The 70s: The Era of British Glam Rock
At the beginning of the 1970s, I was in my early teens, an excellent age to appreciate a new phenomenon about to hit the British airwaves: Glam Rock
At the time Glam was a joke. Those of us with Sweet
The American version related more to the Velvet Underground and the Stooges. However, just listen to "Action" by the Sweet or anything by T-Rex or Alice Cooper
The history of Glam is documented here by its appearances in the UK charts of the time. Why use the charts as a guide? Because, if you weren't in the charts you weren't glam enough!
What is Glam Rock?
The History of Glam Rock
The whos, whats, whys, whens and hows of Glam Rock.
Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a sub-genre of rock music that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots."MSN Encarta article for "Glam rock." Available at http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561509274/glam_rock.html Accessed on March 11, 2008 The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, theatrical blend of nostalgic references to science fiction and old movies, all over a guitar-driven hard rock sound.
Largely a British phenomenon, glam rock peaked during the mid 1970s. The "most famous exponents" of the movement were "Queen, Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Gary Glitter and the bands Sweet and Slade." MSN Encarta article for "Glam rock." Available at http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561509274/glam_rock.html Accessed on March 11, 2008 Other influential performers include Alice Cooper, Kiss, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, Mud, Mott the Hoople, The Glitter Band, Brian Eno and Suzi Quatro.
1970: Marc Bolan ~ Glam's First Sighting
T.Rex: The Glam Persona
In late 1970, the pioneers of Glam Rock achieved their first chart hit in that genre.Formally Tyrannosaurus Rex, T.Rex had dented the UK Top 40 with a couple of whimsical ditties in the late Sixties, but it was "Ride A White Swan" (the single which marked a change from acoustic to electric guitars), that started their avalanche of Top 5 Glam hits.
The diminutive Marc Bolan fronted the band and the story goes that before an appearance on Britain's "Top of the Pops" TV show, he decided to add two spots of glitter under his eyes. As a result many mark this moment as the arrival of the era of Glam (or glitter) Rock.
Discography (for this period)
As T.Rex
1970 Ride a White Swan - UK #2 (#76 in the US)
1971 Hot Love - UK #1 (#72 in the US)
1971 Get It On - UK #1 (#10 in the US - Retitled Bang A Gong)
1971 Jeepster - UK #2
1972 Telegram Sam - UK #1 (#67 in the US)
1972 Metal Guru - UK #1
1972 Children of the Revolution - UK #2
1972 Solid Gold Easy Action - UK #2
1973 20th Century Boy - UK #3
1973 The Groover - UK #4
1973 Truck On (Tyke) - UK #12
Marc Bolan and T.Rex
1974 Teenage Dream - UK #13
T.Rex
1974 Light of Love - UK #22
1974 Zip Gun Boogie - UK #41
1975 New York City - UK #15
T.Rex Disco Party
1975 Dreamy Lady - UK #30
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Where Are They Now?
Marc Bolan was killed when his vehicle, driven by girlfriend Gloria Jones, hit a tree in Barnes, South West London, less than a mile from his home. He died two weeks before his 30th birthday on September 16, 1977.
Mickey Finn, percussionist and bass player, formed a new version of T.Rex in 1997, after having left the original band in 1975. He passed away in January, 2003 at the age of 55 from liver problems.
T.Rex: On Video - Get It On!
T.Rex - The Greatest Hits
ride a white swan
Marc Bolan & T.Rex - "Children Of The Revolution"
T-Rex Bang A Gong (Get it On)
Marc Bolan & T Rex - Hot Love
20th Century Boy
T.rex Telegram Sam
t rex metal guru
T.Rex 'The Groover'
T.Rex 'Jeepster'
T.Rex Music Video ~ Solid Gold Easy Action
More About Marc Bolan & T.Rex
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Marc Bolan & T.Rex
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The saga of Marc Bolan (born 30 September, 1947 - died 16 September, 1977), leader of glam rock group T.Rex, is one of a spunky little dreamer who looked and played the part of an elvish minstrel; whose bizarre voice and songs were dismissed by criti...
Marc Bolan Tribute
The Talent of Marc Bolan
Great Marc Bolan & T.Rex Deals
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1971: A Sweet Year For Glam
The Sweet Hit the Charts
Although they had issued previous singles, it was not until they had teamed up with song writers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman that The Sweet were able to conquer the UK Top Ten. Their first hit "Funny Funny" just missed the upper ranks of the chart in March (Number 13), but their next single "Co-Co" took them to Number 2 and they continued to release Top 40 hits until 1978.
The earlier singles were simple bubblegum fayre, which didn't reflect the band's true identity as out and out rockers. It wasn't until the release of "Wig-Wam Bam", a Top 5 hit in September/October 1972, that their own sound started to emerge. This was the first A-Side under Chinn/Chapman on which they had played their own instruments, and while the song was still bubblegum orientated, it showed a harder edge to previous releases. This sound was built upon with the release of the group's next single "Block Buster", which occupied the Number 1 position at the beginning of 1973.
By 1974, The Sweet had grown weary with the stranglehold of Chinn/Chapman compositions and decided to sever the relationship and produce their own songs. They had always composed the B-Sides to the earlier singles, and these songs were really what the band was all about. The first single released during this period was "Turn It Down", which only managed to reach Number 41, due to a lack of airplay blamed on the lyrical content. However, they returned to the Top 5 in March/April 1975 with "Fox On the Run", the fifth of their singles that achieved a Number 2 placing. It would be another three years before the band would hit the Top 10 again, with "Love Is Like Oxygen", and this single would mark the final time the band enjoyed a British chart hit.
The Sweet were possibly one of the most underrated groups of the Glam era - their reputation being tarnished early on because they did not play their own instruments on their first few singles. However, they were Glam Rock giants and often mocked their own dress sense and sound on numerous TV appearances in the early Seventies.
The Sweet are perhaps best remembered for their early Glam stage clothing - glitter, platform boots, chain mail shirts, and makeup - practically defining the camp extreme of the glam rock look.
The Sweet Discography (Hit Singles 1971-1976)
1971 Funny Funny - #13 UK
1971 Co-Co - #2 UK
1971 Alexander Graham Bell - #33 UK
1972 Poppa Joe - #11 UK
1972 Little Willy - #4 UK
1972 Wig-Wam Bam - #4 UK
1973 Block Buster - #1 UK
1973 Hell Raiser - #2 UK
1973 The Ballroom Blitz - #2 UK
1974 Teenage Rampage - #2 UK
1974 The Six Teens - #9 UK
1974 Turn It Down - #41 UK
1974 Peppermint Twist/Rebel Rouser (Australia only double A-side) - #1 Australia.
1975 Fox On The Run - #2 UK
1975 Action - #15 UK
1976 The Lies In Your Eyes - #35 UK
The Sweet: On Video
The Sweet - The Greatest Hits
The Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
The SixTeens-Sweet
Wig Wam Bam
Little Willy
Sweet - Blockbuster - Fornikator
Sweet Co Co
Sweet Action
GLAM ROCK-- The Sweet -- Hell Raiser
The Sweet Music Video ~ Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
A Tribute to The Sweet
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The Sweet Glam Rock Video Showcase
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Glam Rock band, The Sweet (or Sweet, as the band later became known), was one of the premier groups from the Glam era of Seventies British commercial pop/rock music.
Great Sweet Deals
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1971: Slade Slay The Charts
Slade - Cum On Feel the Noize
Band members during this period:
Noddy Holder - Lead Vocals, guitar
Jim Lea - Bass, guitar, violin, piano, keyboard
Dave Hill - Lead Guitar, backing vocals
Don Powell - Drums
In the UK, they achieved 12 top five hits from 1971 to 1974, six of which topped the charts. In total, Slade had 17 Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976 including six Number Ones, three Number Twos and two Number Threes. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40, and Slade actually came the closest to emulating The Beatles' 22 Top Ten records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at No.1 and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s.
Partly due to changes in music trends and the advent of punk rock and New Wave music, Slade's success faded somewhat by the late 1970s. However, a new run of chart success occurred during the 1980s, though not on the large scale of their 1970s heights. Slade had another two UK Top Ten hits in 1984, with the singles "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My" (Number 2 UK, Number 36 US). "Run Runaway" reached Number 7 in the UK, and would be their second Top 40 hit in the USA - and their first since "Gudbuy T'Jane", which barely made the Billboard Top 40 in 1972.
Where Are They Now?
Noddy Holder is now the regular TV critic and reviewer for The Mark Radcliffe Show on BBC Radio 2, where the two often talk about Holder's rock star past. He also presents Dumber & Dumberest, which is broadcast in the UK on Five.
Jim Lea lives quietly out of the public eye in Brewood, a secluded area of rural Staffordshire, England.
Dave Hill decided to carry the group on as 'Slade II'. Don Powell and singer Steve Whalley joined him, among others, and they still tour Europe. In 1997 the name of Slade II was shortened back to Slade.
Don Powell: In 2004 he moved to Denmark where he now lives with his Danish girlfriend. Continues to play with Slade, along with Dave Hill.
Buy Slade posters and prints at Art.com
Slade Discography (Singles)
Slade - The Glam Years (1971-1976)
1971 Get Down And Get With It - UK #16
1971 Coz I Luv You - UK #1
1972 Look Wot You Dun - UK #4
1972 Take Me Back 'Ome - UK #1
1972 Mama Weer All Crazee Now - UK #1
1972 Gudbuy T' Jane UK - #2
1973 Cum on Feel the Noize UK - #1
1973 Skweeze Me Pleeze Me - UK #1
1973 My Friend Stan - UK #2
1973 Merry Xmas Everybody - UK #1
1974 Everyday - UK #3
1974 The Bangin' Man - UK #3
1974 Far Far Away - UK #2
1975 How Does It Feel - UK #15
1975 Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam) - UK #7
1975 In For A Penny - UK #11
1976 Let's Call It Quits - UK #11
1976 Nobody's Fool - Did Not Chart
Slade: On Video
Slade - The Greatest Hits
Slade- Cum On Feel The Noize
merry christmas everybody
The Slade - 05.My Friend Stan
The Slade - 08.Thanks For The Memory
Slade- Everyday
Slade - Bangin' Man
The Slade - 02.Mama Weer All
Far,Far Away
Slade-Gudbye To Jane
Slade Music Video ~ Look Wot You Dun
Music video from Slade, one of the truly great rock and roll bands of all time.
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Fabulous Slade Deals
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byOriginal Glam Rock Designs
Glam Rock Gifts and Collectibles
Now PROVE it!!
1972: Glitter & Glam - Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter - I'm the Leader of the Gang!
Gary Glitter
The Ultimate, 25 Years Of Hits
His style blended glam rock with a driving, upbeat 1950s style rock and roll. Glitter
's most popular hits included "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)", "Do You Wanna Touch (Oh Yeah)" and "I Love You Love Me Love". His "Another Rock And Roll Christmas" remains one of the UK's Top 30 Christmas hits of all time, and despite some serious personal problems, Glitter's career produced 21 hit singles in the UK, earning him a position among the Top 100 most successful British chart artists.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Glitter experienced a career revival, but this was cut short by his arrest on child pornography charges in 1997. After a lengthy investigation and trial, he was convicted in 1999 and served a short jail term.
Where Is He Now?
In November 2005, Glitter was arrested in Vietnam for committing obscene acts with two young girls. On 3 March 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Discography (1970s Singles 1972-1975)
1972 Rock and Roll (Parts 1 and 2) - #2 UK; #7 U.S.; #1 France
1972 I Didn't Know I Loved You (Til I Saw You Rock 'n' Roll) - #4 UK; #35 U.S.
1973 Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah) - #2 UK (Spent three months in the UK Top 20)
1973 Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again - #2 UK (Spent two months in the Top 10)
1973 I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) - #1 UK four weeks at #1, (Spent two months in the Top 10)
1973 I Love You Love Me Love - #1 UK (Spent three months in the Top 10)
1974 Remember Me This Way - #3 UK (Spent six weeks in the Top 20)
1974 Always Yours - #1 UK (Spent two months in the Top 20)
1974 Oh Yes! You're Beautiful - #2 UK (Spent two months in the Top 20)
1975 Love Like You and Me - #10 UK
1975 Doing Alright with the Boys - #6 UK
1975 Papa Oom Mow Mow - #38 UK
Gary Glitter - The No.3 Glam Rock Star
Gary Glitter On Video
Gary Glitter - The Greatest Hits
Gary Glitter-Leader of the Gang
Gary Glitter-Your Beautiful
Gary Glitter - I Love You Love
Gary Glitter-Hello Hello Im Back Again
Gary Glitter: I Didn't Know I Loved You!
Gary Glitter-Remember Me This Way
Gary Glitter-Always Yours
Gary Glitter-Best Male Artist Of 1975
Gary Glitter - Love Like You and Me
Gary Glitter Music Video ~ Rock & Roll Pt. 2
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1972: David Bowie's Glam Persona
David Bowie - The Ziggy Stardust Period
The 1973 album, "Aladdin Sane", was Bowie's first Number One album in the UK. "Aladdin Sane" included the UK Number Two hit "The Jean Genie", the UK Number Three hit "Drive-In Saturday", and a rendition of The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together".
"Pin Ups", a collection of his versions of 1960s hits, was released in 1973, giving Bowie a UK Number Three hit in "Sorrow" and itself peaking at Number One. This resulted in David Bowie becoming the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK.
By this time, Bowie was trying to escape from his Ziggy persona. Bowie's own back catalogue was now highly sought. "The Man Who Sold the World" had been re-released in 1972 along with the second David Bowie album ("Space Oddity"), whilst Hunky Dory's "Life on Mars?" was released as a single in 1973 and made Number Three in the UK, the same year Bowie's record from 1967, "The Laughing Gnome", hit Number Six.
1974 saw Bowie discarding his Glam Rock image and creating his Thin White Duke persona and his brief move into soul and R'n'B.
Singles Discography (1972-1975)
1972 Changes - Did Not Chart
1972 Starman - #10 UK
1972 John, I'm Only Dancing - #12 UK
1972 The Jean Genie - #2 UK
1973 Drive-In Saturday - #3 UK
1973 Life on Mars? - #3 UK
1973 The Laughing Gnome - #6 UK (re-release)
1973 Sorrow - #3 UK
1974 Rebel Rebel - #5 UK
1974 Rock 'N' Roll Suicide - #22 UK
1974 Diamond Dogs - #21 UK
1974 Knock on Wood (live) - #10 UK
1975 Young Americans - #18 UK
1975 Fame - #17 UK, #1 US
1975 Space Oddity - (re-issue) #1 UK
1975 Golden Years - #8 UK
Buy David Bowie posters and prints at Art.com
David Bowie On Video
David Bowie - The Glam Hits
David Bowie- Starman
David Bowie - Life On Mars?
David Bowie - Rebel Rebel
David Bowie - Oh You Pretty Things
David Bowie - Jean Genie
John, I'm Only Dancing
David Bowie Music Video ~ Drive-In Saturday
Great David Bowie Bargains
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1972: Roxy Music
Roxy Music - Art Rock Meets Glam Rock
Bryan Ferry and his band Roxy Music
Further hit singles followed during the Glam Rock period. The band then entered the 1980s with a smoother, soulful sound and even more success.
Here, you can read the history of the band.
Roxy Music is an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry (vocals and keyboards). The other members are Phil Manzanera (guitars), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe) and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). Former members include Brian Eno (synthesizer and "treatments"), and Eno's replacement Eddie Jobson (synthesizer and violin). Extant from 1971 through 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and have announced that they are recording a new alb...
Roxy Music Discography
- Roxy Music Discography
To read the full discography for the group, please click on the link above.
Roxy Music On Video
The Glam Hits - Roxy Music
Roxy Music Do the Strand
LOM Soundtrack: Roxy music- Street Life
ROXY MUSIC - Old Grey Whistle Test
Roxy Music Video ~ Love is the Drug
Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug
Great Roxy Music Deals
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1972: Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper - Macabre Glam Rock
The Best Of Alice Cooper:
Mascara & Monsters
The band's mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out amongst the denim-clad hippy bands of the time. Their first hit single in the USA was 1971's "I'm Eighteen" (not a UK chart hit), and its success together with their North American tour of 1971 - which also saw their first tour of Europe to massive success - was enough encouragement for their record label to offer them a new multi-album contract.
By mid-1972 the Alice Cooper stage shows had become infamous due to concerts which featured a boa constrictor hugging Furnier onstage, the murderous axe chopping of bloodied "dead babies", and by then, the choice of onstage execution had developed into death by hanging - The Gallows. That summer saw the release of the single "School's Out". It went Top 10 in the US and was a Number One single in the UK. Their smash hit had arrived.
"Billion Dollar Babies", released in February 1973, was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching No.1 in both the US and the UK. "Elected", a 1972 Top 10 UK hit included on the album was followed by two more UK Top 10 singles, "Hello Hooray" and "No More Mr Nice Guy", the latter being the last UK single from the album. It reached No.25 in the US. The title track, featuring guest vocals by Donovan, was also a US hit single.
"Muscle of Love", released at the end of 1973, was to be the last studio album from the classic line-up, and marked Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 single of the 1970s with "Teenage Lament '74".
Classic Alice Cooper discs for this period:
School's Out
Under My Wheels
Billion Dollar Babies
Be My Lover
Desperado
Is It My Body?
Only Women Bleed
Elected
I'm Eighteen
Hello, Hooray
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Teenage Lament '74
Muscle of Love
Department of Youth
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Alice Cooper On Video
Alice Cooper - Classic Songs From the '70s
Alice Cooper Elected
Alice Cooper - Hello Hooray (Promo)
Alice Cooper - School's out 1972
Alice Cooper Music Video ~ No More Mr. Nice Guy
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Great Alice Cooper Memorabilia
Find Alice Cooper Deals
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byA Glam Rock Video Treat
ELO, Mott The Hoople & Roxy Music
ELO (Electric Light Orchestra
): The band was formed from the ashes of The Move which had actually been playing in a style very similar to Glam for years. The first ELO incarnation included The Move's Roy Wood, and their first chart hit, "10538 Overture", was a beautiful over the top meisterwork. Superstardom followed for the band under a different guise, without Roy Wood, who would embrace the Glam Rock movement with a band of his own.Mott The Hoople
were about to give up the ghost. They had made 3 flop albums and had reached an all time low. However, David Bowie saw them at a show in Croydon, England and gave them a song that became an instant and massive hit: "All The Young Dudes". It's since gone on to be a rock classic, and at the same time re-launched Mott The Hoople into the bigtime. Their success was fairly shortlived, however, with their last Top 20 single appearing in 1974, ironically called "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll".Roxy Music: Their debut single "Virginia Plain", which reached No.4 in the British charts, was a powerhouse glam rock anthem which was to exert a strong influence on the generation of musicians who became the leaders of the later punk rock movement. The band's striking visual image, captured in their memorable debut performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops, became a cornerstone for the "Glam" trend in the UK. Further hits followed well into the 1980s, but none of these reflected the early years of Glam Rock than this first hit.
Please see above.
LOM Soundtracl: Track 5 ELO - 10538 overture
All The Young Dudes- Mott the Hoople-Juno Soundtrack
Roxy Music - Virginia Plain - 1972
Glam Rock Classics
The Bands That Personified Glam Rock
Slade in Flame
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The Best Of Alice Cooper: Mascara & Monsters
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The Best of Sweet
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Glitz, Blitz & Hitz
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20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection
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1972: Wizzard
Wizzard...Cast Their Spell On the UK Charts
The Wizzard!:
Greatest Hits & More
The EMI Years
, a bizarre group which debuted in the UK charts with "Ball Park Incident" in 1972.Greater success followed in the next year when Wizzard
landed two chart-toppers, "See My Baby Jive" and "Angel Fingers", (both of which can be enjoyed again in the videos below). Always melodic, Wood built his own wall of sound around these and other singles like "Rock and Roll Winter" and the Christmas favourite "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day".In the center of all this, Wood sported multi-colored beard and mane, added a star to his forehead, and covered his face with warpaint or innumerable other oddities. Wizzard
seemed to only maintain success with singles however, and folded when management decided not to increase financing.Wood also maintained a solo presence alongside his band and managed a couple of hit singles before disappearing from the charts. Enjoy these examples below.
Singles Discography
1972 Ball Park Incident - #6 UK
1973 See My Baby Jive - #1 UK
1973 Angel Fingers - #1 UK
1973 I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - #4 UK & 1981 #41 UK
1974 Rock 'N' Roll Winter - #6 UK
1974 This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby) - #34 UK
1974 Are You Ready to Rock - #8 UK
1975 Rattlesnake Roll (Did Not Chart).
1976 Indiana Rainbow (Did Not Chart).
wizzard- Roy Wood Ball park incident
Wizzard - I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday
Wizzard (Roy Wood) - Angel Fingers
Wizzard - Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Loony's Tune)
Roy wood - forever
WIZZARD Are You Ready To Rock
Wizzard Music Video ~ See My Baby Jive
Great Roy Wood & Wizzard Deals
Find Your Wizzard Bargain
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by1973: Mud
...Hits The Fan
Their musical competency and visual presentation - particularly Rob Davis' willingness to ornament himself with dangling jewelry - positioned them perfectly for the glam-rock boom, and the Nicky Chinn-Mike Chapman songs (The Sweet's writers) made for catchy singles.
Mud's ride at the top was a short one, not even three years from start to finish before they disappeared from the charts. The band never intended to have a long or lasting impact on music, just help people have a good time.
Singles Discography: All UK Chart Positions
1973 Crazy - #12
1973 Hypnosis - #16
1973 Dyna-mite - #4
1974 Tiger Feet - #1
1974 The Cat Crept In - #2
1974 Rocket - #6
1974 Lonely This Christmas - #1
1975 The Secrets That You Keep - #3
1975 Oh Boy - #1
1975 Moonshine Sally - #10
1975 One Night - #32
1975 L'L'Lucy - #10
1975 Show Me You're a Woman - #8
1976 Nite on the Tiles (Did not chart)
1976 Beating Round the Bush (Did not chart)
1976 Shake It Down - #12
1976 Lean on Me - #7
Mud-Crazy
Lonely this christmas
Mud-Dynamite
Mud-Cat crept in
Mud Rocket
mud - shake it down
Mud secets that you keep
Lean on me
Oh Boy
