News One Of Paul McCartney’s Biggest Albums Has Hit The Charts In Four Different Forms
Paul McCartney is far and away one of the most successful musicians of all time in his home country of the U.K. In fact, depending on how one measures that title, he may win, as he has been racking up sales and hits since he launched his musical career more than half a century ago.
This week, McCartney is back on the U.K. albums chart, but not with a brand new title. Instead, he returns with one of his most beloved projects–which has now reached the ranking of the top-consumed albums in the country in four separate instances.
McCartney appears at No. 16 on the U.K. albums chart with Band on the Run. The third full-length from the former Beatles’ new band Wings was recently reissued for its fiftieth anniversary. The Official Charts Company counts the new extended edition as a separate entity, and its immediate success adds to the legend’s career totals.
According to the Official Charts Company, Band on the Run has now reached the albums chart in the U.K. four times. The set has spent more than four weeks on the tally–many more frames, actually. The title has now appeared on the ranking in four different forms, which speaks to not only how long the album has been around, but also its seemingly never-ending appeal.
Band on the Run debuted on the U.K. albums chart in 1973, when it was released. At the time, it hit No. 1, giving McCartney another champion. That specific offering has spent 124 weeks somewhere on the ranking.
A new version of Band on the Run reached the U.K. albums chart in 1999, when it rose as high as No. 69. More than a decade later, in 2010, a third edition of the same album hit the chart again. That project reached No. 17.
This latest version of Band on the Run ranks as the second-highest-charting of the bunch. The fiftieth-anniversary edition includes a second album full of “previously unreleased ‘underdubbed’ mixes of the songs,” according to a release announcing the special project. Longtime fans of Wings, and especially McCartney, rushed to pick up a copy, turning the beloved album into a hit once again.
