Friday, January 18, 2008

FROM THE ARCHIVES

10cc: Dreadlock Holiday

[original air date: 11/21/06]

From the album Bloody Tourists

Written and produced by Eric Stewart & Graham Gouldman

Sleeve by Hipgnosis

Since this blog has attained the matronly age of one, it seems appropriate to periodically revisit some cuts from deep in the archives. According to my research team, this jam hit #1 in the UK but did not crack the top 40 over here. It's one I often find myself enjoying more than I expect to.

UK Top 40 for mid-August '78:

1 John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: You're The One That I Want
2 The Commodores: Three Times A Lady
3 Clout: Substitute
4 Boney M: Rivers Of Babylon / Brown Girl In The Ring
5 Darts: It's Raining
6 A Taste Of Honey: Boogie Oogie Oogie
7 Justin Hayward: Forever Autumn
8 Father Abraham & The Smurfs: The Smurf Song
9 Sham 69: If The Kids Are United
10 Renaissance: Northern Lights
11 City Boy: 5-7-0-5
12 Cerrone: Super Nature
13 Marshall Hain: Dancin' In The City
14 10cc: Dreadlock Holiday
15 Bob Dylan: Baby Stop Crying
16 Gladys Knight & The Pips: Come Back And Finish What You Started
17 Child: It's Only Make Believe
18 Jackson Browne: Stay
19 Electric Light Orchestra: Wild West Hero
20 Joe Walsh: Life's Been Good
21 Jilted John: Jilted John
22 The Who: Who Are You
23 Voyage: From East To West / Scots Machine
24 The Boomtown Rats: Like Clockwork
25 Showaddywaddy: A Little Bit Of Soap
26 The New Seekers: Anthem
27 X-Ray Spex: Identity
28 Lindisfarne: Run For Home
29 The Stranglers: Walk On By
30 Andrew Gold: How Can This Be Love
31 Foreigner: Cold As Ice
32 David Essex: Oh What A Circus
33 Hi Tension: British Hustle
34 Andy Gibb: An Everlasting Love
35 The Sex Pistols: No-One Is Innocent / My Way
36 The O'Jays: Used Ta Be My Girl
37 The Rezillos: Top Of The Pops
38 Quincy Jones: Stuff Like That
39 Raydio: Is This A Love Thing
40 Elvis Presley: Don't Be Cruel

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always interesting with these lists. I'm Surprised to see Renaissance at tenth place in 1978, but maybe that's just me.

Anonymous said...

This previewed on TOTP - unusually not as a 'live in the studio' (read mimed) performance, but as - is oft credited - the first fully fledged promotional video.

Featuring much OTT "In the Heat of the Night" meets "Starsky & Hutch" type direction, with a nod to Keith Richard as the judge in "We Love You" (on 16mm from the days before video), the 45 was swiftly catapulted to the No.1 spot with a bullet in time for the following week's UK chart countdown. The copy i purchased myself didn't even come in a picture sleeve.

Anonymous said...

Emm... Actually. No it didn't. I'm clearly thinking of "Good Morning Judge" from 1977. Who says drugs don't addle the brain ?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting "Dreadlock Holiday"; I've been wanting to track that down for awhile. When I was doing radio in the 70's and 80's, I'd look at the Billboard "Charts Around The World" and love seeing what was hot in England: Pink Floyd, Renaissance, ABBA and the soundtrack from "Fame" all in the top 10 at one time...ah, diversity!

Sarah said...

Hi-larious track. Great stuff, as always!