1971 ~ Best Selling Singles (UK)

This song is taken from Harrison's UK number one hit triple album "All Things Must Pass". Session musicians on the track included Eric Clapton.

When released as a single, "My Sweet Lord" topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. In October 1970, Harrison told the British press that it was going to be his first solo single, but a few days later he changed his mind and said it would not be made available thus, as he did not want sales in that format to detract from those of the album. It was released as a single in the US on 23 November 1970. Within a few weeks, EMI and Apple Records bowed to media and public demand, and the UK release followed on 15 January 1971.

Entering the British charts in its first week at No.7 and then hitting the summit for five weeks, it was the first single by an ex-Beatle to reach No.1. It did so again in the UK when reissued in January 2002 after Harrison's death from cancer.

"Maggie May" was recorded by Stewart in 1971 for his album "Every Picture Tells A Story".

It was initially released in the UK as the B-side of the single "Reason to Believe", but DJs became more fond of the B-side and, after two weeks in the chart, the song was flipped with "Maggie May" as the A-side.

In October 1971, the single went to Number One in the UK, and simultaneously topped the charts in the United States; "Every Picture Tells a Story" achieved the same feat at the same time -- something achieved by only a handful of performers, notably The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Beyonce.

In 2004 Rolling Stone ranked the song #130 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Written by Lally Stott, this song was a minor hit in Italy and Australia for the composer, as well as on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it charted, but failed to achieve significant success, as the cover by Mac and Katie Kissoon became more popular.

Stott's record company were reluctant to release it overseas, so he offered it to Scottish folk-pop group Middle Of The Road, who were working in Italy at the time. The song became a massive hit in Europe initially, and then repeated this feat in the UK as returning holidaymakers searched out a copy.

However, It nearly flopped in the UK, as Mac and Katie Kissoon released their version just before them, but aided by incessant radio airplay, it became a huge hit. It reached No.1 in the UK for five weeks in June 1971.

The Kissoon version failed to chart in the UK, but reached No.20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Knock Three Times" was released as a single by Dawn in November 1970, paired with their other hit song "Candida".

The single hit Number One in the UK in May 1971. It eventually sold nine million copies, having also claimed the Number One spot in the US in January.

It was covered by Billy "Crash" Craddock the same year, and became a Number One country hit.

"Hot Love" was T.Rex's first UK Number One, staying at the top for six weeks from March 1971, while it fared less well in the USA, where it peaked at Number 72.

It was also the first T.Rex single to feature both a bass guitar and drums. Its success was propelled by a legendary "Top of the Pops" TV appearance, where front man Marc Bolan appeared in androgynous clothes and covered in glitter, thus inventing the style that came to be known as Glam Rock.

Written by brothers Idris and Evan Jones, "The Pushbike Song" was released in 1970 and reached the top spot for 2 weeks in the Australian charts in March 1971.

It also proved popular in the UK too, reaching the Number 2 position on the 16th January (beaten to Number One by George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord").

Originally recorded by US group Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, "Never Ending Song of Love" was picked up in the UK by The New Seekers, who turned the song into a more pop friendly recording.

The single peaked at No.2, where it stayed for five consecutive weeks during August and September.

"I'm Still Waiting" first appeared on Ross' 1971 album "Everything Is Everything".

It was a mild success in the US, reaching No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. However, in the UK singles chart, it reached No.1 for four weeks in August 1971, prompting a re-title in the UK of the album "Surrender" to the title "I'm Still Waiting".

Although initially intended only as an album track, BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Tony Blackburn featured it heavily on his morning program and persuaded EMI, who then issued all Tamla Motown material in the UK, to release it as a single.

The No. 9 bestseller was T.Rex and "Get It On" which was the second UK Number One song for the British Glam Rock group.

While it only spent four weeks at the top in the UK, it was the group's biggest hit overall, selling nearly a million copies in the UK.

It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at Number 10 in January 1972, under the title "Bang A Gong", becoming the band's only major US hit.

The No.10 song was a re-release by The Tams, "Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me".

It was originally released in 1964 and became a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 reaching No.41. It would have then lapsed into obscurity, but became a favorite on the Northern Soul scene in the UK, and belatedly reached No.1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September 1971.