What are the fastest-selling Opening-Week Albums in UK History

The UK has always produced huge first-week album sales, but the record books continue to shift. In October 2025 Taylor Swift topped headlines after The Life of a Showgirl posted an unprecedented multi-million opening (reports indicate it surpassed Adele’s long-standing totals), making global and regional sales history.  Taylor Swift is largely expected to top this chart when the official numbers are released.

That said, when people talk about the fastest-selling UK opening-week albums historically, there are a handful of releases that stand out - some from the physical-sales era, some from the streaming/edition-heavy modern era. Below are the eight fastest-selling opening-week albums in UK chart history, with first-week UK sales figures. 

The Top 8 (UK first-week sales)

1. Adele - 25 (2015) 800,307 first-week copies (UK)
   Adele’s 25 holds the long-reported record for the biggest opening week in the UK. This figure is the industry standard cited by the Official Charts Company.  Buy Adele 25
2. Oasis - Be Here Now (1997) 696,000 first-week copies (3-day sales reported; 813,000 over full first seven days availability)
   Oasis’s Be Here Now famously sold enormous quantities on release. Because it was released mid-week, many sources report a 3-day tally of 696k; some historical tallies show 813k across the full seven-day availability window - the discrepancy is a known nuance in chart historiography. Buy Be Here Now by Oasis
3. Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide) (2017) 672,000 first-week copies (UK)
   Ed Sheeran’s ÷ logged roughly 672,000 first-week sales, making it the fastest-selling album in the UK for a male solo artist and one of the biggest ever openings. 
4. The Beatles - With the Beatles (1963) 530,000 
   Historical industry sources and contemporary reporting indicate With the Beatles sold in excess of half a million very quickly on release (contemporary trade publications and later sales-histories place its early sales in the 500k+ range). (Note: 1960s sales reporting used different systems and press reports are the source of the figure.) Buy With the Beatles by The Beatles
5. Take That - Progress (2010) 518,601 first-week copies (UK)
   Progress was one of the 21st century’s biggest UK openings in its first week, at the time reported as the fastest-selling album of that century until Adele’s 25. Buy Progress by Take That
6. Coldplay - X&Y (2005) 464,471 first-week copies (UK)
   Coldplay’s X&Y posted huge early sales on release; the widely cited first-week number is 464,471 copies in the UK.  Buy X&Y by Coldplay
7. Take That - The Circus (2008) 432,490 first-week copies (UK)
   Take That’s The Circus is Take That's second entry in the list and also launched with very strong first-week sales. Buy The Circus by Take That
8. Susan Boyle - I Dreamed a Dream (2009) 411,820 first-week copies (UK)
   Susan Boyle’s debut was a surprise commercial phenomenon and one of the handful of 400k+ first-week sellers in UK history. Buy I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle