1978 in British music
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This is a summary of 1978 in music in the United Kingdom.
Contents
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 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 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
Best-selling albums
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
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