In his BBC Radio 2 show today presenter Tony Blackburn will reveal that The Greatest Hits by Queen is the UK’s number one best-selling album since 1956.
The album topped the charts for four consecutive weeks and remained on the UK best sellers’ list for a total of 476 weeks.
The top 40 chart run down, to be broadcast on Tony Blackburn with the UK’s Best Selling Albums, was compiled for Radio 2 by the Official Charts Company.
Just missing out on the number one position is The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, with another of their albums, 1, appearing later in the chart. The rest of the top five consists of Abba Gold - Greatest Hits at number three, Oasis’ - What’s The Story Morning Glory at number four, and at number five Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which won a record breaking eight Grammy’s at the 1984 ceremony.
“This chart is a real mixed bag and I think listeners will be quite surprised. There are artists in there you would expect to see in a countdown of this nature but not necessarily at the positions that they are,” said Tony Blackburn.
“I was really surprised to see who hadn’t made it in – no sign of the massively successful acts like The Rolling Stones, Elvis, Diana Ross or Marvin Gaye. Listeners are in for a real treat. There’s something for everyone in the chart and it’ll be the perfect way to spend the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.”
The only female to have two of her albums in the chart is British songwriter Dido, with both 2001’s No Angel and her consecutive album, Life For Rent, making the cut.
Surprisingly, Elvis hasn’t made the chart and only one film soundtrack appears in the list – that of the 1987 legendary film, Dirty Dancing.
The top 40 UK album list is:
40. X&Y (2005) – Coldplay
39. THE MAN WHO (1999) – Travis
38. THE WAR OF THE WORLD (1978) - Jeff Wayne
37. ONLY BY THE NIGHT (2008) - The Kings of Leon
36. SCISSOR SISTERS (2004) - Scissor Sisters
35. BUT SERIOUSLY (1989) - Phil Collins
34. THE JOSHUA TREE (1987) - U2
33. HOPES AND FEARS (2004) - Keane
32. A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD (2002) – Coldplay
31. THE FAME (2008) - Lady Gaga
30. BEAUTIFUL WORLD (2006) - Take That
29. LIFE FOR RENT (2003) - Dido
28. CRAZY LOVE (2009) - Michael Bublé
27. SPICE - The Spice Girls
26. WHITE LADDER(1998) - David Gray
25. TALK ON CORNERS (1997) - The Corrs
24. 1 (2000) - The Beatles
23. DIRTY DANCING (1987) - Original Soundtrack
22. BAT OUT OF HELL (1977) - Meat Loaf
21. LEGEND (1984) - Bob Marley & The Wailers
20. SPIRIT (2007) - Leona Lewis
19. NO ANGEL (2001) - Dido
18. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER (1970) - Simon & Garfunkel
17. URBAN HYMNS (1997) - The Verve
16. BACK TO BEDLAM (2005) - James Blunt
15. COME ON OVER (1997) - Shania Twain
14. RUMOURS (1977) - Fleetwood Mac
13. STARS - Simply Red
12. BACK TO BLACK (2006) - Amy Winehouse
11. THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION (1990) - Madonna
10. GREATEST HITS II (1991) - Queen
9. BAD (1987) - Michael Jackson
8. THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (1973) - Pink Floyd
7. BROTHERS IN ARMS (1985) - Dire Straits
6. 21 (2011) - Adele
5. THRILLER (1982) - Michael Jackson
4. WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY (1995) - Oasis
3. GOLD-GREATEST HITS (1992) - Abba
2. SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEART’S CLUB BAND (1967) - The Beatles
1. GREATEST HITS (1981) - Queen
Tony Blackburn with the UK’s Best Selling Albums will be broadcast on Monday, April 9 between 4pm and 7pm on BBC Radio 2.
AF2
This chart is a real mixed bag and I think listeners will be quite surprised. There are artists in there you would expect to see in a countdown of this nature but not necessarily at the positions that they are."
