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.
Slade
Slade Alive!
At No.43, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Albums Chart” on my 1st Birthday, is Slade with “Slade Alive!”.
The Wolverhampton lads…
…were only 5 weeks short this week, of completing a whole consecutive year in the chart with, what’s considered by many, as one of the greatest rock live albums to ever be recorded.
The band, along with their manager Chas Chandler, who had also famously managed the late Jimi Hendrix, decided to book the purpose built London’s Command Theatre, which also incorporated a recording studio, to capture the best sound they could over a 3 night residency at the venue, back in the October of 1971, with the bulk of the album taken from the middle of those 3 nights, a Wednesday, just after they’d finished filming their performance on that weeks “Top of the Pops”, before hot-footing it to that night’s performance, still in the clobber that would be seen in, televised the following Thursday evening.
The resulting album…
…had first entered the U.K. Chart on the 2nd of April the previous year, just missing the Top 10 straight away by landing at No.11.
From there though, it would spend several weeks bouncing in and around the Top 10, until achieving it’s highest position at No.2 on the 2nd of July that year.
Healthy sales would keep the album in the Top 10 for a further 16 weeks after this peak, not falling out of it until the nights had fallen dark again on the 5th of November.
It would be another month before it left the Top 20 on the 3rd of December.
This week the following year would be the first time it would live outside the Top 40, the next time it would do that will be in it’s 57th consecutive week, when it will drop to No.48 before leaving after the 5th of May 1973.
The album will make one further appearance the year after this one when, for one week only, it would re-enter at No.42 on the 13th of January 1974 before going for good.
I’ve created my own separate playlists, for 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 goes to the Slade Official YouTube channel, for providing the chance to hear the tracks so that together we can experience both sides of this album release, as it was intended, once again.
Please show your support 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…?
