📰 NME Charts – Chart : Jan. 1973
- Charts
- Jan 27, 1973
- 3 min read
A classic full-page NME chart rundown for the week ending Tuesday, January 23, 1973, showing the British singles and albums charts alongside their US counterparts.
The page captures the exact snapshot of pop and rock dominance in early 1973, with glam, soul, and singer-songwriter hits battling for supremacy.
This January 27, 1973 NME chart edition perfectly reflects the vibrant, transitional sound of the post-glam dawn, where Sweet, Bowie, Slade, and emerging US stars jostled for position.
🗞 New Musical Express
📅 Date: January 27, 1973
⏱ Length: 6 min read
📰 Key Highlights
• Sweet’s “Block Buster!” holding the No.1 spot on the British singles chart
• Slade’s Slayed? dominating the British albums chart at No.1
• David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie” at No.2 on singles, with Ziggy Stardust still charting strongly on albums
• Strong showing for Carly Simon, Donny Osmond, and Wizzard in the UK Top 10
• US charts led by Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Carly Simon’s No Secrets album
📰 Overview
The January 27, 1973 issue of NME presented its weekly charts during a fascinating moment in British pop. Glam rock was still riding high with Sweet and Slade at the summit, while David Bowie’s Ziggy era continued to exert massive influence. At the same time, American acts like Carly Simon and Stevie Wonder were making significant inroads, signalling the rich crossover sound of early 1973.
📰 Source Details
Publication / Venue: New Musical Express
Date: January 27, 1973
Format: Full-page chart listing
Provenance Notes: Verified directly from the preserved NME page; clean two-column layout for UK and US singles/albums with “Last Week / This Week” positioning and weeks-on-chart data.
📰 The Story
On the British singles chart, Sweet’s stomping “Block Buster!” sat proudly at No.1, with Bowie’s “The Jean Genie” close behind at No.2. Further down, glam favourites like Wizzard, Slade, and T. Rex rubbed shoulders with ballads from Donny Osmond and Carly Simon.
The albums chart told a similar story of glam supremacy: Slade’s Slayed? held the top spot, while Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and The Rise and Fall… remained a strong presence. Rod Stewart’s Never a Dull Moment and various greatest-hits packages rounded out the Top 10.
The US charts offered a transatlantic contrast, with Stevie Wonder’s funky “Superstition” leading the singles and Carly Simon’s No Secrets topping the albums, illustrating the global conversation happening in pop music at the start of 1973.
📰 Visual Archive
Full-page NME chart layout with bold “NME CHARTS” header, divided into four clear sections: British Singles, British Albums, U.S. Singles, and U.S. Albums. Clean typographic design with artist names, song titles, labels, and position arrows.
Caption: NME Charts page for the week ending January 23, 1973, published January 27, 1973.
📰 Related Material
See tabs at foot of page
📰 Closing Notes
This January 1973 NME chart page is a vibrant time capsule of the moment when glam rock was at its commercial peak yet beginning to share the stage with soul, singer-songwriter, and American pop sounds. It shows a British chart still ruled by the stomping energy of Sweet and Slade, while hinting at the broader musical shifts that would define the rest of the decade.
📝 Copyright Notice
All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.Slade's "Slayed" retains its number one place on the NME British albums chart as published in New Musical Express, January 27, 1973.
Slade released Slayed? in November 1972, their third studio album, on Polydor Records. The British glam rock band's follow-up to the live sensation Slade Alive!, it captures their high-octane energy with raw, stomping tracks blending hard rock and pop hooks. Written primarily by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler at Olympic Studios in London, the album features Holder’s gravelly vocals, Dave Hill’s flashy guitar, Jim Lea’s multi-instrumental flair (bass, violin, keyboards), and Don Powell’s thunderous drums. Standout tracks include “Gudbuy t' Jane” (#2 UK), “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (#1 UK), and “My Friend Stan” (#9 UK), full of cheeky wordplay and foot-stomping anthems.
The album hit #1 on the UK Albums Chart for four weeks, spending 34 weeks in the top 40, and peaked at #69 on the US Billboard 200, remaining for 26 weeks. Certified Silver in the UK (over 100,000 copies), it sold around 500,000 worldwide by 2025, marking Slade’s glam dominance amid their string of ‘70s hits.
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