THE DOORS IN THE U.K. CHARTS: A LOVE THAT NEVER BLOSSOMED

 

CONTEXT

Numerous British bands achieved overwhelming success in the United States from 1964 to 1966. In the history of contemporary music this cultural and artistic trend, became known as the “British invasion”.

The invasion’s extraordinary incisiveness and expressiveness revived the blues and rhythm and blues genres while introducing the epoch-making innovations of pop-rock and, shortly after, rock.

The late 1960s saw the consistent presence of bands and singer-songwriters based in London and the surrounding areas at the top of the American charts. These were obviously led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

However, there was no similar commercial triumph the other way around for American musicians and their compositions, who struggled to find their own place in the United Kingdom.

Even The Doorsfell into this category. Despite the US quartet’s huge talent, throughout their recording career (1967-1972) they never managed to fully win over the British public.

 

SOME EXCEPTIONS

Among the few American bands and singer-songwriters who achieved strong sales in the British market during our reference period, namely the second half of the 1960s and the early 1970s, were:

Bob Dylan (five LPs reached the top of the UK charts between 1965 and 1970);

The Monkees (two albums and one single at number one in England between 1966 and 1967);

Simon and Garfunkel (two albums and one single at number one between 1968 and 1970);

Creedence Clearwater Revival (one album and one single at number one between 1969 and 1970).

 

THE DOORS IN THE UK CHARTS

Although The Doors were unable to consistently thrill British boys and girls, their debut year was not entirely without success.

The Californian band's first LP (“The Doors”) and first single (“Break On Through”), both released in January 1967, sadly passed unnoticed on the UK charts.

However, their second single (“Light My Fire”, April 1967), leveraging the widespread fame they had gained in their homeland, reached 49th place. This marked The Doors' presence in the United Kingdom’s record sales statistics .

Unfortunately, both their enchanting second LP (“Strange Days”, September 1967) and the singles released from it, “People Are Strange” (September 1967) and “Love Me Two Times”, (November 1967), failed to make it into the UK charts.

Following this setback, 1968 brought an acceleration in terms of commercial results in England.

After one more single was ignored by the public (“The Unknown Soldier”, March 1968), two fair achievements followed one another, giving hope for a recovery in sales.

First, the single “Hello I Love You” (June 1968) ranked 15th. This was followed immediately after (July 1968) by the LP “Waiting For The Sun”, which ranked 19th.

The European tour in September '68, which started in London to moderate media attention, contributed to end the year on a positive note for Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore.

In contrast, 1969 was a cruelly unfulfilling year in terms of overseas success.

Neither the LP “The Soft Parade” (July 1969) nor the four singles released from it (“Touch Me”, “Wishful Sinful”, “Tell All the People”, and “Runnin' Blue”) managed to spark interest among British buyers and therefore remained excluded from the charts.

However, this was not enough to kill off the passion that some young people in the UK had for The Doors.

Notably, 1970 saw an unexpected return to the discographic scene thanks to the album “Morrison Hotel” (February 1970). The latter ranked 12th, marking highest position achieved by the band in Britain.

Although the single from this LP (“You Make Me Real”, March 1970) passed largely unnoticed through British record stores, the live album Absolutely Live (July 1970) managed to make its way to the 69th place.

Furthermore, the partial recognition that the British public gave to the LP “Morrison Hotel” contributed to the band's participation in the famous Isle of Wight Festival at the end of August 1970.

Despite performing in front of hundreds of thousands of people at this major music event, 1970 ended with the complete failure of the compilation album “13” (November 1970).

The last months of singer Jim Morrison's life saw the release of the LP “L.A. Woman” (April 1971) and its two singles, “Love Her Madly” (March) and “Riders On The Storm” (June).

These releases marked The Doors’ final appearance in the UK charts : “L.A. Woman” reached 28th place, while the single “Riders On The Storm” reached 22nd (“Love Her Madly” did not appear in the charts).

As expected, the two LPs recorded without Morrison in 1971 and ‘72 had no commercial impact in London, while a final compilation (“Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine”, 1972) ended the Doors’ recording career in the UK, reaching number 50.

 

FINAL REMARKS

In conclusion, two key elements must be kept in mind to fully understand the ranking dynamics discussed in this article, which, as we have seen, were never fully satisfying for The Doors.

First, the band and its management paid greater attention to the US market than to the UK market.

This was an understandable decision derived from the Californian group's cultural affiliation with the US, as well as the greater audience potential offered by the United States.

The second factor to consider is the justice partially rendered by the passage of time. The Doors' material gradually gained popularity in the UK in the decades following their breakup.

During the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, two “best of” albums and the single “Light My Fire” entered the UK top 10.

Although not to the extent deserved by one of the most important and fascinating rock bands in history, this long-awaited recognition finally occurred in Great Britain.

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