Radio 2 reveals Bat Out of Hell as biggest UK debut album of all time

BBC Radio 2 has revealed the UK’s biggest debut albums of all-time in an exclusive chart for National Album Day.

The chart has been compiled exclusively by The Official Charts Company in partnership with National Album Day, which celebrates the art form of the album.

In The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 20, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, released in 1977, came out on top. James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam at No. 2 is the biggest ever debut album by a British artist, and Leona Lewis at No. 3 is the biggest debut by a UK female artist with her album, Spirit.

The chart is based on UK sales and streams combined since records began in 1956.

Bat Out Of Hell brought Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman together to create an album with a number of the late US rock star’s best-loved songs. Its UK sales have topped 3.5 million, and it has spent more than 500 weeks on the Official Albums Chart despite only ever climbing as high as No. 3, which it reached in January this year after Meat Loaf passed away.

In the No. 2 spot, and the leading UK artist in the chart, is James Blunt with his 2004 debut, Back To Bedlam. It includes his global hit You’re Beautiful, which topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 in the UK and was not only the top album of that year, but the biggest seller of the 2000s.

When he heard that Back to Bedlam is the biggest debut album in the UK by a British artist, James joked: “Are you sure? There must have been some kind of mistake.”

Leona Lewis is at No. 3 with her 2007 debut, Spirit, one of the three albums by female artists in the Top 5. Released the year after she won The X Factor, the album includes the No. 1 singles A Moment Like This and Bleeding Love as well as her chart-topping cover of Snow Patrol’s Run.

National Album Day is tomorrow, Saturday 15 October, when Steve Wright will play the Top 20 countdown in The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 20 on Radio 2, 1-3pm. The programme is also available on BBC Sounds from today.

Steve also plays the countdown from 40 to 21, available exclusively on BBC Sounds now.

Steve Wright said: “Bat Out Of Hell reaching Number One as the UK’s biggest debut album of all-time might be a surprise to some, but it is a truly brilliant debut album and one which reached a whole new audience following the sad passing of Meat Loaf earlier this year. You’re in for a treat with the full chart so do tune in for a fantastic nostalgia trip with some of the most brilliant songs you’ll ever hear.”

Laura Busson, Commissioning Executive for Radio 2, added: “Radio 2 is proud to support National Album Day by celebrating this year’s theme of debut albums. This chart is a wonderful reminder of the powerful records that launched so many stellar careers and are much-loved by our listeners.”

The UK’s Top 10 debut albums of all time:

1. Bat Out Of Hell – Meat Loaf (1977)
2. Back To Bedlam – James Blunt (2004)
3. Spirit – Leona Lewis (2007)
4. The Fame – Lady Gaga (2008)
5. No Angel – Dido (1999)
6. Spice – Spice Girls (1996)
7. Hopes And Fears – Keane (2004)
8. Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette (1994)
9. In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith (2014)
10. Parachutes – Coldplay (2000)

You can hear the complete 20 with Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2, tomorrow afternoon, 1-3pm.