The Beatles have never found it difficult to sell albums in the U.K. In fact, they’re perhaps the most successful musical act of all time in that nation when looking at sales. Even in the streaming era, the group still manages to consistently move huge numbers of full-lengths.
This week, one of the most popular collections from The Beatles reaches a special milestone on the U.K. albums chart. Amazingly, in a very odd showing, it’s actually hit the milestone before.
The Beatles’ 1962-1966 compilation is down two pegs on the ranking of the most-consumed albums in the U.K. this frame. The set dips slightly to No. 72 as it celebrates 52 weeks, or exactly one year, on the tally.
It’s not strange that one of the greatest hits compilations from The Beatles has been able to spend an entire year on the list of the biggest albums in the U.K. What is surprising is that a barely different version of the same title has already achieved this showing.
The version of 1962-1966 that’s on the U.K. albums chart at the moment only reaches 52 weeks this frame. An earlier edition of essentially the same collection racked up 167 weeks on the tally before falling away…only to be replaced years later by this newer take.
In 1973, just a few years after The Beatles split, their record label dropped a pair of greatest hits compilations. 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 include songs from the years named in their titles, and they’re known more casually as the red and blue albums, respectively. Originally, they peaked at Nos. 3 and 2, respectively, and they spent several years on the tally.
In 1993, the compilations were re-released on CD, which was a fairly new medium. They were both also reissued on vinyl, and both offerings became sales successes all over again. The Official Charts Company, the U.K.’s version of Billboard, claims the two releases as different, so they both count toward the number of placements the band has earned in their home country.
As 1962-1966 reaches 52 weeks on the chart–for the second time–its counterpart is still present as well. 1967-1970 is up at No. 50 on the latest edition of the ranking. That re-release has spent 77 weeks on the roster.
