Best Song from "The UK's Biggest Selling Singles of the 1960's as announced by Radio 2"

Here's some interesting facts about this chart

* The Beatles make up nearly a third of it (18 of the 60 positions including 5 of the top 7)

* The Rolling Stones are second with five singles (but none in the top 30).

* Ken Dodd, The Seekers and Engelbert Humperdink all attain higher chart positions than The Stones, Elvis and Cliff.

* It's a male dominated chart - there are only two solo ladies (Cilla Black and Mary Hopkin) with a song apiece.

* It rises to four female hits if you count The Seekers (lead vocalist Judith Durham) who have two entries.

* In the era of the British invasion, it's a very British chart so multiple entries for The Beatles, The Stones, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck plus hits from Mary Hopkin, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Allisons, Cilla, The Shadows, Dave Clarke Five, The Tornados and Ken Dodd mean over half the records are by Brits.

* 'Crooners' do pretty well - Jim Reeves, Engelbert Humperdinck and Frank Sinatra all make more than one appearance.

* There are three instumental hits within the 60... Telstar - The Tornados, Stranger On The Shore - Acker Bilk, Apache - The Shadows

* Many records have TV or film links; eg Summer Holiday, A Hard Day's Night, Wooden Heart (GI Blues), Magical Mystery Tour EP, I'm A Believer, Yellow Submarine, Strangers In The Night (A Man Could Get Killed), Sugar Sugar, You'll Never Walk Alone (Carousel), Help!, The Young Ones, Stranger On The Shore, Can't Buy Me Love (A Hard Day's Night).

* Sadly no place for The Move's Flowers In The Rain (Tony Blackburn's first record on Radio 1) or any of Tony's singles.

* Incredibly, there's no place for Dusty Springfield, Simon & Garfunkel, The Walker Brothers, Sandy Shaw, The Hollies or Procol Harum

* The 1960s is the decade you associate with the classic sound of Motown but not one of the 60 singles on the chart is a Motown record.

I wanna vote for no. 51 on that list, Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever...Oh.

Any errors or omissions in the accompanying article gratefully received.

Hello Mr Connor, nice piece.

Question here is do I let my undying love of "I Remember You" carry me away and give Frank Ifield the vote?

(Answer is "hell yes")

My other two faves from that list are "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "Telstar", "Anyone Who Had a Heart" wd be up there as a song but ugh Cilla Version, gtf British record buyers.

I wanted to vote for "Downtown", but it isn't on the list... Surely it sold more than "19th Nervous Breakdown"?

Hey Al! Good work (I am yr friend, you can prob guess which one)

Voting later - I think it's either Mr Acker Bilk or Telstar. Will put the latter on at drop of hat, but former has satisfied and relaxed me when nothing else wd do.

The Allisons — Are You Sure

^ what the heck is this even?

They sound like a shit indie band btw.

Okay, it's sub-Everly Brothers cuckoo clock pop.

Thoughts:
1. List does not have many oldies radio staples I expected on - some of these I guess were much bigger in the US than here at the time (iirc even "Downtown" was #1 in the US and not the UK), but sad at e.g. no "Runaway"
2. Ken Dodd at #3?!
3. Gotta vote Apache, Telstar or Sugar Sugar. Can't decide which yet. NV OTM abt Anyone Who Had A Heart.

Trying to remember what Ken Dodd song goes like, failing, prolly just as well

Would be hard pushed to argue for it as best song but Needles and Pins probably dearest to my heart for whatever reason.

An emotional drunk, yodelling... (xpost)

xxpost

"Teeeeeeeaaaars for souveniiiiiiiiirs are all you left me"

It's no "Happiness"

See, I know "Happiness", I could sing it right now - might not go down to well in the office, mind you. "Tears" / "Happiness", Doddy was deep.

"A penis, a penis, the greatest that I possess/ I bless the Lord that I've been blessed/ With more than my share of a penis" etc

Deep pockets/short arms, anyway

greatest gift, of course

Sugar Sugar, which is the greatest song of all time.

Given Doddy's high placing, disappointed Leapy Lee didn't even make the Top 50 :(

Something very Byrds-ish about 'Needles and Pins'. 'Tears' is so syrupy that apparently you used to get wasps stuck to the vinyl.

Was in Scarborough yesterday and there was a poster up for Doddy's live show. Pretty sure I'd still enjoy seeing him, kinda sad seaside towns don't really get guys doing the whole season any more.

Something very Byrds-ish about 'Needles and Pins'.

Something very Searchers-ish about the Byrds

Yeah, that would be the right way round!

Ticket To Ride, I think.

See, I know "Happiness", I could sing it right now

.. and yet, it managed to only reach number 31.

Something very Searchers-ish about "Ticket to Ride"

.. and yet, it managed to only reach number 31.

I suppose he carried on singing that one

Ken Dodd live show is apparently still epic. Full-on three hours of hardcore tickling stick japes.

Bet he sings "Happiness" too

Dodd is one of those guys who can make even the creakiest old gags funny as

The definitive version was sung by John Lydon at the famous Ritz NY riot gig...

(xpost re: Happiness)

And Release Me has lived on.... as an enduring favourite at funerals]

what, really?!?

Please release me let me go
for I don't love you anymore
to waste our lives would be a sin
release me and let me love again.

I have found a new love dear
and I will always want her near
her lips are warm while yours are cold
release me my Darling let me go.

Please release me can't you see
you'd be a fool to cling to me
to live a lie would bring us pain
release me and let me love again

If peeps can turn Stevie Wonder's celebration of MLK Day into a tawdry birthday piss-up fave then why not

It's about the love of Death.

her lips are warm while yours are cold

Obv. sung to a corpse

Went for Frank Ifield - always loved that song.

Talking of Aussies, "The Carnival Is Over" is kinda awesome too. Not Rolf though.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

Telstar

u r thatch.

yknow I'm in the Thatch-grave-piss queue too, but she's otm with Telstar. It is "lovely record, so full of energy and spirit".

stick an 'a' in there, before or after the opening quote, I don't care.

I voted Telstar too; same reasons as Lady Thatcher. Things I like: The Allisons were a pioneering pretend-brother act as far as I can see, and #12's entourage was nicknamed The Bilk Marketing Board.

Oh, oh, and this special edition of Billboard to celebrate Engelbert's 35th Anniversary has lotsa features and brilliant one-off "congratulations enge" adverts: http://bit.ly/ccj0g9

When I think of Telstar I think of (not just the brilliant final version but also) the demo where Joe Meek bellows the lead line into his bathtub or something and misses half the notes in the process and there is something just so un-Thatcherite about that somehow, but oh well, if I had to agree with her about something I'm glad it's a heartbreakingly ace slice of instrumental pop, so

(still a little tempted by Sugar Sugar, though)

> The Allisons — Are You Sure
> what the heck is this even?

my thoughts exactly. but was our 1961 eurovision entry. and you'll know it when you hear it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACOHWmkGGJU

Never heard it before

The fucking Jedward of their day.

the bachelors clearly the biggest influence on the youth

except there's only 2 of them :)

oh wait, their singles were after this. carry on jedward fans.

"Light twincest" will forever be a part of my vocabulary.

― it's an old pantyhound, that's who (Jesse), Wednesday, 3 March 2010 03:07 (3 months ago)

Telstar, then Satisfaction.

Hold on, 'The Last Time' is the Stones' biggest hit? I've never even heard it!

yes you have!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZHmHqEE7k

Actually no, though I do feel like I knew that riff. Nice enough but it's about a minute too long.

I like the way the shorter Allison on koogy's youtube link is frantically looking everywhere except at the audience/camera. If one of the Jedwards looked so much like he didn't want to be there I'd like them a lot more too.

# 50 for me, with 36, 42, 43 & 44 just behind in a photo finish.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

heh, ILM is now populated by over 60s?

no shame in enjoying a nice toe-tapper

http://www.vinylsurrender.com/Graphics/AlbumCovers2/The%20Shadows%20-%20Foot%20Tapper%20%28single%29.jpg

1. toe-tapper A male who taps his foot in a public restroom stall as a signal that he is looking for gay erotic pleasures.

what does he tap it with?

'She Loves You' would've got ∞% more votes if I were better at getting things together

Forgot to vote too and had I voted for Telstar it might've appeared above the Beatles and that would have been deeply pleasing to me.

Oh well.

(I have had that Allisons song in my head for part of every day since koogs' youtube!)