1978 in British music

Last updated
List of years in British music
+...

This is a summary of 1978 in music in the United Kingdom.

Contents

Events

Charts

Number one singles

DateSongArtist
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

DateAlbumArtistWeeks
7 JanuaryDisco FeverVarious Artists2
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 Soundtrack18
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 Soundtrack13
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

[2]

No.TitleArtistPeak
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 M1
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 M2
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"Darts2
24"Wishing on a Star"Rose Royce3
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 [lower-alpha 1]
32"Annie's Song" James Galway 3
33"Stayin' Alive"Bee Gees4
34"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams 3
35"The Boy from New York City"Darts2
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 Choir3
42"I Can't Stand the Rain" Eruption featuring Precious Wilson 5
43"Mr. Blue Sky"Electric Light Orchestra6
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

[3]

No.TitleArtistPeak
position
1 Saturday Night Fever Original Soundtrack1
2 Grease Original Soundtrack1
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 [lower-alpha 2]
8 Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds Jeff Wayne 5
9Images Don Williams 2
10 20 Golden Greats Buddy Holly & the Crickets1
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 [lower-alpha 3]
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 Soundtrack2
23 City to City Gerry Rafferty 6
24The Big Wheels of MotownVarious Artists2
25 You Light Up My Life Johnny Mathis 3
26Greatest Hits (1976-1978) Showaddywaddy 4 [lower-alpha 4]
2720 Golden Greats Neil Diamond 2
28 Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf 11 [lower-alpha 5]
29 London Town Wings 4
30EmotionsVarious Artists2
31Midnight HustleVarious Artists5
32 Some Girls The Rolling Stones 2
33 Variations Andrew Lloyd Webber 2
34 Pastiche The Manhattan Transfer 10
35 Greatest Hits ABBA12 [lower-alpha 6]
36 Kaya Bob Marley and the Wailers 4
37 Blondes Have More Fun Rod Stewart 3
38 Parallel Lines Blondie 7 [lower-alpha 7]
39 Foot Loose & Fancy Free Rod Stewart 4 [lower-alpha 8]
40 Plastic Letters Blondie10
41 Arrival ABBA12 [lower-alpha 9]
42 Black and White The Stranglers 2
4320 Giant Hits The Nolan Sisters 3
44The Greatest Hits of Donna Summer Donna Summer 4
45 Natural High The Commodores 8
46 This Year's Model Elvis Costello and the Attractions4
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

Film and Incidental music

Births

Deaths

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1978 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mis-Teeq</span> British girl group (2000–2005)

Mis-Teeq was a British girl group, consisting of Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington. They were active from 2000–2005.

<i>Eye Candy</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Mis-Teeq

Eye Candy is the second and final studio album by British girl group Mis-Teeq. It was released by Telstar Records on 29 March 2003 in the United Kingdom. As with their previous album Lickin' on Both Sides (2001), the trio worked with producers StarGate, Ed Case, Mushtaq, and Rishi Rich on the majority of the album, but also consulted new collaborators such as Dave Kelly, Salaam Remi and singer Joe. Musically, Eye Candy took the band's sound further into the contemporary R&B genre, combining pop and soul music with heavy hip hop, garage and reggae elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scandalous (Mis-Teeq song)</span> 2003 single by Mis-Teeq

"Scandalous" is a song by British girl group Mis-Teeq. It was composed by band members Su-Elise Nash, Alesha Dixon, and Sabrina Washington along with frequent collaborators Hallgeir Rustan, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Mikkel Eriksen for their second studio album, Eye Candy (2003), with production handled by the latter two under their production moniker StarGate. Written in the key of C minor, "Scandalous" is an up-tempo R&B song with a heavy bassline, strings, a siren sound, and suggestive lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabrina Washington</span> British singer

Sabrina Fredrica Washington is a British singer, actress, and entrepreneur initially known as the lead singer of garage/R&B girl group Mis-Teeq.

This is a summary of 1979 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. 1979 saw the beginning of several trends in British music. Electropop reached number one in both the singles and albums charts in the form of Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, and synthesiser bands began to gather momentum which would come to dominate music in the early 1980s. The first rap hit in the UK came from the Sugar Hill Gang. The 2 Tone movement also emerged, with early work from bands such as The Specials and Madness. Disco music was still the most popular music of the year, although it showed signs of dying out in the year's later months. 1979 remains the year when physical-format singles hit their sales peak in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B with Me</span> 2002 single by Mis-Teeq

"B with Me" is a song by British girl group Mis-Teeq. It was written by band members Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash, and Sabrina Washington along with Mushtaq for their debut album, Lickin' on Both Sides (2001). Rather than the album version, Grant Nelson's Bump & Flex garage remix of the song was chosen as the fourth single from the album. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. The music video features the group dancing on a beach scene, moving into a shack for Dixon's rap.

This is a summary of 1981 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

This is a summary of 1980 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

This is a summary of 1977 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1949 in jazz</span> Overview of the events of 1949 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1949.

This is a summary of 1972 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

This is a summary of 1973 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

This is a summary of 1974 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Robert Gary Smith is an American musician and songwriter. He was a member of Chase and a founding member of Survivor. Smith has also performed or recorded with B.B. King, Joe Williams, Vic Damone, Patrick Leonard, Leslie West (Mountain), Steve Forman, Will Lee, Elliott Randall, Bobby Kimball, Tommy Shaw, Darryl Jones, Jim Peterik, John Gary, Bruce Gaitsch, Eric Miyashiro, Clark Terry, Chuck Findley, Larry Carlton, Jaco Pastorius and many others.

This is a summary of 2011 in music in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. "The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome 1978". www.ukrockfestivals.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  2. 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.
  3. Scaping (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". pp. 182–85.