1976 in British music

1970s in music in the UK
Number-one singles
Number-one albums
Best-selling singles
Best-selling albums
Summaries and charts
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
←1969 1980→
Top 10 singles
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
←1969 1980→

This is a summary of 1976 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Contents

Overview

This year saw the emergence of disco as a force to be reckoned with, a trend which would hold for the rest of the decade and peak in the last two years. This was also the year which truly established ABBA as the top selling act of the decade with them achieving their second, third and fourth number ones (as well as releasing the biggest-selling album of the year). The ABBA formula was also replicated in the biggest-selling song of the year - the Eurovision-winning "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man, who began a three-year run in the UK charts from 1976. Other acts to achieve notable firsts were Elton John, who scored his first UK number one single this year (albeit as a duet with Kiki Dee), Showaddywaddy had their first and only number one and long-standing hitmaker Johnny Mathis also scored his biggest hit this year. The album charts saw TV advertising become a major factor in changing the landscape of big sellers with non-regular singles artists achieving high sales with compilations. Among these were Slim Whitman, Bert Weedon, Glen Campbell and The Beach Boys, who remained at number one for ten consecutive weeks.

Also emerging this year was a new trend, which became known as punk-rock. This was little evident on the charts as yet, and was more a lifestyle choice, but would become much more significant the following year, as many new acts who typified the trend came onto the scene.

Overall, 1976 is not considered a vintage year by music critics, with its overwhelming dominance by pop and MOR acts. Certainly, many consider 1976 to be the nadir of British music and hold the year's charts up to be the very reason why Punk and New Wave music emerged with such force the following year.

Charts

Number One singles

[1]

Number One albums

Top selling singles

  1. "Save Your Kisses for Me" - Brotherhood of Man
  2. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John & Kiki Dee
  3. "Mississippi" - Pussycat
  4. "Dancing Queen" - ABBA
  5. "A Little Bit More" - Dr Hook
  6. "If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago
  7. "Fernando" - ABBA
  8. "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" - Tina Charles
  9. "The Roussos Phenomenon EP" - Demis Roussos
  10. "December '63 (Oh What a Night)"- The Four Seasons
  11. "Under the Moon of Love" - Showaddywaddy
  12. "You to Me are Everything" - Real Thing
  13. "Forever and Ever" - Slik
  14. "Sailing" - Rod Stewart
  15. "Young Hearts Run Free" - Candi Staton
  16. "Combine Harvester" - The Wurzels
  17. "When Forever Has Gone" - Demis Roussos
  18. "Jungle Rock" - Hank Mizell
  19. "Can't Get By Without You" - Real Thing
  20. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
  21. "Mamma Mia" - ABBA
  22. "Hurt" - Manhattans
  23. "Silly Love Songs" - Wings
  24. "Convoy" - C W McCall
  25. "Kiss and Say Goodbye" - Manhattans
  26. "You Just Might See Me Cry" - Our Kid
  27. "Love Really Hurts Without You" - Billy Ocean
  28. "You See the Trouble With Me" - Barry White
  29. "Let 'Em In" - Wings
  30. "No Charge" - J J Barrie
  31. "Jeans On" -David Dundas
  32. "Don't Take Away the Music" - Tavares
  33. "Howzat!" - Sherbet
  34. "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto D'Aranjuez" - Manuel and The Music of The Mountains
  35. "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
  36. "Misty Blue" - Dorothy Moore
  37. "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" - Tavares
  38. "Dance Little Lady Dance" - Tina Charles
  39. "I am a Cider Drinker" - The Wurzels
  40. "Music" - John Miles

Top selling albums

  1. Greatest Hits - ABBA
  2. 20 Golden Greats - Beach Boys
  3. Forever and Ever - Demis Roussos
  4. Wings at the Speed of Sound - Wings
  5. A Night on the Town - Rod Stewart
  6. Live In London -John Denver
  7. Laughter And Tears: The Best Of Neil Sedaka Today - Neil Sedaka
  8. Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) - Eagles
  9. 20 Golden Greats - Glen Campbell
  10. The Very Best of Slim Whitman - Slim Whitman
  11. The Best of Roy Orbison - Roy Orbison
  12. A Night at the Opera - Queen
  13. Desire - Bob Dylan
  14. Greatest Hits Volume II - Diana Ross
  15. Instrumental Gold - Various Artists
  16. Frampton Comes Alive - Peter Frampton
  17. Changesonebowie - David Bowie
  18. Rock Follies - TV Soundtrack
  19. How Dare You! - 10cc
  20. The Best of Gladys Knight and the Pips - Gladys Knight & the Pips
  21. Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
  22. Atlantic Crossing - Rod Stewart
  23. 24 Original Hits - The Drifters
  24. A Little Bit More - Dr Hook
  25. Happy to Be - Demis Roussos
  26. 22 Golden Guitar Greats - Bert Weedon
  27. Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
  28. Blue for You - Status Quo
  29. Soul Motion - Various Artists
  30. The Best of The Stylistics Volume 2 - The Stylistics
  31. Breakaway - Gallagher & Lyle
  32. A Trick of the Tail - Genesis
  33. Presence - Led Zeppelin
  34. Passport - Nana Mouskouri
  35. 100 Golden Greats - Max Bygraves
  36. Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
  37. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
  38. Diana Ross - Diana Ross
  39. The Story of The Who - The Who
  40. Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits - Simon & Garfunkel

[2]

Events

Bands formed / disbanded

Classical music

Orchestral

Opera

Births

Deaths

References

  1. ^ Chartstats. "Number One singles of 1976". http://www.chartstats.com/number1s.php?decade=1970. Retrieved 1 March 2009 (2009-03-01). 
  2. ^ Music Week, end of year chart of 1976

External links