The Seventies 1972

I spent most of the year learning how to do stunts on my Raleigh Chopper bike and didn't really care about world events. Typical Teenager eh? I don't know! Bloody kids nowadays..........

Film fans everywhere flocked to see Marlon Brando in The Godfather, released this year.

13 people are killed and many are wounded in Northern Ireland during a civil rights march - the day would later be referred to as Bloody Sunday.

John Lennon was battling to stay in America as US Immigration refused to renew his visa.

US swimmer Mark Spitz collected a record 12 gold medals in the Olympics. Meanwhile Arab guerrillas murdered two members of the Israeli team in Munich.

Icelandic gunboats sink two British Trawlers in fishing dispute know as the "Cod War"

Dr Alex Comfort’s illustrated Joy of Sex manual was published for the first time.

Princess Anne was voted Sports Personality of the year and John Betjeman becomes Poet Laureate..

Peter Falk donned a battered trenchcoat for the first time, as cigar-chewing detective Columbo.

THE BEST SELLING SINGLES OF 1972

1) AMAZING GRACE - THE ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS

2) MOULDY OLD DOUGH - LIEUTENANT PIGEON

3) PUPPY LOVE - DONNY OSMOND

4) WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON

5) I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - NEW SEEKERS

6) SON OF MY FATHER - CHICORY TIP

7) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 - GARY GLITTER

8) METAL GURU - T. REX

9) MOTHER OF MINE - NEIL REID

10) TELEGRAM SAM - T. REX

FILMS OF THE YEAR

THE GODFATHER

Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone, head of a Mafia family and Al Pacino his youngest son Michael who defied his father by enlisting in the Second World War. He returns home and is eventually groomed as the new head of the family 'business'. In this violent and uncompromising film the acting is superb throughout and Brando is ably supported by a cast of (then) unknown actors including James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton.

LAST TANGO IN PARIS

Marlon Brando also starred in Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial psychodrama. It's the tale of an intense love affair between two strangers who meet while viewing an apartment. Is it art, or is it porn? In my opinion its a load of old cobblers. Their intimate but anonymous liaisons become a hotbed of existential angst - or, some would say, just a hot bed. This film caused uproar instantly upon its release.

FIST OF FURY

This film started the whole Kung Fu craze. The script is Cantonese but dubbed into English and the fight scenes are staggering and inspired a long line of inferior imitations. Bruce Lee shot to international fame in this film. He plays a martial arts student who sets out to avenge the death of his mentor.

While investigating the murder, Chen Chen discovers a Japanese drug smuggling ring killed his beloved boxing master when he uncovered their sinister plot.

MUSIC

January saw the UK chart debut of US artiste Don McLean and his classic song "American Pie". The track peaked at number 2. Another chart debut at this time featured Geordie band Lindisfarne and their catchy tune "Meet Me on the Corner" while Cher had the first of many solo hits around this time with "Gypsy's Tramp's and Thieves". Middle of the Road were back in the charts with "Soley Soley" as was Cat Stevens with "Morning has broken". US country rockers America were riding across the charts on " A horse with no name". At the same time their fellow countrymen Bread hit the big time with the grammatically challenged "Baby I'm a want you".

Don't mention Pepsi to these guys

The first new number one of the year was used on the Coca-Cola adverts that were running at around the time.. Only instead of singing "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" The New Seekers offered to teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony). It remained on top for 4 weeks and on the chart for 21 weeks before T.Rex scored their third number one with "Telegram Sam".

Elsewhere on the charts the Sweet were riding high with "Poppa Joe" while Melanie opened the door to chart success with "Brand new key". Scottish Schoolboy Neil Reid secured his one and only hit with "Mother of mine" and Paul Simon had another maternal chart song with "Mother and Child Reunion".

The next number one was an early outing from Giorgio Moroder and featured a classic synthesiser intro. "Son of my Father" by UK group Chicory Tip enjoyed a very successful 3-week stint at the summit before being displaced by an absolute classic.

Harry Nilsson took an old "Badfinger" track, added his own magical ingredients and turned "Without You" into a huge international smash. The song saw 5 weeks at the summit in Britain, and it could have been more but for the return of a tune that had echoed throughout the charts for the past 16 months. This time, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards introduced the bagpipes and turned "Amazing Grace" into a number one tune.

Marc Bolan

In May, T.Rex secured the final one of their 4 UK number ones with "Metal Guru". It remained there for a month. In June Don McLean returned to the UK chart and this time he achieved a number one with his tribute to French painter Vincent Van Gough. June saw the chart debut of Gary Glitter with "Rock And Roll (parts 1 & 2) This sent a clear signal that the Glam movement was gathering momentum.

Slade

The first day of July gave Slade their second number one with another miss-spelt stomper "Take Me Bak 'Ome". It was replaced at the top after one week by Donny Osmond singing an old Paul Anka song called "Puppy Love". This ignited the hysteria that the press called "Osmond mania". The Electric Light Orchestra made their debut around this time with their first hit "10538 Overture". The group arose from the ashes of the Move and featured the same line up of Bev Bevan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood

In August, the outrageous rocker Alice Cooper made his UK chart debut with an anthem for the school leavers of the year titled "Schools out". Rod Stewart scored a hit under the pseudonym of Python Lee Jackson with "In a broken dream". Rod was having a great time as he replaced Alice Cooper at the top, with "You Wear It Well", and clocked up a solitary week there. The reason for this short stay was that chart champs Slade were back with "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". The song also relegated chart rivals T.Rex to second place with their latest track "Children of the Revolution".

August was a good month for emerging popstar's. "Virginia Plain" heralded the UK chart debut of Roxy Music and 10CC also charted around this time with their debut hit "Donna". 12 August saw the classic "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes enter the chart which would eventually rise to number 7. The same day also witnessed the UK chart debut of the bizarrely named Mott the Hoople who took a David Bowie song, "All the Young Dudes" to number 3.

Another American heartthrob, this time David Cassidy saw out the month with the arrival of "How Can I Be Sure" at the top of the UK chart on September 30.

1972 was a year of surprising number ones and there are probably none more surprising than the next song. "Mouldy Old Dough" by Lieutenant Pigeon. It remained on top for credible 4 week period before being replaced by Gilbert 'O Sullivan and the slushy baby-sitting anthem "Clair". 2-weeks later, a rocker from the past arrived back on the scene with a novelty record for us all. Chuck Berry reached the summit with "My Ding-A-Ling". It was his first UK hit since 1965 and it presided over the rest of the pack for a month. Another novelty number replaced it Little Jimmy Osmond's rendition of "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" dominated the chart over the festive period. An amazing feat when you consider its chart rivals- T.Rex's 'Solid Gold Easy Action', Slade's 'Gudbuy t' Jane' and Rod Stewart's 'Angel'.

John Lennon

John Lennon also had a festive offering titled "Happy Xmas (War is Over"). The song ushered in a new golden era for writing Christmas anthems. Popular groups would shortly be writing their own song that was specifically targeted at the Christmas market.

LITTLE OBJECTS OF DESIRE

ROLLER SKATES

If it wasn't bad enough dodging Space Hoppers on the streets a new threat arrived to put the fear of God back into pedestrians everywhere. Roller skates were extremely popular in 1972 but they were a lot less sophisticated than the roller blades of today. There was only one way to go on Seventies skates straight, fast and then flat on your backside.

FASHION

It was the year the world finally changed out of its soiled kaftan and into a pair of Loon pants. Crushed velvet, denim or corduroy were all the rage. Later, Tartan loon pants appeared, as adolescent fans of the Bay City Rollers adopted the look. Girls tucked their pants into knee-high boots and struggled through the streets in a pair of platform clogs.

The year also saw tinted contact lenses appear for the first time. The fashion conscious snapped up the new coloured lenses eager to create a new look.

TELEVISION

'Mastermind' made its debut in 1972. The series was initially thought too 'high-brow' and was aired in a late night slot on BBC 1. When it was brought to peak hours it clocked up such a huge audience that it remained there for the rest of its run. Four contestants were interrogated by Magnus Magnusson whilst sitting in the infamous black leather chair.

Each contestant was grilled twice with a general knowledge round followed by a chosen specialist subject. Over the years the topics ranged from British Moths to The Works of Dorothy L. Sayers and Old Time Music Hall. Another quiz show proving to be a hit with viewers was 'Sale of the Century'. The quiz of the week introduced from Norwich by Nicholas Parsons. 'The Strauss Family' ITV's lavish eight part drama series celebrating the family of 19th century composers gained much critical and public acclaim.

BBC 2 had 'Collector's World' a forerunner to the 'Antiques Roadshow'. Another programme proving highly popular on the channel was 'Alias Smith and Jones'. Hannibal Hayes and Kid Curry were two likeable outlaws trying to go straight in the Wild West.

Peter Falk played the shabby but shrewd police detective 'Columbo' who lulled the suspect into a false sense of security by his tramp’s raincoat, battered old car and well-chewed cigar. No-one believed this scruffy cop could nail them. He always managed to solve the crime by piecing together the tiniest fragments of evidence. Famous killers included Leonard Nimoy, Patrick McGoohan, William Shatner, Dick Van Dyke, and Janet Lee (the only person who ever got away with it). Often mentioned but never seen was Columbo’s wife, who even got her own spin-off series, Mrs. Columbo. She was played by Kate Mulgrew, who later became the captain of Star Trek: Voyager.

Oliver Tobias starred as 'Arthur of the Britons' in a muddy realistic version of the King Arthur legend in which the Warlord does battle against marauding Saxons in the sixth century. The programme ran for 24 episodes until 1973.

Barry Foster played another top TV detective 'Van Der Valk' who pounded the streets of Amsterdam in search of criminals. The series was based on the books of Nicholas Freeling. Anna Sewell's classic story for children about a girl and her horse, provided the basis for the popular drama series 'Black Beauty'. 'Rainbow' ITV's answer to the popular BBC kids show Play School was launched as part of a new package of day time shows. The Rainbow theme tune and other numbers were provided by Rod, Jane & Freddy. Geoffrey and his puppet friends Zippy, George and Bungle entertained children (and a huge amount of students) across Britain until the mid 1980s.

Zippy, Bungle & Co

The Famous Test Card F - See Ident Page

1972 brought changes to the way that we watched television in Britain. The viewers would normally just see the Test Card if they turned on their sets in the afternoons. All that was going to change as the BBC and ITV complied with new legislation which decreed they must broadcast programmes in the afternoons. Some new additions to the expanded ITV schedule included 'Emmerdale' a twice weekly story about a farming family in the dales. Another twice weekly soap included 'General Hospital'. Other daytime additions included 'Mr and Mrs' hosted by Derek Batey and 'Crown Court'.

One show that doesn't stand the test of time is 'Love Thy Neighbour'. It tackled the controversial subject of race relations in a rather clumsy way and is quite offensive when viewed from today's perspective.

The following is a typical BBC programme line-up for Sunday 24th September 1972 taken from the pages of Radio Times.

BBC1 COLOUR

9.00am-9.30 Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan

10.30-11.30 Morning Service

12.05pm VAT Special

12.40 Farming

1.05 Made in Britain

1.20 Don't Just Sit There... David Bellamy presents highlights of Further Education programmes for the autumn season.

1.55 News

2.00 Chigley

2.15 Ken Dodd and the Diddymen

2.25 Story Theatre

2.50 Film Matinee: Waterloo Bridge (Black and white)

4.35 Burghley Horse Trials 1972

5.20 Wonderful World of Disney

6.05 News

6.15 A Chance to Meet

6.50 Songs of Praise

7.25 The Onedin Line

8.15 Film of the Week: Too Much, Too Soon (Black and white)

10.10 News

10.20 Omnibus

11.10 Kenneth Harris Interviews

11.55-12.00 Weather

BBC2 COLOUR

11.35am-1.00pm Open University

7.00 News Review

7.25 The World About Us The Foals of Epona

8.15 A Collection of Goodies Some of the Goodies' most outrageous exploits.

8.40 Mary

9.25 Kenneth More in Six Faces (Black and White)

10.10 FILM: The Fortune Cookie

12.10am-12.15 News Summary

RADIO 1

6.55am The First Day of the Week Religion (as R2)

7.00 Barry Alldis

9.00 Ed Stewart with Junior Choice

10.00 Noel Edmonds

12.00 Family Favourites with Michael Aspel (as R2)

2.00pm Jimmy Saville

4.00 Tony Blackburn's Top 100

5.00 Alan Freeman with the last Pick of the Pops

7.00 Ed Stewart with Sunday Sport

7.30-2.02am as Radio 2

Click here to experience 1970	Click here to experience 1971
Click here to experience 1972	Click here to experience 1973
Click here to experience 1974	Click here to experience 1975
Click here to experience 1976	Click here to experience 1977
Click here to experience 1978	Click here to experience 1979