46 years ago last week, as a mere lad of 9, I arrived in England for a 3 year tour, as my USAF Dad got stationed at an airbase 50 miles NNE of London. So as the British Invasion was happening in America, I was living in England. And, I might add, what a fabulous experience it was, on so many levels, especially with the British pop music of the day. Every Thursday evening at 7:30, I’d be glued to the telly to watch the latest installment of the BBC's Top of the Pops, every show packed to the hilt with fab music and artists, many who crossed the pond to achieve success in the US, and many who did not.

To celebrate that music, I thought I’d post YouTube videos for these songs as they enter the British Top 10 from exactly 46 years ago, over the next 32 months on a weekly basis. This will be major fun, history flashing right before our very eyes. I’ll occasionally post some non-top 10 videos, for certain significant songs, and trying to keep all the Lulu fans happy (you know who you are!). If there are multiple videos for a given song, my first choice will be to go with a live performance, as we already know what the records sound like.

Chart positions are from Record Retailer, considered by some to be the ‘official’ charts of the UK for this time period, primarily because they were the first chart compiler to expand to 50 chart positions on a weekly basis. The BBC charts were actually an average of 4 other chart compilers, including Record Retailer. It all pretty much came out in the wash.

We begin with the week ending Saturday July 31, 1965. Counting down #10 to #1:

10. Joan Baez - There but for Fortune, peaked at #8 for 2 wks in Aug 65

9. Peter and Gordon - To Know You Is to Love You, peaked at #5 for 2 wks in Jul 65

8. Dusty Springfield - In The Middle Of Nowhere, peaked at #8 for 1 wk in Jul 65

7. The Hollies - I’m Alive, peaked at #1 for 3 wks in Jun & Jul 65

This surprised me. For some reason, I'd always been under the impression that The Byrds were only a cult interest in the UK in the 1960s. (Hence, Ronnie Lane's first band naming themselves The Birds without concern of confusion.)

Hmmm... I don't know much about Ron Wood's Birds, lemme lookem up...

OK, it looks like both the Birds (shortened from Thunderbirds) and the Byrds started using their respective names in 1964, and both had their first UK chart records in 1965. The Birds only had one minor record that peaked at #45 for 1 week in May 65. The Byrds thundered onto the UK scene in July 65, and were promptly hit with a lawsuit from The Birds (the Byrds prevailed).

The Byrds UK career sort of paralleled their US career, they had a huge 1965, then singles-wise slowly faded from view...

I love The (Ron Wood) Birds!!

This CD is definitely worth having in your collection


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000258YW/?tag=imwan-20

My favorite Birds recording....first by the McCoys, but this one is much better. I first heard this on the Nuggets 2 box set....one of the best songs on there.

Fab, I like! Will order me a copy on my next mega-order, thanks Charles & Linda!

6. The Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, peaked at #2 for 1 wk in Aug 65

5. The Beatles - Help, peaked at #1 for 3 wks in Aug 65

4. The Ivy League - Tossing and Turning, peaked at #3 for 1 wk in Jul 65

3. The Fortunes - You’ve Got Your Troubles, peaked at #2 for 1 wk in Aug 65

You don't get much of it here in this interview, but Simon Dee is one of the most awesome hosts on TV ever. Quick-witted like Groucho Marx and so very, very cool. I wish there was more of him on YouTube.





This one's awesome for his backing band The Squires (aka The Senators), faturing Chris Slade on drums. The same guy who played drums on this one:



And this one:


And this one:


Chris Slade is awesomesauce.

2. The Yardbirds - Heart Full of Soul, peaked at #2 for 3 wks in Jul 65

1. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man, peaked at #1 for 2 wks in Jul 65

This is terrific. I love every cover Lulu attempted during that era. Wonder if there are enough BBC appearances to make a whole album ... a little Mod/Freakbeat specialist label like Top Sounds or Circle could license them if nobody else wants to. Or make them part of the Lulu: The Decca Years box set that will never get compiled. There are a few poor quality live recordings on YouTube of Lulu performing other non-LP covers from back then, also quite WANderful.

Bonus Video = 15. Lulu - Leave a Little Love, peaked at #8 for 2 wks in Jul 65

Entering the British Top 10 for the week ending Saturday August 7, 1965:

7. The Dave Clark Five - Catch Us If You Can, peaked at #5 for 1 wk in Aug 65

Deer Thread Visitors,
This thread had been running extremely slow, because I had been posting too many video embeds per post / thread page. I've gone back in and edited all the previous videos to 1 per post, so this should speed things up quite a bit. Earlier response postings by Linda, Charles, and Hank now appear out of order, but all should be well here on out.

Continuing along...

Bonus Video = 11. Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs - Wooly Bully, peaked at #11 for 1 week in Aug 65
Trivia: back in the States, this was Billboard's #1 single of the year for 1965, despite only peaking at #2 for 2 weeks in Jun

Entering the British Top 10 on Aug 14, 1965:

7. Jonathan King - Everyone's Gone To The Moon, peaked at #4 for 1 wk in Aug 65

9. Billy Fury - In Thoughts of You, peaked at #9 for 1 wk in Aug 65