1978 in British music

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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) at Winterland, San Francisco.
• 24 January – Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" is number one for a ninth and final week, becoming the biggest-selling single in UK history at that 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 British female solo artist to reach number one in the UK charts with a self-written song, "Wuthering Heights".
• 30 April – The Clash, Tom Robinson Band, Steel Pulse, X-Ray Spex, the Ruts, Misty in Roots and Generation X all play live in Victoria Park, Hackney, at the Anti-Nazi League/Rock Against Racism festival, following a march from Trafalgar Square.
• 25 May – The Who play their last show with Keith Moon before his death.
• 15 July – The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome, Camberley, Surrey, a concert featuring Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Joan Armatrading, attracts some 200,000 people. ^[1]
• 30 July – Thin Lizzy officially announce that Gary Moore has replaced Brian Robertson on guitar.
• 18 August – The Who release their eighth studio album Who Are You . It is the Who's last album with Keith Moon as the drummer; Moon dies twenty days after the release of the album.
• September – Second anti-racism event staged in Brockwell Park, South London, featuring Elvis Costello, Stiff Little Fingers and Aswad, with 150,000 people in attendance.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 27 November – Def Leppard's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.
• unknown dates
  • The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever becomes the biggest-selling album of all time (until overtaken in 1983).
  • The first BBC Young Musician of the Year competition for classical players is won by trombonist Michael Hext. ^[2]
• Operatic contralto Helen Watts is appointed a CBE.
  • Multitone Records is founded by Pranil Gohil, specialising in bhangra music.

Charts

Number one singles

Date	Song	Artist
1 January	"Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School"	Wings
8 January
15 January
22 January
29 January	"Uptown Top Ranking"	Althea & Donna
5 February	"Figaro"	Brotherhood of Man
12 February	"Take a Chance on Me"	ABBA
19 February
26 February
5 March	"Wuthering Heights"	Kate Bush
12 March
19 March
26 April
2 April	"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs"	Brian and Michael
9 April
16 April
23 April	"Night Fever"	Bee Gees
30 April
7 May	"Rivers of Babylon"	Boney M
14 May
21 May
28 May
4 June
11 June	"You're the One That I Want"	John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
18 June
25 June
2 July
9 July
16 July
23 July
30 July
6 August
13 August	"Three Times a Lady"	The Commodores
20 August
27 August
3 September
10 September
17 September	"Dreadlock Holiday"	10cc
24 September	"Summer Nights"	John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
1 October
8 October
15 October
22 October
29 October
5 November
12 November	"Rat Trap"	The Boomtown Rats
19 November
26 November	"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"	Rod Stewart
3 December	"Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord"	Boney M
10 December
17 December
24 December
31 December	"Y.M.C.A."	The Village People

Number one albums

Date	Album	Artist	Weeks
7 January	Disco Fever	Various Artists	2
14 January
21 January	The Sound of Bread	Bread	1
28 January	Rumours	Fleetwood Mac	1
4 February	The Album	ABBA	7
11 February
18 February
25 February
4 March
11 March
18 March
25 March	20 Golden Greats	Buddy Holly and The Crickets	3
1 April
8 April
15 April	20 Golden Greats	Nat 'King' Cole	3
22 April
29 April
6 May	Saturday Night Fever	Original Soundtrack	18
13 May
20 May
27 May
3 June
10 June
17 June
24 June
1 July
8 July
15 July
22 July
29 July
5 August
12 August
19 August
26 August
2 September
9 September	Nightflight to Venus	Boney M	4
16 September
23 September
30 September
7 October	Grease	Original Soundtrack	13
14 October
21 October
28 October
4 November
11 November
18 November
25 November
2 December
9 December
16 December
23 December
30 December

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

^[3]

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"	John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John	1
3	"Summer Nights"	John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John	1
4	"Three Times a Lady"	The Commodores	1
5	"The Smurf Song"	Father 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"	The 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"	Kate Bush	1
13	"Sandy"	John Travolta	2
14	"Rasputin"	Boney M	2
15	"Substitute"	Clout	2
16	"Denis"	Blondie	2
17	"Baker Street"	Gerry Rafferty	3
18	"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"	Rod 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"	Dean Friedman	3
26	"Dancing in the City"	Marshall Hain	3
27	"Boogie Oogie Oogie"	A Taste of Honey	3
28	"Oh What a Circus"	David Essex	3
29	"Grease"	Frankie Valli	3
30	"Jilted John"	Jilted John	4
31	"Y.M.C.A."	Village People	2 [a]
32	"Annie's Song"	James Galway	3
33	"Stayin' Alive"	Bee Gees	4
34	"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"	Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams	3
35	"The Boy from New York City"	Darts	2
36	"Hopelessly Devoted to You"	Olivia Newton-John	2
37	"Blame It on the Boogie"	The Jacksons	8
38	"Darlin'"	Frankie Miller	6
39	"Never Let Her Slip Away"	Andrew Gold	5
40	"Sweet Talkin' Woman"	Electric Light Orchestra	6
41	"If I Had Words"	Scott 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"	Althea and Donna	1
45	"MacArthur Park"	Donna 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"	Suzi Quatro	4
49	"A Taste of Aggro"	The Barron Knights	3
50	"Forever Autumn"	Justin Hayward	5

Best-selling albums

^[4]

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	Nat 'King' Cole	1
6	Rumours	Fleetwood Mac	1
7	Out of the Blue	Electric Light Orchestra	5 [b]
8	Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds	Jeff Wayne	5
9	Images	Don Williams	2
10	20 Golden Greats	Buddy Holly & the Crickets	1
11	The Kick Inside	Kate Bush	3
12	And Then There Were Three	Genesis	3
13	Classic Rock	London Symphony Orchestra	3
14	New Boots and Panties!!	Ian Dury	8 [c]
15	Live and Dangerous	Thin Lizzy	2
16	Reflections	Andy Williams	2
17	The Sound of Bread	Bread	1
18	The Singles: 1974–1978	The Carpenters	2
19	Street-Legal	Bob Dylan	2
20	A Tonic for the Troops	The Boomtown Rats	8
21	20 Golden Greats	The Hollies	2
22	The Stud	Original Soundtrack	2
23	City to City	Gerry Rafferty	6
24	The Big Wheels of Motown	Various Artists	2
25	You Light Up My Life	Johnny Mathis	3
26	Greatest Hits (1976-1978)	Showaddywaddy	4 [d]
27	20 Golden Greats	Neil Diamond	2
28	Bat Out of Hell	Meat Loaf	11 [e]
29	London Town	Wings	4
30	Emotions	Various Artists	2
31	Midnight Hustle	Various Artists	5
32	Some Girls	The Rolling Stones	2
33	Variations	Andrew Lloyd Webber	2
34	Pastiche	The Manhattan Transfer	10
35	Greatest Hits	ABBA	12 [f]
36	Kaya	Bob Marley and the Wailers	4
37	Blondes Have More Fun	Rod Stewart	3
38	Parallel Lines	Blondie	7 [g]
39	Foot Loose & Fancy Free	Rod Stewart	4 [h]
40	Plastic Letters	Blondie	10
41	Arrival	ABBA	12 [i]
42	Black and White	The Stranglers	2
43	20 Giant Hits	The Nolan Sisters	3
44	The Greatest Hits of Donna Summer	Donna Summer	4
45	Natural High	The Commodores	8
46	This Year's Model	Elvis Costello and the Attractions	4
47	Anytime...Anywhere	Rita Coolidge	6
48	Octave	The Moody Blues	6
49	A Single Man	Elton John	8
50	Bloody Tourists	10cc	3

Notes:

1. Reached number 1 in 1979
2. Reached number 4 in 1977
3. Reached number 5 in 1979
4. Reached number 1 in 1979
5. Reached number 9 in 1981
6. Reached number 1 in 1976
7. Reached number 1 in 1979
8. Reached number 3 in 1977
9. Reached number 1 in 1976

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
• 13 January – Shelley Nash, singer (Girls@Play)
• 15 January – Sandi Lee Hughes, singer (allSTARS*)
• 19 January – Wayne Williams, singer (Another Level)
• 13 February – Hamish Glencross, Scottish guitarist
• 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)
• 16 April – Terry Daly, Irish singer (Mytown)
• 23 April – Tom Lowe, singer and keyboardist (North and South)
• 25 April – Luke Bedford, composer
• 28 April – Lauren Laverne, singer, radio DJ and TV presenter
• 4 May – Matthew Rose, bass
• 22 May – Jordan, model and would-be singer
• 29 May
  • Adam Rickitt, singer and actor
  • Daniel Pearce, singer (One True Voice)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 6 June – Sophie Solomon, violinist
• 16 June – Elisa Cariera, American-born singer (Solid HarmoniE)
• 4 July – Stephen McNally, English singer-songwriter (BBMak)
• 1 August – Jonathan Wilkes, singer and entertainer
• 21 August – John Paul "J-Rock" Horsley, American-born singer (Big Brovaz)
• 3 September – Johnny Shentall, singer (Boom!)
• 15 September – David Sneddon, singer-songwriter
• 27 September – Jamie Benson, singer (Hepburn)
• 7 October – Alesha Dixon, singer (Mis-Teeq)
• 9 October
  • Nicky Byrne, Irish singer (Westlife)
  • Beverley Fullen, drummer (Hepburn)
• 26 October – Rachael Carr, singer (Boom!)
• 27 October – Sabrina Washington, singer (Mis-Teeq)
• 29 October – Sam Chapman, singer and keyboardist (North and South)
• 1 November – Bobak Kianovsh, singer (Another Level)
• 7 November – Mark Read, singer (A1)
• 23 November – Randy Brown, Jamaican-born singer (Big Brovaz)
• 27 November – Mike Skinner, rapper, musician and record producer
• 12 December – Paul Walker, Irish singer (Mytown)
• 18 December – Lindsay Armaou, Greek-born Irish-based singer (B*Witched)
• date unknown – Oliver Weeks, composer, arranger and guitarist

Deaths

• 11 January – William John Edwards, Cerdd Dant singer (b. 1898) ^[5]
• 15 January – Jack Jackson, trumpeter, bandleader and radio disc jockey (b. 1906) ^[6]
• 24 February – Mrs Mills, pianist (b. 1918; heart attack) ^[7]
• 9 March – L. Radley Flynn, singer and actor (b. 1902)
• 12 March – Tolchard Evans, songwriter, composer, pianist and bandleader (b. 1901) ^[8]
• 3 April – Ray Noble, composer and bandleader (b. 1903)
• 21 April – Sandy Denny, singer (Fairport Convention) (b. 1947) (cerebral haemorrhage) ^[9]
• 14 August – Victor Silvester, dance band leader (b. 1900) ^[10]
• 7 September
  • Keith Moon, drummer of The Who (b. 1946) (Clomethiazole overdose) ^[11]
  • Charles Williams, composer (b. 1893) ^[12]
• 15 September – Robert Bruce Montgomery, writer and composer (b. 1921) ^[13]
• 13 December – Jack Doyle, Irish-born boxer and singer (b. 1913; cirrhosis of liver) ^[14]

See also

• 1978 in British radio
• 1978 in British television
• 1978 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1978

References

1. "The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome 1978". www.ukrockfestivals.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
2. "Michael Hext - Young Musician 1978 winner". BBC. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
3. 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.
4. Scaping (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". pp. 182–85.
5. "Er cof" (PDF). Y Bedol (in Welsh): 3.
6. "Dance Band Encyclopaedia: Jack Jackson" . Retrieved 1 February 2025.
7. Sharon Mawer. "Mrs. Mills". Allmusic . Retrieved 16 April 2012.
8. "Tolchard Evans" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
9. Mick Houghton (2015). I've Always Kept a Unicorn – The Biography of Sandy Denny. Faber & Faber. p. 405. ISBN   0571278914
10. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2267. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
11. Fletcher, Tony (1998). Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon. Omnibus Press. p. 524. ISBN   978-1-84449-807-9.
12. Colin Larkin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1933. ISBN   9780857125958.
13. Whittle, David (2004). "Montgomery, (Robert) Bruce/Edmund Crispin (1921–1978)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31461 . Retrieved 2005-11-02.
14. Paul Rouse. "Doyle, Jack". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 1 February 2025.