Was The Queens Last Street Party Year A Good Year For Music?c

But 77 was more the year of the single/EP 

The finest single of 77 was between this 

and this 

Not a bad year at all I would say.

Led Zeppelin 'Presence'

Yes 'Going for the One'

Pink Floyd 'Animals'

Genesis 'Seconds Out'

Tangerne Dream 'Encore'

Van Der Graaf 'Quiet Zone, The Pleasure Dome'

Kraftwerk 'Trans Europa Express'

Rush 'A Farewell to Kings'

I like Jethro Tull's 'Songs from the Wood', but not as much as the next two, or many earlier albums.

Miles Davis and Robert Fripp were temporarily in retirement, and a few artists had peaked just before, Joni Mitchell and David Bowie for instance. I am not as blown away by David Bowie's 'Low' as many people seem to be, I much prefer 'Station to Station', and the earlier albums. 'Don Juan's Reckless Daughter' is OK, but no 'Hejira', or 'Blue'.

There was also some new music fad the music press were all in a flap about, but it was mostly a London scene, and it didn't seem that interesting.

Sorry to be a pedant, Jamie, but Presence came out in '76.

Best album of that year for me was...

There was me thinking summer of 75.and 76 for Animals

To many drugs.

And band practice live sessions.

Stu.

But there were a number of other great albums, principally:

And

There was also the Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks, The Clash, Heroes by Bowie, Eno's Before & After Science, Rush's A Farewell To Kings, Cluster & Eno, Status Quo Live, Oxygene by Jean-Michele Jarre, and Rattus Norvegicus by The Stranglers.

There were also some stonking singles by the likes of Abba, Donna Summer, the Pistols, Clash, Stranglers and, perhaps most significantly of all, The Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP.

It was, as the old song goes, a Very Good Year.

There was so much great new music in 77 and none better than the Desperate Bicycles whose follow up in 1978 New Cross New Cross is one of the greatest EPs ever made. 

You have to remember that the juke box those days was full of AOR dross ... the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and well a lt of stuff that meant nothing to me and frankly still doesn't and then out of the blue came the Buzzcocks, Clash, Pistols, Chelsea, Eater, Adverts, Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds, TV Personalities. Stranglers and everything came back to life ... of course I still played ELP who released Works, but it did seem like if a stranger from another planet came to this hole, he could just strap on his guitar and play some rock and roll. 

To me punk did not push prog-rock out of the way, that is myth from the BBC, but it shoved AOR out and thank god it did ... it really was Nadir's Big Chance. 

And from the US of A came this young fellow and his Modern Lovers .. 

John Peel pioneered this stuff on his show and it was a truly wonderful time 

Kevin,

Are you old enough to remember the old Odeon just past Fulham Broadway station and the great live music pub the Golden Lion on the right going down the Fulham road towards Putney that became Dicky Dirts jean shop in the late 70s early 80s?

Stu.

Oh and not forgetting this 

an album so good that I fell in to the arms of the venus di milo

It was surely the album for me as I most definitely belonged to the blank generation. 

Oh yes and from the established greats we had 

This was Hawkwind's finest hour with Robert Calvert in full flow ... it had the spirit of the age and it bridged the gap between my musical heritage and the new wave. 

1977 was a golden age for music as indeed was 1967 .... where did it all go wrong in the 80s ... still it came storming back in the 90s with HMHB, Napalm Death, Cathedral, Blur, Oasis, Pulp 

Hi Stu

'Fraid not, I wasn't living in London back then. I was in Tunbridge Wells, still growing up, and only came up to the city for the odd gig - my first was the Floyd at the Empire Pool in March '77, my second was at the Hammy Odeon for Thin Lizzy early in '78 (I think). I moved permanently to London in 1982 when I was 19.

I do remember the old Fulham Greyhound though - that was a great live venue - and the Half Moon in Putney.

Ah Guy - forgot about that one. Superb Calvert lyrics (espially on "Sprit of the Age").  Along with Space Ritual and Warrior on The Edge of Time it's my fave 'Wind album.

Neglected to mention Marquee Moon as well. My bad.

Greyhound Fulham Palace Road on the right on the way to Hammersmith.

Brilliant pub.

Strippers at lunch time great bands in the evening.

The Golden Lion just pst Fulham Broadway was a fantastic pup.

You would see a band there and a month later they were on TOTPs.

The Nashville Rooms was also brilliant.

Good old days.

My first ever gig at Hammersmith Odeon was the Carpenters.

Stu

Hope and Anchor 

Oh, well, we are even on the 76's, 'Oxygene' was '76, and 'Equinox' was '78, although it is possible that 'Oxgene' might only have been released in France in 1976, and an international relase the following year as its sales grew.

I got mixed up on 'Presence' as the US tour was 1977

I often think what a good year 1977 was.

Jamie

Wikipedia on 'Oxygene', so we were both right - "It was first released in France in December 1976, on Disques Dreyfus with license to Polydor. The album's international release was in summer 1977."

I wholeheartedly agree with Marquee Moon & Low & Sex Pistols.

Some of my favourites not already mentioned from 1977

Ian Dury - New Boots and Panties

Elvis costello - My Aim Is true

Peter Gabriel

Mink Deville - Cabretta

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Iggy Pop - the Idiot

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Ramones - Leave home

Steely Dan - Aja

Talking Heads - 77

Ultravox 

Wire - Pink Flag

Gosh it was a good year

And who could ever forget this one.  Kind of came out of the blue really...

I was too young to be listening to music properly so anything I heard was whatever my dear old mum was listening to (mainly Queen ... very very loud Queen!) ... but just for your amusement I'll try to dig out a photo later and I'll let you try to find me in it.

Phil

Buzzcocks, Clash, Pistols, Chelsea, Eater, Adverts, Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds, TV Personalities.

And these bands meant nothing to me...and still don't.

steve

Dickie Dirts.......I had almost forgotten about them, And 1977 was the year of this by the Big Man.

I'm surprised by that Steve

Just assumed you were a fellow fan of Edmund Garrity and the boys. Of course when Ed moved on, he was replaced in the second incarnation of the Nosebleeds by Steven Morrissey who went on join Nosebleeds' spin off band The Smiths. Morrissey wrote "I Get Nervous" and "(I Think) I'm Ready for the Electric Chair" for the Nosebleeds, but I think they'll be forever remembered for their classic debut single with Edmund

Even in those days it was hard to  get  out of a contract!