The 20th of February 1975
Official UK 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 BBC Radio 1 on Sunday the 23rd of February 1975.
Wigan’s Chosen Few
Footsee
At No.9, on “The Top 50 UK Singles Chart”, the week of my 3rd Birthday, is Wigan’s Chosen Few with Footsee.
A one-off release,..
…and yet another single to chart which is directly influenced by the huge Northern Soul movement. The exception here is that this track wasn’t a direct release of an actual 1960s single, but more a superimposed version, with crowd sound-effects overlaying the original track underneath.
The original track itself, by a Canadian group named The Chosen Few, seems to have been more of a bubblegum-style tune, which around the time of its release in 1968, was used for advertising the Footsee toy (which most will remember by another manufacturer as the Skip-It). To me, it’s certainly got that type of feel to it that would have suited a children’s TV show like the Banana Splits.
With this new version of the track at this time, and the decision to give the Northern Soul sect more publicity to the wider nation by circulating the single to advertise the Wigan melting pot itself, the idea seems to have been a success, although there may be some who feel this track probably isn’t best suited to represent the whole dance concept and way of life to the wider world.
The single…
…had landed in the chart on the 12th of January at No.45, and the following week had leapt up a substantial nineteen places to sit at No.26. The following week witnessed it have a slower uptake as it only got to move up one place. However, by the beginning of February it danced up another nine positions to get to No.16, and last week it broke the Top 10 before moving up one extra notch this week.
From here…
…it slips back to No.10 again, before a more advanced tumble sends it rolling back down the chart through March, and back out of the chart altogether after the 29th of that month, shuffling away with a respectable 11 weeks in total.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
“Footsee” BBC Top of the Pops TV Wigan’s Casino Dancers appearance (1975)
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