We are back on road, rolling back the years with the Now Yearbook so after a gap as I didn't bother with the 1997 edition we pick up from the 1977 Volume and jump back in 1976 the year of the IMF bail out and the great Summer Heatwave.
Back then we'd be sat around the record player or Hifi feeding discs as that was the dominant recorded music format then with our besties talking and singing along which is a good a reason to get the record version (it's on a four cd version) as that just takes us right back.
Basically we get a selection from the cd version with the only moan from me about where Love Me Like I Love You is, a top 5 Rollers hit it delivers on lime green vinyl.
Record One kicks off in magnificent style with signature songs from legendary artists: A number 2 in 1976, Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ is first up, followed by Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Livin’ Thing’, Fleetwood Mac with ‘Say You Love Me from Rumours’, and 10cc with ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’. Dr. Hook had a huge hit with ‘A Little Bit More’, and Chicago chart topping number1 with their all-time classic ballad ‘If You Leave Me Now’, while the side closes with Eric Carmen’s enduringly popular ‘All By Myself’.
Flipping over to Side Two we have huge hits from the year – including 4 number1s: 14 years after making their UK chart debut, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons enjoyed their first chart-topper with ‘December 1963 (Oh What a Night) following on from their 1975 resurgence’, while Leo Sayer reached number 2 in the UK, and had a number1 in the US with ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’.
Pop gems follow from David Dundas, Bryan Ferry, Sailor, Smokie – and Slik, featuring a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure reached the top with ‘Forever And Ever’ produced by the same team that had hits with the Bay City Rollers.
Showaddywaddy celebrated their biggest hit and their first number 1 with ‘Under The Moon Of Love’keeping us entertained that christmas, and the UK won at Eurovision, with the winner ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ by Brotherhood Of Man not only topping the chart but also becoming 1976’s biggest seller and bringing the first LP to a close.
Record Two opens with a stellar run of pure-pop classics. Elton John celebrated his first UK number1 single, in a duet with Kiki Dee on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, and Cliff Richard with ‘Devil Woman’, Tina Charles debuted with ‘I Love To Love’ and The Real Thing with ‘You To Me Are Everything’.
More pop nuggets follow from Billy Ocean and Dana, before the side finishes with R&J Stone with ‘We Do It’ and the evergreen ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ from Gladys Knight & The Pips.
Side Two opens with ‘Silly Love Songs’ gave Wings a UK number 2 and became ‘76’s biggest seller in the US and opens a run of great vocalists; Neil Diamond, Daryl Hall & John Oates with ‘She’s Gone’, Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’ and a trio of the year’s classic rock smashes: ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ from Thin Lizzy, ‘Squeeze Box’ from The Who, and closing with the epic ‘Music’ from John Miles.
Record Three celebrates ‘76’s dancefloor scene with a stunning collection of disco and soul gold: First up, Donna Summer with her debut smash ‘Love To Love You Baby’ before ‘More More More’ from Andrea True Connection and Candi Staton’s timeless ‘Young Hearts Run Free’. Melba Moore with ‘This Is It’ comes ahead of Diana Ross with the genre-defining ‘Love Hangover’, and the side is completed with huge floor-fillers from Tavares and Barry White ahead of The Isley Brothers with the soul standard ‘Harvest For The World’.
On Side Two country music is represented with Dolly Parton making her UK singles chart debut with ‘Jolene’ three years after it was a hit in the US, but it was a Dutch band, Pussycat, who hit the top with their country-pop track ‘Mississippi’. Bonnie Tyler made her chart debut with ‘Lost In France’, and ‘Forever And Ever’ gave Demis Roussos a ’76 chart topper, and an easy-listening classic, whilst Guys N Dolls had a second Top 5 hit with their cover of ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’. The LP ends with a trio of the year’s most beautiful ballads: Gallagher And Lyle with ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, ‘Love And Affection’ the stunning singles chart debut for Joan Armatrading, and finishing with a second peerless single on this collection from Elton John with ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’.
This is an enjoyable rump through 1976 in music even if for licensing reasons we have no Abba or David Bowie present.
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