Lana Del Rey Snags U.K. No. 1 With ‘Ocean Blvd’
Written by djfrosty on April 3, 2023
Lana Del Rey hits the U.K. albums chart for six with Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (via Polydor), the new leader.
Ocean Blvd blasts to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, the fastest-selling LP of 2023 so-far, passing the opening week of Pink’s recent leader Trustfall, the Official Charts Company reports.
The U.S. alternative pop artist’s ninth studio album becomes her sixth leader, after Born to Die (from 2012), Ultraviolence (2014), Lust for Life (2017), Norman F*cking Rockwell! (2019) and Chemtrails Over the Country Club (2021).
According to the OCC, Ocean Blvd delivers Del Rey’s strongest first week in the U.K. since 2014’s Ultraviolence.
With her latest crown, Del Rey ranks fifth all-time among female solo artists with the most U.K. No. 1s. Only Madonna (with 12), Taylor Swift (9), Kylie Minogue (8) and Barbra Streisand (7) have more.
“The achievement of Lana Del Rey in scoring six Number 1 albums in just 11 years is quite something, especially given she has done so with the biggest first week numbers of any album this year,” comments Martin Talbot, CEO of Official Charts Company. “She is a genuine superstar of our era.”
Coming in hot at No. 2 on the latest chart, published March 31, is Depeche Mode’s Memento Mori (Columbia), the legendary British synth-pop band’s first album since the 2022 death of bandmate Andy Fletcher. Memento Mori is the most downloaded album of the week, and becomes DM’s 18th U.K. top 10, and best chart position in a decade.
Reunited U.S. alternative rock outfit Fall Out Boy bags a fifth top 5 record with So Much (for) Stardust. It’s new at No. 3.
Pink Floyd’s epic 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon rockets back into the chart, thanks to a 50th anniversary reissue campaign. A vinyl pressing powers The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley 1974 (Parlophone) into fourth spot on the all-genres albums chart, while The Dark Side of the Moon – 50 Years (Rhino) reissue returns at No. 17, for its 558th week on the survey.
The album last appeared in the top 20 almost 12 years ago, back in October 2011, the OCC reports, but has never led the chart. Its peak spot is No. 2.
Finally, U.S. country star Luke Combs completes the U.K. top 5 with Gettin’ Old (Sony Music CG), his fourth studio album. Gettin’ Old bows at No. 5 for Combs’ U.K. career-best position.