This is a summary of 1970 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Events 4 January – The Who drummer Keith Moon fatally runs over his chauffeur with his Bentley while trying to escape a mob outside a pub. The death is later ruled an accident. 16 January – John Lennon's London art gallery exhibit of lithographs, Bag One, is shut down by Scotland Yard for displaying "erotic lithographs" 26 January – Simon & Garfunkel release their final album together, Bridge Over Troubled Water. It tops the album chart at regular intervals over the next two years, and becomes the best-selling album in Britain during the 1970s. 11 February – The film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, is premiered in New York City. The film's soundtrack album, including Badfinger's "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), is released on Apple Records. 14 February – The Who records Live at Leeds in Yorkshire, England. 28 February – Led Zeppelin perform in Copenhagen under the pseudonym The Nobs, to avoid a threatened lawsuit by Count Eva von Zeppelin, descendant of airship designer Ferdinand von Zeppelin. 19 March – David Bowie marries model Angela Barnett. 21 March – British-born singer Dana wins the 15th annual Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with the song "All Kinds of Everything". 10 April – Paul McCartney publicly announces the break-up of The Beatles. His first solo album is released 10 days later. 8 May – The Beatles' last album, Let It Be, is released. 16 May – The Who release Live at Leeds which is their first live album. Since its initial reception, Live at Leeds has been cited by several music critics as the best live rock recording of all time. 23/24 May – Hollywood Festival, Newcastle-under-Lyme is staged featuring a line-up including The Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Free, and Jose Feliciano. Everyone is completely upstaged by the previously unknown Mungo Jerry, whose debut single "In the Summertime" becomes the best-selling hit of the year. 16 May – The first ever late night Prom, starting at 10pm and finishing after midnight, features jazz rock band Soft Machine at the Royal Albert Hall. 26–30 August – The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 takes place on East Afton Farm off the coast of England. Some 600,000 people attend the largest rock festival of all time. Artists include Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Jethro Tull. 17 September – Jimi Hendrix makes his last appearance, with Eric Burdon & War jamming at Ronnie Scotts Club in London. Hendrix dies the following day from a barbiturate overdose at his London hotel, aged 27. 2 December – first production of Michael Tippett's opera The Knot Garden staged by the Royal Opera House.Kendall, Alan. The Chronicle of Classical Music. Thames & Hudson, 2000: p. 247 28 December – Carl Davis marries actress Jean Boht.
Number ones
Singles
Date SingleArtist 10 January "Two Little Boys"Rolf Harris 17 January 24 January 31 January"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" 7 February 14 February 21 February 28 February 7 March"Wand'rin' Star" 14 March 21 March 28 March"Bridge over Troubled Water"Simon & Garfunkel 4 April 11 April 18 April"All Kinds of Everything"Dana 25 April 2 May"Spirit in the Sky" 9 May 16 May"Back Home"England World Cup Squad 23 May 30 May 6 June"Yellow River"Christie 13 June"In the Summertime" 20 June 27 June 3 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 1 August"The Wonder of You" 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 August 5 September 12 September"The Tears of a Clown" and The Miracles 19 September"Band of Gold" 26 September 3 October 10 October 17 October 24 October 31 October"Woodstock"Matthews' Southern Comfort 7 November 14 November 21 November"Voodoo Chile"Jimi Hendrix Experience 28 November"I Hear You Knocking" 5 December 12 December 19 December 26 December 2 January
Albums
DateAlbumArtist10 January Abbey RoadThe Beatles17 January24 January31 January7 February Led Zeppelin IILed Zeppelin14 February Motown Chartbusters Vol.3Various Artists21 February Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel28 February7 March14 March21 March28 March4 April11 April18 April25 April2 May9 May16 May23 May Let It BeThe Beatles30 May6 June13 June Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel20 June27 June4 July11 July Self PortraitBob Dylan18 July Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel25 July1 August8 August15 August22 August A Question of BalanceThe Moody Blues29 August5 September12 September Cosmo's FactoryCreedence Clearwater Revival19 September Get Yer Ya-Ya's OutThe Rolling Stones26 September3 October 1970Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel10 October ParanoidBlack Sabbath17 October Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel24 October Atom Heart MotherPink Floyd31 October Motown Chartbusters Vol.4Various Artists7 November Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin14 November21 November28 November New MorningBob Dylan5 December Greatest HitsAndy Williams12 December Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin19 December Greatest HitsAndy Williams26 December2 January
Year-end charts Best-selling singles (covering 17 Jan to 19 December 1970) "In the Summertime" – Mungo Jerry "The Wonder of You" – Elvis Presley "Band of Gold" – Freda Payne "Spirit in the Sky" – Norman Greenbaum "Bridge Over Troubled Water" – Simon and Garfunkel "Back Home" – England World Cup Squad "All Right Now" – Free "Wand'rin' Star" – Lee Marvin "Yellow River" – Christie "The Tears of a Clown" – Smokey Robinson and The Miracles "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" – Edison Lighthouse "All Kinds of Everything" – Dana "Lola" – Kinks "Can't Help Falling In Love" – Andy Williams "Groovin' With Mr. Bloe" – Mr. Bloe "Something" – Shirley Bassey "Woodstock" – Matthews Southern Comfort "Black Night" – Deep Purple "Neanderthal Man" – Hotlegs "Cottonfields" – Beach Boys "Honey Come Back" – Glen Campbell "Question" – The Moody Blues "Knock, Knock Who's There?" – Mary Hopkin "Sally" – Gerry Monroe "Two Little Boys" – Rolf Harris "Patches" – Clarence Carter "You Can Get It If You Really Want" – Desmond Dekker "It's All in the Game" – Four Tops "I Hear You Knocking" – Dave Edmunds "Voodoo Chile" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Give Me Just a Little More Time" – Chairmen of the Board "Me and My Life" – The Tremeloes "Mama Told Me Not to Come" – Three Dog Night "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha" – Cliff Richard "I Want You Back" – The Jackson 5 "Up Around the Bend" – Creedence Clearwater Revival "Paranoid" – Black Sabbath "Let's Work Together" – Canned Heat "Rainbow" – Marmalade "Leaving On a Jet Plane" – Peter, Paul and Mary "Montego Bay" – Bobby Bloom "Indian Reservation" – Don Fardon "Daughter of Darkness" – Tom Jones "Everything Is Beautiful" – Ray Stevens "Young, Gifted and Black" – Bob and Marcia "Let It Be" – The Beatles "House of the Rising Sun" – Frijid Pink "I Don't Believe in If Anymore" – Roger Whittaker "(They Long to Be) Close to You" – The Carpenters "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" – Poppy Family
Best-selling albums The list of the top fifty best-selling albums of 1970 were published in Record Mirror at the end of the year, and later reproduced in the first edition of the BPI Year Book in 1976. However, in 2007 the Official Charts Company published album chart histories for each year from 1956 to 1977, researched by historian Sharon Mawer, and included an updated list of the top ten best-selling albums for each year based on the new research. The updated top ten for 1970 is shown in the table below. Title Artist Peakposition 1 Bridge over Troubled Water Simon & Garfunkel 1 2 Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin 1 3 Easy Rider Original Soundtrack 2 4 Paint Your Wagon Original Soundtrack 2 5 Motown Chartbusters Vol. 3 Various Artists 1 6 Let It Be 1 7 Abbey Road 1 8 Greatest Hits 1 9 Deep Purple in Rock Deep Purple 4 10 McCartney 2
Classical works Sir Arthur Bliss – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Alun Hoddinott Violin Sonata 2 Cello Sonata 1 Daniel Jones – String Trio William Mathias – Harp ConcertoBrandon Hill Chamber Orchestra – Mathias Harp Concerto . Accessed 24 October 2014 Stanley Myers – "Cavatina" Michael Tippett – Songs for Dov David Wynne – Duo for cello and piano
Opera Benjamin Britten – Owen Wingrave
Film and incidental music Frank Cordell – Cromwell, starring Richard Harris and Alec Guinness. Johnny Douglas – The Railway Children directed by Lionel Jeffries, starring Dinah Sheridan, Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Bernard Cribbins. Stanley Myers – A Severed Head, starring Ian Holm, Claire Bloom, Lee Remick and Richard Attenborough. Take a Girl Like You directed by Jonathan Miller, starring Hayley Mills and Oliver Reed. The Walking Stick – includes "Cavatina" which was later made famous when used in the 1978 film The Deer Hunter. William Walton – Three Sisters, starring Alan Bates, Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright.
Musical films Let It Be (documentary about The Beatles Scrooge, starring Albert Finney.
Births 14 January – Will Todd, composer and pianist 20 January – Mitch Benn, English comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist 31 January – Minnie Driver, actress and singer 1 March – Alison Stephens, mandolin player 27 March – Brendan Hill, drummer 11 April – Delroy Pearson, singer (Five Star) 16 April – Gabrielle, singer 1 May – Bernard Butler, singer and guitarist (Suede) 14 May – Lee Murray, singer and drummer (Let Loose) 19 June – MJ Hibbett, singer-songwriter 22 June – Alan Leach, drummer (Shed Seven) 6 July – Martin Smith, singer-songwriter and guitarist (Delirious?) 10 July – Jason Orange, singer (Take That) 16 July – Lee Baxter, singer (Caught in the Act) 17 July – Mandy Smith, singer 13 July – Julian Wagstaff, composer 11 August – Andy Bell, bassist (Oasis) 14 September – Mark Webber, guitarist (Pulp) 4 October – Andy Parle, drummer (Space) 13 October – Paul Potts, concert tenor 21 October – Tony Mortimer, singer (East 17) 24 October – Eds Chesters, drummer (The Bluetones) 7 November – Neil Hannon, Northern Irish musician (The Divine Comedy) 11 December – Matthew Strachan, composer and singer-songwriter 12 December – David Horne, composer 14 December – Beth Orton, singer-songwriter 14 December – Jonathan Cole, composer and head of composition, Royal College of Music. 18 December – Peshay, producer, DJ, remixer 29 December – Aled Jones, boy soprano, later baritone date unknown David Bruce, composer Julian Wagstaff, Scottish composer
Deaths 26 February – Ethel Leginska, English-American pianist, music teacher, composer and conductor, 84 28 May – Frederick William Wadely, organist and composer, 88 20 July – Oda Slobodskaya, Russian-born British soprano, 81 29 July – Sir John Barbirolli, conductor, 70 1 September – Alan Styler, operatic baritone, 44 6 September – Louie Pounds, actress and singer, 98 November – J. Murdoch Henderson, fiddler, composer and music critic, 68 17 November – Frank Lawes, banjo player and composer, 66 18 November – Gavin Gordon, singer, actor and composer, 68 31 December – Cyril Scott, composer and writer, 91 date unknown – Frederic Bayco, organist and composer, 57
See also 1970 in British radio 1970 in British television 1970 in the United Kingdom List of British films of 1970
References