It should have been a walk in the park to the chart tops for the Fab Four this week after the release of the digitally remastered Beatles back catalogue, but hold on for Dame Vera’s greatest hits collection has been quietly kicking some major geriatric butt.
19 000 copies of We’ll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn have been sold at the mid week mark placing her at number two in the midweek rankings. She is 1,000 sales behind Jamie T, a 23-year-old singer-songwriter currently topping the list with his album, Kings & Queens, and is expected to overtake him by the end of the week in the Official Album Chart.
Dame Vera, the Forces’ Sweetheart, last topped the chart in 1952. If she succeeds in conquering the charts she would become the oldest artist in British music history to have a number one record. The current holder of the record is non other than Bob Dylan, who topped the album chart with Together Through Life earlier this year, aged 67.
The top-selling Beatles’ releases are Abbey Road and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which are neck-and-neck with sales of around 10,000 copies each. The popularity of the £170 priced box set has diluted sales of the individual albums.
A spokes person for retailer HMV said: “Dame Vera has been steadily selling albums every day since her new release came out. We’re seeing huge Beatles sales around the country, but the purchasing by fans is being diffused over a wide range of Beatles titles.
“Not only does Dame Vera look set to block the historic return of the Beatles, but she will also set the record as the oldest person ever to hold the top spot – an incredible feat by a remarkable lady.”