NEIL DIAMOND - DIAMOND AMAZED AND 'CRESTFALLEN' ABOUT FIRST U.S. NUMBER ONE

DIAMOND AMAZED AND 'CRESTFALLEN' ABOUT FIRST U.S. NUMBER ONE

NEIL DIAMOND was devastated to learn his new album, HOME BEFORE DARK, was his first U.S. number one - because he was convinced he had hit the top spot before.
The crooner's new release spent a week at number one in May (08) when it debuted at the top, giving Diamond his biggest sales week ever.
But the celebration was soured when Diamond realised he'd never topped the charts before.
He says, "I didn't actually think it was my first number one. Somehow, in my mind, I thought for sure I had a number one album somewhere along the way.
"I thought Hot August Night was number one, but then I was told it only went to number two, so I was crestfallen.
"I wasn't the only one amazed - I think a lot of people became aware that it was my first number one and they were a little amazed at that."
Diamond has since learned that, at 67, he's the oldest artist to hit the top of the U.S. charts: "I'm told that and that amazes me too. I don't feel that old. I feel very young, but it's nice to feel that, in this market that's filled with young people, that an old geezer can come along and knock a few of them off their perches and say, 'Hey, here's for the senior citizens.'"