Adele’s new album 25 has sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week of release – the highest ever figure for a single UK chart week.
The album shifted more copies than the next 86 albums in the chart combined, and has become the first album to sell more than 100,000 downloads in a week.
In fact, 252,423 of the album’s 800,307 sales were digital with the rest on CD.
Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot said: “The statistics surrounding the album are staggering.”
He added: “No album has ever sold 800,000 copies to reach number one in the history of British music.”
The previous record was held by Oasis’s Be Here Now, which reached number one with sales of 696,000 in 1997. However that album only went on sale three days before the end of the chart week.
Martin Talbot said: “What the future holds for 25 will unfold over the coming weeks and months, of course – but we can all be absolutely sure that more records will be toppled as Adele fever grips the nation in the run-up to Christmas.”
That is the highest one-week US sales since data tracking began in 1991, overtaking the previous record of 2.4 million set by N’Sync’s No Strings Attached in 2000, reports the BBC.
The singer has also just announced her first tour since 2011, playing in arenas across Europe from next February.
Adele’s song Hello is at number three in the UK singles chart, while Justin Bieber has three tracks in the top five for the second week in a row.
UK TOP FIVE ALBUMS
Adele – 25
Elvis Presley – If I Can Dream
Justin Bieber – Purpose
Enya – Dark Sky Island
One Direction – Made in the AM
