The 20th of February 1973
Official U.K. Albums Chart results from Sunday the 18th to Saturday the 24th of February 1973
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 17th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 18th,
announced on Tuesday the 20th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 25th of February 1973.
Gary Glitter
Glitter
At No.31, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Albums Chart” on my 1st Birthday, is Gary Glitter with “Glitter”.
With the Glam era now fully flourishing,..
…it’s no surprise to see this act making a big presence in the chart, not just for me, but everyone who lived through these times.
All those who bought his singles and albums will tell you. The record buying public were big on this guy back then.
By hitting on a magic formula of performing 50’s Americana hits but with a contemporary Glam image. Gary, who it was plain to see was old enough to have witnessed the era he was singing about the first time around, attempting to belt out out these songs as best he could, but if it wasn’t for the ‘special effects’ placed on his voice, would have been exposed for all to see back then. However what he lacked in singing ability, he more than made up for in brash unadulterated showmanship, and so, with the added benefit of having a great marketing team behind him, he was everywhere.
From this vantage point of over 50 years into the future,..
…from what we know now, it’s easy to dismiss him and attempt to change the past so some bad people like him get erased, not to be mentioned. But that feels dangerous to me.
Today’s generation should know about him, even if it’s to see how we took him into our homes through the radio, the stereo, or the television set, because we did.
It’s like saying that, back then the world was a safer place for kids.
I should know. I was one of them in the 1970’s. And, as my story unfolds through the years, I can tell you for a fact that it wasn’t, we just didn’t know it, but it was always there.
For Gary Glitter, maybe at this time in his life, those warning signs weren’t there either. As far as I’m aware, any problematic personal behaviour with him didn’t happen until his star had waned in the late 1970’s. Maybe he was too busy being famous at this time in his life, that the adulation he got from the public was enough.
It’s sometimes only when that attention of the ego all stops, that a void opens up. That those who aren’t strong enough, let the evil in.
Nothing is off limits if the ego requires that much feeding.
Maybe this was before that time. And nobody knew, probably not even him. Although saying that, with his choice of cover versions, it would have made Sandy from Grease wary to go within a hundred miles of him.
What suffers the most though, when you focus on the celebrity, is the music.
For those that were a bit older than me,..
…this was their music. The soundtrack to their generation, and if you can dissect the music from the act performing it, and listen to it just as that, music, it was genuinely good.
With double drum sounds which inspired future artists such as Adam and the Ants, to riffs, which bands at the top of their game, such as Oasis, unabashadly ripped for their own compositions over 20 years later, and in Oasis’ case, gifting Gary over a million in royalties for the trouble.
And as we’ll see from it’s behaviour in the chart, this album was a big part of the year of 1973.
Glitter, the album,..
…first entered the U.K Album Chart on the 15th of October 1972 at No.37, and by the following week, had leapt up to No.12.
Before October had ended, the album had broken the Top 10 and was sitting at its highest position of No.8, where it would stay for 2 weeks.
After the 11th of November, it would fall back to No.13, then No.14 before leaving the Top 30 after the 25th.
The next few weeks would see it fall towards the back of the chart until it fell away completely after the 6th of January 1973.
The 14th of that month would see it come back and stomp round the 30’s and 40’s, taking in this current week in February then it falls back out after the 24th of March.
The next run, from the 22nd of April, gets as high as No.26, and dropping out again after the 2nd of June, will see the album surpass half a year of chart action.
The next 3 appearances will all last a week, all will be in the lower reaches of the chart, and all will be during a summer month.
The first is at No.45 from the 17th of June.
The next is at No.47 from the 15th of July.
The last will be No.44 from the 5th of August.
The next batch of weeks on chart will be the last.
Entering as winter is setting in, on the 2nd of December at No.42, the following week will see it leap back into the Top 20, getting to No.17 before falling back to the Top 40 area for four weeks, seeing in the next year of 1974.
Another jump back into the Top 20 for a week from the 13th of January will be it’s last triumph. A slip back to the mid-20’s for a couple of weeks will be it’s last before dropping out for good after the 2nd of February.
I’ve created my own separate playlists for both Sides 1 and 2 of this album with (I hope) the correct versions and the original track sequencing order for the U.K. release.
Side 1
Side 2
Many thanks go to the following YouTube Channels for providing the chance to hear this music once again.
Please show your appreciation (or not, in this case) by visiting their channel:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the week of my 1st Birthday:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the day I was born:
Grab Your Binoculars, Come Follow Me
What is it…?
Why am I…?
How do I…?
When am I…?
