12-Year-old Lionel Richie Album Tops UK Album Chart

Lionel Richie performs at Glastonbury

The final Sunday album charts was topped by Lionel Richie scoring his first British No 1 in 23 years.

Lionel Richie

Fans sent the singer’s album, The Definitive Collection, to the top spot after a well-received performance on the Pyramid Stage during the third day of the Glastonbury Music festival.

The album was first released in 2003, reaching No 10 in the UK charts. The position marks Richie’s first UK album No 1 since Back to Front in 1992. The Definitive Collection will be the last album named No 1 on a Sunday as the charts move to Fridays to tie in with a new global music release day.

“I was overwhelmed performing at Glastonbury in front of all those people, and for the fans to make the album No 1 is unbelievable,” Richie said. “The UK has always been a special place for me.”
Nearly half of the Top 40 albums belonged to acts that performed at Glastonbury this year. Florence and The Machine’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful was second in the charts and James Bay’s Chaos and the Calm third.

The Independent reports veteran folk-rock guitarist Richard Thompson scored his first Top 10 album at the age of 66. The former guitarist with Fairport Convention entered the charts at No 10 with Still.

Kanye West, who headlined the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday, failed to reap a Glastonbury charts boost, however.