Top 40 Hits - Not Abba, British, N American, Jamaican or Australasian - Until 2000

[Lat-Literal]

This will be a pretty rum bunch in the main though not wholly and mostly they are definitely not world music as it is known.

The challenge here : I reckon there are no more than 100 - so prove me wrong - if you can put your heart and soul into it!!

[Lat-Literal]

First five:

Wannadies - The You and Me Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx5HuAPd6RM
Golden Earring - Radar Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf53Pg2AkdY
Shocking Blue - Venus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LhkyyCvUHk
Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzgA3mCEE10
Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDHjeiys3a0

(Sweden, Holland, Holland, Japan, Belgium)

Second Five:

Gigliola Cinquetti - Go Before You Break My Heart - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3QwHfRKqvc
Esther & Abi Ofarim - Cinderella Rockefella - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBjI1aC4yCM
Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUPdG4DA42g
Vangelis - Theme to the film Chariots of Fire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSav51fVlKU
Ennio Morricone - Chi Mai : Theme to Lloyd George - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajI2OPRfTps

(Italy, Israel, Germany, Greece, Italy)

[Richard Tarleton]

Esther & Abi Ofarim - Cinderella Rockefella - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBjI1aC4yCM

I hope you're being ironic, Lat

From Abi Ofarim's recent "Times" obituary:

Even by the standards of Tin Pan Alley, “I love your chinny, chinny chin” has to be one of the least distinguished lines in the lexicon of disposable pop lyrics. Yet it was enough to make a star of Abi Ofarim, who went to No 1 around the world in 1968 singing Cinderella Rockefella with his wife, Esther Ofarim.
Beginning with him singing, “You’re the lady/ You’re the lady that I love,” and her answering, “I’m the lady, the lady who . . .” the song was a novelty of irresistible banality, with a faux yodel and, as one critic put it, lyrics of “immaculate Euro-gibberish” that sounded as though they were “written by someone who learnt English from listening to Radio Luxembourg”.
As annoyingly catchy as such Eurovision behemoths as Sandie Shaw’s Puppet On A String and Cliff Richard’s Congratulations, Cinderella Rockefella had every irritating attribute to make it the perfect Eurovision entry, except that the Ofarims were Israeli and the song was composed by a pair of American writers from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

[Beef Oven!]

Vado - Drupi

Je t'aime ... moi non plus - Serge Gainsbourg

Radar Love - Golden Earing

I Want More - Can

Autobahn - Kraftwerk

Sylvia - Focus

With Or Without You - U2

All Kinds Of Everything - Dana

The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

Sunshine Day - Osibisa

Sarah - Thin Lizzy

Beautiful Day - U2

[Lat-Literal]

I hope you're being ironic, Lat

From Abi Ofarim's recent "Times" obituary:

It's literal but the thread is ironic to an extent, yes, RT. I think it is also, apart from any interest value, a way of juxtaposing any accusations that world music is just pop music. And I like a challenge and a quiz. I have not decided where it is all going although I can see some loopholes which the more astute could aggravate. There is also a cultural, historical angle. When those strange continentals were more distant than New Zealand and black was being taken on board, dare I say selectively, not to mention flying to the moon with Freddie Laker, I'm interested in seeing with this how the record buying public were trying to push the boat out, as it were. There is no superior critique here. Just us working out what was happening.



Plus to me it is a fluff of fun.

[Beef Oven!]

Lat, maybe adjust the rubric to disinclude the Irish, otherwise this is gonna be a cinch!

[burning dog]

No. 1 !

the 7" reached no.22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxxX_89REU

[Lat-Literal]

Vado - Drupi

Je t'aime ... moi non plus - Serge Gainsbourg

Radar Love - Golden Earing

I Want More - Can

Autobahn - Kraftwerk

Sylvia - Focus

With Or Without You - U2

All Kinds Of Everything - Dana

The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

Sunshine Day - Osibisa

Sarah - Thin Lizzy

Beautiful Day - U2

Wow, I popped into the kitchen and your contribution was transformed. Many thanks. That is excellent although I feel you might have just aggravated Eire. I'm not going with the Irish entries just yet. I see them as ours but perhaps if we struggle into the 70s, I will say yes. In the next ten, I will take your other suggestions and try to find complimentary examples.

[Beef Oven!]

Hit - The Sugarcubes

[zola]

Nena - 99 Red Balloons

The Singing Nun - Dominique

A-Ha - Take On Me

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus

Trio - Da Da Da

[teamsaint]

Vado - Drupi

Je t'aime ... moi non plus - Serge Gainsbourg

Radar Love - Golden Earing

I Want More - Can

Autobahn - Kraftwerk

Sylvia - Focus

With Or Without You - U2

All Kinds Of Everything - Dana

The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

Sunshine Day - Osibisa

You stole all the ones I was going to do !!!

Following Lats rule of five....

Brown Eyed Girl. Van Morrison.Or not apparently, I thought he was from the republic. Doh !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmkgQRmmeE&list=PL-YhLPr6iAYgW99764pGDNawNglHbpKvw

Ah Ha. Take on Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914

Izhar Cohen. ah bani whatever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZRQPif18EY

Yello. The Race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QbJRAWvRU

Nena 99 red balloons.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nena+99+red+balloons

[teamsaint]

More from Georgio.

Well, OK he only wrote it.

[Beef Oven!]

Wow, I popped into the kitchen and your contribution was transformed. Many thanks. That is excellent although I feel you might have just aggravated Eire. I'm not going with the Irish entries just yet. I see them as ours but perhaps if we struggle into the 70s, I will say yes. In the next ten, I will take your other suggestions and try to find complimentary examples.

Eire is in the British Isles, much to their chagrin, but it cannot be viewed as British. But it's best not to include them so I'll desist from scouring my shelves for examples of Irish top 20 hits! All those Thin Lizzy albums, U2 albums and so on (you're lucky Van The Man is British and is ruled out!).

[teamsaint]

Jean Michele Jarre.

Oxygene part 4.

apparently.

a quid for anybody who can whistle the tune. !!

[Lat-Literal]

You stole all the ones I was going to do !!!

Following Lats rule of five....

Brown Eyed Girl. Van Morrison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmkgQRmmeE&list=PL-YhLPr6iAYgW99764pGDNawNglHbpKvw

Ah Ha. Take on Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914

Izhar Cohen. ah bani whatever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZRQPif18EY

Yello. The Race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QbJRAWvRU

Nena 99 red balloons.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...9+red+balloons

Oh my gawd.

I've got myself into a management issue but I love it.

Thought this would sink like a stone.

I will take, ts, your suggestions 2-5 and many thanks, that's great.

Norway, Israel (a song I am peculiarly partial to), Switzerland and Germany.

But are you sure Brown Eyed Girl is a Top 40 hit?

Plus it is British.

We are up to and including 14!