Rick Astley Scores First No. 1 Album on U.K. Charts in 29 Years
In one of the more surprising events of the U.K. chart year, 1980s pop favorite Rick Astley has scored his first U.K. No. 1 in 29 years with the album 50 (BMG). Meanwhile, Drake's "One Dance" (Cash…
In one of the more surprising events of the U.K. chart year, 1980s pop favorite Rick Astley has scored his first U.K. No. 1 in 29 years with the album 50 (BMG). Meanwhile, Drake’s “One Dance” (Cash Money/ Republic/Universal), featuring Wizkid & Kyla, tops the singles chart for a remarkable tenth straight week.
50, which marks Astley’s 50th birthday last February, is the singer’s first studio album since 2005’s Portrait, which reached No. 26. An Ultimate Collection release then hit No. 17 in 2008. In his pop heyday, Astley had hit No. 1 with his first album Whenever You Need Somebody in the wake of chart-topper “Never Gonna Give You Up.” ?The new album won a close sales race with British singer-songwriter Tom Odell’s sophomore release Wrong Crowd (Columbia/Sony), finishing 3,700 combined sales ahead, according to the Official Charts Company. Odell’s debut set Long Way Down debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. in July 2013.
A busy week of new entries on the album chart also included a No. 3 start for Paul McCartney’s new Pure McCartney collection on Concord. The release of a special edition of the Electric Light Orchestra’s All Over The World — The Very Best Of retrospective (Legacy/Epic/Sony) brought it back to the top 75 at a new peak of No. 4. Drake’s Views fell 2-5. ?British soul star Beverley Knight notched a fourth top 10 album (and first since 2007’s Music City Soul) with Soulsville, her first for East West/Warner Music. Just beyond the top 10, veteran singer-songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan came in at No. 11, his highest album ranking since A Stranger In My Own Back Yard reached No. 9 in 1974, with The Essential Collection (USM Media).
Drake held off a strong challenge from “This Girl” (3 Beat) by Kungs Vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners to record its tenth week at No. 1. The Kungs track had led the way earlier in the sales week, but “One Dance” edged back into the lead and took the honors by a mere 1,773 combined chart sales. It’s the first time a song has spent ten weeks at No. 1 in the U.K. since Rihanna’s “Umbrella” did it in 2007.?Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” (RCA/Sony) fell 2-3 on the new chart, and “This Is What You Came For” (Columbia/Sony) by Calvin Harris and Rihanna dipped 3-4. Another guest appearance by Rihanna, on Drake’s “Too Good,” saw a 6-5 climb. The other new title within the top ten was “Sex” (Spinnin’) by Cheat Codes and Kris Kross Amsterdam.
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