Exclusive: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Gives Beatles New Place In Guinness Book Of Records
The Beatles’ classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album is to go into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest gap between stints at No. 1 in the UK.
The LP first topped the bestsellers in the group’s home country on the chart dated 10 June 1967, when it began an unbroken run of 23 weeks at the summit. It had four further, non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 from November 1967 to February 1968. Its last appearance in the top ten in its first iteration came in March that year, some nine months after its release; a 20th anniversary reissue in 1987 took the album back to No. 3 in the UK.
Reissued to mark its 50th anniversary last year in deluxe CD and vinyl editions, Sgt. Pepper returned to No. 1 on the Official Charts Company’s survey dated the week of 8 June 2017, a total of 49 years and 363 days since it first hit the top. By another method of measuring the longevity, the time between its last week at No. 1 in its original run, 3 February 1968, and the recent reissue is 49 years and 125 days.
By either measurement, the achievement comfortably outdoes the Rolling Stones’ feat in returning to No. 1 in the UK with a deluxe reissue of Exile On Main St. That album debuted at the top of the bestsellers on 10 June 1972 and return there in deluxe formats on 29 May 2010, representing a gap of 37 years and 353 days.
Sgt. Pepper returned to the summit in its 255th week in the UK top 100, a total that currently stands at 271 weeks, of which 49 have been in the top ten, 64 in the top 20 and 114 in the top 40. The album has sold 5. 1 million copies in the UK, according to the Official Charts Company, which makes it the biggest-selling studio album in UK chart history and third overall, behind Queen’s Greatest Hits and ABBA’s Gold compilations.
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Scott Boan
January 12, 2018 at 4:08 pm
Doesn’t particularly surprise ME. A LANDMARK album. I was 14, so it was really a game-changer for me.
Craig Forester
January 13, 2018 at 6:06 am
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is without a doubt the quintessential masterpiece of recorded music of all time. It’s impact transcended not only the bounds of music, and art; but this amazing work infiltrated the very soul and consciousness of a generation thereby bringing us into the dawning of a completely new age and social construct. The unleashing of this masterpiece of compositions created a paradigm shift unequal in the history of the world.
Sgt. Pepper is a timeless classic that encapsulates the flowering of this shift from the mystical age of Pisces into that of the ultruistic age of Aquarius. It is the greatest single piece of recorded art ever made, and by far and away the most influential.
alexander macdonald
January 14, 2018 at 8:18 pm
What a beautiful appraisal of a timeless classic.
Billy Wol
January 13, 2018 at 9:13 am
Great album but I much prefer Abbey Road. The best Beatles album by far…..or Rubber Soul.
James Alfaro
January 13, 2018 at 1:39 pm
Long live The Beatles. They sing and sound better everyday !!!
Julian Frias
January 13, 2018 at 4:02 pm
I love Sgt Peppers! But I agree with Billy. Abbey Road is awesome!
Belinda Tucker
January 13, 2018 at 6:19 pm
My Favorite since 1980. Saw the Tribute Movie in the Theater 1978. Big Fan since 1972.
Jack
January 13, 2018 at 6:52 pm
Agree with Billy. It’s not even the best album from the Beatles. They are all great.
Tacticomp
January 14, 2018 at 12:36 am
NO DOUBT!!
James Crosier
January 14, 2018 at 2:09 am
Love the Beatles!
Rip, john Lennon, George Harrison!
Mark McKendrick
January 14, 2018 at 3:42 pm
While Abbey Road maybe construed the Beatles ‘best’ album, seen in context it never was and will never be the game changer Sergeant Pepper was – that would be technolgically and chronolgically impossible. The making of Sgt Pepper saw the invention of many of the effects and recoding techniques employed in the making of Abbey Road.
Paul Ploughman
January 14, 2018 at 4:16 pm
Remember the first time I played it as a teenager…blew my mind! Loved the Beatles all my life and despite whoever are the next best band they will never be surpassed.
lee
January 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm
the passing years render this album less and less relevant. ironically, the first lp will be judge by history as timelessly classic!
John Tableman
January 14, 2018 at 8:36 pm
A standard of excellence that will not be surpassed
David
January 14, 2018 at 10:46 pm
I love how many “ biggest band since the Beatles” are never around for very long or as enduring , people these days take so much of the work put into the production of this album for granted forgetting how good it still sounds for something recorded on FOUR tracks not 64 , no auto tune or samplers let alone synthesizers
Don
January 15, 2018 at 5:46 am
My fave – Elton John’s “Don’t let your son go down on me”.
Jonathan Morrill
February 4, 2018 at 5:55 am
“A splendid time is guaranteed for all.”
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