Taylor Swift's '1989' holds No. 1 spot for third week on UK Albums Chart, foils Beatles' record-breaking bid

Swifties have prevailed over Beatlemania to secure Taylor Swift's third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Official UK Albums Chart with "1989 (Taylor’s Version)" (via EMI), the fourth installment in her series of six rerecorded LP projects.

This achievement has foiled Beatles' bid for a record-extending 16th No. 1 with "1967-1970" (also known as the Blue album) and "1962-1966" (the Red album), which entered the chart at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Even though the Beatles initially led the U.K.'s midweek singles and albums charts, their expected chart double did not materialise, as neither title secured the top spot when the Official Charts were published on November 17.


Coincidentally, "1967-1970" and "1962-1966" returned to their original peaks from 1973. Additionally, a composite boxed set of the two LPs, released in celebration of the Beatles' recent U.K. No. 1 single "Now and Then," arrives at No. 33 on the national albums survey.

Notably drum ‘n’ bass duo Chase & Status debuts at No. 4 with "2 RUFF, Vol. 1" (EMI), marking their fifth top 10 appearance in the UK charts.

At the fifth spot is "Quarter Life Crisis" (Polydor), the first studio album from South Africa-born, London-based artist Baby Queen.

As Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan kicks off his U.K. tour, his third studio LP, "Stick Season" (Island), achieves a new peak at No. 6. The title track rises to No. 5 on the Official UK Singles Chart, while another album track, “Northern Attitude,” sits at No. 16.

Reissues of sets by Passenger ("All the Little Lights" at No. 7 via Cooking Vinyl) and New Order ("Substance" at No. 10 via Rhino) return to the top 10. Simultaneously, new releases from Chris Brown ("11:11" at No. 11 via Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA), James Marriott ("Are We There Yet?" at No. 17 via James Marriott), Chris Stapleton ("Higher" at No. 22 via EMI), PinkPantheress ("Heaven Knows" at No. 28 via Warner Records), and The Kid LAROI ("The First Time" at No. 29 via Columbia) make impactful debuts within the top 40.