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

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8719454.stm
Full list of 60

Poll Results

OptionVotes
44. The Beatles — Ticket To Ride 4
02. The Beatles — I Want To Hold Your Hand 3
26. The Searchers — Needles & Pins 3
42. The Beatles — Paperback Writer 3
17. The Tornados — Telstar 3
27. Cilla Black — Anyone Who Had A Heart 2
07. The Beatles — We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper 2
21. The Beatles — Hello Goodbye 2
15. The Archies — Sugar Sugar 2
13. Frank Ifield — I Remember You 2
12. Mr. Acker Bilk — Stranger On The Shore 2
31. Jim Reeves — Distant Drums 2
40. The Beatles — Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine 2
50. The Rolling Stones — Honky Tonk Women 2
43. The Rolling Stones — Satisfaction 1
41. The Monkees — I'm A Believer 1
23. The Beatles — Help! 1
30. Frank Sinatra — My Way (No.5 Hit) 1
24. The Everly Brothers — Cathy's Clown 1
32. Gerry & The Pacemakers — You'll Never Walk Alone 1
48. The Rolling Stones — 19th Nervous Breakdown (No.2 Hit in Guiness, BBC/POTP/TOTP No.1) 1
04. The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love 1
03. Ken Dodd — Tears 1
45. Mary Hopkin — Those Were The Days 1
47. Elvis Presley — Wooden Heart 0
10. Tom Jones — Green Green Grass Of Home 0
11. Engelbert Humperdinck — The Last Waltz 0
38. The Seekers — I'll Never Find Another You 0
09. Elvis Presley — It's Now Or Never 0
08. Engelbert Humperdinck — Release Me 0
25. The Dave Clark Five — Glad All Over 0
06. The Seekers — The Carnival Is Over 0
05. The Beatles — I Feel Fine 0
49. Tom Jones — It's Not Unusual 0
14. Cliff Richard & The Shadows — The Young Ones 0
46. The Beatles — Magical Mystery Tour (EP) (No.2 Hit) 0
16. Cliff Richard & The Shadows — The Next Time/Bachelor Boy 0
37. Elvis Presley — Are You Lonesome Tonight? 0
36. The Rolling Stones — The Last Time 0
35. Frank Sinatra — Strangers In The Night 0
34. The Beatles — All You Need Is Love 0
33. The Beatles With Billy Preston — Get Back 0
39. The Allisons — Are You Sure (No.2 Hit in Guiness, BBC/POTP NO.1) 0
29. Frank Ifield — Lovesick Blues 0
28. The Shadows — Apache 0
22. Engelbert Humperdinck — There Goes My Everything (No.2 Hit) 0
20. The Beatles — Hey Jude 0
19. Rolf Harris — Two Little Boys 0
18. The Beatles — From Me To You 0
01. The Beatles — She Loves You 0


pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 3 June 2010 18:50 (fifteen years ago)

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.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 3 June 2010 18:58 (fifteen years ago)

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

seandalai, Thursday, 3 June 2010 22:29 (fifteen years ago)

Any errors or omissions in the accompanying article gratefully received.

Alan Connor, Friday, 4 June 2010 08:09 (fifteen years ago)

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")

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 08:13 (fifteen years ago)

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.

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 08:17 (fifteen years ago)

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

Tuomas, Friday, 4 June 2010 08:27 (fifteen years ago)

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.

woof, Friday, 4 June 2010 08:39 (fifteen years ago)

The Allisons — Are You Sure

^ what the heck is this even?

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 08:43 (fifteen years ago)

They sound like a shit indie band btw.

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 08:44 (fifteen years ago)

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

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 08:49 (fifteen years ago)

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.

atoms breaking heart (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:50 (fifteen years ago)

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

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:52 (fifteen years ago)

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

sent from my neural lace (ledge), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:53 (fifteen years ago)

An emotional drunk, yodelling... (xpost)

Mark G, Friday, 4 June 2010 09:55 (fifteen years ago)

xxpost

"Teeeeeeeaaaars for souveniiiiiiiiirs are all you left me"

It's no "Happiness"

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:55 (fifteen years ago)

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.

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:57 (fifteen years ago)

"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

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:58 (fifteen years ago)

Deep pockets/short arms, anyway

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:59 (fifteen years ago)

greatest gift, of course

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:59 (fifteen years ago)

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

Using an Aural Exciter in an Orgone Accumulator (Masonic Boom), Friday, 4 June 2010 09:59 (fifteen years ago)

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

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:00 (fifteen years ago)

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

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:00 (fifteen years ago)

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.

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:01 (fifteen years ago)

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

Something very Searchers-ish about the Byrds

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:01 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, that would be the right way round!

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:02 (fifteen years ago)

Ticket To Ride, I think.

Matt DC, Friday, 4 June 2010 10:02 (fifteen years ago)

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

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

Mark G, Friday, 4 June 2010 10:02 (fifteen years ago)

Something very Searchers-ish about "Ticket to Ride"

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:03 (fifteen years ago)

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

I suppose he carried on singing that one

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:05 (fifteen years ago)

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

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:05 (fifteen years ago)

Bet he sings "Happiness" too

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:06 (fifteen years ago)

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

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:07 (fifteen years ago)

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

(xpost re: Happiness)

Mark G, Friday, 4 June 2010 10:08 (fifteen years ago)

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

henri grenouille (Frogman Henry), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:09 (fifteen years ago)

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

every time i pull a j/k off the shelf (Noodle Vague), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:12 (fifteen years ago)

It's about the love of Death.

Vision Creation Mansun (NickB), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:12 (fifteen years ago)

her lips are warm while yours are cold

Obv. sung to a corpse

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:14 (fifteen years ago)

Went for Frank Ifield - always loved that song.

village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:29 (fifteen years ago)

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

Wenlock & Mandelson (Tom D.), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:31 (fifteen years ago)

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

what it feels like for a goon (The Reverend), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:48 (fifteen years ago)

Telstar

mdskltr (blueski), Friday, 4 June 2010 10:50 (fifteen years ago)

u r thatch.

Mark G, Friday, 4 June 2010 11:28 (fifteen years ago)

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".

woof, Friday, 4 June 2010 12:10 (fifteen years ago)

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

woof, Friday, 4 June 2010 12:11 (fifteen years ago)

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

Alan Connor, Friday, 4 June 2010 14:58 (fifteen years ago)

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)

atoms breaking heart (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 4 June 2010 17:42 (fifteen years ago)

> 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

koogs, Friday, 4 June 2010 17:58 (fifteen years ago)

Never heard it before

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:04 (fifteen years ago)

The fucking Jedward of their day.

Fat Dog Franklin (snoball), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:04 (fifteen years ago)

the bachelors clearly the biggest influence on the youth

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:06 (fifteen years ago)

except there's only 2 of them :)

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:07 (fifteen years ago)

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

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:08 (fifteen years ago)

"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)

Fat Dog Franklin (snoball), Friday, 4 June 2010 18:08 (fifteen years ago)

Telstar, then Satisfaction.

nevermind312, Friday, 4 June 2010 18:23 (fifteen years ago)

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

Ismael Klata, Friday, 4 June 2010 19:13 (fifteen years ago)

yes you have!

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 19:19 (fifteen years ago)

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

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 4 June 2010 19:20 (fifteen years ago)

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

Ismael Klata, Friday, 4 June 2010 19:29 (fifteen years ago)

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.

atoms breaking heart (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 4 June 2010 19:37 (fifteen years ago)

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

ImprovSpirit, Friday, 4 June 2010 20:34 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

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

System, Thursday, 10 June 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

heh, ILM is now populated by over 60s?

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 11 June 2010 10:50 (fifteen years ago)

no shame in enjoying a nice toe-tapper

tetrahedron of space (woof), Friday, 11 June 2010 10:51 (fifteen years ago)

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

I am utterly and abjectly pissed off with this little lot (Tom D.), Friday, 11 June 2010 10:54 (fifteen years ago)

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.

tetrahedron of space (woof), Friday, 11 June 2010 10:57 (fifteen years ago)

what does he tap it with?

Mark G, Friday, 11 June 2010 10:59 (fifteen years ago)

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

Ismael Klata, Friday, 11 June 2010 11:40 (fifteen years ago)

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!)

atoms breaking heart (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 11 June 2010 21:19 (fifteen years ago)


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