The UK’s first Official Vinyl Charts has been launched | General

The UK’s first Official Vinyl Charts has been launched as vinyl sales soar in 2015. Kicking off Record Store Day week 2015, new proof arrives today that Britain’s renewed interest in music on vinyl shows little sign of slowing.

2014 witnessed vinyl LP sales reaching a 20-year high in the UK at 1.29 million, following seven years of unbroken growth, and now new Official Charts Company data for the first quarter of 2015 reveals that this trend is continuing at pace, with vinyl album purchasing up yet again a staggering 69% versus the same period in 2014, and vinyl singles also up 23%.

With such enduring love for vinyl from music fans and collectors alike, the Official Charts Company are pleased to introduce the UK’s first ever Official Vinyl Charts. The Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40 (combining sales of 7” and 12” singles) will launch Monday 13 April exclusively on the all-new OfficialCharts.com.

Following a period of rapid organic audience growth hitting record traffic of 2.5 million monthly unique users, the newly revamped responsive site – which was awarded Site Of The Fortnight and a 5* review by Web User Magazine as well as being shortlisted for Best Website at this summer’s Brand Republic Digital Awards - will become the exclusive home of the weekly rundown, with the charts published each week on Sundays, 7pm.

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive, Official Charts Company comments: “We’re delighted to launch the UK’s first Official Vinyl Albums and Official Vinyl Singles charts on OfficialCharts.com, to coincide with Record Store Day this coming weekend. With vinyl album sales up by almost 70% already this year, vinyl junkies could well have snapped up 2 million units by the end of this year – an extraordinary number, if you consider sales were one-tenth of that just six years ago. This growth underlines the continuing resurgence of this much-loved format, whether you’re a fan of Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher, Led Zeppelin or David Bowie.”

Leaders on the Official Albums Chart and also claiming the biggest selling vinyl record of the week, All Time Low’s frontman Alex Gaskarth said: “What’s been going on with vinyl at the moment is really cool. What I love is that there are different worlds of vinyl fans; there’s the audiophiles who swear by the sound of vinyl, the people for who like owning it as a collector’s piece, and then groups like our fans who buy a vinyl of our record simply so they can hang it on their wall.

“Back in Baltimore there’s this incredible record store called Sound Garden, which I can regularly be found in. What I love about vinyl is that it makes a real event out of music; you go into a record shop and have to search out what’s there. The world is in music overload at the moment, so it’s great to see more people honing in on certain artists by buying a vinyl and showing loyalty to their favourites. It makes the whole experience of listening to an album special.”

UK vinyl retailer Phil Barton of Sister Ray Records, Soho, London adds: “The resurgence in vinyl sales has been a great boost for the independent trade. The launch of the Official Vinyl Charts tells the world that a format that is loved and revered is more relevant now than ever - far from being a curiosity, vinyl is the go-to format for many music fans.”

Kim Bayley, Chief Executive of the Entertainment Retailer’s Association who run Record Store Day UK says: "Independent record stores in particular have driven the vinyl revival, stocking and supporting the format when much of the world had written it off. With one of the strongest line-ups of product yet for this year's event on April 18, Record Store Day promises to be another bumper day for vinyl sales."

Gennaro Castaldo of British recorded music industry body, the BPI, comments: “With sales of vinyl albums at their highest level since the heady days of Britpop and growing, the introduction of an Official Vinyl Chart at this time makes perfect sense. The chart will not only help us to better understand which artists and type of music are driving this resurgence, but will also help guide a new generation of younger, but emotionally-engaged, fans as they contemplate the vinyl delights that await them.”

Official Vinyl Albums Chart - Q1 2015

1 Chasing Yesterday Noel Gallagher's High Flying

2 Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin

3 Am Arctic Monkeys

4 Royal Blood Royal Blood

5 The Race For Space Public Service Broadcasting

6 Shadows In The Night Bob Dylan

7 The Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd

8 Lost In The Dream War On Drugs

9 Happy People Peace

10 Four Symbol Lled Zeppelin

©Official Charts Company 2015