1976: Music Memories

It’s so much easier nowadays with Spotify. Back in 1976, I heavily relied on people lending me albums or finding them secondhand. I almost bought A Night at the Opera in the Summer of 1976 new, when I had £3, which was rare for me. Instead, I bought a multi-exerciser 😀. I was hoping that it would turn me into a muscle man or whatever. I did hear A Night at the Opera many years later. It was quite disappointing really. There was nothing as good as Bohemian Rhapsody.

I found 1976 tough. There was a point when I had no friends. I wanted to have cool friends rather than dorky friends. I think that I was probably just barely edging in on being cool, so maybe most didn’t think that I was cool enough. But my lonely stage didn’t last long. There was always scope for youth clubs etc., but I never wanted to go anywhere where people might boss me around 😀. I was 14 in 1976. I didn’t really like being 14. I wanted to be 18. I’m pleased to say that I did accomplish that – four years later.

Spiritually, I do remember reading my little Gideon New Testament in 1976. I don’t know if I met any evangelical Christians that year. I most likely did spend a lot of time thinking about spiritual things. In the Roman Catholic church, while it was progressive in many respects, in my circles at least, there was a big emphasis on purgatory. Purgatory isn’t in the Bible. It’s something developed out of theological speculation. To put it simply, it’s where most Catholics go when they die because they still haven’t done enough penance for their sins. I was always told that it’s as bad as hell, but that you eventually emerge from it, especially if you have masses said for you and if people pray for you.

It gave the church a lot of control over people, and it was pretty much what provoked the reformation. This guy called Tetzel was selling indulgences, which got you time off purgatory. Protestants didn’t believe in purgatory. They believed that if you have faith in Jesus, you’ll go to heaven. Perhaps those who do more get greater rewards, but everyone who believes goes to heaven. So, for me, it was worth investigating what the Bible said. And evangelicals seemed to be closely aligned to the Bible. You would get cults (I won’t mention any names) who’d go around talking about the Bible, but they’d have quirky interpretations that were unique to their own sect. Evangelicals aren’t a sect. It’s more of a movement that spans all denominations. I suppose you do get extreme fundamentalist sects within evangelicalism. I wouldn’t advise anyone to join these. And even if your church has strong convictions, it’s always good to be open to correcting your views, especially on secondary issues.

The movie Jaws was big in 1976. I always hated following trends, so I didn’t go. I do remember going to Tommy – The Who film on my 15th birthday. I didn’t enjoy it much, but now that I like The Who’s music more, I did enjoy it when I watched it on Amazon Prime a couple of years ago.

I bought a cheap guitar in 1976, but I never got anywhere with it. I don’t think that I bought another one until 2002. I used to play the keyboard at home when I was 14, but it was a very basic, almost toy, organ. I wish I could go back in time and give myself all the instruments and digital music applications that I have nowadays. I often think that it would be great, when you get to heaven, if we were allowed to spend a day every week going back to some point of our life on earth. You could either be a ghostly observer or go back as yourself. This is just idle speculation. You shouldn’t build your doctrines on speculation 😀.

I remember getting Horslips Live for Christmas, and Use Your Head by Tony Buzan, a book about learning. Tony Buzan used to regularly appear on chat shows. I did pick up some tips, but I’m always sceptical about books that promise to make everything easy.

Some Irish Hits of 1976

I wasn’t as aware of Irish music in 1976, or maybe I had less interest in singles in general. I never liked Irish music much to start with, apart from the handful of rock groups, but here are some Irish singles that I do remember.

• Fall in with the Band – Ann Bushnell
  • She performed this on the Late Late Show. I never found it on YouTube.
• Yes Mr. Peters – Margo and Larry Cunningham
• Turn Out the Lights – Brendan Shine
• Dreamin’ My Dreams – Marianne Faithful
  • Marianne wasn’t Irish, but it went to number 1 in Ireland. I don’t think it was a hit in the UK.
• When – Red Hurley
  • Ireland’s Eurovision entry. It reminded me of She by Charles Aznavour.
• Gary Don’t Go – Shaun O’Dowd
  • This was before all the scandals associated with Garry Glitter. I think he announced his retirement around then, but glam rock was history anyway by 1976.
• Lizzie Leonard – Eileen Reid
  • I remember that being performed on the Late Late Show too. It was a jokey song about Dublin. I remember her having a few rough looking teenage girls on stage with her. Eileen Reid had been a showband star in the 1960s.
• Patricia the Stripper – Chris De Burgh
  • A song from the Spanish Train album, which was huge among all the cool people. He lost credibility after his big 1986 hit – Lady in Red 😀.
• Sister Mary – Joe Dolan
• Wrong Road Again – Marriane Faithful
  • Her follow-up to Dreamin’ My Dreams
• Long Long Before Your Time – Johnny McEvoy
• Where Have They Gone – Brendan Grace
  • He was the nasty priest in Father Ted in later years 😀.
• Jacqueline – D.J. Curtain
• Daybreak – Horslips
  • From their excellent album, Book of Invasions – A Celtic Symphony
• The Boys are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy
  • This revived Thin Lizzy, and they had several international hits over the next few years. It was rare to even see a black person in Ireland back then, let alone an Irish black person. But Phil Lynott was amazing. He sadly died around Christmas 1985.
• Fairytale – Dana
  • Ireland’s 1970 Eurovision winner. She had some excellent songs throughout the 1970s. She made some religious albums too, but they were a bit too Roman Catholic for my taste. She did sometimes get involved in evangelical initiatives. I remember reading her testimony in Power for Living – an evangelistic book that was distributed to homes in Ireland in the 1980s.
• To Each His Own – Gilbert O’Sullivan
  • He was as big as Elton John in the early 1970s, but he faded. I did see him in Limerick in 2015 and listened to his album of that year. I found most songs quite impressive. I was a huge fan of Gilbert in 1973 and early 1974. Then, I discovered The Beatles 😀.

Who Played Cork in 1976?

In late 1976, the Stardust club got a video screen. Imagine that! 😀 I never really went to discos much. They were the sort of places where people would come up and pick fights with you. I preferred to chat with girls around the street. The ones I liked best of all were ones that I’d just see in the distance. And I’d usually be deeply in love with one at any given time. But I’d never get to meet her. Those were the days 😀.

1976 wasn’t a great year for concerts in Cork. There seems to have been a bit of a lull in the mid-seventies. But U2 would have played their first concert at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive in Dublin in 1976.

• January
  • Edison Lighthouse – Savoy
  • Buck Owens – Opera House
  • Horslips – Fermoy
• May
  • Horslips – City Hall
• June
  • Marriane Faithful – Redbarn
  • Julie Felix – Carnabys, Daunt Square and Macroom
  • Marmalade – Redbarn
• September
  • The Boomtown Rats – Subway Bar
    • The Boomtown Rats weren’t really famous or “new wave” back then.
  • Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas – The Island Room
  • Bray City Rollers – Innishannon
    • I assume this group came from Bray and were trying to cash in on the success of the Bay City Rollers. But in 1976, the Bay City Rollers fell into a steep decline. Not sure what became of the Bray City Rollers.
• October
  • Clannad- Kampus Kitchen UCC
    • They were Irish, but they had some international hits later. Lead singer Maire Brennan became an evangelical Christian at some stage. Her sister Enya also had some big hits in the 1980s and 1990s.
• November
  • Radio Luxembourg Disco Road Show with Tony Prince – City Hall
    • I remember seeing Tony Prince in a little Saturday afternoon “disco” upstairs in Easons in the Spring of 1977.
  • Adam and Eve – Opera House
    • Just thought that it was worth a mention – it was an Irish rock musical – probably inspired by Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. I remember hearing a few songs from it on the Late Late Show.
• December
  • Boomtown Rats – Swingers Night Club
    • The Boomtown Rats weren’t really famous or “new wave” back then. And Swingers didn’t have the rude meaning that it had in later years.
  • Rory Gallagher – City Hall

Favourite Songs of 1976

Here I’ll list some of my favourite international hits of 1976. At that stage I was more into albums than chart music, but some of these do bring back sweet memories😀.

• I Wanna Stay With You​ – Gallagher & Lyle
• You See The Trouble With Me​ – Barry White
• Pinball Wizard​ – Elton John
• Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)​ – Dianna Ross
• Fool To Cry​ – Rolling Stones
• Arms Of Mary​ – Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
• Show Me The Way​ – The Jacksons
• Silly Love Songs​ – Wings
• Jolene – Dolly Parton
• Heart On My Sleeve​ – Gallagher & Lyle
• TVC 15​ – David Bowie
• You To Me Are Everything​ – The Real Things
• The Boys Are Back In Town​ – Thin Lizzy
• Let’s Stick Together​ – Bryan Ferry
• Could It Be Magic​ – Donna Summer
• Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – Elton John and Kiki Dee​
• You’re My Best Friend​ – Queen
• Strange Magic​ – ELO
• Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel​ – Tavarus
• You Are My Love – Liverpool Express​
• You Should Be Dancing​ – Bee Gees
• Let ‘Em In​ – Wings
• Jailbreak – Thin Lizzy
• Dancing Queen​ – Abba
• Blinded By The Light​ – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
• Loving And Free​ – Kili Dee
• Breakaway – Gallagher and Lyle
• I’ll Meet You At Midnight​ – Smokie
• If You Leave Me Now​ – Chicago
• Lowdown – Boz Scaggs
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word – Elton John​
• Livin’ Thing​ – ELO
• Somebody To Love​ – Queen
• Money Money Money​ – Abba
• Sideshow – Barry Biggs
• Don’t Give Up On Us​ – David Soul
• Haitian Divorce​ – Steely Dan
• I Wish​ – Stevie Wonder
• You’re More Than A Number In My Little Red Book​ – The Drifters
• When a Child is Born – Johnny Matthis

When a Child is Born is a Christmas song. I don’t think that it’s about Jesus. It can relate to any newborn baby. But plainly, the birth of Jesus is even more amazing. Think of it, a little baby born in a tiny country to a poor family who would divide history into AD and BC. But maybe it’s not so amazing considering who he was and is.

10 Movies of 1976

• Taxi Driver
• Rocky
• All the President’s Men
• Marathon Man
• King Kong
• Bugsy Malone
• Silent Movie
• The Pink Panther Film
• The Eagle Has Landed
• The Man Who Fell to the Earth
• The Song Remains the Same

I don’t remember seeing any of those at the time. As I mentioned, I did go to The Who’s Tommy. I can’t remember going to the movies much at all in 1976. We did like the Pink Panther films.

Some Albums of 1976

• Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life
• David Bowie – Station to Station
• 10cc – How Dare You
• Bob Dylan – Desire
• Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
• Slade – Nobody’s Fools
• The Rolling Stones – Black and Blue
• Rick Wakeman – No Earthly Connection
• Cliff Richard – I’m Nearly Famous
• David Bowie – ChangesOneBowie
• The Beatles – Rockn’Roll Music
• Rod Stewart – A Night on the Town
• Boney M – Take the Heat of Me
• Horslips – Book of Invasions – A Celtic Symphony
• Roxy Music – Viva
• Neil Diamond – Beautiful Noise
• Bob Dylan – Hard Rain
• Ringo Starr – Rotogravure
• ELO – A New World Record
• Thin Lizzy – Johnny the Fox
• George Harrison – Thirty Three & 1/3
• George Harrison – The Best of George Harrison
• Wings – Live Across America
• The Eagles – Hotel California
• Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!
• Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène
• Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees
• Genesis – A Trick of the Tail
• Al Stewart – Year of the Cat
• Led Zeppelin – Presence
• Wings – Wings at the Speed of Sound
• Abba – Arrival

10 Key News Events of 1976

• U.S. Bicentennial Celebration – The United States marked 200 years of independence on July 4 with nationwide festivities
• Tangshan Earthquake in China – On July 28, a devastating earthquake killed over 240,000 people, making it one of the deadliest in history
• Death of Mao Zedong – The Chinese leader died on September 9, ending an era and triggering major political shifts
• Soweto Uprising in South Africa – On June 16, students protested apartheid education policies, sparking international outrage
• Argentine Coup d’État – On March 24, a military junta overthrew President Isabel Perón, beginning a brutal dictatorship
• Khmer Rouge Renames Cambodia – On January 5, Pol Pot’s regime changed the country’s name to Kampuchea
• Apple Computer Founded – Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched Apple in April, sparking the personal computing revolution
• Jimmy Carter Elected U.S. President – Carter defeated Gerald Ford in the November election
• Kingsmill Massacre – On January 5, ten Protestant workmen were killed in County Armagh, Ireland, by the South Armagh Republican Action Force, a retaliatory attack following loyalist killings of Catholic civilians
• Formation of Peace Movement in Ireland
  • Catalyst: On August 10, 1976, IRA member Danny Lennon was shot by British troops while driving in Belfast. His car veered out of control and struck a family, killing three children—Joanne, Andrew, and John Maguire. Their aunt, Betty Williams, witnessed the tragedy and joined forces with Mairead Corrigan, the children’s aunt, and journalist Ciaran McKeown to launch a peace campaign

The most memorable of these for me was the peace movement. Sadly, it would be another 20 years before we got peace in Ireland.

Some TV Shows That I Would Have Watched in 1976

Some People Who Passed Away in 1976

• Mao Zedong
• Agatha Christie
• Howard Hughes
• Paul Robeson
• Martin Heidegger
• Benjamin Britten
• Mal Evans
• Howlin’ Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett)
• Christopher Ewart-Biggs – British ambassador murdered by the Provisional IRA
• Kathryn Kuhlman – Christian healer, preacher, evangelist

I never knew much about Kathryn Kuhlman, but I think her books were popular in Ireland. Back in the 1970s, the Catholic charismatic movement was quite big, so you would get many evangelical books in circulation. In my circles (following my conversion in the 1980s) people were cautious about the charismatic/pentecostal scene. Even pentecostal churches might be reluctant to promote some of the “big names” in the charismatic scene. Sometimes the most popular characters are also the most controversial 😀.

Hymns from 1976

I didn’t know any of these in 1976, but I became familiar with them 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 1976 was when they first appeared in a hymn book.