Elton John's hit album finally hits No. 1

Sir Elton John quit touring last year, but his music continues to sell well

Elton John plays piano in purple sequined outfit — Sir Elton John quit touring last year, but his music continues to sell well

Sir Elton John's greatest career single, Diamonds, has climbed to number one after spending 374 weeks on the charts.

The 51-track album features iconic songs such as “Tiny Dancer,” “I'm Still Standing” and “Rocket Man” and gives the 77-year-old star his ninth No. 1 album.

“I'm absolutely thrilled and thrilled that Diamonds is the number one album in the UK this week,” he said. “What a great start to the new year. I couldn't be happier.”

“Diamonds” was originally released in 2017 and has been charting ever since. Sales of the album surged last week after it was re-released in a super deluxe edition on Blu-ray, cassette and diamond-effect vinyl.

The star has also seen a surge in streaming thanks to the Disney+ documentary It's Never Too Late , which premiered last month.

Featuring previously unseen footage, the film traces the star's journey from working musician to global superstar, as well as his battle with addiction, becoming a father and the end of his farewell tour in 2023.

The film, co-directed by his husband David Furnish, was named to the BAFTA longlist for best documentary last week.

Diamonds stayed on the charts longer than any other Elton John album. The star received an official No. 1 trophy for his latest accolade

Official Charts Company Elton John poses with his Official Charts No. 1 — Diamonds stayed on the charts longer than any other Elton John album. The star received an official No. 1 trophy for his latest accolade

Diamonds was originally released in 2017 to celebrate Sir Elton's 50th anniversary of writing songs with Bernie Taupin.

The double album went on to sell over 1.5 million copies in the UK but never climbed to number two in the charts.

It's been a quiet week for new album releases, with no new music entering the top 10, which helps push it to No. 1.

Diamonds has also spent more consecutive weeks in the Top 40 than any other album in chart history, according to the Official Charts Company.

Sir Elton's previous number one albums spanned 60 years, starting with 1973's “Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player.” A year later, his first greatest hits album topped the charts.

“Diamonds” isn't the only long-running greatest hits hit to permanently hit the Top 100.

Canadian star The Weeknd's “Highlights” is the second-best-selling album of 2024, just three years after his debut.

Meanwhile, “Abba's Gold” and “Queen's Greatest Hits” both spent more than 1,000 weeks on the album charts.

All benefit from the way music streaming is factored into chart calculations – plays of individual tracks count towards the album's total sales.

Queen's Greatest Hits is the longest-charting album in the UK, having appeared in the top 100 for 1,453 weeks, or nearly 28 years.

Rock band Queen pose backstage at the BBC in the 1970s. Singer Freddie Mercury wore a black tights and crossed his arms. The other members are all dressed in white. — Queen's Greatest Hits is the longest-charting album in the UK, having appeared in the top 100 for 1,453 weeks, or nearly 28 years.

In this week's rankings, Sabrina Carpenter's Short N' Sweet occupies second place, and SZA's SOS is firmly in third place.

Gracie Abrams' bittersweet ballad “That's So True” tops the singles chart for a seventh week, followed by “Rosé” and “Bruno Mars” from APT (Bruno Mars), ranked second, and British singer Lola Young's “Messy” ranked third.

Meanwhile, Chappell Roan – who has just been appointed BBC Voices 2025 winners – Her single “Pink Pony Club” from five years ago re-entered the charts at No. 22.