This is a summary of 1978 in music in the United Kingdom.
List of years in British music
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14 January – The Sex Pistols play their final show (until a reunion in 1996) at Winterland, San Francisco.24 January – Wings ' "Mull of Kintyre " is number one for a 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 Honolulu , Hawaii.11 March – Kate Bush became the first female solo artist to reach number one in the UK charts with a self-written song, "Wuthering Heights ".30 April – The Clash , Tom Robinson Band , Steel Pulse , X-Ray Spex , the Ruts , Misty in Roots and Generation X all play live in Victoria Park , Hackney at the Anti-Nazi League /Rock Against Racism festival, following a march from Trafalgar Square .25 May – The Who play their last show with Keith Moon .15 July – The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome , Camberley , Surrey, a concert featuring Bob Dylan , Eric Clapton and Joan Armatrading , attracts some 200,000 people.[ 1] 30 July – Thin Lizzy officially announce that Gary Moore has replaced Brian Robertson on guitar.18 August – The Who release their eighth studio album Who Are You Keith Moon as the drummer; Moon dies twenty days after the release of the album.September – Second anti-racism event staged in Brockwell Park , South London, featuring Elvis Costello , Stiff Little Fingers and Aswad , with 150,000 people in attendance.[citation needed 27 November – Def Leppard 's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.December – UB40 formed.
The Bee Gees ' Saturday Night Fever The first BBC Young Musician of the Year competition for classical players is won by trombonist Michael Hext .
Operatic contralto Helen Watts is appointed a CBE .
Multitone Records is founded by Pranil Gohil, specialising in bhangra music.
The tables below include sales between 31 December 1977 and 30 December 1978: the year-end charts reproduced in the issue of Music Week
Best-selling singles
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[ 2]
[ 3]
Notes :
^ Reached number 1 in 1979
^ Reached number 4 in 1977
^ Reached number 5 in 1979
^ Reached number 1 in 1979
^ Reached number 9 in 1981
^ Reached number 1 in 1976
^ Reached number 1 in 1979
^ Reached number 3 in 1977
^ Reached number 1 in 1976
Classical music: new works
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Film and Incidental music
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1 January – Tarik O'Regan , composer13 January – Shelley Nash, singer (Girls@Play )15 January – Sandi Lee Hughes, singer (allSTARS* )19 January – Wayne Williams, singer (Another Level )13 February – Hamish Glencross , Scottish guitarist14 February – Ryan Griffiths (The Vines )22 February – Jenny Frost , singer (Atomic Kitten )6 April – Myleene Klass , singer (Hear'Say ), radio and TV presenter7 April – Duncan James , singer (Blue )9 April – Rachel Stevens , singer (S Club 7 )16 April – Terry Daly, Irish singer (Mytown )23 April – Tom Lowe, singer and keyboardist (North and South)25 April – Luke Bedford , composer28 April – Lauren Laverne , singer, radio DJ and TV presenter4 May – Matthew Rose , bass22 May – Jordan , model and would-be singer29 May – Adam Rickitt , singer6 June – Sophie Solomon , violinist16 June – Elisa Cariera, American-born singer (Solid HarmoniE )4 July – Stephen McNally , English singer-songwriter (BBMak )1 August – Jonathan Wilkes , singer and entertainer3 September – Johnny Shentall , singer (Boom! )15 September – David Sneddon , singer-songwriter27 September – Jamie Benson, singer (Hepburn )7 October – Alesha Dixon , singer (Mis-Teeq )9 October
26 October – Rachael Carr, singer (Boom! )27 October – Sabrina Washington , singer (Mis-Teeq)29 October – Sam Chapman, singer and keyboardist (North and South)1 November – Bobak Kianovsh, singer (Another Level)7 November – Mark Read , singer (A1 )27 November – Mike Skinner , rapper, musician and record producer12 December – Paul Walker, Irish singer (Mytown)18 December – Lindsay Armaou , Greek-born Irish-based singer (B*Witched )date unknown – Oliver Weeks , composer, arranger and guitarist
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
15 September – Robert Bruce Montgomery , composer (b. 1921)13 November – W. S. Gwynn Williams , musician and composer (b. 1896) 