The

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

is one of many music charts compiled by the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the

during

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, as well as singles which peaked in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

but were in the top 10 in 1973. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced). One-hundred and twenty-eight singles were in the top ten in 1973. Eight singles from 1972 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "

The Show Must Go On "The show must go on" is a phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phra ...

" by Leo Sayer and " You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" by The New Seekers featuring

Lyn Paul Lyn Paul (born Lynda Susan Belcher; 16 February 1949) is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group the New Seekers in the early 1970s. She has more recently found success and criti ...

were both released in 1973 but did not reach their peak until 1974. "

Nights in White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album ''Days of Future Passed''. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 ...

" by The Moody Blues, "Shotgun Wedding" by

Roy C Roy Charles Hammond (August 3, 1939 – September 16, 2020), better known as Roy C or Roy "C", was an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, "Shotgun Wedding". Another song, " Impeach the Pres ...

and "

Solid Gold Easy Action "Solid Gold Easy Action" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single on 1 December 1972 and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included on the 1972 ''G ...

" by T. Rex were the singles from 1972 to reach their peak in 1973. Twenty-nine artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1973. David Essex, Leo Sayer,

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

and Wizzard were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1973. The 1972

Christmas number-one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

, "

Long Haired Lover from Liverpool "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" is a pop song best known as a hit for Little Jimmy Osmond. Written by Christopher Kingsley (somehow credited as Christopher Dowden on the UK release) and produced by Mike Curb and Perry Botkin Jr, "Long Haired L ...

" by

Little Jimmy Osmond James Arthur Osmond (born April 16, 1963), also known as Little Jimmy Osmond, is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds. As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six RIAA ce ...

, remained at number-one for the first three weeks of 1973. The first new number-one single of the year was " Blockbuster" by

The Sweet The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mic ...

. Overall, seventeen different singles peaked at number-one in 1973, with Slade (3) having the most singles hit that position.

Background

Multiple entries

One-hundred and twenty-eight singles charted in the top 10 in 1973, with one-hundred and twenty-one singles reaching their peak this year. Twenty-nine artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1973.

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1973 with six hit singles. He scored three top 10 entries in 1973 as a solo artist, with "

The Twelfth of Never "The Twelfth of Never" is a popular song written in 1956 and first recorded by Johnny Mathis the following year. The title is a popular expression, which is used as the date of a future occurrence that will never come to pass. In the case of th ...

" and " Young Love" both reaching number-one, and " When I Fall in Love" peaking at number four in November. His sister Marie made her top 10 debut in November with the number two hit " Paper Roses". Donny's total was boosted to six by his participation on The Osmonds recordings. The family group scored two top 10 entries in 1973 with "

Going Home Going Home or Goin' Home may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Going Home'' (1944 film), an unreleased entry in the Private Snafu series * ''Going Home'' (1971 film), starring Robert Mitchum * ''Going Home'' (1987 film), starring Nicho ...

", which peaked at number four in July and " Let Me In", which peaked at number two in November. Their number two hit from November 1972, "

Crazy Horses "Crazy Horses" is a 1972 hit single by The Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. The song, the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist, reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and num ...

", remained in the top 10 for the first three weeks of 1973. David Bowie peaked in the top 10 with five singles in 1973. He reached number two in January with " The Jean Genie", while " Drive-In Saturday", " Life on Mars" and "

Sorrow Sorrow may refer to: * Sorrow (emotion) * ''Sorrow'' (Van Gogh), an 1882 drawing by Vincent van Gogh * "Sorrow" (Bad Religion song), 2001 * "Sorrow" (The McCoys song), also covered by The Merseys and David Bowie * "Sorrow" (Pink Floyd song), ...

" all peaked at number three. His single "

The Laughing Gnome "The Laughing Gnome" is a song by English singer David Bowie, released as a single on 14 April 1967. A pastiche of songs by one of Bowie's early influences, Anthony Newley, it was originally released as a novelty single on Deram Records in 1 ...

", originally released in 1967, also entered the top 10, reaching number six in October. Slade made chart history by going straight in at number-one an unprecedented three times with " Cum On Feel The Noize", "

Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1973 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the ba ...

", and " Merry Xmas Everybody", the last of which became the

single that year. They also reached number two in October with their single "

My Friend Stan "My Friend Stan" (stylised as "MY FRIEИD STAИ") is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1973 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album ''Old New Borrowed and Blue''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and b ...

". They had five entries in total this year but this included "

Gudbuy T'Jane "Gudbuy T'Jane" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the second single from their third studio album ''Slayed?''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reach ...

" from the latter part of 1972.

had two individual entries, including "

" from 1972 and his number four single "

Tweedle Dee "Tweedlee Dee" (also "Tweedly Dee" or "Tweedle Dee") is a rhythm and blues novelty song with a Latin music (genre), Latin-influenced riff written by Winfield Scott (songwriter), Winfield Scott for LaVern Baker and recorded by her at Atlantic Reco ...

" in April, as well as being a part of The Osmonds collective. David Cassidy,

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

and Wizzard all scored four top 10 entries in 1973. The Partridge Family singer David Cassidy had two hit singles as part of the group - " Looking Through the Eyes of Love" at number nine and " Walking in the Rain" peaking at number ten - as well as the number-one hit "

Daydreamer DAYDREAMER is a goal-based agent and cognitive architecture developed at University of California, Los Angeles by Erik Mueller. It models the human stream of thought and its triggering and direction by emotions, as in human daydreaming.Turner, Scot ...

"/" The Puppy Song", and "I am a Clown"/"Some Kind of a Summer" which reached number three. Gary Glitter's first two entries, "

Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) "Do You Wanna Touch Me", also referred to as "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Leander. It was released as the lead single from his second s ...

" and "

Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Mike Leander. The title of the song is only sung twice and as a result other more frequent sung lines have ...

", both peaked at number two, while the remaining two, "

I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Mike Leander. It was Glitter's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks ...

" and " I Love You Love Me Love", both spent four weeks at number-one. Wizzard were fronted by Roy Wood, an ex-member of The Move and

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

. Their debut single "Ball Park Incident" peaked at number six in January, while "

See My Baby Jive "See My Baby Jive" is a 1973 song by the British glam rock band Wizzard. Written and produced by Roy Wood, "See My Baby Jive" was the second single by Wood's band and their first to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks ...

" and " Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad)" both reached the top spot. They also reached number four in December with " I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". Solo artists Suzi Quatro, Barry Blue and David Essex all made their top 10 debut in 1973, and all three scored a second entry later in the year. Suzi Quatro made her top 10 debut in May with "

Can the Can "Can the Can" is the second solo single by American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro and her first to reach number one in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the chart in June 1973. It also reached number one on the European and Australian ...

", which spent a week at number-one in June, while "

48 Crash "48 Crash" is Suzi Quatro's third solo single and was released after " Can the Can". It was included on her debut album ''Suzi Quatro'' (known as ''Can the Can'' in Australia). It later appeared as a track on her 1995 album ''What Goes Around''. ...

" peaked at number three in August. Barry Blue made his top 10 debut in August with " Dancing on a Saturday Night", which peaked at number two, while "

Do You Wanna Dance "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart and No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Cliff Richard ...

" reached number seven in November. David Essex made his top 10 debut in September with " Rock On", which peaked at number three, while "Lamplight" reached number seven in December. Sweet had three top-ten entries, among these chart-topper " Block Buster!". The other artists with three top 10 singles were

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

, Elton John, Paul McCartney, T. Rex and Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings. Gilbert O'Sullivan was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "Get Down (Gilbert O'Sullivan song), Get Down". Alice Cooper (band), Alice Cooper, The Carpenters, The Partridge Family, Rod Stewart, Roxy Music and Status Quo (band), Status Quo were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1973.

Chart debuts

Thirty-four artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1973, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, four went on to record another hit single that year: Barry Blue, David Essex, Nazareth (band), Nazareth and Suzi Quatro. Wizzard had three other entries in their breakthrough year. The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single. ;Notes Roger Daltrey of The Who scored his first and only solo hit single in the UK in 1973 with "Giving It All Away". With the band he had achieved eleven top 10 entries by that point (a re-release of The Who's 1966 hit "Substitute (The Who song), Substitute" would become the twelfth in 1976) including "Pinball Wizard" and "My Generation". Bryan Ferry came to prominence as lead singer of Roxy Music who peaked at number four in 1972 for the first time with "Virginia Plain". However 1973's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" was a top 10 entry under in his own name. Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann previously appeared in the chart with his Manfred Mann, eponymous band. After this group and short-lived act Manfred Mann Chapter Three disbanded, he formed Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

had been a member of The New Seekers since 1970 but " You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" saw her sing lead vocals for the first time and she was given an individual credit for the recording. She would get the same treatment on the band's next top 10 single, "I Get a Little Sentimental Over You", the following year.

Songs from films

The only song from a film to enter the top 10 in 1973 was "Live and Let Die (song), Live and Let Die" (from ''Live and Let Die (film), Live and Let Die''). Additionally, " When I Fall in Love" was originally recorded by Nat King Cole for the 1957 film ''Istanbul (film), Istanbul''.

Best-selling singles

Tony Orlando and Dawn had the best-selling single of the year with "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree". The single spent eleven weeks in the top 10 (including four weeks at number one) and was certified by the British Phonographic Institute, BPI. "Eye Level" by Simon Park Orchestra came in second place. Peters and Lee's "Welcome Home (Peters and Lee song), Welcome Home", " Block Buster!" from

and "Cum On Feel the Noize" by Slade made up the top five. Singles by Wizzard,

" & " I Love You Love Me Love"),

and Al Martino were also in the 1973 in British music#Best-selling singles, top ten best-selling singles of the year.

Top-ten singles

;Key

Entries by artist

2017 Lieder am See - Suzi Quatro - by 2eight - 8SC8499

The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1973, including singles that reached their peak in 1972. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1973 is also shown.

Notes

* "Shotgun Wedding" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 6 January 1973 (week ending). It originally peaked at number 6 on its initial release in 1966. * "Nights in White Satin" originally peaked outside the top 10 at number 19 on its initial release in 1968. * "My Love" and "Live and Let Die" were both credited to ''Paul McCartney and Wings'', while "Hi, Hi, Hi"/"C Moon" was credited to ''Wings''. *"Power to All Our Friends" was the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. * "My Love" re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 12 May 1973 (week ending). * "Albatross" originally peaked at number 1 on its initial release in 1968. In 1973, the song was re-released as part of a Columbia Records, CBS Records series entitled "Hall of Fame Hits". * "Ying Tong Song" originally peaked at number 3 on its initial release in 1956. * "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" peaked at number 1 on the Melody Maker charts on 15 September 1973 (week ending). * "Eye Level" was the theme tune to the television series ''Van der Valk (1972 TV series), Van der Valk''. * Figure includes single that peaked in 1972. * Figures includes three top 10 hits with the group The Osmonds. * Figures includes two top 10 hits with the group The Partridge Family. * Figures includes three top 10 hits with the group Wings. * Figures includes single that first charted in 1972 but peaked in 1973. * Figure includes a top 10 hit with the group Faces. * Figure includes a top 10 hit with the group The Rolling Stones.

References

General * Specific

External links

1973 singles chart archive
at the

(click on relevant week) {{UK Music Charts 1973 in British music, Top 10 singles 1973 record charts, United Kingdom Lists of UK top-ten singles, 1973