The 20th of February 1973
Official U.K. Singles 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.
Wings
Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon
At No.34, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart” on my 1st Birthday, is Wings with “Hi, Hi, Hi” & “C Moon”
Another double A side,..
…after the previous entry, in a row, although this one was more unintentional.
Another controversial release in this chart after Judge Dread,
and so another banned song for Wings.
Wings were certainly not showing signs of conforming to the establishment going into their second year. At least not in the U.K. anyway.
This time last year…
…they were upsetting certain bigwigs in the entertainment management world with the single “Give Ireland Back To The Irish”.
Whereas that single from the year before was a point blank shot at political relations, this time the reason would be more, let’s just say, reading between the lyrical lines.
In most territories,..
…this current single would behave like your normal single release, with “Hi Hi Hi” as the “A” side and “C Moon” as the “B” side, but not so in the British Isles.
As soon as this released, along came (yes you’ve guessed it) the B.B.C., who decided that the phrase “We’re gonna get Hi Hi Hi” was far to risky for the British population’s ears, so refused to play it on the airwaves.
Therefore, as the rest of the world were literally getting “Hi Hi Hi”, us brits got “C Moon”’d instead.
Anyway, so with all this going on, how did it fare in the U.K. Chart?
Well, the banned thing always seems to be a bit of a winner, and this single was no exception.
This single entered quietly at No.40 on the 3rd of December the previous year of 1972.
Of course, the fuss about it didn’t stay quiet for long and so, by the following week, it climbed into the Top 30 and while the U.K. record buying public were making merry in the week after Christmas, they got the single into the Top 10 for New Years Eve.
For the first 2 weeks of the new year of 1973 they got it up to No.5, it’s highest position, before it started slipping further down the chart.
After this week’s chart the single would be more like Lower Lower Lower as it will fall back to the very edge at No.50, before waving Bye Bye Bye after the 3rd of March, with the band no doubt leaving with a wry smile on their face and a twinkle in the eye.
As Paul McCartney says…
Yeah, well, great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement.
You can say “This one was banned!” and everyone goes “Hooray!”
The audience love it, you know. “This next one was banned,” and then you get raving, because everyone likes to. Everyone’s a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship.
Our crew, our generation, really doesn’t dig that stuff, as I’m sure you know.”
The “A” Side
The other “A” Side
Wings – Hi, Hi, Hi (Official Video Promo)
Wings – C Moon (Official Video Promo)
Many thanks go to the following YouTube Channels for providing the chance to hear this music, and watch the performances once again.
Listen to “The Official Top 50 UK Singles Chart: 20th February 1972” Playlist here:
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