The S16 Contemporary Music Thread

[Stephen Morgan]

As Planet Skaro begins another of its ongoing "Season Threads" so I'll begin its contemporary music thread.
It's 1978 and the peak of Disco and New Wave, the year that Kate Bush emerged with a stunning debut album The Kick Inside, the year that ABBA dominated the world with The Album and The Movie, and the year that Saturday Night Fever and Grease became two of the highest grossing movies of the Seventies and with massive hit singles from both albums.

We begin with the top 30 w/e 2nd September 1978

30 Joe Walsh Life's Been Good
29 The Jam David Watts/A Bomb In Wardour Street
28 The Smurf Song father Abraham and the Smurfs
27 Herbie Hancock I Thought It Was You
26 The Motors Forget About You
25 Siouxsie and the Banshees Hong Kong Garden
24 The Rezillos Top Of The Pops
23 Blondie Picture This
22 New Seekers Anthem
21 Stranglers Walk On By
20 Gladys Knight and the Pips Come Back And Finish What You Started
19 AndY Gibb An Everlasting Love
18 The Who Who Are You
17 Hi Tension British Hustle
16 Sham 69 If The Kids Are United
15 Renaissance Northern Lights
14 City Boy 5-7-0-5
13 Bob Dylan Baby Stop Crying
12 Clout Substitute
11 A Taste Of Honey Boogie Oogie Oogie
10 Child It's Only Make Believe
9 Justin Hayward Forever Autumn
8 Cerrone Super Nature
7 Jilted John Jilted John
6 David Essex Oh What A Circus
5 John Travolta/Olivia Newton John Your'e The One That I Want
4 10cc Dreadlock Holiday
3 Boney M Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl In The Ring
2 Darts It's Raining
1 Commodores Three Times A Lady

There are some long runners in that chart, The Smurf Song was on it's 13th week in the chart, it had peaked, and spent six weeks at number two, those of us following the Top Of The Pops repeats on BBC4 will be enjoying seeing it's chart run from the beginning. Another long runner comes from Travolta and Olivia with You're The One That I Want from Grease, It's success is legendary and I don't think I need to go into much detail about it but the film spawned five hit singles, two of them spending eight and seven weeks at number one, (You're The One That I Want and Summer Nights) The unlikely comedy duo of Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker will peak at 22 with a comedy version of You're The One That I Want on the 16th September, this will be seen on a Top Of The Pops repeat in a couple of months time.
Another long runner comes from Boney M with Rivers of Babylon a cover of a reggae song first recorded by The Melodians in 1970. Boney M's version spent five weeks at number on back in May and June 1978 before slowly dropping down the chart. Radio One DJ Peter Powell mistakenly played the B side, Brown Girl In The Ring, thinking it was a new release, the gullible record buying public thought the same thing and propelled the record back up to number two, thus prolonging its chart life, this week it's on its 19th of 40 weeks on the chart.
Nice to see a ballad at number one, this one, Three Times A lady, was a welcome relief from Boney M and Travolta/Newton John. Written by Lionel Ritchie, Three Times A Lady was the fastest climbing Motown record of the seventies becoming The Commodores biggest hit.

I could go on and on, but I need to go to bed, I'll look forward to seeing your comments on this chart later today.