Madonna is the female solo star with the most UK N°1 albums
The The Official UK Charts Company has published a rundown of the acts wwho scored the most Number 1 albums in the chart’s 62-year history.
The top of the list comes of no surprise with the Fab Four who, over the course of their career, and even beyond their split, have together amassed 15 chart-toppers. Kicking off with debut Please Please Me in 1963, and hitting the top spot 37 years later with hits collection 1 in 2000, the Beatles have spent an incredible 174 weeks at Number 1. Please Please Me was their longest run at the summit, racking up an incredible 30 consecutive weeks at Number 1.
Another all time music legend follows in second place: the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. His first Number 1 was his UK debut, fittingly titled Elvis Presley Rock n’ Roll, which spent a week at the top in November 1956.
The female solo star with the most albums to hit the top, and in joint third place overall, is no other than the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. She first hit the top in 1985, when sophomore album Like A Virgin finally reached Number 1 in its 44th week on the chart, and most recently found herself there in 2012, with MDNA, her 12th chart-topper (if you include the Evita soundtrack, which we do).
Madonna‘s scored 30 weeks at Number 1, and was recently overtaken by Adele as female artist with most weeks at the top. Her longest run was 1990’s hits retrospective The Immaculate Collection, one of the biggest selling albums of all time, which notched up nine straight weeks.
Here are the list of the solo acts with the most Number 1s on the Official UK Chart and the full rundown of artists who’ve had five or more Number 1 albums (plus how many weeks they spent there); for more, please check The Official UK Charts Company
Solo acts with the most Number 1s
1 Elvis Presley 13
2 Robbie Williams 12
2 Madonna 12
4 David Bowie 11
5 Michael Jackson 10
5 Bruxe Springsteen 10
7 Eminem 9
7 Rod Stweart 9
8 Bob Dylan 8
10 Elton John 7
10 Paul McCartney 7
10 George Michael 7
Artists with five or more Number 1s
1 The Beatles 15 (over 174)
2 Elvis Presley13 (over 66)
3 Robbie Williams 12 (over 35)
3 Madonna 12 (over 30)
5 Rolling Stones 11 (over 46)
6 David Bowie 11 (over 27)
7 Michael Jackson 10 (over 31)
8 Bruce Springsteen 10 (over 16)
9 U2 10 (over 15)
10 ABBA 9 (over 57)
