The LM TOP 20 was broadcast on Sundays from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. It was repeated on Saturdays between 3pm and 4pm. It was sponsored by various cigarette companies like Lucky Strike.

It was presented by Reg de Beer until 6th July 1975. According to my notes, he presented it for 7 and a half years (other presenters filled in for him when he was not available on a Sunday evening).
On 13th July 1975 John Novick took over as presenter.

I listened on my transistor radio on the 92 metre band and wrote down the chart each week. The top twenty records were also featured on the playlist in a certain sequence that they kept to each week. This was repeated about every 4 to 4 and a quarter hours during normal playlist-type programminmg during the day.

The LM logo on the left is a scan of a LM radio dial tuning sticker. You stuck it on your radio dial to show where to tune into LM. Who needs preset stations and automatic tuning when a sticker can do the job? I had to listen on shortwave and retune in the evening to the evening frequency (it was also on MW,or AM).

The charts listed here show the position and the previous week's position in brackets, with the number of weeks on the right-hand side.

In 1970 there was quite a high turnover of new entries which gradually became less by late 1972. There was a period in the latter half of 1972 and the first half of 1973 where the top records stayed on for months and there were less new entries. The chart then "speeded up" and at its peak in November 1973 there was a sequence of 7, 6, and 7 new entries in a three week period. During this phase, number one records used to drop down dramatically the following week, with very few having more than 1 week at the top. The high turnover continued for much of 1974 resulting in a bumper top hits of the year for that year (230 records). It graduallly slowed down and by 1975 the turn over was much lower and things moved more slowly. A characteristic of the early seventies, especially 1971 it seems, was the unpredictability of the chart with records going down and then up again. Things were more predictable after 1973, but some surprises did still happen.

Due to some missing charts in April 1970, some of the previous week's positions or number of weeks are missing. I also somehow missed the number 18 of 27th July 1975 and can't work out what it was.

Dennis T. Worley.