The 20th of February 1975
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 16th to Saturday the 22nd of February 1975
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 15th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 16th,
published on Tuesday the 18th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 23rd of February 1975.
Rupie Edwards
Leggo Skanga
At No.42, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 3rd Birthday, is Rupie Edwards with Leggo Skanga.
The respect for reggae…
…is really beginning to take hold of the UK charts by the mid-seventies.
In previous years, the ever-developing Jamaican sound has always held respect, but it had been in quieter circles with only the odd single getting any wider airplay. Now in the centre of this new decade, it was moving ever closer into the mainstream, boosted on this journey of discovery by some of the more established musical artists at this time.
For all involved,..
…it guaranteed a win-win situation, with rock stars such as Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney (whose wife Linda is a huge fan of the genre), all having touched upon the style in some shape or form.
For the actual masters of the movement, it was a long-awaited but welcomed shot in the arm for their sovereignty of their craft to finally get the recognition they deserved. One such artist, which I’ve already met down this particular chart run-down has been Tito Simon, and now I meet another.
Rupert “Rupie” Edwards…
…had been a presence on the scene, in some shape or form, since the early 1960s when he was a teenager. First performing in talent contests before being discovered, then forming his own group which became The Virtues, to then shifting his focus onto producing other artists, setting up his own record label, and working alongside distinguished DJs alongside recording his own instrumental output with his collated studio house band “The Rupie Edwards All Stars” which consisted of such luminaries as Tommy McCook, Vin Gordon, “Santa” Davis, Hux Brown, “Gladdy” Anderson, “Jackie” Jackson and Winston Wright.
At this juncture,..
…Rupie has been lately turning his attention to the art of highlighting the core of the sound, the rhythm in the low drum, and the groove in the bass-line. All, when put together, in the language and their feel, encompass the riddim.
The first success of this…
…had arrived not long before when, using The Uniques‘ “My Conversation” track, when he’d incorporated that sole riddim throughout his album “Yamaha Skank” last year in 1974, which has been widely recognized as the first single-riddim album of its kind.
This year, he’s emulating this form once again, this time using Johnny Clarke‘s “Everyday Wondering”, which is where the foundation of this single, pulled from his upcoming album, evolves.
The single…
…had entered the UK charts at No.43 on the 2nd day of this month of February, and last week it had scaled up eleven places to sit within the Top 40 at No.32, although this week it has almost jumped back to where it started.
From here,..
…the single will hold steady for a further week at this position, before it moves back up a further place at the beginning of March to No.41, and then pushes back up another notch to reach the outer perimeter of the Top 40 once again.
However, that week leading up to the middle of the spring month will be its last, as the single will drop out of the chart after the 15th, with 6 weeks in the bag.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
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