List of posthumous number ones on the UK Albums Chart

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Black-and-white publicity photograph of Elvis Presley from the film Jailhouse Rock.
Elvis Presley has achieved five posthumous number ones on the UK Albums Chart, more than any other artist.[1]

The

The Radio 1 Chart Show.[6]

The first deceased artist to top the UK Albums Chart was

The King (2007), If I Can Dream (2015) and The Wonder of You (2016) also topped the chart.[14] With If I Can Dream, Presley achieved his fourth posthumous number one, more than any other artist.[1]

The death of a musician can often result in an immediate increase in sales of their albums. As UK chart commentator

Warner/Chappell Music's share of the albums market to its highest level in nearly six years.[19] In May 2014, Jackson's album Xscape topped the chart, making him the third musician to top the listing with three posthumous releases.[20][21]

Like Jackson, British singer Amy Winehouse received a significant increase in sales after her death in 2011, when purchases of her albums grew 37 times over.[22][23] This resulted in her 2006 album, Back to Black, returning to the top of the UK Albums Chart for three weeks and becoming the UK's biggest-selling album of the 21st century for three months before being overtaken by 21 by Adele.[24] Four months later, Winehouse's first compilation album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, became her second release to posthumously reach number one.[25] Over the year following her death, 1.2 million copies of Winehouse's albums were sold.[7]

Number ones

Black-and-white photograph of Michael Jackson performing live in 1988.
After the death of Michael Jackson, the singer's 2003 album Number Ones climbed 120 places to the top of the chart.[17]
Head and shoulders photograph of Amy Winehouse performing live.
In the year following her death, 1.2 million copies of Amy Winehouse's albums were sold.[7]

The following albums were all explicitly credited (either wholly or partially) to deceased artists when they reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Albums featuring deceased artists who did not receive an explicit credit (e.g. as a member of a band or on a various artist compilation album or soundtrack) are not included.

Artist Album Record label Date of death Reached number
one (for the
week ending)
Weeks at
number one
Ref.
Otis Redding The Dock of the Bay Stax 10 December 1967[8] 22 June 1968 1 [9]
Jim Reeves According to My Heart RCA International 31 July 1964[26] 12 July 1969 4 [27]
Jim Reeves 40 Golden Greats Arcade 31 July 1964[26] 25 October 1975 3 [27]
Elvis Presley Elvis' 40 Greatest Arcade 16 August 1977[12] 10 September 1977 1 [14]
Buddy Holly 20 Golden Greats[a] EMI 3 February 1959[28] 25 March 1978 3 [29]
Nat King Cole 20 Golden Greats Capitol 15 February 1965[30] 15 April 1978 3 [31]
John Lennon Double Fantasy[b] Geffen 8 December 1980[32] 7 February 1981 2 [33]
John Lennon The John Lennon Collection Parlophone 8 December 1980[32] 4 December 1982 6 [33]
Roy Orbison The Legendary Roy Orbison Telstar 6 December 1988[34] 21 January 1989 3 [35]
Buddy Holly Words of Love[a] PolyGram TV/MCA 3 February 1959[28] 20 February 1993 1 [29]
Eva Cassidy Songbird Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 24 March 2001 2 [11]
Eva Cassidy Imagine Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 31 August 2002 1 [11]
Elvis Presley ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits RCA 16 August 1977[12] 5 October 2002 2 [14]
Eva Cassidy American Tune Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 23 August 2003 2 [11]
Elvis Presley
The King
RCA 16 August 1977[12] 25 August 2007 1 [14]
Michael Jackson Number Ones Epic 25 June 2009[36] 4 July 2009 1 [37]
Michael Jackson The Essential Michael Jackson Epic 25 June 2009[36] 11 July 2009 7 [37]
Amy Winehouse Back to Black Island 23 July 2011[38] 6 August 2011 3 [39]
Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures Island 23 July 2011[38] 17 December 2011 1 [39]
Michael Jackson Xscape Epic 25 June 2009[36] 24 May 2014 1 [37]
Cilla Black The Very Best of Cilla Black
Parlophone
1 August 2015[40] 27 August 2015 1 [41]
Elvis Presley If I Can Dream[c] RCA/Legacy 16 August 1977[12] 12 November 2015 2 [14]
David Bowie Blackstar Columbia/ISO 10 January 2016[42] 21 January 2016 3 [43]
David Bowie Best of Bowie EMI 10 January 2016[42] 11 February 2016 1 [43]
Viola Beach Viola Beach Fuller Beans 14 February 2016[44] 11 August 2016 1 [45]
Elvis Presley The Wonder of You[c] RCA/Legacy 16 August 1977[12] 3 November 2016 1 [14]
George Michael Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 Sony 25 December 2016[46] 27 October 2017 1 [47]
Juice Wrld Legends Never Die Interscope 8 December 2019[48] 23 July 2020 1 [49]
Pop Smoke Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon Republic 19 February 2020[50] 1 October 2020 1 [51]
  1. ^ a b Credited to Buddy Holly & The Crickets
  2. ^ Credited to John Lennon & Yoko Ono
  3. ^ a b Credited to Elvis with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

References

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  2. The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original
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  3. ^ "Snow Patrol Benefit From New Uk Chart Rules". Contactmusic.com. 8 January 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
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  8. ^ from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011. ... on December 10, 1967, Redding died in a plane crash at age 26 ...
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  10. ^ a b c d "Eva Cassidy". London: BBC Music. 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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  14. ^ a b c d e f "Elvis Presley". London: Official Charts Company. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  15. masterton.co.uk. Archived from the original
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  16. ^ Christman, Ed; Bruno, Antony (3 July 2009). "Michael Jackson sales surge expected to last months". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Michael Jackson tops album chart". London: BBC News. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  18. ^ a b "2009". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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    OCLC 60620772. Archived from the original
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  22. from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  23. from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  24. from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  25. OCLC 613316876. Archived from the original
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  26. ^ . Retrieved 6 October 2011. ... Jim Reeves, July 31, 1964-Known for hits like "Welcome to My World" and "He'll Have to Go," Reeves died at age 39 in a light plane crash near Nashville. ...
  27. ^ a b "Jim Reeves". London: Official Charts Company. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  28. ^ a b "1959: Buddy Holly killed in air crash". London: BBC News. 2003. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  29. ^ a b "Buddy Holly". London: Official Charts Company. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  30. ^ "Nat King Cole". London: BBC Music. 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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  38. ^ a b "Amy Winehouse dies at the age of 27". London: BBC News. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
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  40. ^ Kassam, Ashifa; Gayle, Damien (3 August 2015). "Cilla Black may have died as result of an accident, say Spanish police". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015.
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  48. ^ "Juice Wrld died from accidental overdose of Painkillers". BBC News. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  49. ^ "Juice WRLD scores posthumous Number 1 on Official Albums Chart with Legends Never Die". Official Charts. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  50. ^ "Pop Smoke: Rapper shot dead in apparent robbery". BBC News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  51. ^ "Pop Smoke's Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon claims "bittersweet" Number 1 on Official UK Albums Chart". Official Charts. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

External links