1979 In Numbers
18 Chart Toppers
A dozen and a half singles climbed to the top spot on the official chart during the calendar year.
| Title | Artist | Weeks No.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Y.M.C.A. | The Village People | 3 |
| Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick | Ian And The Blockheads | 1 |
| Heart Of Glass | Blondie | 4 |
| Tragedy | The Bee Gees | 2 |
| I Will Survive | Gloria Gaynor | 4 |
| Bright Eyes | Art Garfunkel | 6 |
| Sunday Girl | Blondie | 3 |
| Ring My Bell | Anita Ward | 2 |
| Are 'Friends' Electric? | Tubeway Army | 4 |
| I Don't Like Mondays | The Boomtown Rats | 4 |
| We Don't Talk Anymore | Cliff Richard | 4 |
| Cars | Gary Numan | 1 |
| Message In A Bottle | The Police | 3 |
| Video Killed The Radio Star | The Buggles | 1 |
| One Day At A Time | Lena Martell | 3 |
| When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman | Dr. Hook | 3 |
| Walking On The Moon | The Police | 1 |
| Another Brick In The Wall | Pink Floyd | 5† |
| †Four weeks were in 1978 | ||
6 Unofficial No. 1s
Six songs topped the NME chart but not the official one used by the BBC.
| Title | Artist | BBC Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Chiquitita | ABBA | 2 |
| Oliver's Army | Elvis Costello | 2 |
| In The Navy | Village People | 2 |
| Pop Music | M | 2 |
| Dance Away | Roxy Music | 2 |
| Silly Games | Janet Kay | 2 |
14 Near misses
Fourteen songs peaked at No. 2 for a total of 26 weeks. ABBA spent the most weeks at No. 2, a consolation for not reaching the top spot for the first time in three years.
| Title | Artist | Weeks No.2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chiquitita | ABBA | 2 |
| Oliver’s Army | Elvis Costello | 3 |
| In The Navy | Village People | 2 |
| Cool For Cats | Squeeze | 1 |
| Some Girls | Racey | 3 |
| Pop Musik | M | 2 |
| Dance Away | Roxy Music | 3 |
| Up The Junction | Squeeze | 1 |
| Silly Games | Janet Kay | 2 |
| Can’t Stand Losing You | The Police | 1 |
| Bang Bang | B. A. Robertson | 1 |
| Dreaming | Blondie | 1 |
| Crazy Little Thing Called Love | Queen | 2 |
| I Have A Dream | ABBA | 4† |
| †Two weeks were in 1978 | ||
89M Record Sales
This year saw the greatest-ever volume of singles sold in the UK, equivalent to every household in the country buying three singles.
Source: BPI
3 Million Sellers
Three singles shifted over a million copies during their chart run in 1979. All were from the first half of the year.
| Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| Y.M.C.A | Village People |
| Heart Of Glass | Blondie |
| Bright Eyes | Art Garfunkel |
131 Top 10 Hits
None of the 131 singles that made the official Top 10 managed to stay there for longer than nine weeks.
319 Top 40 Hits
A total of 319 singles peaked in the Top 40 during the calendar year. Of these, 67% reached the Top 20.
7 Weeks At The Top
Blondie spent most weeks at No.1 this year. The US group had two chart toppers with Heart Of Glass and Sunday Girl.
98 New Acts On TOTP
The Pretenders, Chic, The Police, Gary Numan, Madness and The Specials were amongs the acts that appeared on Top Of The Pops for the first time.
40 On The Top 40
ABBA spent 40 weeks on the Top 40 chart, more than any act this year, and the group's highest total during the Golden Years (1977-85).