Biggest Singles 1979
The UK's Top 40 best performing singles in 1979 are listed below. The two best selling singles of the year are also its best performing chart hits. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (No. 5) is one of the biggest singles by a female solo artist during the Golden Years (1977-85). The Police (No. 16) and Queen (No. 20) appear in our year-end Top 20 for the first time, while ABBA make their third consecutive appearance in the Top 40, albeit far outside the top places (Nos. 34 and 38). They will be back on top in 1980.
Singles are ordered by their Chart Measured Performance (CHAMP) scores. A single's peak position and the month it peaked are also provided.
➀ – ➈ NME peak position (if different from official chart)
| Peak Month | Peak | CHAMP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRIGHT EYES Art Garfunkel | April | 1 | 1,860 |
| 2 | Y.M.C.A.The Village People | January† | 1 | 1,836 |
| 3 | WE DON'T TALK ANYMORECliff Richard | August | 1 | 1,725 |
| 4 | WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMANDr Hook | November | 1 | 1,691 |
| 5 | I WILL SURVIVEGloria Gaynor | March | 1 | 1,572 |
| 6 | ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC? ⏹Tubeway Army | June | 1 | 1,552 |
| 7 | ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL ⏹Pink Floyd | December† | 1 | 1,474 |
| 8 | HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK ⏹Ian Dury And The Blockheads | January† | 1 | 1,447 |
| 9 | I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS ⏹The Boomtown Rats | July | 1 | 1,402 |
| 10 | HEART OF GLASSBlondie | February | 1 | 1,399 |
| 11 | POP MUZIKM | May | 2➀ | 1,303 |
| 12 | DANCE AWAY ⏹Roxy Music | May | 2➀ | 1,277 |
| 13 | ONE DAY AT A TIMELena Martell | October | 1 | 1,261 |
| 14 | OLIVER'S ARMY ⏹Elvis Costello And The Attractions | March | 2➀ | 1,255 |
| 15 | SUNDAY GIRLBlondie | May | 1 | 1,177 |
| 16 | MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE ⏹The Police | September | 1 | 1,114 |
| 17 | CARS ⏹Gary Numan | September | 1 | 1,111 |
| 18 | LAY YOUR LOVE ON MERacey | January | 3 | 1,109 |
| 19 | RING MY BELLAnita Ward | June | 1 | 1,097 |
| 20 | CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVEQueen | November† | 2➃ | 1,097 |
| 21 | TRAGEDYThe Bee Gees | March | 1 | 1,079 |
| 22 | BOOGIE WONDERLANDEarth Wind And Fire With The Emotions | June | 4➂ | 1,067 |
| 23 | WALKING ON THE MOONThe Police | December† | 1 | 1,062 |
| 24 | I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOUTourists | December† | 4➂ | 1,045 |
| 25 | SOME GIRLSRacey | April | 2 | 1,032 |
| 26 | NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH)Donna Summer And Barbra Streisand | December† | 3➁ | 1,006 |
| 27 | SEPTEMBEREarth Wind And Fire | January† | 3 | 980 |
| 28 | RAPPER'S DELIGHTThe Sugarhill Gang | December | 3➁ | 971 |
| 29 | BANG BANGB.A. Robertson | August | 2 | 963 |
| 30 | WOMAN IN LOVEThe Three Degrees | March | 3 | 962 |
| 31 | VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR ⏹The Buggles | October | 1 | 956 |
| 32 | SILLY GAMESJanet Kay | July | 2➀ | 955 |
| 33 | REUNITEDPeaches And Herb | June | 4➂ | 950 |
| 34 | CHIQUITITAABBA | February | 2➀ | 943 |
| 35 | DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGHMichael Jackson | October | 3➁ | 939 |
| 36 | COOL FOR CATSSqueeze | April | 2 | 937 |
| 37 | LUCKY NUMBERLene Lovich | March | 3➁ | 935 |
| 38 | I HAVE A DREAMABBA | December† | 2 | 932 |
| 39 | IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY…Bellamy Brothers | September | 3 | 930 |
| 40 | EVERY DAY HURTSSad Cafe | November | 3 | 888 |
Chart © Wow Vinyl 2025
➀ – ➈ NME peak position (if different from official chart)
† Part of the chart run was in 1978 or 1980, which has been included in calculating the CHAMP score
⏹ Featured on The Wall for 1979
Tie-breaker: singles with equal CHAMP scores are ordered by better performance in the official chart