1978 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 1978 in music in the United Kingdom.
Events
- 14 January - The Sex Pistols play their final show (until a reunion in 1996).
- 24 January - Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" makes No.1 for its ninth (and final) week - becoming the biggest-selling single in UK history to this point.
- 25 January - Electric Light Orchestra kick off their Out of the Blue world tour in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- 11 March - Kate Bush becomes the first female solo artist to reach number one in the UK charts with a self-written song ("Wuthering Heights").
- 25 May - The Who play their last show with Keith Moon.
- 30 July – Thin Lizzy officially announces that Gary Moore has replaced Brian Robertson on guitar.
- 18 August - The Who release their eighth studio Who Are You. It is The Who's last album with Keith Moon as the drummer; Moon died twenty days after the release of this album.
- 27 November - Def Leppard's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.
- The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever becomes the biggest-selling album of all time (until overtaken in 1983).
- Operatic contralto Helen Watts is awarded the CBE.
- Multitone Records is founded by Pranil Gohil and specializing in bhangra style music.
Charts
Number one singles
| Date | Song | Artist | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 January | "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" | Wings | 4 |
| 4 February | Uptown Top Ranking | Althea & Donna | 1 |
| 11 February | "Figaro" | Brotherhood of Man | 1 |
| 18 February | "Take a Chance on Me" | ABBA | 3 |
| 11 March | "Wuthering Heights" | Kate Bush | 4 |
| 8 April | Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs | Brian and Michael | 3 |
| 29 April | "Night Fever" | Bee Gees | 2 |
| 13 May | "Rivers of Babylon" | Boney M | 5 |
| 17 June | "You're the One That I Want" | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 9 |
| 19 August | "Three Times a Lady" | The Commodores | 5 |
| 23 September | "Dreadlock Holiday" | 10cc | 1 |
| 30 September | "Summer Nights" | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 7 |
| 18 November | "Rat Trap" | The Boomtown Rats | 2 |
| 2 December | "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" | Rod Stewart | 1 |
| 9 December | "Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord" | Boney M | 4 |
Number one albums
| Date | Album | Artist | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 January | Disco Fever | Various Artists | 2 |
| 21 January | The Sound of Bread | Bread | 1 |
| 28 January | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 1 |
| 4 February | The Album | ABBA | 7 |
| 25 March | 20 Golden Greats | Buddy Holly and The Crickets | 3 |
| 15 April | 20 Golden Greats | Nat 'King' Cole | 3 |
| 6 May | Saturday Night Fever | Original Soundtrack | 18 |
| 9 September | Nightflight to Venus | Boney M | 4 |
| 7 October | Grease | Original Soundtrack | 13 |
Year-end charts
The tables below include sales between 31 December 1977 and 30 December 1978: the year-end charts reproduced in the issue of Music Week dated 23 December 1978 and played on Radio 1 on 31 December 1978 only include sales figures up until 16 December 1978.
Best-selling singles
| No. | Title | Artist | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Rivers of Babylon"/"Brown Girl in the Ring" | Boney M | 1 |
| 2 | "You're the One That I Want" | Travolta, JohnJohn Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 1 |
| 3 | "Summer Nights" | Travolta, JohnJohn Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 1 |
| 4 | "Three Times a Lady" | Commodores, TheThe Commodores | 1 |
| 5 | "The Smurf Song" | Abraham, FatherFather Abraham and the Smurfs | 2 |
| 6 | "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" | Boney M | 1 |
| 7 | "Night Fever" | Bee Gees | 1 |
| 8 | "Rat Trap" | Boomtown Rats, TheThe Boomtown Rats | 1 |
| 9 | "Take a Chance on Me" | ABBA | 1 |
| 10 | "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" | Brian and Michael | 1 |
| 11 | "Dreadlock Holiday" | 10cc | 1 |
| 12 | "Wuthering Heights" | Bush, KateKate Bush | 1 |
| 13 | "Sandy" | Travolta, JohnJohn Travolta | 2 |
| 14 | "Rasputin" | Boney M | 2 |
| 15 | "Substitute" | Clout | 2 |
| 16 | "Denis" | Blondie | 2 |
| 17 | "Baker Street" | Rafferty, GerryGerry Rafferty | 3 |
| 18 | "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" | Stewart, RodRod Stewart | 1 |
| 19 | "Figaro" | Brotherhood of Man | 1 |
| 20 | "Come Back My Love" | Darts | 2 |
| 21 | "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" | Rose Royce | 2 |
| 22 | "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls' School" | Wings | 1 |
| 23 | "It's Raining" | Darts | 2 |
| 24 | "Wishing on a Star" | Rose Royce | 3 |
| 25 | "Lucky Stars" | Friedman, DeanDean Friedman | 3 |
| 26 | "Dancing in the City" | Marshall Hain | 3 |
| 27 | "Boogie Oogie Oogie" | Taste of Honey, AA Taste of Honey | 3 |
| 28 | "Oh What a Circus" | Essex, DavidDavid Essex | 3 |
| 29 | "Grease" | Valli, FrankieFrankie Valli | 3 |
| 30 | "Jilted John" | Jilted John | 4 |
| 31 | "Y.M.C.A." | Village People | 2[lower-alpha 1] |
| 32 | "Annie's Song" | Galway, JamesJames Galway | 3 |
| 33 | "Stayin' Alive" | Bee Gees | 4 |
| 34 | "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" | Mathis, JohnnyJohnny Mathis and Deniece Williams | 3 |
| 35 | "The Boy from New York City" | Darts | 2 |
| 36 | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | Newton-John, OliviaOlivia Newton-John | 2 |
| 37 | "Blame It on the Boogie" | Jacksons, TheThe Jacksons | 8 |
| 38 | "Darlin'" | Miller, FrankieFrankie Miller | 6 |
| 39 | "Never Let Her Slip Away" | Gold, AndrewAndrew Gold | 5 |
| 40 | "Sweet Talking Woman" | Electric Light Orchestra | 6 |
| 41 | "If I Had Words" | Fitzgerald, ScottScott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley with the St Thomas More School Choir | 3 |
| 42 | "I Can't Stand the Rain" | Eruption featuring Precious Wilson | 5 |
| 43 | "Mr. Blue Sky" | Electric Light Orchestra | 6 |
| 44 | "Uptown Top Ranking" | Althia and Donna | 1 |
| 45 | "MacArthur Park" | Summer, DonnaDonna Summer | 5 |
| 46 | "I Wonder Why" | Showaddywaddy | 2 |
| 47 | "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" | Sylvester | 8 |
| 48 | "If You Can't Give Me Love" | Quatro, SuziSuzi Quatro | 4 |
| 49 | "A Taste of Aggro" | Barron Knights, TheThe Barron Knights | 3 |
| 50 | "Forever Autumn" | Hayward, JustinJustin Hayward | 5 |
Best-selling albums
| No. | Title | Artist | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday Night Fever | Original Soundtrack | 1 |
| 2 | Grease | Original Soundtrack | 1 |
| 3 | The Album | ABBA | 1 |
| 4 | Nightflight to Venus | Boney M | 1 |
| 5 | 20 Golden Greats | Cole, Nat 'King'Nat 'King' Cole | 1 |
| 6 | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 1 |
| 7 | Out of the Blue | Electric Light Orchestra | 5[lower-alpha 2] |
| 8 | Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds | Wayne, JeffJeff Wayne | 5 |
| 9 | Images | Williams, DonDon Williams | 2 |
| 10 | 20 Golden Greats | Holly, BuddyBuddy Holly & the Crickets | 1 |
| 11 | The Kick Inside | Bush, KateKate Bush | 3 |
| 12 | And Then There Were Three | Genesis | 3 |
| 13 | Classic Rock | London Symphony Orchestra | 3 |
| 14 | New Boots and Panties!! | Dury, IanIan Dury | 8[lower-alpha 3] |
| 15 | Live and Dangerous | Thin Lizzy | 2 |
| 16 | Reflections | Williams, AndyAndy Williams | 2 |
| 17 | The Sound of Bread | Bread | 1 |
| 18 | The Singles: 1974–1978 | Carpenters, TheThe Carpenters | 2 |
| 19 | Street-Legal | Dylan, BobBob Dylan | 2 |
| 20 | A Tonic for the Troops | Boomtown Rats, TheThe Boomtown Rats | 8 |
| 21 | 20 Golden Greats | Hollies, TheThe Hollies | 2 |
| 22 | The Stud | Original Soundtrack | 2 |
| 23 | City to City | Rafferty, GerryGerry Rafferty | 6 |
| 24 | The Big Wheels of Motown | Various Artists | 2 |
| 25 | You Light Up My Life | Mathis, JohnnyJohnny Mathis | 3 |
| 26 | Greatest Hits (1976-1978) | Showaddywaddy | 4[lower-alpha 4] |
| 27 | 20 Golden Greats | Diamond, NeilNeil Diamond | 2 |
| 28 | Bat Out of Hell | Meat Loaf | 11[lower-alpha 5] |
| 29 | London Town | Wings | 4 |
| 30 | Emotions | Various Artists | 2 |
| 31 | Midnight Hustle | Various Artists | 5 |
| 32 | Some Girls | Rolling Stones, TheThe Rolling Stones | 2 |
| 33 | Variations | Lloyd Webber, AndrewAndrew Lloyd Webber | 2 |
| 34 | Pastiche | Manhattan Transfer, TheThe Manhattan Transfer | 10 |
| 35 | Greatest Hits | ABBA | 12[lower-alpha 6] |
| 36 | Kaya | Marley, BobBob Marley and the Wailers | 4 |
| 37 | Blondes Have More Fun | Stewart, RodRod Stewart | 3 |
| 38 | Parallel Lines | Blondie | 7[lower-alpha 7] |
| 39 | Foot Loose & Fancy Free | Stewart, RodRod Stewart | 4[lower-alpha 8] |
| 40 | Plastic Letters | Blondie | 10 |
| 41 | Arrival | ABBA | 12[lower-alpha 9] |
| 42 | Black and White | Stranglers, TheThe Stranglers | 2 |
| 43 | 20 Giant Hits | Nolan Sisters, TheThe Nolan Sisters | 3 |
| 44 | The Greatest Hits of Donna Summer | Summer, DonnaDonna Summer | 4 |
| 45 | Natural High | Commodores, TheThe Commodores | 8 |
| 46 | This Year's Model | Costello, ElvisElvis Costello and the Attractions | 4 |
| 47 | Anytime...Anywhere | Coolidge, RitaRita Coolidge | 6 |
| 48 | Octave | Moody Blues, TheThe Moody Blues | 6 |
| 49 | A Single Man | John, EltonElton John | 8 |
| 50 | Bloody Tourists | 10cc | 3 |
Notes:
Classical music: new works
- Malcolm Arnold - Symphony No. 8
- Peter Maxwell Davies - Symphony no. 1
- Daniel Jones - String Quartet No 4
- Malcolm Williamson
- Azure
- Fiesta
Film and Incidental music
- Tony Banks - The Shout, starring Alan Bates, Susannah York and John Hurt.
- Roy Budd - The Wild Geese.
- Ron Goodwin - Force 10 from Navarone directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Robert Shaw and Edward Fox.
- Ed Welch - The Thirty Nine Steps, starring Robert Powell.
Births
- 1 January - Tarik O'Regan, composer
- 3 January - Luke Manning, co-founder of Mostar Records
- 15 January - Sandi Lee Hughes, singer (allSTARS*)
- 14 February - Ryan Griffiths (The Vines)
- 22 February - Jenny Frost, singer (Atomic Kitten)
- 6 April - Myleene Klass, singer (Hear'Say), radio and TV presenter
- 7 April - Duncan James, singer (Blue)
- 9 April - Rachel Stevens, singer (S Club 7)
- 28 April - Lauren Laverne, singer, radio DJ and TV presenter
- 22 May - Jordan, model and would-be singer
- 6 June - Sophie Solomon, violinist
- 27 June - Lolly, singer
- 4 JUly - Stephen McNally, English singer-songwriter (BBMak)
- 15 September - David Sneddon, singer-songwriter
- 9 October - Nicky Byrne, Irish singer (Westlife)
- 27 November - Mike Skinner, rapper, musician and record producer
- 18 December - Lindsay Armaou, Greek-born Irish-based singer (B*Witched)
Deaths
- 11 January - William John Edwards, Cerdd Dant singer (b. 1898)
- 15 January - Jack Jackson, trumpeter, bandleader and radio disc jockey (b. 1906)
- 24 February - Mrs Mills, pianist (b. 1918)
- 9 March - L. Radley Flynn, singer and actor (b. 1902)
- 12 March - Tolchard Evans, songwriter, composer, pianist and bandleader (b. 1901)
- 3 April - Ray Noble, composer and bandleader (b. 1903)
- 21 April - Sandy Denny, singer (Fairport Convention) (b. 1947) (cerebral haemorrhage)
- 14 August - Victor Silvester, dance band leader (b. 1900)
- 7 September
- Keith Moon, drummer for The Who (b. 1946) (Clomethiazole overdose)
- Charles Williams, composer (b. 1893)
- 13 November - W. S. Gwynn Williams, musician and composer (b. 1896)
References
- ↑ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
- ↑ Scaping (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". pp. 182–85.
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