The Beatles are back at Number 1 in the albums chart with ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
The band’s iconic eighth album was re-released on CD and vinyl last Friday (May 26), to commemorate the record’s 50th birthday. As a result, it has claimed the top spot in the Official Albums Chart again, half a decade on from its original release.
In a statement, Paul McCartney says, “Wow! Who would have thought that good old Sgt.Pepper would be back at number one 50 years on? It’s great news and all of us are well chuffed. Pepper rules!”
The record also takes the top spot in the Official Vinyl Album Chart, with 5,300 units sold of that re-release, which features remastered and remixed material, and unreleased session tapes. ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ claimed 37,000 sales this week across all formats.
‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ has now spent a cumulative 28 weeks at Number 1 on the Official Chart – it is the best-selling studio album ever in the UK, and the third biggest selling of all-time, having sold 5.2 million UK copies over the last fifty years.
A new ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ documentary – It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! Sgt Pepper & Beyond – was also released on May 26. The documentary follows The Beatles between August 1966 and 1967, as they created ’Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ at Abbey Road. It includes rare archived footage of their heyday, including footage that hasn’t been seen since the 60’s.