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Robbie Williams performed at London’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland in November
Robbie Williams has become the joint most successful solo act in UK album chart history after scoring his 13th number one, level with Elvis Presley.
Robbie’s The Christmas Present has moved to the top spot after entering at number two behind Coldplay last week.
The Beatles hold the overall record with 15 UK number one albums.
Meanwhile, Dance Monkey by Australian singer Tones & I equalled the record for the longest-running number one single by a female artist, on 10 weeks.
That matched the stints at the singles summit achieved by Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You in 1992 and Rihanna’s Umbrella in 2007.
| UK top five singles | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tones & I | Dance Monkey |
| 2. | Lewis Capaldi | Before You Go |
| 3. | Stormzy/Ed Sheeran/Burna Boy | Own It |
| 4. | Dua Lipa | Don’t Start Now |
| 5. | Arizona Zervas | Roxanne |
Lewis Capaldi is at number two, but is the bookmakers’ current favourite to top the chart when the Christmas number one is announced in two weeks.
| UK top five albums | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Robbie Williams | The Christmas Present |
| 2. | Rod Stewart | You’re In My Heart |
| 3. | Coldplay | Everyday Life |
| 4. | Lewis Capaldi | Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent |
| 5. | Michael Ball & Alfie Boe | Back Together |
Robbie’s rise means only two of his solo albums have failed to reach number one. His 2003 live album from Knebworth and 2009’s Reality Killed the Video Star both reached number two.
The star also sang on four number one albums as part of Take That, meaning he has appeared on 17 chart-topping albums as a solo artist or part of a group.
That’s still some way behind Sir Paul McCartney, who has had a total of 22 number one LPs with The Beatles, Wings and across his solo career.
While Robbie’s festive collection heads the albums chart, a host of Christmas songs have shot up the singles chart as people start streaming festive classics in their droves. The top Christmas songs in this week’s chart are:
- Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You (8)
- Wham – Last Christmas (13)
- Pogues feat Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale of New York (22)
- Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas (23)
- Shakin’ Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone (26)
- Michael Buble – It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (32)
- Ariana Grande – Santa Tell Me (33)
- Elton John – Step Into Christmas (39)
Ellie Goulding’s new cover of Joni Mitchell’s wintry classic River has also entered the top 40 at number 14.
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