John Peel Festive Fifty 1978

In the first proper Festive 50 since punk arrived and Peel started championing it, it is no great surprise that the genre hit the chart. It actually struck it with the force of a sledgehammer. Gone are all but six of the 1976 chart entries, to be replaced with the short sharp shock of guitars struck in anger. Peel was very satisfied with this chart saying "And I must say, I thought you chose very well indeed. I was knocked out with it all myself” - also indicating that if he chose his own top 20 songs of all time then the top 6 would all be in there.
Perhaps it was no surprise that the Sex Pistols had five chart entries and the Clash four, but the representation of Siouxsie & The Banshees with seven entries, six of them from debut album "The Scream" is very impressive, and is the highest number of tracks from one LP in any Festive 50. A little more surprising were the first and indeed final chart entries from Dire Straits and The Motors (although Peel was certainly a fan of the latter).
The "FM" column in the list below shows the format the tracks can be collected in. Our preference is always to display the 7" if that version is available, with a 12" single as a second choice. "LP" will appear if the track is LP only. Click any band name to see our full stock list by that artist, or the "In Stock" button to view that specific item.
# | Item | FM | Info | Stock |
1 | Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK | 7" | In Stock | |
2 | Clash - Complete Control | 7" | In Stock | |
3 | Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen | 7" | In Stock | |
4 | Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device | 7" | ||
5 | Magazine - Shot By Both Sides | 7" | In Stock | |
6 | Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant | 7" | In Stock | |
7 | Clash - White Man In Hammersmith Palais | 7" | ||
8 | Buzzcocks - What Do I Get? | 7" | In Stock | |
9 | PIL - Public Image | 7" | In Stock | |
10 | Undertones - Teenage Kicks | 7" | In Stock | |
11 | Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster | 7" | In Stock | |
12 | Buzzcocks - Boredom | 7" | B-Side of: Spiral Scratch EP | |
13 | Damned - New Rose | 7" | In Stock | |
14 | Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven | 7" | ||
15 | Clash - White Riot | 7" | In Stock | |
16 | David Bowie - Heroes | 7" | In Stock | |
17 | Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet | 7" | ||
18 | Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun | 7" | In Stock | |
19 | Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird | 7" | ||
20 | Rezillos - I Can't Stand My Baby | 7" | In Stock | |
21 | Van Morrison - Madame George | LP | On Album: Astral Weeks | In Stock |
22 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden | 7" | In Stock | |
23 | Clash - Police & Thieves | LP | On Album: The Clash | |
24 | Jam - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight | 7" | In Stock | |
25 | Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives | 7" | In Stock | |
26 | Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run | 7" | ||
27 | Ian Dury - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | 7" | ||
28 | Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing | 7" | In Stock | |
29 | Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond | 7" | ||
30 | Buzzcocks - Moving Away From The Pulsebeat | 12" | I Am The Amazing Buzzcocks 12" Clear Vinyl Maxi Single | |
31 | Derek & The Dominos - Layla | 7" | In Stock | |
32 | Stranglers - Hanging Around | 7" | B-Side of: The Stranglers EP | |
33 | Stranglers - No More Heroes | 7" | In Stock | |
34 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter | LP | On Album: The Scream | |
35 | Motors - Dancing The Night Away | 7" | In Stock | |
36 | Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone | 7" | ||
37 | Elvis Costello - Alison | 7" | In Stock | |
38 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Overground | 7" | In Stock | |
39 | Who - My Generation | 7" | In Stock | |
40 | Stranglers - London Lady | 7" | B-Side of: (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) | |
41 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Switch | LP | On Album: The Scream | |
42 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Mirage | LP | On Album: The Scream | |
43 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Jigsaw Feeling | LP | On Album: The Scream | |
44 | Jam - In The City | 7" | In Stock | |
45 | Sex Pistols - EMI | LP | On Album: Never Mind The Bollocks | In Stock |
46 | Bob Dylan - Desolation Row | LP | On Album: Highway 61 Revisited | In Stock |
47 | Flying Lizards - Summertime Blues | 7" | In Stock | |
48 | Neil Young - Like A Hurricane | 7" | ||
49 | Thin Lizzy - Emerald | 7" | B-Side of: The Boys Are Back In Town | In Stock |
50 | Siouxsie & The Banshees - Metal Postcard | 7" | Called "Mittageisen" on 7" |