The Top 10 Songs of 1978 (UK)
Ranked #2,416 in Music, #67,283 overall
The UK's Top 10 Best Selling Songs of 1978
The Top 10 best selling songs of 1978 in the UK somewhat reflected the music trends of the year, but more so reflected the power of the modern musical movie, as tracks from both Grease and Saturday Night Fever dominated singles sales.
The Bee Gees reigned supreme, and it appeared the Gibb brothers could do no wrong. The enormous success of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack produced not only their own hit songs, but also high selling discs by the likes of Tavares, Trammps and Yvonne Elliman - all written by the prolific brothers.
Doing battle with Saturday Night Fever was the soundtrack to the movie, Grease. It produced several big hits, but none bigger than the two songs ranking at Number 2 and Number 3 of 1978. Between them, You're the One That I Want and Summer Nights locked up the Number 1 position for a total of sixteen weeks during the year. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John seemed to be constantly in the public conscience.
However, neither could outrank the astounding interest in the latest Boney M track. Such was the demand for Rivers of Babylon that British presses could not keep pace. Between May and June of 1978, the best selling single of the year had exceeded the million sales mark.
But not everything was about disco and these two movies, as novelty songs and the rise of new wave had record buyers parting with their money. And the tremendous Kate Bush had also arrived.
The Top 10 UK Albums of 1978
9. Rat Trap
The Boomtown Rats
The 1978 UK Top 10 Songs at iTunes
The UK's Top 10 songs of 1978 are directly downloadable from here to your favourite mp3 player!
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You're the One That I Want | John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John | Grease (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) | |
| Rivers of Babylon | Boney M. | Golden Hits Forever Vol. 1 | |
| Summer Nights | John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John | Grease (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) | |
| Three Times a Lady | The Commodores | 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Commodores | |
| Night Fever | Bee Gees | The Ultimate Bee Gees | |
| Take a Chance On Me | ABBA | ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits | |
| Rat Trap | The Boomtown Rats | Best of The Boomtown Rats | |
| Wuthering Heights | Kate Bush | The Kick Inside |
PS: The Top Sellers in the USA
1978 American Hits
The US Top 10 Best Selling Singles for 1978
1. Shadow Dancing
Andy Gibb
2. Night Fever
Bee Gees
3. You Light Up My Life
Debby Boone
4. Stayin' Alive
Bee Gees
5. Kiss You All Over
Exile
6. How Deep Is Your Love
Bee Gees
7. Baby Come Back
Player
8. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water
Andy Gibb
9. Boogie Oogie Oogie
A Taste Of Honey
10. Three Times a Lady
Commodores
AND:
Record of the Year: Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
Album of the Year: Saturday Night Fever - Bee Gees
Song of the Year: Just the Way You Are
Best New Artist of the Year: A Taste of Honey
Follow the 1970s on Facebook
Facebook Fan box widget may not always appear in the Workshop. Please preview or publish your lens to see the widget.
More Music For Your Enjoyment
If pop and rock is your pleasure, then please enjoy these musical pages.
About Your Author
With each article, Richard invites you to step into his world of music, television and entertainment. He will introduce you to The Top 10 Albums in the UK, share The 20 Scariest Film Scores Ever? and even give you an up close look at some classical actors like Christopher Lee as Dracula.
For a complete list of Richard's articles, please visit Waxing-Lyrical on Squidoo.
Searching For Music From 1978?
More Top 10 Best Selling Songs from the 1970s can be found at
The Seventies Music Page
Love This Page About the Songs of 1978?
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Your Thoughts About the Music of 1978
Your Comments Are Welcomed!
-
-
outsource123
Jan 30, 2011 @ 6:21 am | delete
- amazing lens!!
-
-
-
hayleylou
Sep 26, 2010 @ 7:52 pm | delete
- Greece and Abba were great. These were the years when real music was made. Good job :)
-
-
-
24websurf Sep 14, 2009 @ 1:17 am | delete
- I had forgotten that 1978 had so many types of really popular music all going on at one time! What a great year! Great lens!
-
-
-
drifter0658
Jun 10, 2009 @ 4:23 pm | delete
- The Who, Stones and Genesis.......yesssssssssss. The rest....nah. I had an original release of Some Girls. Bought it before they pulled it from the shelf because of racially offensive lyrics. Someone decided that really wanted the album worse than I did.
-
-
-
GypsyGirl68
Oct 25, 2008 @ 7:30 pm | delete
- amazing! one of my all time fave songs (yes it's true I fear) Matchstalk Men... is here! we had to sing this in chorus in 4th grade and I've never forgotten it...4th grade would have been right around 1978...
-
-
-
poddys Oct 3, 2008 @ 7:26 pm | delete
- Very nice lens, 5***** Not all my type of music, but there was so much happening in 1978. Punk was in full swing, the old rock bands were also still doing great, motown and pop and disco too very popular. I lensrolled this into my song lyric lenses.
-
by Waxing-Lyrical
Explore related pages
- The Top 10 Songs of 1972 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1972 (UK)
- The Top 10 Songs of 1973 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1973 (UK)
- The Top 10 Songs of 1974 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1974 (UK)
- The Top 10 Songs of 1975 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1975 (UK)
- The Top 10 Songs of 1976 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1976 (UK)
- The Top 10 Songs of 1977 (UK) The Top 10 Songs of 1977 (UK)