The only week in chart history when two separate albums went to number one outright
There are obviously greater accolades in the world of music that an artist can be on the receiving end of, but to reach the top of the charts is arguably up there with one of the finest compliments that can be owed to an artist, and a surefire indicator of their popularity.
In the UK, the tradition of announcing the records with the most sales in a chart format began in 1952, when The New Musical Express, now known as NME, published the first ever rundown of hit singles, with Al Martino’s ‘Here In My Heart’ forever holding the title of the first number one single in the UK, remaining there for nine weeks.
Four years later, it would be decided that long players deserved to have a chart of their own, and in 1956, Frank Sinatra claimed the equivalent of Martino’s achievement with the first ever number one album, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, despite only remaining on top for two weeks.
These are incredible achievements, and at the time, they undoubtedly deserved to hold said positions, but there have been plenty of undeserving records that have reached number one despite a lack of artistic merit, whether that be through novelty or guerrilla campaigns.
However, perhaps the most galling thing that can happen to an artist is for them to reach number one, only for that to be rescinded on a technicality, therefore having to ultimately give up top spot despite having met all of the required criteria for being top of the charts. It sounds frankly unprecedented, and in fact, it’s only happened once, but what are the only two albums to have been number one in the same week in the UK?
What are the only two albums to hit number one in the same week?
On October 7th, 1979, Blondie’s fourth album, Eat to the Beat, was announced as the number one album on the traditional day of Sunday, but because the Official Charts Company opted to change the day of the week on which the album chart was published to a Wednesday, by the 10th, it had been dethroned by The Police’s Regatta de Blanc. As a result, some sources claim that Eat to the Beat only ever peaked at number two, despite the fact that an officially published chart had them at the top.
Eat to the Beat was Blondie’s second number one album in the UK, following the success of Parallel Lines earlier the same year, so it would understandably have been frustrating for them to be given the number one spot, only to then be told that it wasn’t theirs to claim anymore – consequently, it’s the shortest amount of time that an album has spent at number one in the history of the charts, spending only three days there.
Regatta de Blanc, however, ended up spending four weeks at the top, and has now sold approximately double the amount that Eat to the Beat has in the UK, passing the 1million mark and achieving Platinum status, but Blondie had the last laugh, with Parallel Lines being the best-selling album of 1979 in the UK overall.
Interestingly, there are two instances in 1957 where sales figures were not definitively able to determine which album ought to be number one outright, and the top spot was shared – toth of these instances involve the original soundtrack for The King and I being made to share top spot with both the soundtrack for High Society and Nat King Cole’s Love Is the Thing, but rather than having to give up their spots midweek, they did the honourable thing that anyone would do in the event of a tie, and occupied top spot hand in hand.
