Bowie heading for fastest selling album of 2013

David Bowie’s much anticipated new album, The Next Day, is heading for the title of 2013’s fastest selling album to date, and is currently outselling the rest of the Top 5 combined!

David Bowie looks set to score the fastest selling album of 2013 with The Next Day, according to the latest Official Charts Company sales data.

The singer’s 27th studio album, and first new material in nearly a decade, is not only leading the race to Number 1, but is also outselling the rest of the Top 5 combined as it does so.

After just two days on sale, The Next Day’s sales tally of 66,000 as of midnight last night already puts Bowie just 5,600 copies behind current fastest sellers of the year Biffy Clyro, whose album Opposites sold 71,600 copies during its first full week on sale back in January.

The Next Day is also outselling the Number 2 album, Bon Jovi’s What About Now, by nearly three copies to one, and the rest of this week's Top 5 combined at this mid-way stage. If the music legend holds on until Sunday, it will mark Bowie’s first chart topper in 20 years.

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This week’s Official Albums Chart Update Top 5 is completed by Emeli Sande’s Our Version Of Events (Number 3), Bastille’s Bad Blood (4) and Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox (5).

New Entries

In addition to David Bowie’s The Next Day (Number 1) and Bon Jovi’s What About Now (2), there are five other new entries on this week’s Official Albums Chart Update Top 40.

British synth-pop duo Hurts are at Number 6 today with their second album, Exile, while former Czars vocalist John Grant is at Number 11 with his second solo album, Pale Green Ghosts.

The soundtrack to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s new film, Sound City, is new in at Number 13 on today’s Update. The film sees Grohl round up musicians who recorded at Sound City – including Sir Paul McCartney, and members of Fleetwood Mac, Nine Inch Nails and Slipknot – to record a new album using equipment salvaged from the now legendary Californian studio following its closure in 2011.

Oxford-based indie rockers Stornoway are on course for their second Top 20 album on Sunday with new release, Tales From Terra Firma (20). And finally, Worship Central are currently riding at Number 32 with Let It Be Known. London-based Christian collective released their new live album on Monday (March 11), the same day the Official Charts Company launched the UK’s first Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart to recognise the growing interest in this genre of music.

The Official Albums Chart Update Top 40 is as follows:

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