Countdown Every UK Number 1 single by Scottish acts

[James from London]

I'd have played the Dynasty theme on a loop.

Standing to attention and saluting each time.

 

[Barbara Fan]

I used to do this with TV themes.

I have all of Dallas S1-12 (didnt bother with 13) also on cassette tape, phone off hook, no talking allowed - Radio cassette recorder against speaker on TV and 90 mins tape got an epiosde each side
Taped it from 1980 onwards as parents didnt get a video until 83 and would listen again and again, nearly in tears if a tape "pulled" out with pencil, kntting needle and /or scissors and sellotape !!
When they did get a video and i aquired the previous episodes I taped all them too
Then on another blank tape I taped all the BBG scenes separately!

I wish i had shares in TDK cassette and VHS tapes!

 

[Ome]

1975 D.I.V.O.R.C.E Billy Connolly

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." is a 1975 UK number-one single by Scottish folk singer and comedian Billy Connolly. A comedy song, it reached No. 1 for one week in November 1975, and was one of the few songs of its genre to reach this milestone.



The song is a parody of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", and Connolly's version to date has been his only No. 1 UK single, though in the late 1970s he had a further two UK hits which parodied contemporary songs. He later dropped musical performances from his act.

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." has a similar theme to Wynette's original in that the events in the song lead to a couple divorcing, however in Connolly's song the words are spelled out to withhold the truth from a dog rather than a child as in Wynette's version, and the divorce is sparked by a riotous visit to a veterinarian that results in the husband being bitten by both the dog and his wife.

Some versions of the song, such as the live performance included on the album Get Right Intae Him!, are censored, with the letters "f'ing c" being bleeped.



1976 Forever and Ever - Slik

"Forever and Ever" is a UK number-one single by Scottish glam rock band Slik, released in 1975. It was number one for one week in February 1976, knocking ABBA's "Mamma Mia" off the number-one position. It was also a hit in Ireland, reaching number two on the charts there. The song was written by the songwriting partnership of Bill Martin and Phil Coulter who had recently stopped writing for the Bay City Rollers.

Forever and Ever was originally recorded by Kenny, appearing on their 1975 debut LP The Sound Of Super K. Slik covered the song with a heavier arrangement after the Bay City Rollers refused it.

The song was the band's only UK number-one single and their only UK top 20 hit. Their Top of the Pops performance of the song was lead singer Midge Ure's first television appearance; he went on to success with Ultravox and as a solo artist.

The single reached number 2 in the Netherlands and the Top 30 in Germany. In 1976 EMI Electrola released a German edition of the single.

After another hit, and a flop, the band disbanded in early 1977.

 

[Ome]

Billy Connelly DIVORCE -- how did that EVER get there????

This is the first time I have heard the song unless I heard it as a child and never remembered. I'm happy to dismiss it now.

I used to do this with TV themes.

Oh, I've been there many times too, both TV themes and lost of TOTP.

 

[James from London]

D.I.V.O.R.C.E Billy Connolly

'The Tammy Wynette original has one of those gimmicks so deathless that every songwriter in Nashville must have wished they’d hit on it first. Connolly’s parody skewers it without sneering at it, and a lot of the spelling-out fun is just carried over from the source. It doesn’t have a great deal of replay value but it makes me smile, which is as much as you can reasonably ask of it. 5/10'

BILLY CONNOLLY – "D.I.V.O.R.C.E."

[From April 2008] The Tammy Wynette original has one of those gimmicks so deathless that every songwriter in Nashville must have wished they’d hit on it first. Connolly’s parody skewers it without sneering at it, and a lot of the spelling-out fun is just c[…]

freakytrigger.co.uk

Forever and Ever - Slik

'this preposterous and almost fantastic record. While some mid-70s boybeat looks forward to Westlife sluggishness, the flagrant gothy grandiosity of “Forever And Ever” nudges at more enjoyable futures: the Max Martin Backstreet Boys at their most epic, maybe? At the very least Ure himself remembered how effective a wash of sound and a muffled drumbeat could be in setting a mood.

'That’s the story in the verses: the jump from there to the scarves-above-yer-heads pop on the chorus is a connection as odd as Midge ever made, and rousing though it is in a by-the-book way, you can’t help but feel a little bit deflated. 6/10'

SLIK – “Forever And Ever” | FreakyTrigger

freakytrigger.co.uk

 

[Willie Oleson]

That’s the story in the verses: the jump from there to the scarves-above-yer-heads pop on the chorus is a connection as odd as Midge ever made

Yeah, it's as if Jefferson Airplane suddenly starts wailing a Christmas song. It kinda feels like a prank.

 

[Angela Channing]

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." is a 1975 UK number-one single by Scottish folk singer and comedian Billy Connolly. A comedy song, it reached No. 1 for one week in November 1975, and was one of the few songs of its genre to reach this milestone.



The song is a parody of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", and Connolly's version to date has been his only No. 1 UK single, though in the late 1970s he had a further two UK hits which parodied contemporary songs. He later dropped musical performances from his act.

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." has a similar theme to Wynette's original in that the events in the song lead to a couple divorcing, however in Connolly's song the words are spelled out to withhold the truth from a dog rather than a child as in Wynette's version, and the divorce is sparked by a riotous visit to a veterinarian that results in the husband being bitten by both the dog and his wife.

Some versions of the song, such as the live performance included on the album Get Right Intae Him!, are censored, with the letters "f'ing c" being bleeped.

Love this song, one of my favourite comedy records ever. I've never heard an uncensored version and always wondered what the second bleep was and whether it was the C word. The very last line always bothered me though because he spells queer Q-U-E-R and always thought why didn't he just say "E-E" very quickly.

 

[Ome]

1979
One Day at A Time - Lena Martell

"One Day at a Time" is a popular Country and Western-style Christian song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No.1 in several territories. Scottish singer Lena Martell had a UK Singles Charts number one with her version in 1979.



1980

Feels Like I'm In Love - Kelly Marie

Written by Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry, the song was originally intended for Elvis Presley who recorded it in 1977 but he died before it was released. Dorset's group recorded the song but their version was relegated to the B-side of a Belgian single "Sur Le Pont D'Avignon" (A-side). It was also featured on the bands album 'In the summer time'. The band later released several variations and remixes of the song.

In 1979, Kelly Marie recorded the song for Pye Records. The song was a sleeper hit on the Scottish club scene before breaking through nationally in the summer of 1980, reaching the top of the UK Singles Chart in September.[4] The following year, aided by a number of remixes the song became a club hit in the US, reaching number ten on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Re-released on the Calibre record label with a new B-side "New York at Night", it followed a rare breed of record labels who gained a chart-topping success after their debut release

The song featured in the 2002 romantic comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. It also appeared in the 2005 comedy-romance film, Imagine Me & You, in the Dance Dance Revolution sequence. It was also featured in the Channel 4 series It's a Sin in 2021.

 

[James from London]

One Day at A Time - Lena Martell

'Like so many of 1979’s chart-toppers, Lena Martell was a new face: but this time trailing no stylistic or cultural shift ... this sticks in the craw, feeling like a refugee from grimmer times: it would have fitted into the more erratic, unlucky-dip lists of the mid-70s ... It’s a clunky record, to be sure, but its appearance in context is what really annoys. 2/10'

LENA MARTELL – “One Day At A Time” | FreakyTrigger

freakytrigger.co.uk

Feels Like I'm In Love - Kelly Marie

'“Feels Like” is a grotty, grubby, British version of disco, the syndrum hits from “Ring My Bell” relocated to the Maplins Hawaiian Ballroom, busybodying you onto the dancefloor. If the fantasy of disco – decadent, sexual, aspirational – has a Playboy style appeal, Kelly Marie was more readers’ wivesy. That’s not really because of her mildly saucy performances, it’s more to do with her vowelly vocal line – “fee-uhls like ah’m in lu-huv!” (DOO DOO). It gives the record an enthusiastically amateurish air, like it’s a karaoke version of itself. For listeners with a stake in club music, Kelly was no doubt a horror show, but in a year low on bubblegum I find it hard to judge too harshly. 6/10'

KELLY MARIE – “Feels Like I’m In Love” | FreakyTrigger

freakytrigger.co.uk

the song was originally intended for Elvis Presley who recorded it in 1977 but he died before it was released.

It was written for Elvis, but I'm pretty sure he never actually recorded it.

Or did he?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

1979
One Day at A Time - Lena Martell

The album in the video thumbnail - Lena's Music Album - was tucked away in my parents' LP collection, which I fondly remember having the occasional spin.

Some eight years ago I stumbled upon a used copy of a Lena compilation album, which used the same cover image and had many of the same tracks. I bagged it out of nostalgia but was quite horrified when I played it to hear the strange accent she uses - which is neither Scottish nor American - and the way she hammers the hell out of the rhoticism in every single "r" sound ("Lorrrrrrrrrrrd forrrrrrrrrrrr my sake"). Combined with the vibrato and the pushy chorister volume it all made me feel a little ill.

ODAAT is actually the most tolerable song on the album - and I must confess to kind of enjoying the familiarity of her version of Forrrreverrrr In Blue Jeans - but I still can't bring myself to listen to any of her songs in full.

I suppose some things are best left in the past.

Feels Like” is a grotty, grubby, British version of disco, the syndrum hits from “Ring My Bell” relocated to the Maplins Hawaiian Ballroom, busybodying you onto the dancefloor. If the fantasy of disco – decadent, sexual, aspirational – has a Playboy style appeal, Kelly Marie was more readers’ wivesy. That’s not really because of her mildly saucy performances, it’s more to do with her vowelly vocal line – “fee-uhls like ah’m in lu-huv!” (DOO DOO). It gives the record an enthusiastically amateurish air, like it’s a karaoke version of itself.

Oh yes! That sums up exactly why I enjoy it. Along with this:

[In autumn 1980] there actually was still a version of pop made available to kids, a kind of light ent junior centred around Swap Shop and TISWAS on a Saturday morning. The watchword here wasn’t kid appeal but cheapness – low cost alternatives to chart staples with presumably low booking fees: Budgens singer-songwriters and Woolworths disco... Kelly Marie was totally part of it, of pop as I actually experienced it in 1980 – which perhaps explains why I’m fond of what is by any reasonable standard a shoddy bit of work.

 

[Barbara Fan]

As a Scot we were embarrased that Lena Martell made number 1

She also aquired a Sheena Easten type of faux/phony accent in interviews which never goes down well at home - Lulu is another!

Kelly Marie was cheesey, but it got us on the dance floor at a school disco

I had a burgundy Jump suit from Top shop and thought I was the bees knees!

 

[Willie Oleson]

Or did he?

It's not too unsimilar to this

 

[Angela Channing]

'Like so many of 1979’s chart-toppers, Lena Martell was a new face: but this time trailing no stylistic or cultural shift ... this sticks in the craw, feeling like a refugee from grimmer times: it would have fitted into the more erratic, unlucky-dip lists of the mid-70s ... It’s a clunky record, to be sure, but its appearance in context is what really annoys. 2/10'

I disagree with this review. I think the song was a reflection of the time in which it was successful. Although songs with a religious theme rarely do well in the UK charts, this one came a few months after Thatcher came to power and was devastation she was inflicting on the country was starting to have effect. At time when people feel oppressed, powerless by their lives being devastated, they often turn to religion so this song was timely. The song's theme is about things being tough at the moment but they will get better so we have to remain positive and get through each day, one at a time. It was a song that gave people hope at a dismal period in our history.

The song is also a bit of a female anthem at a time when women's rights and empowerment was a topical political issue. A song with lyrics which included "I’m only human and I’m just a woman, help me believe all I can be and all that I am" would have resonated with many people at that time.

 

[James from London]

I disagree with this review. I think the song was a reflection of the time in which it was successful. Although songs with a religious theme rarely do well in the UK charts, this one came a few months after Thatcher came to power and was devastation she was inflicting on the country was starting to have effect. At time when people feel oppressed, powerless by their lives being devastated, they often turn to religion so this song was timely. The song's theme is about things being tough at the moment but they will get better so we have to remain positive and get through each day, one at a time. It was a song that gave people hope at a dismal period in our history.

The song is also a bit of a female anthem at a time when women's rights and empowerment was a topical political issue. A song with lyrics which included "I’m only human and I’m just a woman, help me believe all I can be and all that I am" would have resonated with many people at that time.

That's an interesting take. I think the writer is talking from his own subjective position as a pop kid following the charts and all the exciting new music at the time -- and then this comes along.

Ordinarily, I love a bit of a Jesusy sing-song and an inappropriate Number One is always fun and I don't hate the song, but her delivery makes this version hard to warm to.

Here's a very interesting post from the comment section of the review:

It isn’t quite the fault of the song, nor of its writers, one of whom was Kris Kristofferson, nobody’s idea of a right-wing demagogue. But “One Day At A Time” as sung by Martell is a deliberate throwback – and starkly so in this company – to the 1967/8 of Jones and Humperdinck, even to the extent of appearing on the Pye label, by then nearing the end of its tenure and tether, and maybe even to the 1955 of Ruby Murray. Although, despite the general futurist outlook of the 1979 charts, there were a number of country-pop hits ... Martell stood for something beyond that.

In particular, being Scottish, she stood for the lachrymose country-MoR which, as I’ve mentioned previously, was the majority music in West Central Scotland, blended with the residue of folk memory; thus the Alexander Brothers (the biggest selling singles act in Scotland in 1964, including the Beatles), and thus also Cleland’s finest, Sydney Devine, specialising in sickly son-of-the-Parish ballads or gruesome weepies about long-lost silver-haired grannies recently having passed away. I can’t remember what provoked the national crossover success of “One Day At A Time” though would guess that Radio 2 probably had something to do with it. Martell was already a long-established star in Scotland, but in its God-fearing lyric and God-dreading stentorian vocal, there is a nasty tinge of Thatcher’s Revenge about it all – one recalls Thatcher, on her first afternoon as Prime Minister, on the steps of Number Ten blaspheming Francis of Assisi and simultaneously muttering in dread about “being swamped by an alien culture.” Martell croons it authoritatively, even though it’s a plea by an insecure singer for Jesus to see her through every painful day, to help battle an unspecified demon, to stop her from killing herself, though puts special emphasis on the lines “Jesus, you know if you’re looking below/It’s worse now than then/Cheatin’ and stealin’/Violence and crime.”

But she doesn’t sing it in the voice of a desperate woman; rather in the tones of a stern schoolmarm, bearing a fundamentalist Calvinist delivery which brooks neither question nor debate. If Johnny Cash had sung the song, as he probably did do, you could have believed every fibre and grain of his voice. Martell’s performance, however, is entirely bereft of any real passion, or genuine concern, or humour, or sex, or any of these other Satanic fripperies which actually make life worth possessing and prolonging. For two far more illuminating epiphanies I would suggest turning to PiL’s “Death Disco,” one of the greatest singles ever to make the Top 20, a simultaneous Irish wake and a terrible roar of paroxysmal grief as Lydon watches his mother in the hospital bed, slowly and irreversibly dying, helpless and angrier than he’d ever been on record, before or since; his screams of “I see it in your EYES” are genuinely terminal. And then, taking into consideration “One Day At A Time”’s references to “Yesterday’s gone” and “Tomorrow may never be mine,” we may reverse to that other Kristofferson-penned prayer, “Help Me Make It Through The Night” as performed by Gladys Knight in one of the greatest female vocal performances of the 20th century, complete with its “Little Drummer Boy” bugle quotes, its stroking, caressing harp, and its shattered plea for a one-night stand, a drug, anything to stop the fucking loneliness and despair. In comparison, Lena Martell flees unwanted shadows. Where’s Lena Horne when you need her?

 

[Angela Channing]

That's an interesting take. I think the writer is talking from his own subjective position as a pop kid following the charts and all the exciting new music at the time -- and then this comes along.

Ordinarily, I love a bit of Jesusy sing-song and an inappropriate Number One is always fun and I don't hate the song, but her delivery makes this version hard to warm to.

Here's a very interesting post from the comment section of the review:

It isn’t quite the fault of the song, nor of its writers, one of whom was Kris Kristofferson, nobody’s idea of a right-wing demagogue. But “One Day At A Time” as sung by Martell is a deliberate throwback – and starkly so in this company – to the 1967/8 of Jones and Humperdinck, even to the extent of appearing on the Pye label, by then nearing the end of its tenure and tether, and maybe even to the 1955 of Ruby Murray. Although, despite the general futurist outlook of the 1979 charts, there were a number of country-pop hits ... Martell stood for something beyond that.

In particular, being Scottish, she stood for the lachrymose country-MoR which, as I’ve mentioned previously, was the majority music in West Central Scotland, blended with the residue of folk memory; thus the Alexander Brothers (the biggest selling singles act in Scotland in 1964, including the Beatles), and thus also Cleland’s finest, Sydney Devine, specialising in sickly son-of-the-Parish ballads or gruesome weepies about long-lost silver-haired grannies recently having passed away. I can’t remember what provoked the national crossover success of “One Day At A Time” though would guess that Radio 2 probably had something to do with it. Martell was already a long-established star in Scotland, but in its God-fearing lyric and God-dreading stentorian vocal, there is a nasty tinge of Thatcher’s Revenge about it all – one recalls Thatcher, on her first afternoon as Prime Minister, on the steps of Number Ten blaspheming Francis of Assisi and simultaneously muttering in dread about “being swamped by an alien culture.” Martell croons it authoritatively, even though it’s a plea by an insecure singer for Jesus to see her through every painful day, to help battle an unspecified demon, to stop her from killing herself, though puts special emphasis on the lines “Jesus, you know if you’re looking below/It’s worse now than then/Cheatin’ and stealin’/Violence and crime.”

But she doesn’t sing it in the voice of a desperate woman; rather in the tones of a stern schoolmarm, bearing a fundamentalist Calvinist delivery which brooks neither question nor debate. If Johnny Cash had sung the song, as he probably did do, you could have believed every fibre and grain of his voice. Martell’s performance, however, is entirely bereft of any real passion, or genuine concern, or humour, or sex, or any of these other Satanic fripperies which actually make life worth possessing and prolonging. For two far more illuminating epiphanies I would suggest turning to PiL’s “Death Disco,” one of the greatest singles ever to make the Top 20, a simultaneous Irish wake and a terrible roar of paroxysmal grief as Lydon watches his mother in the hospital bed, slowly and irreversibly dying, helpless and angrier than he’d ever been on record, before or since; his screams of “I see it in your EYES” are genuinely terminal. And then, taking into consideration “One Day At A Time”’s references to “Yesterday’s gone” and “Tomorrow may never be mine,” we may reverse to that other Kristofferson-penned prayer, “Help Me Make It Through The Night” as performed by Gladys Knight in one of the greatest female vocal performances of the 20th century, complete with its “Little Drummer Boy” bugle quotes, its stroking, caressing harp, and its shattered plea for a one-night stand, a drug, anything to stop the loneliness and despair. In comparison, Lena Martell flees unwanted shadows. Where’s Lena Horne when you need her?

I agree that her delivery of the song isn't great as it doesn't really capture the essence of what the song is all about but there must have been a reason why a religious song would top the charts for many weeks in 1979 when it's hard to imagine it would do so in any other era in my lifetime, even just a few years earlier or later than when it was a hit.

It's success was largely down to the song and not the singer, although I might not be giving her enough credit as I understand country music is more popular in Scotland than it is in England and I have no idea what her popularity was beyond that particular song.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I had expected this song to be Kelly's first #1 UK hit...

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I think the writer is talking from his own subjective position as a pop kid following the charts and all the exciting new music at the time -- and then this comes along.

Along those lines it's quite fun to watch the young TOTP audience as Lena sings.

At first they don't seem to know what to make of her or how to act and it's all a bit awkward. But then just over halfway through they realise they can see themselves on the monitors and start enjoying themselves, perhaps forgetting altogether that Lena's there .

 

[James from London]

Along those lines it's quite fun to watch the young TOTP audience as Lena sings.

At first they don't seem to know what to make of her or how to act and it's all a bit awkward. But then just over halfway through they realise they can see themselves on the monitors and start enjoying themselves, perhaps forgetting altogether that Lena's there .

Oh yes, the TOTP audience are always extremely good value (at least until those terrible dancing cheerleaders, Zoo, appear sometime in the '80s and start taking over.)

 

[Ome]

1981

Japanese Boy – Aneka

"Japanese Boy" is a hit single by Scottish singer Aneka, released in 1981. The song became her highest charting release, reaching number one in several countries including the UK. The song's success would eventually lead audiences to associate Aneka closely with both the lyrics' subject matter as well as the kimono that she wore during some televised performances of the song, associations that she found difficult to discard as her career proceeded.

Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Neil Ross, the song was recorded by Scottish folk singer Mary Sandeman. Realising that the name didn't fit the song, they decided to come up with a name to put to the single. Leafing through the telephone directory, they came upon the name of Aneka. This was then released as a single and Sandeman came up with a Japanese image under which to perform the song. To their surprise, the song became a major hit when it eventually reached No. 1 in August 1981. The song went on to become a hit all over Europe and beyond, although according to Sandeman, it failed to chart in Japan itself because according to the Japan office of her record label, Hansa, the song "sounded too Chinese."



The success of the single proved to be a problem however, as Sandeman was left with a dilemma of what to do as a follow-up, now that her image was so firmly associated with one song. She modified her image and kept the Aneka name, but future single releases failed to chart highly in the UK, although she did score two follow-up hits in many countries in Europe.



The song was released on 7" and as an extended 12" version and featured on Aneka's debut — and only — album, released later in 1981. "Japanese Boy" sold almost half a million copies in the UK, making it one of the best-selling singles of 1981, and the second-best seller by a solo female artist (behind Kim Wilde's "Kids in America").



Sandeman featured in a 2006 Channel 4 documentary titled Bring Back the One Hit Wonders. Justin Lee Collins attempted to organise a one-off performance of as many 'one hit wonders' as possible but despite getting in touch with Sandeman, she declined to take part as she didn't want to travel to London from her home in Scotland and had 'no desire' to perform the hit that made her place in pop history. She said though that "Japanese Boy" sold 5 million copies around the world



1984

I Should Have Known Better - Jim Diamond

"I Should Have Known Better" was a UK number one single for one week in December 1984 for Jim Diamond. The song was displaced after one week by Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song "The Power of Love". Diamond publicly requested that people not buy his single, but instead buy "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

"I Should Have Known Better" was re-recorded for Diamond's 1993 solo album Jim Diamond. He recorded the song a third time for his 2005 single "Blue Shoes", which also featured a re-recording of "I Won't Let You Down" and covers of old soul songs such as "My Girl".

 

[James from London]

Japanese Boy – Aneka

'As a memory from the dawn of my pop life it had an allure – helped by the fact that it’s very catchy and Aneka has a piercingly pretty voice – but coming at it chronologically, having worked through the late 70s and early 80s, it’s uncomfortably clear that “Japanese Boy” is subject to grievous diminishing returns. The syndrums are especially grating – telegraphing the singalong chorus like an unpleasant nudge in the ribs, and draining away any feeling or empathy that might have carried over from the more heartfelt (“a word of explanation – that’s all!”) verses. Plus the orientalist arrangements don’t really mesh with the galumphing rhythm: the overall impression is of a record on the nasty end of cheap, slapdashery defeating an otherwise jolly bit of bubblegum. 4/10'

ANEKA – “Japanese Boy” | FreakyTrigger

freakytrigger.co.uk

I Should Have Known Better - Jim Diamond

'“I Should Have Known Better” wants to be a big-striding alpha power ballad but doesn’t quite have the gumption ... the song is sturdy, chest-beating guilt pop which never quite escapes the stocky shadow of Phil Collins. But while Collins at his ugly best captures the rage and frustration lurking behind male regret, Diamond is just a bit of a sad sack, appealing though his chewy Scots vowels are. You clap him sympathetically on the shoulders with one hand while sneakily checking your watch on the other. 4/10'

JIM DIAMOND – “I Should Have Known Better” | FreakyTrigger

freakytrigger.co.uk