Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ debuts at No. 1, first US chart-topper

His new album, Blackstar, reached number one, selling nearly 150,000 copies since its release last week.

The highest entry after Blackstar among Bowie’s 10 top 40 albums was 2014’s retrospective Nothing Has Changed – The Very Best Of in fifth, followed by Hunky Dory, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust, and Aladdin Sane in 14th, 17th and 23rd places respectively.

The big band will draw from a repertoire of more than 75 arrangements, including tunes by Thelonious Monk, George Gershwin, classic Blue Note Records recordings by Herbie Hancock, Lee Morgan and others, and selections from its 2015 release, “Live In Cuba”.

“Blackstar” wrested number one from fellow British singer Adele’s blockbuster “25,” which had topped the chart for seven weeks. Not only has the news of his passing sparked fans, old and new, to buy “Blackstar”, but nine of his older albums have made a comeback and experienced a surge in sales.

Bowie was 69 when he died after an 18-month battle with cancer which he kept secret from all but his family and closest friends.

Musically, Bowie himself cited two hip-hop artists as major influences for this album and these were Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips.

Bowie spent the final two decades of his life living in NY and had said that his first love was African-American music, especially funk and soul.

A total of 623,000 Bowie records were sold this week, breaking down into 241,000 album sales, 167,000 singles purchased, and over 19 million song listens on audio streaming services.

David Bowie is expected to spend a second week at the top spot of the UK Albums Chart, according to mid-week figures.

BBC 6 Music is celebrating the music of David Bowie this weekend with specials from Steve Lamacq and Adam Buxton.

Bass player Guy Pratt, who has worked with the likes of singers Michael Jackson, Elton John and Pink Floyd, played a faithful version of Life On Mars (1971), one of Bowie’s best-known songs. His 2002 release Heathen reflected upon the attacks on the World Trade Centre in NY, where Bowie had been residing since the 1970s.