In The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 20, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, released in 1977, is revealed as hitting the top of this prestigious chart - which is based on UK sales and streams combined since records began in 1956. James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam at No. 2 is the biggest ever debut album by a British artist, and Leona Lewis at No. 3 is the biggest debut by a UK female artist with her album, Spirit.

Steve Wright announces the Top 20 countdown in The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 20 on Radio 2 (Saturday 15 October, 1-3pm) and available now on BBC Sounds here - as the network celebrates National Album Day, which this year takes debut albums as its theme. Steve also presents the countdown from 40 to 21 in The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 40 which is available exclusively on BBC Sounds here. Both programmes are 7digital productions.

Steve Wright says: “Bat Out Of Hell reaching Number One as the UK’s biggest debut album of all-time might be a surprise to some, but it is a truly brilliant debut album and one which reached a whole new audience following the sad passing of Meat Loaf earlier this year. You’re in for a treat with the full chart so do tune in for a fantastic nostalgia trip with some of the most brilliant songs you’ll ever hear.”

Laura Busson, Commissioning Executive for Radio 2, says: “Radio 2 is proud to support National Album Day by celebrating this year’s theme of debut albums. This chart is a wonderful reminder of the powerful records that launched so many stellar careers and are much-loved by our listeners.”

Bat Out Of Hell paired Meat Loaf with songwriter Jim Steinman. A number of the late US rock star’s best-loved recordings are on the album, including You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night), Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and the extraordinary title track which clocks in at almost 10 minutes. Its UK sales have topped 3.5 million, and it has spent more than 500 weeks on the Official Albums Chart despite only ever climbing as high as No. 3, which it reached in January this year after Meat Loaf passed away.

In the No. 2 spot, and the leading UK artist in the chart, is James Blunt with his 2004 debut, Back To Bedlam. Including his global hit You’re Beautiful, which topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 in the UK and was not only the top album of 2005, but the biggest seller of the 2000s.

On discovering that Back To Bedlam is the biggest debut album in the UK by a British artist, James Blunt says: “Are you sure? There must have been some kind of mistake.”

At No. 3, Leona Lewis leads a strong contingent of female artists with her debut, Spirit (2007), one of the three albums by female artists in the Top 5. Released the year after she won The X Factor, the album includes the No. 1 singles A Moment Like This and Bleeding Love as well as her chart-topping cover of Snow Patrol’s Run.

Leona Lewis says: "I had the most incredible support from the UK when I released my debut album Spirit. I was overwhelmed with how much love it received and I just remember feeling the same then as I do now, endlessly thankful to everyone that listened and supported me. I felt like I was representing my county and that felt amazing."

At No. 4, Lady Gaga’s album, The Fame (2008), includes her first two UK No. 1 hits Just Dance and Poker Face.

Dido’s slow-burning debut, No Angel (1999), is at No. 5, taking 20 months after its release to top the Official Albums Chart, with hits including Here With Me and Thank You.

At No. 6, Spice Girls’ Spice (1996) is the highest-ranked album from a group, with five of the record’s 10 tracks topping the Official Singles Chart, including their first three singles Wannabe, Say You’ll Be There and 2 Become 1, while the album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 in the UK.

Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill was the UK’s top seller of 1996 and includes Ironic and You Oughta Know, plus debuts by Keane, Sam Smith and Coldplay complete the Top 10. Keane’s debut features Everybody’s Changing and Somewhere Only We Know, while Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour contains their No. 1 singles Money On My Mind, Stay With Me and Lay Me Down. Coldplay’s Parachutes contained their early classics, Yellow and Trouble.

Twelve of the Top 20 debut albums are by UK artists, including Dido (No. 5), Spice Girls (No. 6), Keane (No. 7), Sam Smith (No. 9), Coldplay (No. 10), Mike Oldfield (No. 11), Ed Sheeran (No. 14), Adele (No. 16), Emeli Sandé (No. 18), and Oasis (No. 19).

The UK’s Top 20 debut albums of all time:

1. Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf (1977)
2. Back To Bedlam - James Blunt (2004)
3. Spirit - Leona Lewis (2007)
4. The Fame - Lady Gaga (2008)
5. No Angel - Dido (1999)
6. Spice - Spice Girls (1996)
7. Hopes And Fears - Keane (2004)
8. Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (1994)
9. In The Lonely Hour - Sam Smith (2014)
10. Parachutes - Coldplay (2000)
11. Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield (1973)
12. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (2004)
13. Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (1988)
14. • • Ed Sheeran (2011)
15. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones (2002)
16. 19 - Adele (2008)
17. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N’ Roses (1987)
18. Our Version of Events - Emeli Sandé (2012)
19. Definitely Maybe - Oasis (1994)
20. Hot Fuss - The Killers (2004)

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, and Kim Bayley, Chief Executive Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the organisations behind National Album Day, say: “Releasing a first album is a landmark early step in the career of every successful recording artist, so to rank among the 40 biggest debuts of all time is an astonishing achievement. Each of these albums captures a moment in time when the artists behind them were first finding their feet. For some, their debut represented the apex of their career, but for others it was the start of a journey to even greater success.”

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive, Official Charts Company, says: “Congratulations to all of the artists on this special National Album Day chart. Any artist with an album successful enough to appear on this fantastic list, the Official Debut Albums Chart, will have come out of the traps at the beginning of their careers and truly hit the ground running. A debut album is, for many artists, the most personal album of their careers, the only album they spend their whole lives to that point making – so, to connect with the public in such an incredible way is truly impressive.”

BBC Radio 6 Music marks National Album Day with Radcliffe & Maconie: Kevin Rowland on remixing Dexys’ classic album Too Rye Ay for its 40th anniversary (Saturday 15 October, 8-10am); Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour celebrates The Beatles’ Revolver album with exclusive plays from the newly-remastered version and Guy hears from contemporary artists on their love of the record (Sunday 16th October, 2-4pm); the theme for Now Playing is Got it in One, featuring artists who have made an impact with their debut release (Sunday16th October, 6-8pm); and Steve Lamacq: Up The Bracket at 20 celebrates The Libertines debut album on its 20th anniversary (Friday 21 October, 4-7pm).

BBC Four celebrates National Album Day tonight (Friday 14 October) with programming featuring some of the artists who are featured in the chart - Meat Loaf: In And Out Of Hell, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and Sam Smith’s Radio 2 In Concert from 2015. Also tonight is Unfinished: The Making Of Massive Attack.

Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More is at No. 35 in the chart) performed on Later… with Jools Holland (BBC Two, 8 October), which is now available on BBC iPlayer, along with a BBC iPlayer collection of programmes for National Album Day which includes Kylie at the BBC, Kylie Minogue: Reel Stories and Kylie Minogue Live in Hyde Park (from Radio 2’s Festival In A Day in 2018); and Robbie Williams: Reel Stories, Robbie Williams: One Night At The Palladium and TOTP2: Robbie Williams Special.

Available now on BBC Sounds are a collection of debut album themed specials for National Album Day, including the Mastermix in Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies, Alternative Sounds Of The 90s with Dermot O’Leary and A Dance Through The Decades.

All of Radio 2’s shows are also available on BBC Sounds live and for 30 days post-transmission so listeners can access which shows they want, when they want and wherever they are.

Now an annual event, National Album Day, is in its fifth year and celebrates the creativity and artistry that goes into making an album, and the continuing cultural and social importance of this much-loved music format. BBC Sounds is the official broadcast partner for National Album Day. The theme this year is Debut Albums and the artist ambassadors include Franz Ferdinand, India Arkin, Jake Bugg, KSI, The Mysterines, Pip Millett, Sam Ryder, and The Staves with around 30 classic debut albums being reissued in collectible format.