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tamijo 
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
 Topic: Top selling 40 years backPosted: July 24 2013 at 08:05 |
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http://www.officialcharts.com/archive/
From time to time, we have the question, was the top selling albums back then, actualy prog ?
So i thought i would try to find out.
So this is the top 10 sellng albums in the UK this week, back in 71 - 72 -73
Judge for yourself, is it what you would expect.
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 24 2013 at 08:18 |
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74-76
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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chopper
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 24 2013 at 08:45 |
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there is a smattering of prog there but ELP, Yes and Tull were massive bands at the time. It also shows a healthy(?) fan base for MOR (anyone remember Peters and Lee?) and glam rock.
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 24 2013 at 08:58 |
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Most surprising to me is Wakeman that high selling, not the least bit easy to get into.
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 24 2013 at 09:02 |
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BarryGlibb
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 28 2010 Location: Melbourne, Oz Status: Offline Points: 1781 |
Posted: July 24 2013 at 22:03 |
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Interesting to see that "Foreigner" by Cat Stevens actually made it to number 9. I thought it had been totally over looked at the time. It's actually my favourite Cat album and gets as close to Prog as he ever got.
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richardh
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 26108 |
Posted: July 25 2013 at 01:42 |
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Two Demis Roussos albums in the charts in 1976 , must have been the height of popularity for the 'Singing tent' . I doubt most his fans at the time were aware he was in a prog band and played bass! Also Nana Mouskouri in the charts. Vangelis albums were also decent sellers from 1975 to about 1983. 'Greek music' was on a high
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 25 2013 at 07:01 |
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richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 26108 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 01:54 |
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I think you are right on Forever and ever although amusingly a breakfast TV presenter thought it was Julio Iglesias that recorded this. 666 is one of my favourite albums. A double concept album recorded in 1971 , its remarkable 'out there' stuff. All The Seats Were Occupied is an absolute monster of a prog track. Pity the album only became well known (perhaps even notorious) for the 'orgasm song' which genuinely meant to display an exorcism. Irene Papas (featured) also recorded a couple of very nice albums with Vangelis btw.
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 06:01 |
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Yup, that's exactly as I remember it - 90% of the chart was stuff I'd never buy and what was left was a mix of AOR, glam and Prog. Charts are like ice bergs, you only see the tip, and the sales figures tend to be exponential with the #1 album selling considerably more than the #2 which in turn sells appreciably more than the #3 ... until you get to the lower regions where the difference between #39 and #40 is a only a few albums and what sits below that are all teh other albums released that week, that month that are selling between nothing and not very much by comparison.
So when you see one or two "prog" albums in the chart it is indicative of a whole ice berg of prog albums sitting below the waterline, just as the popularity of Florence + The Machine or The Fleet Foxes in the charts of recent years is indicative of a greater populartity of indie rock / baroque pop than the charts alone would suggest.
People moan that the charts today are full of crap, and I have regularily replied that they've always been full of crap - the charts reflect what everyone is buying, not just what educated middle class teenage white boys are buying.
I remember Peters and Lee - he was blind and she was blond, they sang stuff your mum would have liked, I believe they were TV talent show winners (Opportunity Knocks), which is another example of nothing changes.
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What?
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Snow Dog
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 23 2005 Location: Caerdydd Status: Offline Points: 32995 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 06:05 |
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AS I rember it too. Mostly crap.
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 06:36 |
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Beautiful Noise - Niel Diamond :
Hell may be that was the birth of Industrial/Noise Rock ??
 Edited by tamijo - July 26 2013 at 06:37 |
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 06:43 |
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Beautiful Noise was a good album, and produced by Robbie Roberstson, which gives it some rock cred.
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What?
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 06:47 |
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Honestly dosent know the album, love Robbie's solo stuff.
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 07:43 |
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How true.
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Blacksword
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 22 2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 16130 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 07:48 |
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1972 had quite a good list of top sellers; Slade, Simon & Garfunkal, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper & ELP AND Bowie. The only real fly in the ointment - imo - being Elvis, but hey...
 I doubt many years can boast such good top sellers. Can you imagine how bad it was by 1977..  ...and beyond..
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Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 08:06 |
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1974 pretty good too
Anyway here is the answer 78-80-82 (Not much worse than the previus 3-blocks in my book but that offcourse will depend on what albums you like, I like the Marley, Lizzy, Armatrading, Kate B, Plant and Roxy albums here)
Also remember this is only the week of around July 25, can be better weeks, and worse weeks.
 Edited by tamijo - July 26 2013 at 08:12 |
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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Cactus Choir
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 26 2008 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 1035 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 09:20 |
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Yes the 1972 and 1974 charts look the best out of that lot and although 1973 is supposed to be Prog's banner year, not one full on prog album in that chart. The charts have always been a reflection of what your mum and dad buy as well as "the kids". Englebert Humperdinck was number one in the UK singles chart in 1967 for 11 weeks and broke the Beatles run of chart toppers by keeping Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane at number 2.
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"And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"
"He's up the pub" |
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 10:00 |
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It's only 1 week's chart though. I'll bet there were a lot of prog albums in the chart over the whole year,
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 19942 |
Posted: July 26 2013 at 10:00 |
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Git.
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Top selling 40 years back
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tamijo wrote: