Viola Beach are at number one in the UK Albums Chart this week with their self-titled debut album. The posthumous release comes six months after the band’s four members, Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin and their manager Craig Tarry were all tragically killed when their car fell from a highway bridge into a canal while on tour in Sweden.

In a statement the families of the band and their manager said: “The tragedy that ended Craig, Jack, Kris, River & Tom's lives in Sweden and the pain and sense of loss will never leave us. By sending the Viola Beach album to Number 1 the public have sent out an important message to the world.

“The tragic circumstance that met Viola Beach and their manager Craig that fateful night in Sweden will not now define their lives. What will now define their lives and what they will be remembered for, forever, is the music they were so passionate about making together."

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“For that, we will be eternally humbled and ever thankful to every single person who by buying this glorious album has invested in their lasting musical legacy. The pain will never leave us but neither will the affection shown by every fan. Maybe one day that affection will live longer in the memory than the pain. So from us all, a simple but heartfelt 'thank you’.”

The album features nine tacks including ‘Swings and Waterslides’, which reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart following the news of their passing in February. The band also received a special tribute during this year’s Glastonbury festival when headliners Coldplay covered ‘Boys That Sing’ from their debut album.