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.
Suzi Quatro
Devil Gate Drive
At No.1, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, is Suzi Quatro with Devil Gate Drive.
For this particular No.1 hit,..
…there are a couple of 2nd’s.
It is Suzi’s second straight single to top the charts in the UK, following last summer’s smash “Can The Can“; and it’s also the 2nd consecutive No.1 hit this year for the hit-makers Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman, who are replacing their last No.1 single, “Tiger Feet” at the top last week, with this one.
Suzi…
…is, at this time, a rare anomaly, and an exceptional one at that; cutting straight through the testosterone forest of male artists and groups with such a purpose, one could forget from the vantage point of a new millennium, just how unique in the landscape of the serious music world she was at the time. Her intent, not just in her position in the musical landscape but also in life itself has, at this point in the 1970’s, never shined brighter; but then, for Suzi, it’s never really been any other way since she came into the world.
Born and raised in Detroit, before eventually falling in love with, and settling over in, Essex, England; Suzi had found that she’d had to compete with others in close proximity, just to be noticed, almost from birth. With not just a household full of siblings to contend with, who had turned up way before she did; there were also other children who were being fostered by her parents throughout her bustling childhood.
Music had run in her family,..
…and so it’s not surprising it was embedded in her own DNA, from the very beginning (most notably getting the bug from the father’s side); but like many peers in their first formative moments around those years of modern music, the catalyst came through the television and the vision of the 21 year-old Elvis Presley holding his space within it.
Honing her percussive rhythms through playing bongos and congas before her years fell into double figures, it felt a natural step in her teens to move to the electric bass, when she got the opportunity to join ranks with her older sister Patti, in her group The Pleasure Seekers.
It was after they had changed their name to Cradle,..
…that Suzi got noticed by RAK‘s Mickie Most, when he was searching for a female version of a rock star to counteract the male dominant acts he’d already picked up for his new label. The problem was, after managing to entice her away from the group, her siblings, and her country and settling her into a hotel in London, he didn’t really know what to do with her.
Not only was Suzi adamant she wasn’t going to be pushed around and moulded into somebody else’s vision, she was also hell-bent on being recognised for own capabilities and strengths and her own looks; and eventually she got her way, even getting a backing band to accompany her. The steadfastness paid off handsomely when, with tailor-made material written especially for her, the hits truly began to roll in.
Again, just like another similar styled artist mentioned further back in this chart, many could assume that her present leather -clad look maybe a homage to that same ’68 Special, when in fact it has been inspired by Mary Weiss from The Shangri-Las.
Of course, as I’ve mentioned before in another post featured further back in this chart, while waiting for this single to release, she’s also appeared on Cozy Powell‘s latest single further down, but now it’s her time once again, and she’s back she wants to be; solidifying her place in music history, and becoming an inspiration to any young girls out there who one day may take her lead and run further and faster in the music business.
The single…
…had landed solidly into the Top 20 a couple of week’s ago on the 3rd of February, and last week it had bounded high into the Top 10 and was stalking for the top at the No.2 position, ready to leap on Mud’s “Tiger Feet”, and this week it achieves just that; hitting the top of the chart with Suzie wielding her bass in the faces of anyone who dares come near.
From here,..
…the single will remain at the top for a second successive week, before relenting to another black-clad artist, but that one comes complete with a set of lamb chops bigger than any served in your local Berni Inn.
By mid-March, the single will drop below the Top 10, and then spend another month driving further back, before revving out those Devil Gates of the chart after the 20th of April.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive (Promotional Video)
Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive (“Top of the Pops” TV appearance)
Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive (Live Performance)
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