The 20th of February 1972
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 20th to Saturday the 26th of February 1972
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 19th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 20th,
announced on Tuesday the 22nd,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 27th of February 1972.
Peter Straker-The Hands Of Doctor Teleny
The Spirit Is Willing
At No.43, on the the U.K. Top 50 Singles Chart the day I am born, is Peter Straker-The Hands Of Doctor Teleny with “The Spirit Is Willing”.
This was the second of 4 short weeks in the UK Chart for this entry.
Peter, who was born in Jamaica, but moved to London, England as a child, had first come to prominence when he appeared as the militant black racial character ‘Hud’ in the West End production of the ground breaking musical ‘Hair’, four years previously.
Since then,..
…he’d focused instead on a career as a recording artist, and this single was his first success after signing to the RCA label.
Ultimately, it would only be a brief spell for this single, which seasoned songwriters Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard (using the pseudonym ‘The Hands of Doctor Teleny’) based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s composition “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”.
The two songwriters were no strangers to the U.K. Charts…
…over the past few years, having written hits for such artists as ‘Lulu’, ‘Engelbert Humperdinck’, ‘Petula Clarke’, ‘The Honeycombs’ and ‘Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich’. The last two acts mentioned, hit No.1 with their respective singles.
And with the songwriting duo’s attempt…
…at producing a concept album called ‘Arc 2’, with a hired musical ensemble which they named ‘Flaming Youth’ in 1969, they could add the name of a certain ‘Phil Collins’ to their list.
Oh, and they were the first British composers…
…which had one of their songs chosen by ‘Elvis Presley’.
Anyway, back to this current tune,..
…and after this week’s showing at this position, the single “The Spirit Is Willing” will climb just a little further, to make an appearance in the Top 40, at 40, the week after this one, before disappearing out of the Top 50 altogether at the beginning of March.
The “A” Side
The “AA” Side
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