Robbie Williams now has the most UK #1 albums of all time. The former Take That member's latest, Britpop, debuted atop the UK album chart today, becoming his 16th #1. That surpasses the record of 15 set by the Beatles in 2000 with the release of their hits collection 1. According to The Guardian, Williams did it in 29 years, whereas the Beatles took 37 years to set the previous record. All of Williams' solo albums have topped the chart except for 2009's Reality Killed The Video Star and his recent soundtrack to his biopic, Better Man. His two albums with Take That are not included in the record-breaking 16-album tally.
Williams strategically pursued this milestone. Britpop was originally scheduled for release in October, but he pushed back the release date so as not to compete with Taylor Swift's The Life Of A Showgirl. As he explained to the audience at an intimate gig that had been intended as an album release party:
Here's the truth: I want 16 #1 albums. Taylor then decided to put her album out the same weekend as me. I was like, "For fuck's sake! I’ll put it out the next week," and they were like, "She does these other deluxe versions." I was like, "Fuckin' hell! Can I put it out the week after that then?" They were like, "Oasis might be around then"… "For fuck's sake! Let’s do it in fuckin' February when no one’s got an album out."
He further elaborated:
I was worried about making you all fuckin' wait, and then I was like, "Fuck it! I want a 16th #1 album!" I'm sorry, but I’m fuckin' being selfish. How many times in your life do you get to have the most #1 albums the UK’s ever fuckin' had?
Congrats to Robbie Williams, and well fuckin' played.
