In November 1973 The Carpenters had another hit with Top Of The World. I didn’t like it at the time. But two decades later it spawned a rather wonderful Japanese cover version. (more…)

Caroline is so simple a song that you might think it could have been written on a paper napkin. And it was. (more…)

Philly soul’s signature sound was its sweetness but there was a bitter pill inside the sugar-coated harmonies of Ghetto Child by The Detroit Spinners. (more…)

Bryan Ferry took a break from Roxy Music to pay tribute to the pre-Beatles era of pop with his solo album These Foolish Things. This was the first single. (more…)

Just weeks after he famously “retired” Ziggy Stardust at a live show, David Bowie bounced back with a saxophone singing Sorrow, the first track from the covers album Pinups. (more…)

Is this Elton’s best single? It’s certainly one of them, a sepia-tinted elegy for the lost innocence of childhood. (more…)

I had loved Mott The Hoople’s Bowie-assisted makeover with All The Young Dudes in 1972 and I loved their next album Mott, the best by a reinvigorated band. (more…)

I loved my Slade raucous and rowdy so I was a bit disappointed when they came up with this pub singalong at the tail end of 1973. (more…)

The Sweet notched up their sixth Top Five hit when The Ballroom Blitz went to number two in September 1973. (more…)

Clive Dunn cashed in on his fame in Dad’s Army when his sentimental song Grandad topped the chart in January 1971. (more…)