1977 in British music

This is a summary of 1977 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

1970s in music in the UK
Events
1977 in music
By location
By genre
By topic
  • List of albums released
List of years in British music

Events
  • 1 January – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy.
  • 22 January – Maria Kliegel makes her London début at the Wigmore Hall, with a programme of Bach, Kodály, and Franck.
  • 26 January - Fleetwood Mac's original lead guitarist, Peter Green, is committed to a mental hospital in England after firing a pistol at a delivery boy bringing him a royalties check.
  • 27 January – After releasing only one single for the band, EMI Records terminates its contract with the Sex Pistols.
  • 4 February - Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is released; it goes on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time.
  • 15 February – Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist of the Sex Pistols.
  • 10 March – A&M Records signs the Sex Pistols in a ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace. The contract is terminated on 16 March as a result of the band vandalizing property and verbally abusing employees during a visit to the record company's office.
  • 2 May – Elton John performs the first of six consecutive nights at London's Rainbow Theatre, his first concert in eight months. John keeps a low profile in 1977, not releasing any new music for the first year since his recording career began eight years previously.
  • 7 May – Having been postponed from 2 April because of a BBC technicians' strike, the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest finally goes ahead in London's Wembley Conference Centre.
  • 11 May – The Stranglers and support band London start a 10-week national tour.
  • 12 May - Virgin Records announces that they have signed the Sex Pistols.
  • 7 June – The Sex Pistols attempt to interrupt Silver Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II by performing "God Save the Queen" from a boat on the River Thames. Police force the boat to dock and several arrests are made following a scuffle.
  • 12 June - Guitarist Michael Schenker vanishes after a UFO concert at The Roundhouse in London. He is replaced for several months by Paul Chapman until he appears again to rejoin the group in October.
  • 15 June – The Snape Maltings Training Orchestra makes its London debut at St John's, Smith Square.
  • 25 June – The Young Musicians' Symphony Orchestra of London, conducted by James Blair, gives the belated première of William Walton's 1962 composition Prelude for Orchestra.
  • 6 July - During a Pink Floyd concert before a crowd of 80,000 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Bassist Roger Waters having become increasingly irritated by a fan until he exerts his frustration by spitting on him. The incident becomes the catalyst for the group's next album, The Wall.
  • 22 July – The first night of The Proms is broadcast by BBC Radio 3 for the first time in quadraphonic sound.
  • 26 July – Led Zeppelin cancels the last seven dates of their American tour after lead singer Robert Plant learns that his six-year-old son Karac has died of a respiratory virus. The show two days before in Oakland proves to be the band's last ever in the United States.
  • 1 September – World première at the Royal Albert Hall in London of the expanded version of Luciano Berio's Coro.
  • 16 September – T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan is killed in an automobile accident.
  • 27 October - The Sex Pistols release their controversial album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which would be their only studio album.

Charts

Number-one singles
DateSongArtist
8 January"When a Child is Born"Johnny Mathis
15 January"Don't Give Up on Us"David Soul
22 January
29 January
5 February
12 February"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"Julie Covington
19 February"When I Need You"Leo Sayer
26 February
5 March
12 March"Chanson D'Amour"The Manhattan Transfer
19 March
26 March
2 April"Knowing Me, Knowing You"ABBA
9 April
16 April
23 April
30 April
7 May"Free"Deniece Williams
14 May
21 May"I Don't Want to Talk About It" / "The First Cut Is the Deepest"Rod Stewart
28 May
4 June
11 June
18 June"Lucille"Kenny Rogers
25 June"Show You the Way to Go"The Jacksons
2 July"So You Win Again"Hot Chocolate
9 July
16 July
23 July"I Feel Love"Donna Summer
30 July
6 August
13 August
20 August"Angelo"Brotherhood of Man
27 August"Float On"Floaters
3 September"Way Down"Elvis Presley
10 September
17 September
24 September
1 October
8 October"Silver Lady"David Soul
15 October
22 October
29 October"Yes Sir I Can Boogie"Baccara
5 November"The Name of the Game"ABBA
12 November
19 November
26 November
3 December"Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School"Wings
10 December
17 December
24 December
31 December

Number-one albums
Date Album Artist Weeks
8 January A Day at the Races Queen 1
15 January Arrival ABBA 1
22 January Red River Valley Slim Whitman 4
29 January
5 February
12 February
19 February 20 Golden Greats The Shadows 6
26 February
5 March
12 March
19 March
26 March
2 April Portrait of Sinatra Frank Sinatra 2
9 April
16 April Arrival ABBA 9
23 April
30 April
7 May
14 May
21 May
28 May
4 June
11 June
18 June The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl The Beatles 1
25 June The Muppet Show The Muppets 1
2 July A Star is Born Original Soundtrack 2
9 July
16 July The Johnny Mathis Collection Johnny Mathis 4
23 July
30 July
6 August
13 August Going for the One Yes 2
20 August
27 August 20 All Time Greats Connie Francis 2
3 September
10 September 40 Greatest Hits Elvis Presley 1
17 September 20 Golden Greats Diana Ross and the Supremes 7
24 September
1 October
8 October
15 October
22 October
29 October
5 November 40 Golden Greats Cliff Richard 1
12 November Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols 2
19 November
26 November The Sound of Bread Bread 2
3 December
10 December Disco Fever Various Artists 4
17 December
24 December
31 December

Year-end charts

1977 is the first year for which "full year" UK year-end charts exist – in order to be published in the year's final issue of Music Week and to be broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on New Year's Day, the collection of sales data had a cut-off point sometime in early December each year. This continued to be the case until 1983, when Gallup took over the compilation of the charts from the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) and automated the data collection process, which meant that sales could be tabulated right up until the end of the year and still produced in time for the Radio 1 broadcast. However, from 1977 to 1982 (with the exception of 1979), BMRB produced updated charts a few months later which included the missing final weeks' sales for each year.

The tables below include sales between 1 January and 30 December 1977: the year-end charts reproduced in the issue of Music Week dated 24 December 1977 and played on Radio 1 on 1 January 1978 only include sales figures up until 10 December 1977.

Best-selling singles

[1]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls' School" Wings 1
2 "Don't Give Up on Us" David Soul 1
3 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" Julie Covington 1
4 "When I Need You" Leo Sayer 1
5 "Silver Lady" David Soul 1
6 "Knowing Me, Knowing You" ABBA 1
7 "I Feel Love" Donna Summer 1
8 "Way Down" Elvis Presley 1
9 "So You Win Again" Hot Chocolate 1
10 "Angelo" Brotherhood of Man 1
11 "Chanson D'Amour" The Manhattan Transfer 1
12 "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" Baccara 1
13 "Black Is Black" La Belle Epoque 2
14 "Fanfare for the Common Man" Emerson, Lake and Palmer 2
15 "Ma Baker" Boney M 2
16 "The Name of the Game" ABBA 1
17 "Rockin' All Over the World" Status Quo 3
18 "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" Barbra Streisand 3
19 "How Deep Is Your Love" Bee Gees 3
20 "Lucille" Kenny Rogers 1
21 "The Floral Dance" Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band 2
22 "Magic Fly" Space 2
23 "We Are the Champions" Queen 2
24 "Boogie Nights" Heatwave 2
25 "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" Rod Stewart 3
26 "Sideshow" Barry Biggs 3
27 "Float On" The Floaters 1
28 "Show You the Way to Go" The Jacksons 1
29 "Baby Don't Change Your Mind" Gladys Knight & the Pips 4
30 "Free" Deniece Williams 1
31 "Sound and Vision" David Bowie 3
32 "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" Joe Tex 2
33 "I Don't Want to Talk About It"/"The First Cut Is the Deepest" Rod Stewart 1
34 "Going in with My Eyes Open" David Soul 2
35 "Dancin' Party" Showaddywaddy 4
36 "When" Showaddywaddy 3
37 "You Got What It Takes" Showaddywaddy 2
38 "Oxygène (Part IV)" Jean-Michel Jarre 4
39 "Daddy Cool – The Girl Can't Help It" Darts 6
40 "Best of My Love" The Emotions 4
41 "The Crunch" The RAH Band 6
42 "I Will" Ruby Winters 4
43 "Black Betty" Ram Jam 7
44 "The Shuffle" Van McCoy 4
45 "Nobody Does It Better" Carly Simon 7
46 "Down Deep Inside (Theme from The Deep)" Donna Summer 5
47 "Red Light Spells Danger" Billy Ocean 2
48 "2-4-6-8 Motorway" Tom Robinson Band 5
49 "Isn't She Lovely" David Parton 4
50 "Nights on Broadway" Candi Staton 6

Despite spending four weeks at number one, Rod Stewart's "I Don't Want to Talk About It"/"The First Cut Is the Deepest" was only placed at number 33 on the year-end chart for 1977, the lowest ranked number one single of the year, and lower than another of Stewart's singles, "You're in My Heart", which only reached number three. Some chart-watchers claim to have evidence that an incorrect panel sale figure was applied to sales during the period that "I Don't Want to Talk About It"/"The First Cut Is the Deepest" was out, resulting in a lower estimation of the single's total sales, and that the single should actually be placed inside the top fifteen year-end positions. However, this claim has never been verified by BMRB or any of the subsequent chart compilers.

Best-selling albums

The list of the top fifty best-selling albums of 1977 were published in the third edition of the BPI Year Book in 1978. However, in 2007 the Official Charts Company published album chart histories for each year from 1956 to 1977, researched by historian Sharon Mawer, and included an updated list of the top ten best-selling albums for each year based on the new research. The updated top ten for 1977 is shown in the table below.[2]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 Arrival ABBA 1
2 20 Golden Greats The Shadows 1
3 20 Golden Greats Diana Ross and the Supremes 1
4 Rumours Fleetwood Mac 3[lower-alpha 1]
5 A Star Is Born Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson 1
6 Hotel California Eagles 2
7 The Sound of Bread Bread 1
8 The Johnny Mathis Collection Johnny Mathis 1
9 Greatest Hits ABBA 2[lower-alpha 2]
10 Animals Pink Floyd 2

Notes:

  1. Reached number 1 in 1978
  2. Reached number 1 in 1976

Classical music: new works

Opera

Film and Incidental music

Births

Deaths

Music awards

BRIT Awards

The 1977 BRIT Awards were to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee and were for the previous 25 years of her reign. The winners were:

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See also

References
  1. Hunter, Nigel; Scaping, Peter, eds. (1978). "Top 100 Singles in 1977". BPI Year Book 1978 (3rd ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 216–17. ISBN 0-906154-01-4.
  2. Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1977". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  3. "Malcolm Arnold". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. Martin Wainwright (18 Sep 2004). "John Buller". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. Gifford, Paul M. (2001), The Hammered Dulcimer: A History, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-3943-1.
  6. A day at the opera with Hitler: the secret agent who captured rare moments for MI5 | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
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