Years & Years have scored their second UK Number One album with new LP ‘Night Call’.
Olly Alexander‘s new record, which arrived last week (January 21), debuted at the top spot with 75 per cent of its total coming from physical copies.
“I’m just really, really proud. Everybody who got this album and streamed it – I can’t believe it, thank you so, so, so much! We got Number 1 baby!!” the pop star said upon receiving news of his achievement.
‘Night Call’ marks the third Top Five album for Years & Years, who began life as a three-piece. Their debut album, ‘Communication’, reached Number One in 2015; their second album, 2018’s ‘Palo Santo’, peaked at Number Three.
Yard Act finished just behind Years & Years at Number Two with their debut album, ‘The Overload’. Despite not managing to reach the top spot, the LP did claim the Number One spots on the Physical Albums Chart, the Vinyl Albums Chart and the Record Store Chart.
The Leeds post-punk band shifted a huge number of vinyl, officially making it the fastest-selling debut album on wax of any band this century, surpassing the first-week vinyl sales of Inhaler’s ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ in July 2021.
Reacting to the news, Yard Act tweeted: “It’s all so pointless. Ah but it’s not though is it? Thanks so much for all your support. We are genuinely overwhelmed and the ongoing battle continues to stay grounded, self aware, stupid prats with our egos in check as they can be.”
The band also attached a statement alongside their tweet. “So we landed at number 2. We slogged it because we had a real shot. 21 inspires in 7 days and the most aggressive and ridiculous social media spamming campaign any self respecting artists has ever put themselves through. Or maybe that was all part of the ‘art’ too?” Yard Act wrote.
“The album is called The Overload and we committed to the sentiment. To see the marketing manager of Island records marching round the brudenell in a hi vis vest rattling boxes of cassette tapes in people’s faces yelling to ‘buy buy buy’ in his gorgeous Essex wide boy accent was one of the best things I have ever seen. Stare the world we live in head on.”
It’s all so pointless. Ah but it’s not though is it? Thanks so much for all your support. We are genuinely so overwhelmed and the ongoing battle continues to stay grounded, self aware, stupid prats with our egos as in check as they can be. pic.twitter.com/bWXN9A7Dts
— Yard Act (@YardActBand) January 28, 2022
Yard Act went on to explain how their vinyl campaign helped support individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, before noting that “Capitalism is literally destroying us all”.
The band also acknowledged Years & Years, calling Alexander “a national treasure”. You can see the full post above.
Alexander has since taken to Twitter to congratulate Yard Act. “Congratulations to @YardActBand [clapping emoji] you guys did amazing [three heart emojis] this week has been nuts !!” he tweeted.
congratulations to @YardActBand
you guys did amazing
this week has been nuts !!
— olly alexander (@alexander_olly) January 28, 2022
‘Night Call’ and ‘The Overload’ were two of four new entries to land inside the Top Five, alongside two previously released Meat Loaf albums, ‘Bat Of Of Hell’ and ‘Hits Out Of Hell’, following news of the rocker’s passing away last week.
In a four-star review of Years & Years’ ‘Night Call’, NME‘s El Hunt wrote: “Despite its touchstones, ‘Night Call’ draws sparingly on the hallmarks of ‘80s synth-pop– while the likes of Dua Lipa, Kylie, Jessie Ware and Miley Cyrus have laden their own records with strutting slap-bass, Years and Years third record retools these sounds for contemporary pop – it’s less of a tribute, and instead integrates a smattering of squelching synth-sounds and bright French House-indebted beats in more subtle ways.”
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