David Bowie’s Final Album Tops UK Charts

Apparently the first three pews at the venue have been reserved for friends of the singer, who died of cancer at the age of 69 just a week ago, as well as those who collaborated with him.

Meanwhile Bowie’s final studio album Blackstar has entered the United Kingdom charts at number one with nearly 150,000 combined sales, making it the fastest selling album of the year so far and clinching his tenth chart-topping record – although it was already on course for the top spot before his death.

David Bowie, the British rock star who reshaped pop music with his changing, gender bending persona, created such a vast body of work in his career that it’s hard to narrow his best and most noteworthy albums down to five (or even 10).

Starting in April, passengers can listen to two hour-long concerts from Bowie’s “Outside” tour in 1996 and early radio interviews; or watch the 1997 documentary The Best of Bowie (1969-1974) and David Bowie at the Beeb, a behind-the-scenes look at Bowie’s BBC recordings and interview sessions. “And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way”.

He said: “We’re working hard to try to come up with a tribute show that we think is fitting for someone who made such a unique contribution to music”.

Bowie’s triumph knocked Adele’s 25 from its seven-week run at the top. Previous record holder Adele attracted 36 million views when her “Hello” video premiered in October.

The mass outpouring of grief and nostalgia prompted by the news of Bowie’s death has also led the singer to dominate the singles charts and streaming sites. The figure includes 241,000 album sales and 167,000 singles purchased.

The song, which originally peaked at 24 in 1977, is joined in the top 40 by Life On Mars, Starman, Let’s Dance and Space Oddity.