Taylor Swift Scores U.K. No. 1 With ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’
Written by djfrosty on July 16, 2023
Taylor Swift takes the elevator to the penthouse as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI) debuts at No. 1 in the U.K.
Swift’s third and latest rerecorded LP leads the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published July 14, for her 10th leader. The album racks up more than 67,000 chart units in its first seven days, the Official Charts Company reports, more than double the tally (28,200) for the original 2010 release, which peaked at No. 6.
Vinyl accounted for more than a third of the “Version’s” opening-week sum — a market-leading 22,500 units.
The runaway leader at the midweek point, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) extends the U.S. pop superstar’s record-breaking succession of U.K. leaders, with all her crowns earned in the space of just 10 years and eight months (beginning with 2012’s Red). Last year, TayTay eclipsed Madonna to snag honors with her ninth chart-topper Midnights. The Queen of Pop, however, still holds the record for the female soloist with the most U.K. No. 1 albums (12).
Though Swift’s U.K. leg of The Eras Tour won’t kick off until next summer, that hasn’t stopped Swifties from diving into the singer’s catalog. A further five of her LPs impact the top 40 — 2022’s Midnights (No. 9), 2014’s 1989 (No. 10), 2019’s Lover (No. 12), 2017’s Reputation (No. 21) and 2020’s folklore (No. 25).
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is also the leader on the Billboard 200 and the ARIA Chart this week.
Coming in at No. 2 on the U.K. chart is Wham’s retrospective collection The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven (Sony Music CG), for the pop duo’s sixth top 10 appearance. The hits set enjoys a bump thanks to the Netflix documentary on the ‘80s pop group, led by George Michael and his schoolmate Andrew Ridgeley.
Completing an all-new top three is Gabriels’ Angels & Queens – Pt 2 (Parlophone), new at No. 3. That’s well up on the No. 25 peak for its predecessor, 2022’s Angels & Queens – Pt 1. The British-American act (Jacob Lusk, Ryan Hope and Ari Balouzian) are no doubt still buzzing from their appearance on stage at Glastonbury Festival for Elton John’s historic headline set. Meanwhile, the Rocket Man’s Diamonds (Mercury/UMR) career retrospective dips 2-7.
Also bagging top 10 starts on the latest national survey is PJ Harvey’s I Inside the Old Year Dying (No. 5 via Partisan) and D-Block Europe’s mixtape DBE World (No. 6 via D-Block Europe), for the rap outfit’s seventh appearance on the tally.