List of posthumous number ones on the UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on sales of albums in the United Kingdom. The first weekly albums chart in the UK was published by Record Mirror in July 1956[2] – since then, 28 albums by deceased artists have posthumously reached number one. Until 2007, the chart was based solely on sales of physical albums; from 2007 onwards, it has also included albums sold through digital distribution.[3] As of April 2016, the listing is created using Friday to Thursday record sales from more than 3,500 vendors across the UK.[4] It is compiled by the Official Charts Company on behalf of the UK music industry,[5] and each week's new number one is first announced on Friday evenings on The Radio 1 Chart Show.[6]

Elvis Presley has achieved five posthumous number ones on the UK Albums Chart, more than any other artist.[1]

The first deceased artist to top the UK Albums Chart was Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash on 10 December 1967.[7][8] On 20 May 1968, Redding's sixth studio album, The Dock of the Bay, was released in the UK – three weeks later, it became his first and only UK number-one album.[9] Since Redding, 14 further artists have posthumously topped the albums chart, of which three have done so more than twice.[7] The first of these was American singer Eva Cassidy; after dying in 1996, three posthumous releases from Cassidy reached number one in consecutive years, 2001–03.[10][11] The second musician to achieve this feat was American entertainer Elvis Presley. Following his death from a heart attack in August 1977, Presley's compilation album 40 Greatest climbed to number one within three weeks.[12][13] Subsequent compilations ELV1S (2002), The King (2007), If I Can Dream (2015) and The Wonder of You (2016) also topped the chart.[14] With If I Can Dream, Presley achieved his fourth posthumous number one, more than any other artist.[1]

The death of a musician can often result in an immediate increase in sales of their albums. As UK chart commentator James Masterton remarked in December 1995: "Death is very commercial."[15] Following his death in 2009, the number of purchases of Michael Jackson's albums grew significantly worldwide.[16] In the UK, sales of the singer's albums increased by more than 80 times in a single day. On 28 June, Jackson's 2003 release Number Ones climbed 120 places to the top of the chart;[17] the following week, his 2005 compilation The Essential Michael Jackson reached number one.[18] The two albums spent a combined total of eight weeks at number one.[18] Five of Jackson's records were featured in the top twenty biggest-selling albums of 2009's third quarter, and sales of his albums during the year lifted Warner/Chappell Music's share of the albums market to its highest level in nearly six years.[19] In May 2014, Jackson's album Xscape topped the chart, making him the third musician to top the listing with three posthumous releases.[20][21]

Like Jackson, British singer Amy Winehouse received a significant increase in sales after her death in 2011, when purchases of her albums grew 37 times over.[22][23] This resulted in her 2006 album, Back to Black, returning to the top of the UK Albums Chart for three weeks and becoming the UK's biggest-selling album of the 21st century for three months before being overtaken by 21 by Adele.[24] Four months later, Winehouse's first compilation album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, became her second release to posthumously reach number one.[25] Over the year following her death, 1.2 million copies of Winehouse's albums were sold.[7]

Number ones
After the death of Michael Jackson, the singer's 2003 album Number Ones climbed 120 places to the top of the chart.[17]
In the year following her death, 1.2 million copies of Amy Winehouse's albums were sold.[7]

The following albums were all explicitly credited (either wholly or partially) to deceased artists when they reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Albums featuring deceased artists who did not receive an explicit credit (e.g. as a member of a band or on a various artist compilation album or soundtrack) are not included.

Artist Album Record label Date of death Reached number
one (for the
week ending)		 Weeks at
number one		 Ref.
Otis Redding The Dock of the Bay Stax 10 December 1967[8] 22 June 1968 1 [9]
Jim Reeves According to My Heart RCA International 31 July 1964[26] 12 July 1969 4 [27]
Jim Reeves 40 Golden Greats Arcade 31 July 1964[26] 25 October 1975 3 [27]
Elvis Presley Elvis' 40 Greatest Arcade 16 August 1977[12] 10 September 1977 1 [14]
Buddy Holly 20 Golden Greats[lower-alpha 1] EMI 3 February 1959[28] 25 March 1978 3 [29]
Nat King Cole 20 Golden Greats Capitol 15 February 1965[30] 15 April 1978 3 [31]
John Lennon Double Fantasy[lower-alpha 2] Geffen 8 December 1980[32] 7 February 1981 2 [33]
John Lennon The John Lennon Collection Parlophone 8 December 1980[32] 4 December 1982 6 [33]
Roy Orbison The Legendary Roy Orbison Telstar 6 December 1988[34] 21 January 1989 3 [35]
Buddy Holly Words of Love[lower-alpha 1] PolyGram TV/MCA 3 February 1959[28] 20 February 1993 1 [29]
Eva Cassidy Songbird Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 24 March 2001 2 [11]
Eva Cassidy Imagine Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 31 August 2002 1 [11]
Elvis Presley ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits RCA 16 August 1977[12] 5 October 2002 2 [14]
Eva Cassidy American Tune Blix Street/Hot 2 November 1996[10] 23 August 2003 2 [11]
Elvis Presley The King RCA 16 August 1977[12] 25 August 2007 1 [14]
Michael Jackson Number Ones Epic 25 June 2009[36] 4 July 2009 1 [37]
Michael Jackson The Essential Michael Jackson Epic 25 June 2009[36] 11 July 2009 7 [37]
Amy Winehouse Back to Black Island 23 July 2011[38] 6 August 2011 3 [39]
Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures Island 23 July 2011[38] 17 December 2011 1 [39]
Michael Jackson Xscape Epic 25 June 2009[36] 24 May 2014 1 [37]
Cilla Black The Very Best of Cilla Black Parlophone 1 August 2015[40] 27 August 2015 1 [41]
Elvis Presley If I Can Dream[lower-alpha 3] RCA/Legacy 16 August 1977[12] 12 November 2015 2 [14]
David Bowie Blackstar Columbia/ISO 10 January 2016[42] 21 January 2016 3 [43]
David Bowie Best of Bowie EMI 10 January 2016[42] 11 February 2016 1 [43]
Viola Beach Viola Beach Fuller Beans 14 February 2016[44] 11 August 2016 1 [45]
Elvis Presley The Wonder of You[lower-alpha 3] RCA/Legacy 16 August 1977[12] 3 November 2016 1 [14]
George Michael Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 Sony 25 December 2016[46] 27 October 2017 1 [47]
Juice Wrld Legends Never Die Interscope 8 December 2019[48] 23 July 2020 1 [49]
Pop Smoke Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon Republic 19 February 2020[50] 1 October 2020 1 [51]
  1. Credited to Buddy Holly & The Crickets
  2. Credited to John Lennon & Yoko Ono
  3. Credited to Elvis with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

References
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