Posthumous Number 1s on the Official Irish Albums Chart

13 albums have topped the charts in Ireland following an artist's passing, including two in the last fortnight.

Official Irish Charts history was made this past week when a posthumous Number 1 album replaced another at the top of the Official Irish Albums Chart.

Last Friday, Juice WRLD’s third studio album Legends Never Die topped the charts, replacing Pop Smoke’s debut studio album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, marking the first time a deceased artist has succeeded another in the following week. Pop Smoke also made history as the first artist to have a posthumous debut album in Ireland.

In total, 13 albums have reached Number 1 in Ireland following an artist’s death. 2016 produced two in David Bowie’s Blackstar and Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker. Blackstar went to Number 1 five days following Bowie’s death and was the first posthumous chart topper in almost four years. Leonard’s album first went to Number 1 ten days before his death and returned to the top spot for three more weeks after his passing.

MORE: Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest albums of 2020 so far

2007 also spawned multiple posthumous Number 1s with releases from Jeff Buckley and The Traveling Wilburys (members Roy Orbison and George Harrison had died prior to the release), and Johnny Cash is the only act in Irish chart history to claim two posthumous Number 1 albums in the same year with hits collection Ring Of Fire: The Legend of Johnny Cash and studio album American V: A Hundred Highways in 2006. Johnny is also the only act with multiple posthumous Number 1s on Irish soil.

Michael Jackson’s The Essential is the longest-reigning posthumous Number 1 with six weeks ruling the Top 50 in 2009, while Christie Hennessy is the only Irish act to claim a chart-topping album following their death with his album The Two Of Us from 2008. Elvis Presley also had a posthumous Number 1 with 30 No.1 Hits in 2002.

Two female artists have also topped the Official Irish Albums Chart posthumously – Whitney Houston with The Ultimate Collection in 2012 and Eva Cassidy with 2001’s Songbird.

ALBUM	ARTIST	YEAR	WEEKS AT #1
LEGENDS NEVER DIE	JUICE WRLD	2020	1
SHOOT FOR THE STARS, AIM FOR THE MOON	POP SMOKE	2020	1
YOU WANT IT DARKER	LEONARD COHEN	2016	5
BLACKSTAR	DAVID BOWIE	2016	2
THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION	WHITNEY HOUSTON	2012	1
THE ESSENTIAL MICHAEL JACKSON	MICHAEL JACKSON	2009	6
THE TWO OF US	CHRISTIE HENNESSY	2008	2
SO REAL: SONGS FROM JEFF BUCKLEY	JEFF BUCKLEY	2007	1
THE TRAVELING WILBURYS COLLECTION	TRAVELING WILBURYS	2007	3
AMERICAN V: A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS	JOHNNY CASH	2006	2
RING OF THE FIRE: THE LEGEND OF JOHNNY CASH	JOHNNY CASH	2006	4
30 NO.1 HITS	ELVIS PRESLEY	2002	1
SONGBIRD	EVA CASSIDY	2001	2

© IRMA