The Bands - Abba to Cliff
The Bands - Abba to Cliff
Click       Here for Bands S - Z
 
There were many great artists of       the Sixties and Seventies. However, the big five - in terms of their       domination of the charts - in alphabetical order were Abba, the Beatles,       Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley and the Osmonds. Find out more about these       and the other bands below.
 
Abba
This Abbafiles site features a collection of                 Abba and Abba related information. Includes a discography of the                 band and the individual members, lyrics, pictures, books and                 links to other Abba sites. Abba emerged on the scene in 1974                 with a number one Eurovision Song Contest hit "Waterloo" but the Swedish band took the charts by                 storm from 1976 to the end of the decade with a series of chart                 topping singles and top selling albums like "Arrival".
Acker Bilk & Paramount Jazz Band
Clarinetist Acker Bilk fronted the trad                 jazz-style Paramount Jazz Band to four top ten hits in the early                 Sixties. The biggest, "Stranger On the Shore", was a                 TV programme theme that never made the top spot but spent a year                 in the charts to become a UK million seller in the period 1961 -                 62.
Adam                 Faith
Adam Faith, originally named Terry Nelhams,                 is described as a "musician, actor and businessman" by                 Mike Smith who has published this excellent website. His real                 impact on the British charts were in the years 1959 - 63. He had                 5 top five hits in 1960, with "Poor Me" a number one.                 However, he is also well remembered for his starring role in 70s                 TV series "Budgie".
Alvin Stardust
The rock revival of the early Seventies was                 good news for Alvin Stardust whose "Jealous Mind" was                 a number one in 1974 and who also had top ten hits with "Red Dress" and "You You You" that year.                 Alvin had re-invented himself as the arch rocker following an                 earlier pop career when, as Shane Fenton and the Fentones, he                 had a number of minor top thirty hits in 1961 - 62. In his new                 guise he scored a series of top ten hits from 1973 - 84.
Andy                 Williams
American Andy Williams has been at the top                 for over fifty years, starting as a member of family act, the                 Williams Brothers and then carving out a very successful solo                 career. His first chart entry in the UK was his only number one,                 in 1957. However, he captured the number one album spot in 1968                 with "Love Andy"; in 1970 with "Andy Williams'                 Greatest Hits"; and in 1971 with "Home Loving                 Man". Andy was ever-present during the Sixties and                 Seventies up until 1976, helped by a much-watched series of TV                 shows.
Animals
The Animals reached the UK top ten no less than eight times                 from 1964 - 67. Their first entry was with the classic "House of the Rising Sun", their only British number                 one - almost not released because it was 'too long' at over four                 minutes. They disbanded and re-formed around lead singer Eric                 Burdon in 1966, although Alan Price had already parted company                 in 1965.
Anthony                 Newley
Judy Harris has put together this fond memory                 of Newley who died in 1999. Anthony Newley, who had successive                 number one hits in 1960 with "Why" and "Do You                 Mind", enjoyed his golden period from 1959 - 61. He was                 originally a successful actor - a child star from 14 - who                 became a pop singer almost by accident. He had numerous film,                 stage and TV roles included the Artful Dodger in David Lean's                 1948 film Oliver Twist.
Archies
Biggest world-wide single of the year 1969                 was "Sugar Sugar" from the Archies - very much a one                 hit wonder band but they were number one in the UK for 8 weeks.                 The characters came from an American cartoon and the lead singer                 on this enormously successful hit was Ron Dante.
Art                 Garfunkel
Following the break up of Simon & Garfunkel, Art Garfunkel concentrated on his acting and produced                 a series of albums. However, he managed the second biggest                 single of 1979 with "Bright Eyes", a million seller -                 he also enjoyed a number two album that year with "Fate For                 Breakfast". In 1975 he revived "I Only Have Eyes For                 You" - also a number one single.
Bachelors
The Irish vocal trio, the Bachelors, revived a series of hits                 from the Fifties and earlier to make the top ten eight times                 from 1963 - 66. Their only number one was "Diane", in                 1964. That was their best year, with a further three top five                 hits at a time when - most weeks - they had two top twenty                 records.
Bay                 City Rollers
Teenybopper stars the Bay City Rollers had                 their best years from 1974 - 77. They were the biggest act of                 1975, thanks to three big singles "Bye Bye Baby" (the                 number two single of the year), "Give a Little Love",                 also a number one, and "Money Honey", a number three.                 The band also had a number one album in 1975 with "Once                 Upon a Star".
Beach                 Boys
After spending the early Sixties as an                 American phenomenon, the Beach Boys finally broke into the UK                 charts in 1966 with a trio of top three hits led by "Barbara Ann" then "Sloop John B" and "God Only Knows" before making number one with "Good Vibrations". Their LP, "Pet Sounds" was also a big success in 1966 and went on to be one of the most                 acclaimed albums of the decade. The Beach Boys fan club was                 started by Alice, the president, in 1973, when she wrote to rock                 magazines expressing an interest in seeing more articles about                 the band and it is the official Beach Boys fan organisation.
Beatles
If you want just one Beatles site, then "I Am The Beatles" is the site to find everything                 about the band. 'All the albums, all the songs, all the lyrics,                 and what their songs really mean.' Their first big hit was in                 1963. "Please Please Me" did not reach number one on                 all the UK charts but the follow up singles "From Me To                 You", "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold                 Your Hand" were huge hits. Sales of both "She Loves                 You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" exceeded 1.5                 million in the UK - the first time this level had ever been                 reached. Within another year "I Want to Hold Your                 Hand" had become the biggest ever selling global single by                 a British artist. Not only did the Beatles master the singles                 charts until April 1970 when the band broke up but their albums                 also dominated the LP charts through the Sixties.
Bob                 Dylan
This site is devoted to the songs, recordings                 and performances of Bob Dylan - a man who had a huge influence                 on the music and thinking of the Sixties. It includes the                 catalogue of officially released albums and songs. There is also                 a searchable database of Bob Dylan's published lyrics. Dylan was                 always more of an album artist, enjoying a consistent run of top                 ten entries in the UK charts from 1964 - 83, including six                 number ones from 1965 - 70, the biggest of which was probably "John Wesley Harding" which topped the LP charts for                 three months in 1968. He also managed six top ten singles during                 the second half of the Sixties.
Boney                 M
Boney M were at their peak from 1977 - 79,                 launching their UK chart career with top three hits in 1977 with "Sunny" and "Ma Baker". In another year                 Boney M would be top performers but they had to settle for                 number two in 1978. Their big single was "Rivers of                 Babylon", biggest hit of the year and eventually selling                 just under two million copies in the UK alone. Later in the year                 they had a top two song with "Rasputin" followed by a                 massive Christmas hit with the classic "Mary's Boy                 Child" (another huge seller that eventually reached 1.8                 million in the UK and second biggest hit of the year). They also                 had a huge album hit with "Night Flight to Venus" in                 1978.