Adele's third album 25 becomes fastest-seller in British history

Record-breaker: Adele's 25 sold 800,000 copies in a single week
Ramzy Alwakeel27 November 2015

Adele’s third album 25 has become the fastest selling recording in British chart history, smashing a string of industry records in a single week.

The LP shifted more than 800,000 copies in its first week on sale, eclipsing the previous title holder – Oasis’s Be Here Now, which sold 696,000 units in one week of August 1997.

Twenty-seven-year-old Adele, full name Adele Adkins, has already notched up two number one albums with 19, released in 2008, and 21, which hit shops in 2011.

The latter – which went on to become the fourth-biggest selling album in the UK ever – sold 208,000 in its first week.

By contrast, Ms Adkins’s latest offering sold more discs and downloads than that in its first day alone.

Martin Talbot, from Official Charts Company, said: “The massive impact of 25 this week marks the moment that Adele has transformed herself from a phenomenon of our age to an all-time great.

“The statistics surrounding the album are staggering, topped by the simple fact that no album has ever sold 800,000 copies to reach number one in the history of British music.”

The lead single from 25, “Hello”, is at number three in the UK singles chart. The massive sales of its parent album mean 25 has already been certified double platinum.

It has also sold more downloads than any other album in British history – 252,423.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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