Heard a couple of tracks one after the other on radio the other day - Sabbath's - Paranoid and Blue Oyster Cult's - Done Fear The Reaper....and something occurred to me about these bands and their chart status (in the UK)
For both bands this was their first British "hit" single....but also (to date) their highest placed chart single.
So I suppose the question is - Are there many other rock bands that this has happened to - First Chart Hit = Biggest Chart Hit?...these are the few i found
BAND SINGLE POSITION
Black Sabbath Paranoid 4
B-O-Cult Don't Fear The Reaper 16
Neil Young Heart Of Gold 10
Yes Wonderous Stories 10
Thin Lizzy Whiskey In The Jar 6
Styx Babe 6
Neil Young doesn't really count, because he hardly ever released singles in the UK. Of the 41 singles he released between 1969 and 1989, only three were released in the UK.
Casper, Neil Young has had SIX top 75 hits in the UK - and actually released 11 singles here
heart of gold / like a hurricane / four strong winds / harvest moon / needle and damage done / long may you run / rockin in the free world / philadelphia / change your mind / downtown / i got id
Yes, and of those 11 singles, 8 were released after 1989 (Harvest Moon, The Needle and the Damage Done (live), Long May You Run (live), Rocking In The Free World (UK re-release), Philadelphia, Change Your Mind, Downtown (w/ Pearl Jam) and I Got Id). Only Heart Of Gold, Like A Hurricane and Four Strong Winds were released in the UK during the first 20 years of his solo-career, while he released a total of 49 singles worldwide during that same period.
Casper - stop being pedantic - my point stands accurately
first hit was highest chart position - in UK
that's all i said - he has released 11 singles over 40 years - every single one of them has a chance of charting and also has a chance of charting higher than that first hit surely? - esp songs like "rockin in the free world" and "harvest moon"
and if it were THREE singles as you claim then ok, but it isn't it's 11
brENsKi, you really need to start reading a little better. I am specifically talking about the FIRST TWENTY YEARS of Neil Young's career. In that time, between 1969 and 1989, he released 49 singles world-wide, but only 3 in the UK. That's a simple fact, which you can easily check.
In that same time, he released 21 albums, of which 18 charted in the UK. Conclusion: Neil Young is definitely an albums-artist in the UK, and not a singles-artist. So I disagree with the "peaked early" claim about Neil Young, because his albums tell a different tale - 4th album (Harvest) = No. 1, while his first album to chart ("After the Gold Rush") went to 14.
and what is the point in arguing a different point?
none of what you have makes a difference - my point still stands - first single = highest chart position to date