Damon Albarn breaks chart record after Blur hit number one with ‘The Ballad Of Darren’
Following Blur hitting number one in the UK with their new album The Ballad Of Darren, Damon Albarn has become the first frontman to score two chart-topping LPs in the same calendar year with two different bands.
Blur’s first album since 2015’s The Magic Whip beat off competition from Greta Van Fleet and New Jeans to land the top spot. According to the Official Charts Company, the Britpop icons shifted a total of 44,000 units with physical sales making up for 90% of the figure.
Earlier this year, Albarn scored a number one album with Gorillaz’s Cracker Island, released in February through Parlophone. Other acts who have scored two number one’s in the same year include ABBA, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Diana Ross and Robbie Williams, but Albarn is the only to do it with two different bands.
The success of The Ballad Of Darren marks Blur’s seventh number one record, which ties them with Elton John, George Michael, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Taking to Twitter to celebrate, Blur shared an image of the band with drummer Dave Rowntree holding the coveted award, captioned: “Number 1. Thank you.”
Far Out’s official review of the album reads: “It may not be the most heartwarming album of the year, but the fearlessness and unflinching emotion that fills up The Ballad of Darren is more than enough to place it proudly within the Blur canon.”
Meanwhile, Albarn recently confessed to being “lost” and “sad” during the writing process for the LP, telling BBC News: “There was a lot on my mind. But it’s OK being lost. It’s OK being sad. There’s a panic that’s bestowed on these emotions that I don’t think is very helpful”.
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