After its release in August 1978 as the third single from the "Evita" concept album, "Oh What a Circus" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36. It progressed and climbed the charts rapidly, ultimately reaching a peak of number 3 in its sixth week. It was Essex's highest charting song, since "Hold Me Close" had topped the charts in 1975. "Oh What a Circus" was present within the top-100 of the UK Singles Chart for a total of 11 weeks. Across Europe the song charted in Belgium for 5 weeks, reaching a peak of number 26. In Netherlands, the song charted on both the Dutch Top 40 and Single Top 100 charts, reaching peaks of number 18 and number 20 respectively. The song also charted at number eight in Ireland. Although not released in Australia, the song managed to enter the Kent Music Report charts for one week at number 72.