Queen Are The Champions!  

Queen make Official Chart history - Greatest Hits becomes first album ever to hit 6 million UK sales

Hashtag: #Queen6M  
Article link: http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-selling-albums-of-all-time-2288/

London, 11 February 2014

Legendary British band Queen have made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach 6 million UK sales of an album, the Official Charts Company can confirm.

Queen have broken chart records after surpassing the 6 million sales milestone with their 1981 Greatest Hits album.  Britain’s best-selling album of all time, a staggering one in three British families (or one in four British households) now own a copy of the iconic act’s original best-of collection featuring such classic tracks as We Will Rock You, Another One Bites The Dust and their top-selling hit, Bohemian Rhapsody.

In a video message via OfficialCharts.com, Queen’s Brian May says:  

“Great news, AMAZING news from the Official Charts Company! Queen’s Greatest Hits which was released in 1981 has passed the 6 million mark in sales, which is incredible. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has supported us through the years, we hope to continue to serve you.”

View video clip below:

YouTube embed code: <iframe width="600" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8KarTpOXdVs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Download cleared video clip: http://goo.gl/QZyrhR

Queen’s Roger Taylor adds:

"Wonderful. Who would have thought it! And all due to the Great British public. Thank you. A great honour!"

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive of the Official Charts Company comments :

“Becoming the first album to pass 6 million sales is a quite incredible achievement by Queen and their iconic Greatest Hits album. Ever since it was first released in 1981, this package of classic pop and rock tracks has been an indispensable item in every music fan’s record collection – perhaps THE definitive greatest hits album!

A true, enduring classic, the British public continue to buy Queen’s Greatest Hits in their droves; some 33 years after its original release, the album regularly sells several thousand copies per week, particularly around the Christmas gifting period, a trusted stocking filler for British music fans.

Sales of the album digitally are also now racking up, having been downloaded 124,000 times in the UK to date, though Queen’s Greatest Hits is evidently still very much an essential collectors’ favourite that music lovers demand to own a coveted physical copy of.

Gennaro Castaldo of British recorded music industry body, the BPI comments: 

“Queen are a part of our music heritage now, with a timeless appeal that will ensure demand for their songs will continue as new generations of fans keep coming through."

Queen’s Greatest Hits leads the way, some 900,000 copies ahead of ABBA Gold as the UK’s best-selling album of all time.  ABBA last year overtook The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to take up second place in the list. And if 6 million sales isn’t enough for Freddie, Brian and co, Queen’s follow-up, Greatest Hits II, which was release in October 1991 – a month before lead singer Freddie Mercury’s untimely death - also rides high at Number 10 in the all-time Official Albums Chart, having notched up a further 3.9 million UK sales to date.

Official Albums Chart Top 5 – all-time

1.   Greatest Hits by Queen

2.   Gold - Greatest Hits by Abba

3.    SGT Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles

4.    21 by Adele

5.    What's The Story Morning Glory by Oasis

© Official Charts Company 2014. All rights reserved. (Sales rounded to 100k).

For the full all-time Official Albums Chart Top 40 visit www.officialcharts.com.

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Notes to Editors

Chart information quoted from this release must be credited to the Official Charts Company, online outlets please link to www.officialcharts.com

About Official Charts Company
The Official Charts Company are the providers of the UK's only official music and video charts, as seen at OfficialCharts.com, on BBC Radio 1, MTV, Music Week, The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star and many more.  Compiling its charts purely from sales information gathered across all key distribution (or entertainment) channels including all major high street retail chains, independent stores, supermarkets, mail order internet retailers and digital music service providers. This market research sample equates to 99% of the total UK singles market; 98% of the total UK albums market and 90% of the total UK DVD market.

The Official Charts Company is a joint venture between record labels' body the BPI and ERA, the Entertainment Retailers Association. The Official Charts Company are responsible for the commissioning, marketing, distribution and management of the UK's industry standard music charts and industry sales data.

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The Official Chart Update with Scott Mills and Jameela Jamil, 3:30-4pm, BBC Radio 1; The Official Chart Show with Jameela Jamil, Sunday 4pm-7pm, BBC Radio 1; Jo Whiley, Mondays 8pm-9pm (Jo features Official Albums Chart highlights). BBC Radio 1 can be found on 97-99FM; on DAB Radio; online at bbc.co.uk/radio1; and on Freeview, Sky, Virgin and Freesat.

The Official Chart Update gives music fans a weekly sneak preview of the Official Singles and Albums Charts. Every Wednesday from 3.30pm to 4pm, Jameela Jamil and Scott Mills provide a "half-time" bulletin on his BBC Radio 1 Show, letting music fans in on who is leading the way in the Official Singles & Albums Charts ahead of the Sunday Official Chart announcement. The Update reveals how the runners and riders are selling in the first three days of the sales week (Sunday through Tuesday), outlining the hottest new tracks of the week so far, as well as the new entries and highest climbers.

For more information:

Lauren on +44 7789 886263 / lauren@officialcharts.com