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.
1979 appears to be the only year since 1977 for which "full year" year-end charts do not exist. The British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), which compiled the official UK charts from 1969 to 1982, used a cut-off date for the collection of sales data sometime in early December each year, in order for the "end of year" chart to be published in the year's final issue of Music Week and to be broadcast on BBC Radio 1. However, from 1977 to 1982 BMRB produced updated charts a few months later which included the missing final weeks' sales for each year.
No updated chart appears to exist for 1979, so the tables below include only sales between 1 January and 8 December 1979. The two singles most affected by the lack of a full year chart are the records that were at number one and number two for the final three weeks of the year, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" by Pink Floyd and "I Have a Dream" by ABBA: neither of these records appear in the end of year list for 1979.
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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 List of years in British music 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science Contents 1 Events 2 Charts 2 1 Number one singles 2 2 Number one albums 3 Year end charts 3 1 Best selling singles 3 2 Best selling albums 4 Classical music new works 5 Opera 6 Film and Incidental music 7 Musical theatre 8 Musical films 9 Births 10 Deaths 11 See also 12 ReferencesEvents edit23 February Dire Straits begin their first American tour in Boston 27 March Eric Clapton marries Patti Boyd ex wife of Clapton s friend George Harrison 31 March In the Eurovision Song Contest UK representatives Black Lace finish seventh 2 April Kate Bush begins her first live tour The Tour of Life It remains her only tour and would be her only live shows for 35 years until her Before the Dawn shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014 6 April Rod Stewart marries Alana Hamilton 1 May Elton John becomes the first overseas pop music artist to perform in Israel 2 May The Who perform their first concert following the death of drummer Keith Moon The band performed with new drummer Kenney Jones 11 August Led Zeppelin play their last ever British concert at Knebworth in Hertfordshire 21 August Cliff Richard achieves his tenth UK number one with We Don t Talk Anymore his first chart topper in over 11 years August Brotherhood of Man members Martin Lee and Sandra Stevens marry 26 November Bill Haley amp His Comets perform at the Drury Lane Theatre in London in a command performance for the Queen This was Haley s final recorded performance of Rock Around the Clock date unknown The Welsh Philharmonia becomes the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Richard Rodney Bennett becomes a resident of New York City 1 Arthur Oldham founds the Concertgebouw Orchestra Chorus in Amsterdam 2 Charts editNumber one singles edit Date Song Artist6 January Y M C A Village People13 January20 January27 January Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick Ian Dury and the Blockheads3 February Heart of Glass Blondie10 February17 February24 February3 March Tragedy Bee Gees10 March17 March I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor24 March31 March7 April14 April Bright Eyes Art Garfunkel21 April28 April5 May12 May19 May26 May Sunday Girl Blondie2 June9 June16 June Ring My Bell Anita Ward23 June30 June Are Friends Electric Tubeway Army7 July14 July21 July28 July I Don t Like Mondays The Boomtown Rats4 August11 August18 August25 August We Don t Talk Anymore Cliff Richard1 September8 September15 September22 September Cars Gary Numan29 September Message in a Bottle The Police6 October13 October20 October Video Killed the Radio Star The Buggles27 October One Day at a Time Lena Martell3 November10 November17 November When You re in Love with a Beautiful Woman Dr Hook24 November1 December8 December Walking on the Moon The Police15 December Another Brick in the Wall Part II Pink Floyd22 December29 DecemberNumber one albums edit Date Album Artist Weeks6 January Greatest Hits Showaddywaddy 213 January20 January Don t Walk Boogie Various artists 327 January3 February10 February Action Replay Various artists 117 February Parallel Lines Blondie 424 February3 March10 March17 March Spirits Having Flown Bee Gees 224 March31 March Barbra Streisand s Greatest Hits Vol 2 Barbra Streisand 47 April14 April21 April28 April The Very Best of Leo Sayer Leo Sayer 35 May12 May19 May Voulez Vous ABBA 426 May2 June9 June16 June Discovery Electric Light Orchestra 523 June30 June7 July14 July21 July Replicas Tubeway Army 128 July The Best Disco Album in the World Various artists 64 August11 August18 August25 August1 September8 September In Through the Out Door Led Zeppelin 215 September22 September The Pleasure Principle Gary Numan 129 September Oceans of Fantasy Boney M 16 October The Pleasure Principle Gary Numan 1 13 October Eat to the Beat Blondie 1 13 October Reggatta De Blanc The Police 420 October27 October3 November10 November Tusk Fleetwood Mac 117 November Greatest Hits Vol 2 ABBA 324 November1 December8 December Greatest Hits Vol 1 Rod Stewart 415 December22 December29 DecemberYear end charts edit1979 appears to be the only year since 1977 for which full year year end charts do not exist The British Market Research Bureau BMRB which compiled the official UK charts from 1969 to 1982 used a cut off date for the collection of sales data sometime in early December each year in order for the end of year chart to be published in the year s final issue of Music Week and to be broadcast on BBC Radio 1 However from 1977 to 1982 BMRB produced updated charts a few months later which included the missing final weeks sales for each year No updated chart appears to exist for 1979 so the tables below include only sales between 1 January and 8 December 1979 The two singles most affected by the lack of a full year chart are the records that were at number one and number two for the final three weeks of the year Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 by Pink Floyd and I Have a Dream by ABBA neither of these records appear in the end of year list for 1979 Best selling singles edit 3 No Title Artist Peakposition1 Bright Eyes Art Garfunkel 12 Heart of Glass Blondie 13 We Don t Talk Anymore Cliff Richard 14 I Don t Like Mondays The Boomtown Rats 15 When You re in Love with a Beautiful Woman Dr Hook 16 I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor 17 Are Friends Electric Tubeway Army 18 Dance Away Roxy Music 29 Sunday Girl Blondie 110 One Day at a Time Lena Martell 111 Message in a Bottle The Police 112 Pop Muzik M 213 Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick Ian Dury and the Blockheads 114 Oliver s Army Elvis Costello and the Attractions 215 Tragedy Bee Gees 116 Chiquitita ABBA 217 Video Killed the Radio Star The Buggles 118 Cars Gary Numan 119 Every Day Hurts Sad Cafe 320 Ring My Bell Anita Ward 121 Some Girls Racey 222 Boogie Wonderland Earth Wind amp Fire with the Emotions 423 Don t Stop Til You Get Enough Michael Jackson 324 Woman in Love The Three Degrees 325 Crazy Little Thing Called Love Queen 226 Y M C A Village People 127 Reunited Peaches and Herb 428 Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight ABBA 329 Lucky Number Lene Lovich 330 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me The Bellamy Brothers 331 Cool for Cats Squeeze 232 Something Else Friggin in the Riggin Sex Pistols 333 Silly Games Janet Kay 234 Bang Bang B A Robertson 235 Dreaming Blondie 236 Wanted The Dooleys 337 Can You Feel the Force The Real Thing 538 Knock on Wood Amii Stewart 639 Contact Edwin Starr 640 I Want Your Love Chic 441 Hooray Hooray It s a Holi Holiday Boney M 342 Theme from The Deer Hunter Cavatina The Shadows 943 Does Your Mother Know ABBA 444 Shake Your Body Down to the Ground The Jacksons 445 Since You ve Been Gone Rainbow 646 Up the Junction Squeeze 247 Love s Gotta Hold on Me Dollar 448 Still The Commodores 449 In the Navy Village People 250 Whatever You Want Status Quo 4Best selling albums edit 4 No Title Artist Peakposition1 Parallel Lines Blondie 12 Discovery Electric Light Orchestra 13 The Very Best of Leo Sayer Leo Sayer 14 Breakfast in America Supertramp 35 Voulez Vous ABBA 16 Barbra Streisand s Greatest Hits Vol 2 Barbra Streisand 17 Spirits Having Flown Bee Gees 18 Greatest Hits Vol 2 ABBA 19 Reggatta de Blanc The Police 110 Manilow Magic The Best of Barry Manilow Barry Manilow 311 Greatest Hits Rod Stewart 112 Last the Whole Night Long James Last 213 Armed Forces Elvis Costello and the Attractions 214 Outlandos d Amour The Police 615 The Best Disco Album in the World Various Artists 116 Replicas Tubeway Army 117 I Am Earth Wind amp Fire 518 C est Chic Chic 219 Dire Straits Dire Straits 520 Manifesto Roxy Music 721 Eat to the Beat Blondie 122 Jeff Wayne s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds Jeff Wayne 12 a 23 Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf 11 b 24 Do It Yourself Ian Dury and the Blockheads 225 Tusk Fleetwood Mac 126 Out of the Blue Electric Light Orchestra 13 c 27 New Boots and Panties Ian Dury 528 20 Golden Greats Diana Ross 229 Night Owl Gerry Rafferty 930 Don t Walk Boogie Various Artists 131 Fate for Breakfast Art Garfunkel 232 The Best of Earth Wind amp Fire Vol 1 Earth Wind amp Fire 633 Black Rose A Rock Legend Thin Lizzy 234 The Pleasure Principle Gary Numan 135 Action Replay Various Artists 136 In Through the Out Door Led Zeppelin 137 The Great Rock and Roll Swindle Sex Pistols 738 String of Hits The Shadows 4 d 39 Live Killers Queen 340 Lodger David Bowie 441 A Collection of Their 20 Greatest Hits The Three Degrees 842 Nightflight to Venus Boney M 143 Wings Greatest Wings 544 Sky Sky 945 Off the Wall Michael Jackson 546 Bridges John Williams 547 Lionheart Kate Bush 12 e 48 Blondes Have More Fun Rod Stewart 7 f 49 Bob Dylan at Budokan Bob Dylan 450 Country Life Various Artists 2Notes Reached number 5 in 1978 Reached number 9 in 1981 Reached number 4 in 1977 Reached number 1 in 1980 Reached number 6 in 1978 Reached number 3 in 1978Classical music new works editWilliam Lloyd Webber Missa Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae Malcolm Williamson Symphony No 5 AqueroOpera editPeter Maxwell Davies The LighthouseFilm and Incidental music editRichard Rodney Bennett Yanks directed by John Schlesinger starring Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave Geoffrey Burgon Monty Python s Life of Brian Musical theatre editAndrew Lloyd Webber Tell Me on a Sunday Stephen Sondheim amp Hugh Wheeler Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street premiered on Broadway 5 Musical films editThe Music Machine The Who QuadropheniaBirths edit5 January Steve Scott Lee singer 3SL Michelle Barber singer Girl Thing 19 January Wiley record producer and MC 20 January Will Young singer and winner of Pop Idol series 1 23 January Vicky Dowdall singer Girls Play 8 March Tom Chaplin singer Keane 12 March Pete Doherty singer and guitarist The Libertines and Babyshambles 30 March Simon Webbe singer Blue 10 April Sophie Ellis Bextor singer 11 April Paul Byrom Irish tenor Lee Otter singer North and South 13 April Tony Lundon Irish singer Liberty X 29 April Jo O Meara singer S Club 7 Matt Tong Bloc Party 3 May Danny Foster singer Hear Say 23 May Lisa Jay White singer Girls Play 31 May Sarah Class composer 8 June Adam de la Cour musician and composer 29 June Abz Love singer 5ive 4 July Nikki Stuart singer Girl Thing 5 July Shane Filan Irish singer Westlife 19 July Michelle Heaton singer Liberty X 20 July Charlotte Hatherley singer songwriter and guitarist Ash and Nightnurse 20 August Jamie Cullum jazz pianist and singer 23 August Ritchie Neville singer 5ive 5 September Garry O Meara Irish singer Reel 8 October Alexander Shelley conductor 22 November Scott Robinson singer 5ive 28 November Dane Bowers singer Another Level 5th Story 3 December Daniel Bedingfield pop singer and songwriter Kerri Ann Irish singer 15 December Edele and Keavy Lynch Irish singers B Witched date unknown Mark Bowden Welsh born composer Emily Howard composerDeaths edit2 February Sid Vicious punk rocker 21 drug overdose 4 March Mike Patto rock vocalist 36 throat cancer 6 24 May Sir Ernest Bullock organist and composer 88 16 July Alfred Deller countertenor 67 25 August Stan Kenton bandleader 67 4 September Guy Bolton librettist 94 6 September Ronald Binge composer and arranger 69 9 September Norrie Paramor record producer composer arranger and orchestral conductor 65 27 September Gracie Fields actress and singer 81 13 October Rebecca Helferich Clarke viola player and composer 93 6 November Hugh Ottaway music writer 54 7 30 November Joyce Grenfell actress and musical performer 69 December Terence Judd pianist 22 probable suicide 8 21 December Nansi Richards harpist 91See also edit1979 in British radio 1979 in British television 1979 in the United Kingdom List of British films of 1979References edit Zachary Woolfe Richard Rodney Bennett British Composer Dies at 76 New York Times 30 December 2012 The Independent 13 May 2003 Top Singles 1979 Music Week London England Spotlight Publications 22 December 1979 p 27 Top Albums 1979 Music Week London England Spotlight Publications 22 December 1979 p 30 Hampton Wilborn Hugh Wheeler obituary New York Times July 28 1987 Patto Alexgitlin com 1979 03 03 Retrieved 2013 06 15 Hugh Ottaway The Musical Times Vol 121 No 1643 January 1980 p 48 The Glasgow Herald 25 January 1980 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1979 in British music amp oldid 1177972508, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
