The UK singles chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. In the 1970s, it was compiled weekly by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) on behalf of the British record industry with a one-week break each Christmas. Prior to 1969 many music papers compiled their own sales charts but, on 15 February 1969, the BMRB was commissioned in a joint venture by the BBC and Record Retailer to compile the chart. BMRB compiled the first chart from postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops. The sampling cost approximately £52,000 and shops were randomly chosen and submitted figures for sales taken up to the close of trade on Saturday. The data was compiled on Monday and given to the BBC on Tuesday to be announced on Johnnie Walker's afternoon show and later published in Record Retailer (rebranded Music Week in 1972). However, the BMRB often struggled to have the full sample of sales figures returned by post. The 1971 postal strike meant that data had to be collected by telephone but this was deemed inadequate for a national chart, and by 1973 the BMRB was using motorcycle couriers to collect sales figures.
In terms of number-one singles, ABBA were the most successful group of the decade having seven singles reach the top spot. The longest duration of a single at number-one was nine weeks and this was achieved on three occasions: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen in 1975; "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" by Wings in 1977 and "You're the One That I Want" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in 1978. Thirteen records were released that sold over one-million copies within the decade and "Mull of Kintyre" also became the first ever single to sell over two-million copies. In doing so it became the best-ever selling single beating the benchmark set by The Beatles' song "She Loves You" in 1963. "Mull of Kintyre" was also the biggest selling song of the decade and was not surpassed in physical sales until 1984 when Band Aid released "Do They Know It's Christmas?".
In 1973, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) was formed and they began certifying the sales of records at certain thresholds: "silver" (250,000 units), "gold" (500,000 units), and "platinum" (1,000,000 units). In 1977, the BPI held an awards ceremony at Wembley Conference Centre to mark the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The event cost £25,000, honoured music from the last 25 years and is considered to be the first Brit Awards ceremony.
Number-one singles
+Key† Best-selling single of the year‡ Best-selling single of the decade
ArtistSingleRecord labelWeek ending dateWeeks atnumber one280 "Two Little Boys" Columbia6281 Edison Lighthouse "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" Bell5282 "Wand'rin' Star" Paramount3283 Simon & Garfunkel "Bridge over Troubled Water" CBS3284 Dana "All Kinds of Everything" Rex2285 "Spirit in the Sky" Reprise2286 England World Cup Squad "Back Home" Pye3287 Christie "Yellow River" CBS1288 "In the Summertime" Dawn7289 "" RCA6290 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles "" Tamla Motown1291 "Band of Gold" Invictus6292 Matthews Southern Comfort "Woodstock" Uni3293 The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Voodoo Chile" Track1294 "I Hear You Knocking" MAM6295 "Grandad" Columbia3296 "My Sweet Lord" † Apple5297 "Baby Jump" Dawn2298 T. Rex "Hot Love" Fly6299 Dave and Ansell Collins "Double Barrel" Techniques 2300 Dawn "Knock Three Times" Bell5301 Middle of the Road "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" RCA5302 T. Rex "Get It On" Fly4303 "I'm Still Waiting" Tamla Motown4304 "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" Probe 3305 "Reason to Believe" / "Maggie May" Mercury5306 Slade "Coz I Luv You" Polydor4307 "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" Columbia4308 "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" Polydor4309 T. Rex "Telegram Sam" T. Rex 2310 Chicory Tip "Son of My Father" CBS3311 Nilsson "Without You" RCA5312 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards "Amazing Grace" † RCA5313 T. Rex "Metal Guru" EMI4314 "Vincent" United Artists2315 Slade "Take Me Bak 'Ome" Polydor1316 "Puppy Love" MGM5317 "School's Out" Warner Bros.3318 "You Wear It Well" Mercury1319 Slade "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" Polydor3320 "How Can I Be Sure" Bell2321 Lieutenant Pigeon "Mouldy Old Dough" Decca4322 "Clair" MAM2323 "My Ding-a-Ling" Chess4324 "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" MGM5325 The Sweet "Blockbuster!" RCA5326 Slade "Cum On Feel the Noize" Polydor4327 "" MGM1328 "Get Down" MAM2329 Tony Orlando and Dawn "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" † Bell4330 Wizzard "See My Baby Jive" Harvest4331 "Can the Can" RAK1332 10cc "Rubber Bullets" UK1333 Slade "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" Polydor3334 Peters and Lee "Welcome Home" Philips1335 "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" Bell4336 "Young Love" MGM4337 Wizzard "Angel Fingers" Harvest1338 Simon Park Orchestra "Eye Level"Columbia4339 "Daydreamer" / "The Puppy Song" Bell3340 "I Love You Love Me Love" Bell4341 Slade "Merry Xmas Everybody" Polydor5342 The New Seekers "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" Polydor1343 Mud "Tiger Feet" † RAK4344 "Devil Gate Drive" RAK2345 "Jealous Mind" Magnet1346 Paper Lace "Billy Don't Be a Hero" Bus Stop3347 "Seasons in the Sun" Bell4348 ABBA "Waterloo" Epic2349 "Sugar Baby Love" Polydor4350 "The Streak" Janus1351 "Always Yours"Bell1352 "She" Barclay4353 "Rock Your Baby" Jay Boy3354 "When Will I See You Again" Philadelphia International2355 "Love Me for a Reason" MGM3356 "Kung Fu Fighting" Pye3357 "Annie's Song" RCA1358 Sweet Sensation "Sad Sweet Dreamer" Pye1359 "Everything I Own" Trojan3360 "Gonna Make You a Star" CBS3361 "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" 20th Century2362 Mud "Lonely This Christmas" RAK4363 Status Quo "Down Down" Vertigo1364 "Ms Grace" RCA1365 Pilot "January" EMI3366 "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" EMI2367 "If" MCA2368 Bay City Rollers "Bye Bye Baby" † Bell6369 Mud "Oh Boy" RAK2370 "Stand by Your Man" Epic3371 and Don Estelle "Whispering Grass" EMI3372 10cc "I'm Not in Love" Mercury2373 "Tears on My Pillow" CBS1374 Bay City Rollers "Give a Little Love" Bell3375 Typically Tropical "Barbados" Gull1376 "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)" Avco3377 "Sailing" Warner Bros.4378 "Hold Me Close" CBS3379 "I Only Have Eyes for You" CBS2380 "Space Oddity" RCA2381 "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." Polydor1382 Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" EMI9383 ABBA "Mamma Mia" Epic2384 Slik "Forever and Ever" Bell1385 "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" Warner Bros.2386 "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" CBS 3387 Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses for Me" † Pye6388 ABBA "Fernando" Epic4389 "No Charge" Power Exchange 1390 "Combine Harvester" EMI2391 "You to Me Are Everything" Pye3392 The Roussos Phenomenon (EP) Philips1393 and Kiki Dee "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" Rocket6394 ABBA "Dancing Queen" Epic6395 Pussycat "Mississippi" Sonet4396 Chicago "If You Leave Me Now" CBS3397 Showaddywaddy "Under the Moon of Love" Bell 3398 "When a Child Is Born (Soleado)" CBS3399 "Don't Give Up on Us" Private Stock4400 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" MCA1401 "When I Need You" Chrysalis3402 "Chanson D'Amour" Atlantic3403 ABBA"Knowing Me, Knowing You" Epic5404 "Free" CBS2405 "I Don't Want to Talk About It" / "The First Cut Is the Deepest" Riva4406 "Lucille" United Artists1407 "Show You the Way to Go" Epic1408 Hot Chocolate"So You Win Again" RAK3409 "I Feel Love" Casablanca4410 Brotherhood of Man"Angelo" Pye1411 "Float On" ABC1412 "Way Down"RCA 5413 "Silver Lady" Private Stock 3414 Baccara"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" RCA1415 ABBA"" Epic5 November 19774416 Wings"Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" ‡ Parlophone9417 Althea & Donna "Uptown Top Ranking" Lightning1418 Brotherhood of Man"Figaro" Pye1419 ABBA "Take a Chance on Me" Epic3420 "Wuthering Heights" EMI4421 Brian and Michael"Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs"Pye3422 Bee Gees"Night Fever" RSO2423 Boney M."Rivers of Babylon" / "Brown Girl in the Ring" † Atlantic/Hansa5424 and Olivia Newton-John"You're the One That I Want" RSO9425 Commodores"Three Times a Lady" Motown 5426 10cc"Dreadlock Holiday" Mercury1427 and Olivia Newton-John"Summer Nights" RSO7428 "Rat Trap" Ensign2429 "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Riva1430 Boney M."Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" Atlantic/Hansa4431 Village People "Y.M.C.A." Mercury3432 Ian Dury and the Blockheads"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" Stiff1433 Blondie "Heart of Glass" Chrysalis4434 Bee Gees"Tragedy" RSO2435 "I Will Survive" Polydor4436 "Bright Eyes" † CBS6437 Blondie"Sunday Girl" Chrysalis3438 "Ring My Bell"TK 2439 Tubeway Army"Are 'Friends' Electric?" Beggars Banquet4440 "I Don't Like Mondays" Ensign4441 "We Don't Talk Anymore" EMI4442 "Cars" Beggars Banquet 1443 "Message in a Bottle" A&M3444 "Video Killed the Radio Star" Island1445 "One Day at a Time" Pye3446 Dr. Hook"When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" Capitol3447 "Walking on the Moon" A&M1448 Pink Floyd"Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" Harvest5
By artist The following artists achieved three or more number-one hits during the 1970s. Swedish group ABBA were the most successful artist of the decade in terms of number-one singles; they had seven number-ones: "Waterloo" (1974); "Mamma Mia", "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen" (all 1976); "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "The Name of the Game" (both 1977); and "Take a Chance on Me" (1978). Art Garfunkel also had three number-one hits, two as a solo artist and one as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel.
ArtistNumber onesWeeks atnumber oneABBA726Slade620515T. Rex416310Mud31039Brotherhood of Man3810cc34
By record label The following record labels had five or more number ones on the UK singles chart during the 1970s.
Record labelNumber onesBell13CBS12Polydor11RCA10Pye9Epic9EMI8RAK6MGM5
Million-selling and platinum records In April 1973, the British Phonographic Industry began classifying singles and albums by the number of units sold. The highest threshold is "platinum record" and was then awarded to singles that sold over 1,000,000 units. Thirteen records were classified platinum in the 1970s and two number-one songs from the 1970s were classified as platinum in the subsequent decade.Customise search with the following settings – Search by: "Keyword", By Award: "Platinum", By Format: "Single" – then search by each individual year. Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" subsequently sold over one-million copies but in 1985, after sales from its re-release were included.
Two other songs originally released in the 1970s became platinum and become million selling records but both were number-ones in a subsequent decade after being re-released: "Imagine" by John Lennon charted at number six in 1975 but reached number one in 1981 following Lennon's death at the end of the previous year and Tony Christie's "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo" reached number eighteen in 1971 but later took top spot after being re-released as a charity single in 2005. Five number-ones – ABBA's "Dancing Queen", Ian Dury and The Blockheads' "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick", The New Seekers' "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)", Julie Covington's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" – passed the million-sales mark following the introduction of music downloads in 2004.
ArtistSongDate releasedDate certifiedplatinumYear of millionth sale "I Love You Love Me Love" 1973 Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses for Me" 1976 Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" 1975 Wings "Mull of Kintyre" 1977 "Don't Give Up on Us" 1977 Boney M. "Rivers of Babylon" / "Brown Girl in the Ring" 1978 Boney M. "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" 1978 Simon Park "Eye Level" 1977 and Olivia Newton-John "You're the One That I Want" 1978 and Olivia Newton-John "Summer Nights" 1978 Village People "Y.M.C.A." 1979 Blondie "Heart of Glass 1979 "Bright Eyes" 1979 Pink Floyd"Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" 2004–10 Slade "Merry Xmas Everybody" 1985 "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" — 2004–10 ABBA "Dancing Queen" — 2004–10 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" — 2004–10 "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" — 2004–10