The 20th of February 1974
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 17th,
published on Tuesday the 19th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 24th of February 1974.
The Hollies
The Air That I Breathe
At No.8, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, are The Hollies with The Air That I Breathe.
The last time I’d met The Hollies…
…along my musical road, it had been on the day of my birth; where it seemed they were experiencing something of a rebirth themselves, and with a New Entry, with their new vocalist, on the very day I turned up in the world.
Although the group had all the right positive intentions,..
…the same couldn’t really be said of the relationship with their old record label EMI/Parlaphone, who were themselves behaving more like the spurned ex-partner in the still-raw divorced relationship, doing everything in their power to derail any future success for the one who’d left them.
As The Hollies tried to distance themselves and move forward, EMI not only decided to back the group’s original lead singer Allan Clarke with his own solo endeavour, but to also twist the knife in a little further and release previous Clarke sung Hollies output (which the company still owned the rights to) in direct competition with the latest “new look” Hollies material.
It wasn’t long before things began to get very awkward indeed, as they scored a massive No.2 smash in the States with the Clarke led “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress“, giving the band the welcome, but slightly embarrassing accolade, of their biggest ever U.S. hit; all the while, and in stark contrast, their latest Mikael Rikfors-led single “Magic Woman Touch” failed to even chart.
Fate however was about to take an unexpected turn, and not in EMI’s favour.
The group, and Allan,..
…found themselves meeting up once again to discuss their futures. Allan, now content from his solo adventure, was up for reuniting with the band once again; and so, by mutual agreement, Mikael politely stepped aside and Allan came back home to the group, a place he’d never wanted to honestly leave in the first place. With their original singer back in the fold, the familiar and classic sound of The Hollies was back, and their new label Polydor couldn’t wait to see the results.
One of their first endeavors was to record this composition by Albert Hammond & Mike Hazlewood.
First, the song”s co-writer Albert, and then classic artist Phil Everly had already had a shot at it last year back in 1973, but when the harmonious Hollies got their chance to record it, the result was nothing short of pure magic from the very first note, to which none other than Eric Clapton remarked that first note played by Tony had more soul than anything he had ever heard.
Along with that welcome return of Allan on vocals, who then joins in harmony by Terry and Tony after the orchestral backing sweeps effortlessly in; by the end of that first chorus, and that soaring guitar over that trio of voices, it’s all over. There is absolutely nothing left to prove.
In the following years of my own life,..
…this song later embedded itself, to easily become one of my absolute all-time favourites, one that I will never tire of listening to; over, and over, and over, and over again.
To me, if this version of the song were a movie, there wouldn’t be a screen big enough for its brilliance.
The single…
…had entered the UK Singles Chart a couple of weeks ago at No.33 at the beginning of February, and had climbed to No.26 last week. This week sees it glide effortlessly into the Top 10.
From here,..
…it will bring a gentle warmth to welcome in the first spring month of March, climbing to No.3, where it will sit patiently for half of that month before it ascends again, one place higher to No.2, from the 17th, until a slip sees it go back a couple of Places to No.4 to close out that month.
As the days get noticeably warmer, colourful and lighter, so April sees this majestic song spend one further week in the Top 10 before it gradually fades back, eventually leaving after Spring has fully flowered in bloom after the 4th of May.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
The Hollies – The Air That I Breathe (TV appearance)
The Hollies – The Air That I Breathe (TV performance)
The Hollies – The Air That I Breathe (“TopPop” TV appearance)
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