1975: Music Memories

Someone lent me the Beatles 67-70 Blue album. I liked most of it. I thought the scary bit of A Day in the Life was a bit too weird 😀. I was only 12, going on 13.

Spiritual Memories of 1975

I remember going to Knock, County Mayo, in 1975, which was the Irish equivalent to Lourdes. The Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have appeared there in the 19th Century. I don’t know why I went. It was suggested at school. Even though I was a Roman Catholic, I never really bonded with all that stuff. I was much more interested in the Scriptures. And I’m pretty sure that it was late 1975 that a friend and I went into the Good News Caravan in Cork and quizzed a couple of evangelicals about what they believed. We saw them as Protestants, but evangelicals seemed to be different to normal Protestants. They were much more attached to the Bible, and much more eager to spread the message. Normal Protestants seemed to be more ecumenically minded and from watching some on TV, I gained the impression that they were a little embarressed about the Bible.

It was around that time that I got a little Gideons New Testament in school, and I started regularly reading it. I compared it to our own family Bible at home, and it was essentially the same. The Roman Catholic Bible has a few extra Old Testament books that weren’t in the Hebrew Bible, but that were included in the Septuagint, am early Greek translation. This is known as the Apocrypha. It was always debatable whether they should be included in the Christian Bible. At the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church decided to include them. But few people ever read them. They’re of slight historical value in that they cover some of the period between the Old and New Testaments.

It made me wonder if all religions had elements of truth and if they were just other ways of approaching God. But when you read the New Testament, it clearly teaches that Jesus is the Saviour for the whole world.

Acts 4:12
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

So, I wouldn’t see other religions as containing elements of specific divine revelation. But there is such a thing as general revelation. People can see from creation, and from their own appetite for God, that God exists. They can also deduce that we should live for him, love others, and that we fall short and need to rely on his mercy. And people of other religions might make discoveries that can be helpful for physical and mental health. I don’t think that we should think of them as Satanic or sinister. The apostle Paul and others strongly condemn false teaching, but that’s mainly directed at heretical Christian teachers who went around the early Christian fellowships. When he was dealing with people of other faiths, as was the case with Jesus, he was more friendly. An example is his encounter in Athens.

Acts 17:26-33
 ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Some Irish Hits of 1975

As I often point out, I wasn’t into the Irish country music and showband stuff. But when I hear it nowadays, it brings me back to 1975. Here I list some Irish hits that I remember having to listen to while hoping to hear UK or US artists 😀. To be fair, I did like a few of them.

• A Visit to Santa – Brendan Grace
  • Brendan Grace was a Dublin singer/comedian. This single is just talk. He appeared in Father Ted in later years.
• Rock on Rockall – Wolfe Tones
  • Wolfe Tones focused largely on republican issues. This one was about a dispute with the UK about the island of Rockall.
• The Wind in the Willows – Spud
• Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen – Magic and the Magic Band
  • I was only 12, so 16-year-old girls weren’t particularly cute to me. But there’s a lot of songs about them. Only 16, You’re Sixteen, You’re Beautiful and Your Mine, etc. And in Abba’s Dancing Queen, the girl was “only 17”. I was 15 in 1976, so I didn’t see 17 as being young😀. Magic was a famous showband star who had a suit with lights in it. This was one of several Neil Sedaka songs that he released in the mid 70s.
• Minnie Minnie Minnie – Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions
• That’s What Friends Are For – The Swarbriggs.
  • Ireland’s 1975 Eurovision entry. I preferred Let Me Be the One, by The Shadows, the UK entry.
• Toi (You) – Geraldine
  • Geraldine Brannigan was an Irish singer who sang the Luxembourg Eurovision entry in 1975.
• Love is All – Red Hurley
  • Red Hud Hurley does a lot of religious songs nowadays, such as “How Great Thou Art“. Live with the Samaru Choir in Nigeria.
• I’ll Be Home – Brendan Shine
• My Eileen is Waiting for Me – Johnny McEvoy
  • Eileen and Mary were the most popular Irish girl’s’ names when I was growing up.
• The Most Wanted Man in the USA – Joe Dolan
• Is Everybody Happy – Teddy Palmer
• Love Matters – Chips
• Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song – Tony Kenny
  • For the most part, Tony Kenny was a middle-of-the-road (MOR) artist. I first saw him singing a very unusual pop song, back in 1973 – Heart of Stone. It was on an Irish pop show – “Like Now”. He had a beard because he was playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the time. He was marketed as Kenny, but soon he stopped and a group called Kenny was formed, who released songs, such as “The Bump” and “Julie Ann” performed with the same falsetto voice. But falsetto wasn’t used in later Tony Kenny songs. It might even have been a recording trick.
• Delilah – Brendan Grace
  • A comedy song that took the Tom Jones song and slotted in some words in the Irish language. Maybe it’s only funny to Irish people. It’s the sort of thing that your teacher would do.
• My Kathleen – Larry Cunningham
• Run Samson Run – Magic & the Magic Band
  • A cover of the Neil Sedaka song. One of two pop songs that I’ve heard that touches on the story of Samson. The other was Samson and Delilah from 1972. People didn’t read the Old Testament much, but we all heard about the Old Testament characters. They were very much embedded in popular culture.
• Blanket On The Ground – Philomena Begley & Her Ramblin Men
  • The funny thing about country stars is that they seem old even when they’re young. She was only in her early 30s in 1975.
• The Boys of Killybegs – Dermot O Brien
• Love Is – Fran O’Toole & The Miami Showband
  • This was a hit a few months after the very sad death of Fran O’Toole. Frab and several members of the band were murdered by Ulster loyalist terrorists that summer.
• Combine Harvester – Brendan Grace
  • What was unusual about this one is that it was covered by UK artists, The Wurzels. Generally, Irish people would cover international songs. It’s basically a comedy version of Brand New Key by Melanie, making fun of farmers.
• Twice a Week – Chips
  • I don’t think that Chips ever made the UK charts, but they were the sort of pop group that could very easily have been big internationally.
• Lonely Sky – Chris De Burgh
  • Chris was popular with rock fans as well as pop fans. I think he lost some credibility after his big hit, Lady in Red in 1986.
• A Child’s Time – The Memories
• It’s Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas – Dana
• I Don’t Love You, But I Think I Like You – Gilbert O’Sullivan
• Rosalie – Thin Lizzy
  • Thin Lizzy had an international hit with Whiskey in the Jar in 1972 and no other big hits until The Boys Are Back in Town in 1976. I remember hearing this one while sitting in the garden in Crosshaven in the Summer of 1975.

Who Played Cork in 1975?

1975 seemed a bit dull concert-wise. I don’t see many international acts listed in old newspapers.

• January
  • America Through Music – Imperial Band and Chorus of South River, New Jersey – City Hall
• February
  • Roger Whitiker – City Hall
  • Horslips – City Hall
• May
  • Matt Munroe – Opera House
• August
  • Horslips – Top Hat Fermoy
• October
  • Chicory Tip- Stardust
• December
  • Horslips – City Hall
  • Rory Gallagher – City Hall

Favourite Songs of 1975

Here I’ll list some of my favourite international hits of 1975. By this time, my glam rock phase had ended, so I started to develop a taste for a much wider range of music. It’s tough to restrict it to 20 songs, but I’ll do my best 😀.

• January – Pilot
• Now I’m Here​ – Queen
• No 9 Dream​ – John Lennon
• Philadelphia Freedom​ – Elton John
• Life Is a Minestrone​ – 10cc
• Stand By Me​ – John Lennon
• Listen To What the Man Said​ – Wings
• Tears On My Pillow​ – Johnny Nash
• Misty – Ray Stevens
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight​ – Elton John
• Summer Of ’42​ – The Biddu Orchestra
• Love Will Keep Us Together​ – Captain and Tennille
• Summertime City​ – Mike Batt
• Pandora’s Box​ – Procol Harum
• Hold Me Close​ – David Essex
• Just A Smile​ – Pilot
• Space Oddity​ – David Bowie
• Sky High​ – Jigsaw
• Bohemian Rhapsody​ – Queen
• Wide Eyed and Legless​ – Andy Fairweather Low

10 Movies of 1975

• Jaws
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Barry Lyndon
• Tommy
• The Return of the Pink Panther
• Mahogany
• Funny Lady
• Picnic at Hanging Rock
• The Towering Inferno

Some Albums of 1975

• Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
• Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
• Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
• Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
• Queen – A Night at the Opera
• Paul McCartney & Wings – Venus and Mars
• Bob Dylan & The Band – The Basement Tapes
• Elton John – Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
• The Who – The Who by Numbers
• Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
• David Bowie – Young Americans
• Bob Marley and the Wailers – Live!
• Abba – Abba’s Greatest Hits
• Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn
• George Harrison – Extra Texture
• Leo Sayer – Another Year
• Roger Daltry – Ride a Rock Horse
• 10cc – Original Soundtrack
• Stylistics – Best of the Stylistics

10 Key News Events of 1975

• Cambodian Genocide Begins – The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, took control of Cambodia and began a brutal regime that led to the deaths of nearly 2 million people
• Fall of Saigon (April 30) – Marked the end of the Vietnam War as North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, leading to the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule
• Kidnapping of Dutch industrialist Tiede Herrema – On October 3, Herrema was abducted in Limerick by the IRA, triggering a massive security operation and national attention
• Miami Showband massacre On July 31, three members of the popular showband were murdered in a UVF ambush in Northern Ireland, shocking the nation
• Death of Éamonn de Valera – On August 29, the former Taoiseach and President died at age 92. A national day of mourning was declared
• Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier – “Thrilla in Manila” (October 1) – Ali won in one of boxing’s most legendary bouts
• Margaret Thatcher Becomes Leader of the Conservative Party (February 11) – Paving the way for her future as UK Prime Minister
• Lebanese Civil War Erupts – Sectarian tensions exploded into a full-scale civil war that lasted until 1990
• Moorgate Tube crash (February 28) A tragic accident in London’s Underground killed 43 people and injured dozens more.
• Death of Francisco Franco (November 20) – Spain’s dictator died, initiating the country’s transition to democracy

Some TV Shows That I Would Have Watched in 1975

Some People Who Passed Away in 1975

I list only people that I’ve heard of, and few people that I had heard of passed away in 1975. Here, I’ll list a few who I didn’t mention under “Key News Events”.

• Aristotle Onassis – Greek shipping magnate and husband of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• Sinéad de Valera – Wife of the former president, died in Dublin aged 96​
• PG Woodhouse – Author of Jeeves and Wooster books
• Pete Ham – Musician with Badfinger
• Tom Dunphy – Irish showband star
• Dmitri Shostakovich – Renowned Russian composer, one of the most significant figures in 20th-century classical music

Hymns from 1975

Seems that 1975 was a good year for Christian choruses – the sort that I became familiar with in the early 1980s. Sometimes it’s hard to discern when these were first sung, but, if I remember correctly, I used the dates shown in Mission Praise for these. It could be that 1975 was when they first appeared in a hymn book.

I wouldn’t have been into all that “happy clappy” stuff in 1975. However, my encounter with my first evangelical Christian caused me to start reading the Bible more and examining which branch of Christianity was most aligned to the New Testament. I also wondered if it would be better to be among people who were genuinely enthusiastic about Jesus and the Bible. In Mass, the priest would say “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” The congregation would reply “Thanks be to God.” But we really were thankful that it was over, and we’d rush for the door 😀. When I went to my first evangelical meeting in the Upper Room in Cork in 1979, everyone stayed and chatted, and someone had to start playing with the light switch to signal that it was time to close up. It wasn’t until August 1980 that I committed my life to Christ. I could say that the journey began much earlier, but perhaps 1975 was when I first became aware of the key differences between Catholicism and evangelicalism.