Robbie Williams on brink of UK chart history as Britpop eyes record-breaking number one
Robbie Williams looks set to make UK chart history as his new record Britpop is on track to become his 16th chart-topper - meaning he would surpass The Beatles as the artist with the most number one albums.
Robbie Williams is poised to make UK chart history as his new album Britpop looks set to become the biggest record of his career yet.
The Millennium singer’s latest release is currently sitting at number one on the Official Charts Company’s midweek update, putting him on course to overtake The Beatles as the artist with the most UK number one albums of all time. If Britpop remains at the summit when the chart is confirmed on Friday (23.01.26), Robbie will secure his 16th chart-topping album, surpassing the record of 15 he currently shares with the Fab Four.
Robbie surprise-released Britpop three weeks earlier than planned last Friday (16.01.26), a move that appears to have paid off as fans rushed to stream and purchase the record. The album has already been hailed as his most critically acclaimed in years, with its guitar-driven sound and nostalgic Britpop influences striking a chord.
Speaking on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, Robbie admitted that breaking the record is something he desperately wants, even if it brings up mixed emotions.
He said: “Yeah I want that more than anything in my career right now, of course I do. Let me just qualify that by saying I’ve broken the matrix. When that sort of record is mentioned and it’s me, I don’t know how that’s happened, I just know that it has. It massively makes my imposter syndrome come out to play and the first thing I feel is embarrassed about it.”
Robbie went on to reflect on the significance of the achievement beyond his family life.
He said: “And then the other bit, where the ego steps in is going, ‘It’s outside of my family, my kids and my wife, the most important thing to me in the world.’ Do I think I deserve that? No. Am I on the precipice of maybe achieving that? Yeah. Should I grab it with both arms? Yeah.”
Britpop had originally been scheduled for release in October, but Robbie and his team chose to delay the album to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl.
A source previously told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column that the decision was purely strategic, acknowledging Swift’s dominance in the charts.
