National Album Day, currently on its 8th rendition, exists to ‘celebrate the album as an artform, spotlighting the music, creativity and stories that shape our lives.’

The BPI, the UK association of independent labels and record firms (BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize), and ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association (Record Store Day), collaborate to arrange National Album Day. Presented in collaboration with BBC Radio 2, the official broadcast partner.

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As a celebration of the day, 60 artists past and present have been selected for a limited edition release of their music. The list boasts the names of huge artists, led by:

The 50th Anniversary Edition of Queen’s ‘A Night At The Opera’, featuring ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, is getting a worldwide release on crystal clear vinyl with gold labels, timed in the UK to coincide with NAD.

Also included are Amy Macdonald’s ‘A Curious Thing’, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’, Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Grand Prix’, Stereophonics’ ‘Language. Sex. Violence. Other?’, and Manic Street Preachers’ ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.’

Punk and new wave are represented by Sex Pistols’ ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ and The Stranglers’ ‘Rattus Norvegicus.’

Other 50th anniversary reissues include Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’, Status Quo’s ‘On The Level’, and Steve Hillage’s ‘Fish Rising.’ Iconic albums also featured: Elvis Presley’s ‘From Elvis in Memphis’, Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’, Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Axis: Bold As Love’, and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request.’

Contemporary additions include Liam Gallagher’s ‘As You Were’, plus releases from SKIN, Architects, Kasabian, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The albums, which include both new and historic reissues, will be sold online and on digital platforms as well as independent and specialty music retailers around the United Kingdom.

For more information, and the full list of re-releases, head here.

Introducing our National Album Day 2022 Ambassadors!@SamRyderMusic @KSI @thestaves @Franz_Ferdinand @TheMysterines

Discover more about this year’s #NationalAlbumDay on our site: https://t.co/1lcrg78uvU pic.twitter.com/MZ6vG4T9Yj

— National Album Day (@AlbumDayUK) August 16, 2022

The annual event is held in celebration of the album format and the configuration’s over  70 years of history and critical influence across the music industry. This year the event will mark National Album Day’s fifth year and will be held on 15th October 2022, each year is allocated a theme. In previous years National Album Day has taken on the theme of Women in Music and the 80s, this year the annual celebration will hold the theme of Debuts. By adopting this theme, the event aims to honour a wide range of initial album releases from many variants of genres and eras.

This year im going to be an @AlbumDayUK ambassador, which means i’ll be looking at and discussing one of my favourite debut albums from an artist I love. What’s your favourite debut album? https://t.co/DHkP7Jd6VD — ksi (@KSI) August 16, 2022

Speaking on the event, Chief Executive BPI Geoff Taylor and Chief Executive ER Kim Bayley have issued a joint statement, “Artists love telling their stories through the artform of the album and fans love to listen, but in a world where there is more streaming of individual songs, we take the appeal of the album format for granted. National Album Day is about celebrating the continuing vitality and cultural relevance of the long player, in particular with the next generation of fans, and we invite everyone who loves the format to join in and enjoy this year’s National Album Day.“

Since its inception in 2018, National Album Day has put on and participated in a wide range of events. The long list of activities include The Record Club, Tim’s Twitter Listening Party, two exhibitions held with Network Rail and Classic Album Sundays. The annually held celebration of the beloved format is co-arranged with BPI, otherwise known as British Phonographic Industry, BPI is the trade association for British recorded music and is known for putting on the BRIT awards. National Album Day is also organised by ERA, The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, ERA is a UK trade organisation known for its involvement in record store day.

Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand frontman has also given a statement concerning the band’s ambassador status, “What a glorious medium the album is, On the most basic level it’s a bunch of songs that sound good together, but what I love is that it is a moment in time for the artist and the listener, a way to define a period of a lifetime. It’s the long form: a novel rather than a short story, a film rather than a trailer. Sure, you can get a panel of writers to construct a song to meet the criteria of the algorithm, and that’s a distinct skill, but it will never have the complexity or richness and deep reward of a good album.”

This year’s National Album Day will be conducted in association with Bowers and Wilkins, the event’s official audio partner. National Album Day is also presented alongside its official broadcast partner BBC Sounds. This year’s celebration will also include special broadcasts and exclusive releases, further details concerning these forthcoming events will be confirmed in due course.

The ad itself shares a message of kindness, when a young woman is being overwhelmed by the noise of everyday life, her neighbour sends a gift to help her with the anxiety of an exceptionally loud world. The tag “Kindness. The greatest gift” closes the video. The ad seems to follow the same emotional beats as the song. Adele starts by singing “I swear to god I’m such a mess / The harder that I try, I regress,” and “Right now, I truly hate being me.”. But in the end comes back around to finish “Let time be patient / Let pain be gracious / Just hold on, just hold on / I will survive,”.

Prior to the tracks release, fans have also been treated to another song “Easy on Me” after a short teaser snippet was released on Adele’s social media accounts. Not long after the song and video were released, the singer also released a blooper clip from behind the scenes.

It’s all smoke and mirrors! Here’s all the bloopers from the Easy On Me video pic.twitter.com/UFVNcChgX6

— Adele (@Adele) November 4, 2021

Meanwhile, Adele continues to confirm her superstardom with an announcement for a massive show at American Express Presents BST Hyde Park 2022, and by breaking a Spotify record previously held by K-pop giants BTS.

In a list released by BBC Radio 2 on National Album Day, it was revealed that Adele’s sophomore album 21 was the UK’s best-selling album on the women in music themed list. With 5,007,000 sales in the UK Adele nabbed the top spot, her next album 25 landed on the list in 5^th place. 21 edged out the likes of Amy Winehouse, Madonna and Shania Twain for the top spot. Her debut 19 also made the list in 14^th position.

Last week, the tracklist for 30 was revealed to contain 12 songs with 3 bonus tracks. The album features tracks such as “I Drink Wine”, an Interlude called “All Night Parking” featuring Jazz pianist Erroll Garner and, a version of “Easy on Me” featuring Chris Stapleton.

The list was announced as part of the radio network’s celebrations for National Album Day. This year the annual event features the theme of women in music.  The list of albums has been compiled by The Official Charts Company and is constructed on UK sales and downloads. During National Album Day the station dedicated the day to women in music and featured a female-focused playlist. The theme was carried throughout the network’s programmes, including Sounds of the 60s and Craig Charles’ House Party. On Saturday 16th October 2021, the full list was announced by radio veteran Jo Whiley and British songstress Adele’s 21 was crowned the winner and confirmed as the biggest selling UK album of all time.

The singer’s second studio album topped the list with 5,007,000 sales. The rest of the top five consist of the biggest female artists in popular music. At number two is Back To Black by Amy Winehouse, the iconic singer’s 2006 album has accumulated 3,912,000 sales. Madonna’s early greatest hits album The Immaculate Collection charted at number three with 3,771,000 sales. Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain is at number four with her third studio album Come On Over with 3,411,000 sales. Closing the top five list is another Adele album, 25, released in 2015. The singer’s third studio album has accumulated 3,364,000 sales.

Jo Whiley has provided the following statement: the host discusses Adele and the power in which the singer holds.  “Adele has enchanted us from the very beginning with her voice, her songs and her personality. When she writes, she writes from the heart and that’s why her music resonates with so many people. She tells it like it is, whether onstage to thousands of people at Glastonbury or through the songs on her albums, and that’s why she is so loved and a global superstar. She sings it like she means it – because she does. She also has a phenomenal voice and hasn’t changed from the very first Live Lounge I did with her at Radio 1 to when I spoke to her just before she headlined Glasto. Always honest, down to earth, a superstar and very very funny.”

Released in January 2011, 21, is now regarded as the ultimate heartbreak album. The singer’s second studio album was inspired and written about the artist’s break-up. Due to the album’s lyrical content, the release has become famously relatable and catapulted Adele into stardom. The album is the fourth best-selling album in the UK of all time, outsold by Queen’s Greatest Hits, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles and Gold by ABBA. The album’s sales record speaks for itself, it sold 18 million copies worldwide within its first year of release. The release has been titled as the longest-running number one album within the UK in 45 years and spent 23 weeks at the number one position.

The countdown was broadcasted on BBC Radio 2 and is now available to listen to on BBC Sounds. The full list of albums can be seen below:

Adele – 21
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
Madonna – The Immaculate Collection
Shania Twain – Come On Over
Adele – 25
Leona Lewis – Spirit
Dido – No Angel
Spice Girls – Spice
Lady Gaga – The Fame
Dido – Life for Rent
Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
Tracey Chapman – Tracey Chapman
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
Adele – 19
Emeli Sandé – Our Version Of Events
Whitney Houston – Whitney
Duffy – Rockferry
Tina Turner – Simply The Best
Celine Dion – Falling Into You
Celine Dion – Let’s Talk About Love
Christina Aguilera – Stripped
Rihanna – Loud
Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream
Rihanna – Good Girl Gone Bad
Katie Melua – Call Off The Search
Eva Cassidy – Songbird
Pink – Missundaztood
Avril Lavigne – Let Go
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Hits
Madonna – Ray Of Light

To celebrate @AlbumDayUK, which this year is spotlighting women , we have compiled a chart of the most played female artist of the 21st Century in the UK using PPL airplay data. Huge congratulations to @Pink who reached the top spot. #NationalAlbumDay pic.twitter.com/Km3xA6Crb3

— PPL (@PPLUK) October 11, 2021

Pink whose career began in 1995 earned three UK No1 singles for “Lady Marmalade” in 2001, “Just Little Pill” in 2022 and “So What” in 2008. She also had three No 1 Albums with Funhouse (2008), Beautiful Trauma (2017) and Hurts 2B Human (2019). She had many more Top 10 over the two decades of her career. Pink’s best selling single in the UK was “Just Give Me A Reason” from 2013, which gathered 1.6 million chart sales.

Within the Top 20 most played female artists, more than a third are British musicians with Adele and Little Mix hitting the top ten.

Chief Executive Officer of PPL Peter Leatham commented: “National Album Day is a fantastic platform to showcase the importance of the album format and PPL is proud to be part of the celebrations this year with our chart of the century’s most-played female artists“.

“This chart brings together an incredible array of talent who have recorded some of the UK’s favourite music, including a number of the biggest and most influential albums of all time“.

The fourth edition of the National Album Day will take place on 16th October and honours the art of the album. “This year, it will spotlight women artists and their huge contribution to music and culture through the format”. It will be presented alongside BBC Sounds and Bowers & Wilkins. 

To celebrate #NationalAlbumDay, there’ll be 40+ releases available exclusively on Sat 16th Oct including @NinaSimoneMusic, @solangeknowles, @amywinehouse, @garbage, @MariahCarey, @didoofficial, @roisinmurphy & more Find all the releases here >> https://t.co/k78msmq51x pic.twitter.com/wbuConFUBM — National Album Day (@AlbumDayUK) August 17, 2021

Kylie Minogue who also reached the top 10 on the list has been recently announced as National Album Day ambassador. Minogue replied to the news: “I’m so proud to be a part of National Album Day alongside such amazing, inspirational female artists!”. “It’s mind-blowing to me and I’m so touched to know my music is continuing to be enjoyed by so many people!”  she continues.

I’m so proud to be a part of National Album Day alongside such amazing, inspirational female artists! https://t.co/ke0DncmTJi

— Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) October 1, 2021

Minogue also celebrates the anniversary edition of her album from 2001, Fever which will be released in multiple formats. The reissue of the album will be available on 15th October in the UK and Australia, and 19th November for the rest of the world. It can be pre-ordered here.

The full Top 20 most played female artists of the 21st century are as follows:

1. P!nk
2. Madonna
3. Katy Perry
4. Rihanna
5. Lady Gaga
6. Adele
7. Beyoncé
8. Kylie Minogue
9. Little Mix
10. Whitney Houston
11. Taylor Swift
12. Sugababes
13. Kelly Clarkson
14. Dua Lipa
15. Ellie Goulding
16. Christina Aguilera
17. Diana Ross
18. Jess Glynne
19. Rita Ora
20. Ariana Grande

As described on their website, “National Album Day was first celebrated in 2018 to praise the album format. After all, we’ve enjoyed over 70 years of albums; classic, life-changing, first, influential and even the ones we couldn’t live without. Albums mean different things to different people – but there is no denying the huge impact they’ve not only had on our lives but on British pop-culture as we know it.”

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Supported by its official partners Bowers & Wilkins and BBC Sounds, National Album Day 2021 will celebrate the vast array of iconic albums released by British female artists, imploring the public to re-visit some of the classics that helped to shape modern music culture. Whilst more information on the event is set to come this summer, the Official Charts Company concurrently announced the UK’s best-selling albums by female artists since the turn of the millennium. Here is the list:

1. 21 by Adele
2. Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
3. 25 by Adele
4. Spirit by Leona Lewis
5. Fame by Lady Gaga
6. No Angel by Dido
7. Life for Rent by Dido
8. Come Away with Me by Norah Jones
9. 19 by Adele
10. Our Version of Events by Emeli Sande

With all but two artists being from the UK (Lady Gaga and Norah Jones), the projects of home-grown talent lead the way for the best-selling female albums since 2000. Notably, all three of Adele’s albums are featured on the list, with her iconic 2011 release ‘21’ topping the list with nearly six million copies domestically sold. Despite having only three albums to her name, the Tottenham-raised singer-songwriter was also announced as the UK’s best-selling female artist of the last two decades.

There is no doubt that National Album Day 2021 will also celebrate the countless number of classic albums produced by British female artists before 2000. Prime candidates might be: Dusty Springfield’s soul opus ‘Dusty in Memphis’ (1969); Kate Bush’s art pop classic ‘House of Rock’ (1985); and Sade’s progressive soul classic ‘Diamond Life’ (1984). Equally, it will also promote the albums of British female artists that are perhaps less likely to have received mainstream attention for their work within a genre. For instance, consider the undeniable impact that Ms. Dynamite’s ‘A Little Deeper’, released in 2002, had on the nascent UK R&B scene of the early 2000s.

Against the backdrop of a world still plagued with gender inequality, it is important to remember the vital contributions that women have made to a largely male-dominated industry. National Album Day 2021 will give all of us in the UK an opportunity both to honour a host of national musical talent and to celebrate the women that have helped to mould the country’s music scene.

HAPPY #INTERNATIONALWOMENSDAY! We asked you to stand up, speak out and use your #PowerToChange our world by supporting every woman—anywhere, everywhere.

There many ways to join the movement, celebrate, & support women. Thread: pic.twitter.com/dYJBKDJGtt

— Women for Women Intl (@WomenforWomen) March 8, 2021

ICYMI: Vinyl and cassette sales surge as streamers collect the music they love in lockdown.

Read in full  https://t.co/NBNNu0xE0x pic.twitter.com/4pRZC6fZem

— BPI (@bpi_music) December 29, 2020

The soar in numbers have been accredited to campaigns such as LoveRecordStores, Record Store Day and National Album Day. When the physical music market was severely impacted by the national lockdown in March, these campaigns pushed music lovers across the nations to support their local record shops, leading to a massive increase in LP sales.

When speaking of the record-breaking sales, chief executive of the BPI Geoff Taylor spoke passionately of the nation’s support, despite the ongoing global crisis. “In a year when all our lives have changed, music’s power to inspire has never been more evident. The immediacy and convenience of streaming make it the go-to audio format for most of our listening, but more and more fans choose to get closer to their favourite artists and albums on vinyl,” he explained in a statement.

“It’s remarkable that LP and audio tape sales should have risen at all given the challenges we’ve all faced. The surge in sales despite retail closures demonstrates the timeless appeal of collectable physical formats alongside the seamless connectivity of streaming.”