British artists enjoyed a resurgence in the UK albums chart last year, research has revealed.

The likes of Adele, Ed Sheeran and the late Amy Winehouse helped sales of British releases in 2011 account for 52.7% of all albums sold in the UK, according to data published by the BPI.

The market share of British albums is the highest since 1997 - the heady days of the Spice Girls. Americans meanwhile accounted for 32.7% of album sales, boosted by the likes of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

Barbados meanwhile accounted for 2.3% of albums sold in the UK - purely because of megastar Rihanna.

Speaking about the data, BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said:

"A string of great albums by British artists has delivered the strongest performance in the domestic albums market since the days of Brit Pop and the Spice Girls in 1997. 44 of the top 100 singles in 2011 were from British acts, including a string of 11 consecutive No.1 singles."