -- Dionne Warwick ............... Paul Kaye

....... Don't Help Me Out -- Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers (R&B band) ........ Ed Stewart

................... Climbers:

The Incredible Miss Brown -- Herbie Goins

..... Cuckoo Long -- John Baldry (R&B singer)

..... Pamela Pamela -- Wayne Fontana

I Need Love -- Little Richard

Stay -- Virginia Wolves

..... Willow Weep For Me -- Alan Price Set

(Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need -- Miracles

You Keep Me Hangin' On -- Supremes

........ .... AND .... one from Radio Caroline for 3rd Sept 66 .......

.......4 ... All Or Nothing -- Small Faces

..... 6 ... Big Time Operator -- Zoot Money & The Big Roll Band

No.10. Warm & Tender Love -- Percy Sledge (up from 13)

... 11 Got To Get You Into My Life -- Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers

No.12. Barefootin' -- Robert Parker (up from 14)

No.14. Working In The Coalmine -- Lee Dorsey (up from 15)

No.25. Keep Lookin' -- Solomon Burke (down from 21)

..... 27 Black Is Black -- Los Bravos

No.30. You Can't Hurry Love -- Supremes

..... 34 Just A Dream -- Chris Farlowe

....... 35 Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo -- Alan Price Set

No.38. Headline News -- Edwin Starr (from 37)

No.43. Hi Hi Hazel Geno -- Washington & The Ram Jam Band (down from 34)

....... 48 I'm A Boy -- Who

All the above (& much more) can be found on ... https://www.radiolondon.co.uk/

Edited July 2, 2012 by Roburt

[Pete S]

Half the records in the pirate radio charts were there because of payments to the DJ's, that's a well known fact, David Bowie's manager Ken Pitt gives a good account of how it all worked in his autobiography, when hyping the first Pye 45 into the charts in 1966. That's why you see really obscure records that didn't dent the national charts appear in the top pirate radio charts. And lots of these hyped records were actually brilliant but couldn't get played anywhere else.

[Roburt]

......... However they got onto the 'pirates' playlists ..

.... I (& numerous other) listeners to their wirelesses back in the mid 60's still got to hear good soul tracks over the airways.

What the pirates played certainly influenced my 45 buying habits back then -- Roscoe in particular played loads of what was then (to me) obscure stuff. Those pirate stn plays certainly had an effect on what I got to hear played out in York's mod / soul clubs back in 65/66/67.

I'm sure loads more pop rubbish was on the airwaives back then due to 'backhanders' than soul stuff.

Edited July 2, 2012 by Roburt

[Pete S]

......... However they got onto the 'pirates' playlists ..

.... I (& numerous other) listeners to their wirelesses back in the mid 60's still got to hear good soul tracks over the airways.

What the pirates played certainly influenced my 45 buying habits back then -- Roscoe in particular played loads of what was then (to me) obscure stuff. Those pirate stn plays certainly had an effect on what I got to hear played out in York's mod / soul clubs back in 65/66/67.

I'm sure loads more pop rubbish was on the airwaives back then due to 'backhanders' than soul stuff.

No I"m not knocking it - the music on the pirates was fabulous - just that their charts often bear no relation to the national charts because of the payola.

[Roburt]

... AND OF COURSE ... the tracks on the UK Pop Charts back then bore little relationship to what was actually selling in large numbers in the small specialist (local) record shops that most soul fans bought their 45's in.

... PLUS .... as soul 45's were still largely 'underground', it could take weeks for a punter to find out what a song was called, who recorded it & what label it was on ...so soul 45's tended to sell over an extended period.

Back when I was 'wet behind the ears', I spent days trying to buy a track that I thought was called "Sugar for my honey's lunch" till I found out it was by the 4 Tops.

So even the national pop charts were 'way off the mark' when it came to the actual total number of each 45 sold back then.

[Pete S]

... AND OF COURSE ... the tracks on the UK Pop Charts back then bore little relationship to what was actually selling in large numbers in the small specialist (local) record shops that most soul fans bought their 45's in.

... PLUS .... as soul 45's were still largely 'underground', it could take weeks for a punter to find out what a song was called, who recorded it & what label it was on ...so soul 45's tended to sell over an extended period.

Back when I was 'wet behind the ears', I spent days trying to buy a track that I thought was called "Sugar for my honey's lunch" till I found out it was by the 4 Tops.

So even the national pop charts were 'way off the mark' when it came to the actual total number of each 45 sold back then.

Yes you only have to see the sales figures for some reggae records - Pat kelly's How Long on Gas supposedly sold 40,000 copies and never charted for instance

[Guest MBarrett]

Rob

This stuff really resonates with me.

The 60's were my teenage years and until 1970 I lived in Clacton on the Essex coast. So we had all the pirate ships just off from us and easily visible on a clear day. My brother was a bit older than me and had various boats and I remember him ferrying DJ's out to and back from the ships on odd occasions. But because it was illegal it was all kept a bit hush hush.

As you can imagine, the reception on our little transistor radios was spectacular. They were on pretty much from morning to night so I can definitely say that the pirate ships formed the sound track of my youth.

And with the R & B slant on the ones I listened to they definitely set my musical taste for life.

Probably my preference was with the likes of Radio London and Radio North Sea International but a big memory from Caroline is Johnnie Walker playing Percy Sledge's "Warm and Tender Love" - every night at eleven o'clock. I don't know how long that went on for but it seemed like for ever. I was getting into my first little teenage romances by then so that record tugs at my heart strings even now!!

Another thing that made us feel closer to the ships and DJ's was when they used to "talk" to people listening on shore. Listeners would park up on the coast facing the ships and they would hold conversations by flashing their headlights. Hi-tech or what!! Here's a little snippet of one of the conversations.

https://www.offshorer...co.uk/twig5.ram

Won't bore you to death with any more of this stuff - but great, great days!! :D

MB

Edited July 2, 2012 by MBarrett

[Guest ScooterNik]

... AND OF COURSE ... the tracks on the UK Pop Charts back then bore little relationship to what was actually selling in large numbers in the small specialist (local) record shops.......

Add in 'online' and you have the same situation today. I know of one recent reggae/ska album by a UK band that should have charted if it wasn't pretty much direct sale only. Sales charts have always been a bloody joke.