De hoogste nieuwe binnenkomer is Hello Hurray van Alce Cooper, een dijk van een plaat. Stationair op nummer 1 staat Chi Coltrane. In 2010 had Herbert Visser (van 100% NL), Chi naar Nederland gehaald en trad ze op op de Radiodag in Amsterdam. Het energienivo was sinds 1973 geen greintje gezakt. De piano kreeg er goed van langs ☺. Op 22 Staat Hans van den Hoek uit Amersfoort oftewel Daisy Dynamite met Botch-a-me. Een erg leuk plaatje. Hans is in Juni 2007 overleden. Deze week is Gilbert O'Sullivan met Get down de treiterschijf. Op 20 Maart is er een filmploeg aan boord, die een opname van Dick De Graaf maakt, die de treiterschijf draait. Klik op het plaatje hieronder om dat filmpje te bekijken.

Deze Top 50 kun je hier beluisteren:

Uur 1 Uur 2 Uur 3

Onder de TOP 50 kun je de herinneringen van Michael Downing lezen uit de tijd dat deze Top 50 werd uitgezonden.

The RNI memories of Michael Downing for this period

No RNI diary in March 1973, but this is what I remember from the time. Graham Gill joined RNI in March 1973, having broadcast on Caroline for a short while. Also on the International Service, Ian Anderson, who had been with RNI for a few months, started presenting programmes more regularly.

On the Dutch Service, Alfred Lagarde left and was replaced on Driemaster by Dick de Graaf, who alternated with Leo van der Goot, generally on alternate weeks. Around the end of March, RNI and in particular Marc van Amstel started playing a record called "Tu te reconnaitras" by Anne-Marie David, which was announced as the entry for Luxembourg in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. I remember thinking at the time that it sounded like a winner - very similar in style to the winners in previous years by Severine and Vicky Leandros - and, sure enough, it won the contest and, by the middle of April, you could hear it pretty well in each hour on RNI and Veronica (at that time broadcasting from the Mi Amigo).

The night of Monday 2 April 1973 was, of course, not a good one for offshore radio, with the Norderney ending up on Scheveningen beach and the Mebo 2 being off the air for the morning and into the afternoon of 3 April. However, RNI did come back in the afternoon of 3 April and, with both Veronica and Caroline off the air, was the only offshore station broadcasting between 3 and 10 April.

The Kanskaarten are interesting on 17 March 1973 - "Pyjamarama" by Roxy Music was a Top 10 hit in the UK, but not successful in the Netherlands, although both its predecessor, "Virginia Plain" and follow up, "Do the strand", were Top 40 hits. Most interesting of all is the Buitengaats Kanskaart - "They never told us" by Ed Welch. I remember this being played a lot on RNI at the time, although it was never a hit. Also played quite a bit in March 1973 was "Rainbow Man" by Looking Glass, particularly on Driemaster. Another good record, although not a hit sadly.

Clearly by 17 March 1973 Karnaval was over and the hits by Adele Bloemendaal and Vader Abraham were plunging down the chart, but there were plenty of good ones climbing - BZN, Colin Blunstone and the first hit by Kayak amongst them.