Paul Weller joins Lennon and McCartney as the only artist to top the UK album chart in five decades
Paul Weller has become only the third artist to top the UK album chart in five consecutive decades, alongside Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
The former The Jam frontman shot to the top of the charts tonight (July 10) with his latest LP ‘On Sunset’.
- Read more: Paul Weller: “I’m trying different things as much as I can – time is of the essence, man”
His previous chart-toppers include The Jam’s ‘The Gift’ in 1982 and The Style Council’s ‘Our Favourite Shop’ in 1985, plus five solo albums: ‘On Sunset’, ‘Stanley Road’ (1995), ‘Illumination’ (2002), ’22 Dreams’ (2008), and ‘Sonik Kicks’ (2012).
‘On Sunset’ scored 24,000 chart sales and just over a quarter of that figure was vinyl sales, also taking it to the top of the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.
“I’m very proud of ‘On Sunset’ so to have it go in at Number 1 is brilliant. Massive thanks to the team at Polydor for all their hard work,” he told the Official Charts Company.
The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan have also landed chart-toppers across five decades, though not consecutively.
In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “It might not be quite the experimental opus you feel Weller’s still holding back, but that feels a churlish complaint when the songs are this well-written.
“There’s a lightness of touch and a tenderness at ‘On Sunset”s heart that makes a song like ‘Old Father Tyme’, the record’s soulful and brass-lathered centrepiece, on which the 62-year-old stops to take stock of a life spent pushing things forwards, just that little bit more bittersweet.”
Meanwhile, Weller recently discussed the idea of life after the coronavirus pandemic, saying he hopes the world doesn’t “go back to normal”.
