Vinyl charts launched in UK

The first-ever UK vinyl charts were published yesterday as the industry responds to the format’s continuing sales explosion.

Pop-punks All Time Low scored the first Number 1 with sixth album Future Hearts – and it’s also the first time they’ve topped the UK listings.

The Official Chart Company report that vinyl sales reached a 20-year high last year, with 1.29million units sold. Last year’s best-selling release was Pink Floyd’s final album The Endless River.

And the first quarter of 2015 showed a further 69% increase in album sales, while singles were up 23%. Top sellers include releases by Led Zeppelin, Royal Blood, Public Service Broadcasting, Bob Dylan and Floyd.

Boss Martin Talbot says: “Vinyl junkies could well have snapped up 2million units by the end of this year – an extraordinary number, if you consider sales were one-tenth of that just six years ago.

“This growth underlines the continuing resurgence of this much-loved format, whether you’re a fan of Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher, Led Zeppelin or David Bowie.”

All Time Low frontman Alex Garth adds: “What’s been going on with vinyl at the moment is really cool. What I love is that there are different worlds of vinyl fans – there’s the audiophiles who swear by the sound of vinyl, the people for who like owning it as a collector’s piece, then groups like our fans, who buy a vinyl of our record so they can hang it on their wall.

“Vinyl makes a real event out of music. It makes the whole experience of listening to an album special.”

The vinyl chart debuts a week before 2015’s Record Store Day on April 18. In July record labels across the world will begin releasing titles on Fridays instead of various days in various regions. The current edition of Classic Rock, on sale now, celebrates the vinyl format.

Best-selling vinyl albums Jan-Mar 2015

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Chasing Yesterday
Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti
Arctic Monkeys: AM
Royal Blood: Royal Blood
Public Service Broadcasting: The Race For Space
Bob Dylan: Shadows In The Night
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon
War On Drugs: Lost In The Dream
Peace: Happy People
Led Zeppelin: IV

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.