1978 In Numbers
14 Chart Toppers
Fourteen singles climbed to the top spot on the official chart during the calendar year.
| Title | Artist | Weeks No.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Uptown Top Ranking | Althia And Donna | 1 |
| Figaro | Brotherhood Of Man | 1 |
| Take A Chance On Me | Abba | 3 |
| Wuthering Heights | Kate Bush | 4 |
| Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats And Dogs | Brian And Michael | 3 |
| Night Fever | The Bee Gees | 2 |
| Rivers of Babylon | Boney M | 5 |
| You're The One That I Want | John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John | 9 |
| Three Times A Lady | The Commodores | 5 |
| Dreadlock Holiday | 10cc | 1 |
| Summer Nights | John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John | 7 |
| Rat trap | The Boomtown Rats | 2 |
| Da 'Ya' Think I'm Sexy? | Rod Stewart | 1 |
| Mary’s Boy Child | Boney M | 4 |
| †Four weeks were in 1978 | ||
2 Unofficial No. 1s
Two songs topped the NME chart but not the official one used by the BBC.
| Title | Artist | BBC Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Denis | Blondie | 2 |
| I Wonder Why | Showaddywaddy | 2 |
11 Near misses
Eleven songs peaked at No. 2, the lowest number during The Golden Years (1977-85)
| Title | Artist | Weeks No.2 |
|---|---|---|
| Come Back My Love | Darts | 1 |
| Denis | Blondie | 3 |
| I Wonder Why | Showaddywaddy | 1 |
| Boy From New York City | Darts | 1 |
| Smurf Song | Father Abraham And The Smurfs | 6 |
| Substitute | Clout | 2 |
| It’s Raining | Darts | 1 |
| Love Don’t Live Here Anymore | Rose Royce | 2 |
| Rasputin | Boney M | 2 |
| Sandy | John Travolta | 1 |
| †Two weeks were in 1978 | ||
88M Sales Rush
This year saw total sales of singles surge by a record 43% to 88.7M. It remains the second highest total for physical single sales ever.
Source: BPI
4 Million Sellers
The four singles that shifted over a million copies during their chart runs were by two acts.
| Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| You’re The One That I Want | John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John |
| Rivers Of Babylon | Boney M |
| Mary’s Boy Child | Boney M |
| Summer Nights | John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John |
113 Top 10 Hits
The lowest number of singles reached the Top 10 this year.
298 Top 40 Hits
The lowest number of singles made the Top 40 this year - the median stay was 8 weeks.
16 Week Domination
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John spent more weeks at No. 1 during a calendar year than any act during the Golden Years (1977-85).
84 Maiden Appearances
Kate Bush, Blondie, Squeeze, Foreigner and 80 other acts all appeared on Top Of The Pops for the first time.