Only Boys Aloud top Official Classical Singles Chart

Only Boys Aloud’s reworking of traditional Welsh hymn Calon Lan has knocked Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma off the top of the Official Classical Singles Chart.

The World’s Biggest Boyband, Only Boys Aloud, have gone straight to Number 1 on the Official Classical Singles Chart with their re-working of Daniel James and John Hughes’ traditional hymn, Calon Lan.

The Official Classical Singles Chart was launched in May of this year to reflect the growing interest in individual downloads of classical tracks. The past two years have seen a surge in individual classical track download sales in the UK – up 46% in 2011 compared to 2010 (from 834,000 to 1.2 million). This trend has continued in 2012, and in the first quarter of this year, some 284,000 classical downloads were sold, a 34% increase on the 212,000 sold in the first three months of 2011.

Only Boys Aloud were put together by choir master Tim Rhys-Evans in 2010 after his 21st Century re-imagining of a traditional Welsh male voice choir, Only Men Aloud, won the BBC’s Last Choir Standing competition. Only Boys Aloud, who are aged between 14 and 19, now boast 141 members, and are still growing.

They released their debut, self-titled album last week, which contains a mixture of traditional music such as Calon Lan and Gwahoddiad, as well as reinterpretations of songs like Coldplay’s Paradise and Take That’s Never Forget.

Composer John Willams’ Oh Holy Night, from the Home Alone soundtrack, holds firm at Number 2, while last week’s Number 1, Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma, is down two places to Number 3. The Top 5 is completed by Has Zimmer’s Rise, from The Dark Night Rises soundtrack, is at Number 4, while Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi’s I Giorni is at Number 5 this week.

See this week’s Official Classical Singles Chart Top 20 here.