GOLDEN HOUR: FEBRUARY 1975

Glitter Band, Queen, Alvin Stardust, Stevie Wonder, The Carpenters and more.

UK Top 40 5 March 1977

Elvis Presley, Detroit Spinners, Fleetwood Mac, Brotherhood Of Man, Van McCoy and more. Welcome to the UK Top 40 for week ending 5th March 1977. Its actually a top 39. I didn't have the new entry at number 34 namely Les Gray (he of 'Mud' fame) called 'Groovy Kind Of Love'. However, the remaining 39 chart hits are here with a few 1960 jingles mixed in. Starting at track 1 will be chart position 40 and ending at track 39 with the chart position 1. In between are hits nobody plays and are by and large seen as obscure hits.

 

In The 1970s Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson was born in the UK back in 1950 and in the 1970s made a big name for himself as a protester in song. Tom knew he was gay from about thirteen years of age and  led him to a nervous breakdown later in his teen years.

In 1973 he moved to London  and became a member of a group called Cafe Society and had an unsuccessful recording session with Ray Kinks. When that failed Tom became a well known member of the London gay scene in 1976. It was at this time he formed his group the Tom Robinson Band which also included Danny Kustow who would later join Jam.

Other members included Brian Taylor who appeared on New Faces in 1976 with a group that included Annie Lennox.  Two other members of Tom Robinson Band were Mark Ambler and Stan Tracey.

 In 1978they had an EP in the charts which had on it the song Glad To Be Gay and dates back to 1976 when Tom wrote the song for that years Gay Pride. The song was banned by the BBC and is now considered a gay anthem. The other track on the EP was Don't Take No For An Answer which received most of the air play.

Here is Tom in a 1978 interview

The last single for the group was a smaller hit only getting to No. 33 with Up Against The Wall.

Years later Tom is now married.