The 20th of February 1975

Table of Contents

Official UK Singles Chart results from Sunday the 16th to Saturday the 22nd of February 1975

Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 15th of February

Results counted from Sunday the 16th,

published on Tuesday the 18th,

and broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday the 23rd of February 1975.

Helen Reddy

Angie Baby

At No.8, on “The Top 50 UK Singles Chart”, the week of my 3rd Birthday, is Helen Reddy with Angie Baby.

In my humble opinion,..

…one of, if not the best single to grace this chart, and another of my all-time favourites, during the week of my 3rd birthday.

Again, it’s got to be mainly due to my big sister Susan that I heard this one as much as I did, as she owned it in her collection. Even now, looking at that record label, it draws me straight back to being in the bedroom and constantly listening to this while watching that orange label going round and round while trying to make sense of the mesmerising and menacing story of Angie Baby.

Strangely, although it was Top 10, I don’t remember really hearing it on the radio, so it was exceptionally handy to know that it was relatively easily available, as long as my sister didn’t mind.

When lyricist Alan O’Day…

…finally finished his composition, he left the story intentionally open and obscure, and it’s infinitely all the better for it. Angie in her own little world, who has to be taken out of school for not quite being able to fit in with the other children, and so stays at home with the radio, playing the songs she loves, as her only friend. I suppose later on, when I had started school myself, that part especially resonated with me, as even back then, on nice sunny days, I preferred to stay in my room and listen to records. It used to frustrate my mother especially, as there was a park literally right outside our back garden gate; and that she would have to practically order me outside to go and play with the other children in the rec. Part of her maybe not needing any nosey neighbours thinking her only boy could possibly be a “little touched” himself.

But of course the real captivation for me, was the part where the undesirable boy from the neighbourhood sweet-talks and intentionally attempts to take advantage of Angie, invited in to invade her space and then subsequently meeting his fate in her room with the radio, at which point, due to the surrealism of the moment, it’s assumed this is part of Angie’s make-believe world, where he’s become one of the lovers that swirl her across the floor each night. It’s only at the end when you hear about the headlines the next day that something has gone terrifyingly awry in the real world. But the only one who truly knows, and doesn’t mind telling anyone, is Angie herself; and as she iterates at the end herself “it’s so nice to be insane, no one asks you to explain…”.

The track wouldn’t be the same…

…without the alluring and foreboding shuffle so expertly arranged by Nick DeCaro, which gives the story such an over-hanging and uncomfortable undercurrent of uneasiness. Coupled with the lyric and Helen’s bewitching vocal, it all becomes a masterclass of storytelling and psychosis going entirely rogue through abstraction and ambiguity.

It’s all intricately weaved and expertly sung by one of the great singers and songwriters of her generation. With every tone and nuance, Helen effortlessly threads the whole story together in a way only she can; and I cannot think of anyone, before or since, who could have pulled off such an articulate performance as Helen does here, and that of course is what made this lady exceptionally engaging and truly enchanting. Just flip this single over, play the B side and that simple soliloquy to her craft becomes abundantly and emotionally clear. One that for myself, sitting here working from home, writing these words at this exact moment, on this blustery and rainy early June day in Ryde, I can acutely, deeply and respectfully empathise with.

My fascination with this single never lets up, even now; and will always mesmerise me in such a seductive way, just like it invited an innocent 3-year-old boy into its world and changed the way he looked at it forevermore. Just don’t ask him to explain…

The single…

…snuck in unobtrusively at No.50 on the 12th of January and proceeded to glide up twenty places to reach the Top 30 the following week; and by the end of the month, it had infiltrated the Top 20 to sit at No.18.

As it travelled into this month of February, it shuffled up to No.13, before unashamedly swirling into the Top 10 and laying claim to the Top 5 last week. However, this week finds it has slipped back three places.

From here…

…it begins creeping back down the chart through the month of March, before finally fading away, having accumulated a 10-week stay, after the 22nd of that month.