Prince set to dominate album charts

Slots one to five in the UK album charts are dusted purple.

Ben Smith

Date published: 26th Apr 2016

Image: Prince 

Prince is set to dominate the UK charts this week as fans lament the singer’s death, which happened suddenly last Thursday (21st April).

Midweek chart updates show that the Purple One, who was only 57 when he died, holds positions one to five in the album charts, while ‘Purple Rain’ (listen to a live version below) has crept up to number two in the singles chart.

Should the tributes continue, the song will easily eclipse its original position of number 8 in the charts which it reached when it was released back in 1984.

Two of the singer’s greatest hits collections, The Very Best Of and Ultimate, hold the top two places in the album charts, while the seminal 'Purple Rain' is at number three.

Remarkably, Ultimate entered the album chart at number 10 last Thursday, despite the fact the standings were compiled only a few hours after the singer’s death.

The spike in album sales is also attributed to Prince’s refusal to appear on streaming sites such as Spotify and Soundcloud, with Tidal being the only place to legally stream the singer’s music online. 

Read: Prince's 'Purple Rain' will be screened at select UK cinemas