September 25th 1976, Record Mirror & Disc

David Essex on the cover again. I assume he only comes out of hibernation in September.

Disc still attached to the paper, although I didn’t notice this at first and assumed it met a similar fate to the Popswop & Radio Mirror mentions. Scans via World Radio History as previously.

Charts 19760925

Billboard Top 100 for this week.

Official UK Top 50 Singles.

As before, I’m posting the Soul & Disco tracks as opposed to the main charts, but there are a couple of tracks I’d draw attention to.

The Wurzels, I Am A Cider Drinker is a parody of Una Paloma Blanca, which had charted one year previously courtesy of disgraced pop failure Jonathan King and also by the George Baker Selection. And probably others.

California – Music, Music, Music

Cannot find this on Spotify, might be too generically titled. Which is a bit of a shame as it’s quite pleasant.

Fantastic Four – Night People

Again, absent on Spotify. Although the artist is present, this track doesn’t seem to be there. Or isn’t for me at least. Ghosted by the algorithm.

So here’s the combined Top 20 UK / US / Soul & Disco charts. Some really obvious stuff, Saturday Night Fever was a year away but the stuff from the US Disco chart (towards the end of the playlist) is mostly new to me. Recommended, if a bit bongotastic.

Let there be bongos

Elsewhere in the paper there’s the DJ page with a couple of named DJs across the land championing their floorfillers, difficult to find some of this by legitimate means other than a disc off discogs.

DJ Hotline

And there’s this, which I have never heard of before now. Artists perform Beatles songs over a montage of footage from World War Two movies and contemporary newsreel clips.

WWII
Oh no.

There’s a playlist for this below, but I think the compiler got a bit carried away as it’s 13 hours long. And it’s got Maroon 5 in it, which is an impressive feat for a movie from 1976. So I’m assuming it’s just become a general Beatles covers playlist.

But back to the movie.

Hooray!

Didn’t really consider that World War II might be subject to a spoiler policy on IMDB. Somehow it seems to be up on youtube in parts, and even a few seconds of the movie seems incredibly misguided.

Fool On The Hill

Anyway, this took a weird turn.

Maxwin

Right, I was going to finish on the Hitler montage, but this has annoyed me. It wasn’t really anyone’s business about Elton’s private life in 1976 unless Elton wanted others to know.

Record Mirror cover, October 2nd 1976

Huh, looks like Disc might have been ousted from the cover after all. Also, what’s with the Giant Parrot stickers?

admitted / announced
Number one for a week in February 1976, Midge Ure’s first TV appearance.

I misread that fact about the members of Slik being married and was trying to find out where in the world two men could have been married in 1976. The answer is nowhere. They’re married to other people, not to each other.

I wonder if John Twine ever changed his mind. Would like to think he’s Portsmouth’s biggest Elton John fan these days.