The Killers have secured their eighth UK No.1 album.
The Las Vegas band’s 20-track collection, Rebel Diamonds, debuted at the summit with sales of 25,360, according to the Official Charts Company. The result was powered by 22,075 physical sales along with 474 downloads and 2,811 sales-equivalent streams.
The Killers have drawn level with Oasis, Led Zeppelin, REM, Stereophonics and Westlife on the ranking of acts with the most No.1 albums (24 acts have had eight or more chart-topping albums). They are also level with REM as the US group with the most UK No.1 albums.
Rebel Diamonds is The Killers’ first best of album to reach No.1; 2013’s Direct Hits peaked at No.5. Including solo albums, Brandon Flowers now has 10 UK No.1 albums in total.
The band have also added a sixth and final night at The O2 in London in July 2024 as part of their Rebel Diamonds Tour.
The Killers’ signature anthem Mr Brightside is, unusually, not in the singles chart as a result of the flood of Christmas songs. However, the perennial 2003 single – the most streamed song in Spotify UK history – is certain to return to the Top 100 in January.
The No.1 for The Killers also rounds off a strong chart performance in 2023 for EMI, which was named Record Company Of The Year at the Music Week Awards 2023.
Label co-presidents Rebecca Allen and Jo Charrington speak exclusively to Music Week in a joint interview in our latest issue – you can read the digital cover feature here.
EMI has claimed 10 No.1 albums in 2023, including records by Lewis Capaldi, Take That and Taylor Swift – you can read the full list below. In total, the Universal Music UK market-leading label has held the No.1 position in the albums chart for 14 weeks out of 50 so far this year – 28% of the total.
EMI was at No.1 in the market shares by the end of Q3 this year. The label topped both the All Music – All Albums and the Track Streams rankings.
In their Music Week Interview where the EMI co-presidents reflect on success for the label this year, Rebecca Allen said: “Can I just say, the one that we’re most proud of, because we haven’t always been the leader on it, is the Tracks Streams one. We feel so proud of that, because that’s the one that RCA were always [ahead on].”
“We’re very conscious of not having planes on runways for the sake of it – we put out records because they’re fucking great,” added Jo Charrington. “Even when things don’t go quite according to plan, the team is learning the nuance of working songs. It’s just like having a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”
EMI reclaimed its market-leading position for All Music – All Albums in the full-year results for 2022.
For the latest chart week, EMI was No.1 in the market shares (based on the All Music – All Albums metric) with a 12.1% share. The label claimed a 14.1% share of the market for Artist Album Sales, based on pure sales.
EMI and RCA were neck and neck for Track Streams in the latest chart week on 11.4%, with the Universal Music UK label just edging it with an extra 250,000 streams.
Subscribers can read our report on Taylor Swift’s record-breaking 2023.
EMI No.1 albums in 2023
Taylor Swift – Midnights (January – 2 weeks)
Sam Smith – Gloria (February)
Shania Twain – Queen Of Me (February)
Metallica – 72 Seasons (April)
Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (June – 2 weeks)
Niall Horan – The Show (June)
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (July)
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (November – 3 weeks)
Take That – This Life (November)
The Killers – Rebel Diamonds (December)
PHOTO: Todd Weaver
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