UK Albums Chart January 2026

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Last year I ran a couple of posts in which I dipped into the UK Charts – not something I do very often – and as they were well-received I thought I’d try it again. It is five months since the last one so I was expecting to see some changes, and as the Christmas takeover is behind us it’s kinda safe to look again.

I’m playing you six tunes today, three of which are new entries this week and three which have been around for a while, as our album charts often see long stays and these give me a chance to cheat a bit and play some favourites!

The first is from the album which burst in at #1 this week. I am by no means a fan of Robbie Williams and have never played him before, but I have to admit that he has a talent for writing catchy songs and tunes. His new album is called Britpop and this is the track All My Life:

Since he left the boyband Take That Robbie has enjoyed phenomenal success. Having already had two UK #1 albums with the band, he has since gone on to achieve a further sixteen chart toppers. This latest one has enabled him to break the record he previously shared with The Beatles of most UK #1 albums. I still prefer The Beatles – by miles – but you can’t deny his achievement. And that track is tolerably good, too – probably as it sounds a bit like Oasis.

In last week’s post New Music January 2026 I played a couple of songs by artists that had just released new albums, and I said that I was hopeful that both would make the new chart published last Friday. Guess what? They both did, giving me the perfect excuse to play more by them.

The higher of the entries was Angels’ Share, by Nathan Evans x SAINT PHNX, who came in at #4. Some of its tracks had already been released, including this one, another example of the joyous feel Nathan brings to his music:

I’ve been a fan of Nathan since he burst to fame with his #1 single Wellerman, and have the full set of his music in my Apple Music library. Milarrochy Bay is the result of his collaboration with SAINT PHNX, who are brothers Alan and Stevie Jukes. They are all listed as songwriters and on the evidence of this album I think things are working well for them as a team. A separate chart is listed just for Scotland, where these guys are all from, and it is no surprise to me that their album was #1 up there last week.

The other debutant was Elles Bailey, in at #14 with her new album Can’t Take My Story Away. From it, this is Take A Step Back:

As I said last week, Elles owes her husky voice to childhood illness and I think it is well-suited to her musical style: intelligent lyrics, blues-roots music stylishly performed with more than a hint of sass. This whole album is superb, like everything she does, and I recommend it to you.

I’m trying to avoid the great many compilation ‘best of’ albums here, as that feels like blatant cheating. Less like cheating is playing something from an album which has been out for quite a while but is still in our charts. Like this one:

Poker Face was a track on The Fame, the debut album by Lady Gaga, which is currently at #59. It was first released in August 2008, and then again in an expanded version (if you bought the right one), The Fame Monster, in November 2009. To date the original has sold more than 18m copies worldwide, including 6m in the US and 3.6m in the UK, and has a total of 381 weeks on the chart to its name. But although it made #1 here it only got to #2 in the US, which is a surprise to me, given those sales figures.

This next one is from a more recent album, which is enjoying a long run:

People Watching is the title track of Sam Fender’s third album, which was released at the end of February 2025. It entered the chart in March at #1 and has a 48 week unbroken run since then, currently sitting at #40. All of his albums have been UK #1s, all have sold well in other countries apart from the US – so far. I think his style is well-suited to their market and it can only be a matter of time before he breaks through there. He played a set at the Coachella Festival last year that was well-received, so I’m hopeful for him.

Today’s closing tune is probably an even more blatant cheat than Lady Gaga. I’ve played this and numerous others of his songs, have built posts around him, and when his debut album, from which this comes, is back in our charts at #90 that is all the excuse I need:

Lewis Capaldi, of course, with Someone You Loved. The album it was on, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, was released in May 2019, by which time this track had already been a UK #1 single and had featured on an EP. The album went straight in at #1, where it has spent ten weeks out of a combined stay of 336 weeks, including 30 in the current run going back to last July. It has also made #20 in the US. The single reached #1 in the US as well as here, and has to date sold 10m in the US and 6m in the UK. I think that counts as a success, don’t you?

That’s all for this latest of my looks at the pop charts, and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these, if not all! I’ll see you again for Song Lyric Sunday, so until then please stay warm and dry 😊

40 thoughts on “UK Albums Chart January 2026”

  3. My wife is a huge fan of Lewis Capaldi, and has seen him in concert twice. (I never liked the song ‘Poker Face’ btw) But back to Capaldi I do like some of his songs. I consider Robbie Wiliams to be unbearably smug. He has a decent voice, but my dislike of the man would stop me ever buying any of his records. (My wife loves ‘Angels’) I am sure that I am now at the age where anything currently popular is usually unkown to me, and once I hear it, often a mystery that anyone likes it.

    Best wishes, Pete.

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    • A mixed response, Pete. I guess that Julie would have enjoyed this more than you did 🤣

      I hardly pay any attention to the pop charts these days, but it is fun to dip an occasional toe in the waters.

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  4. Like you, Clive, I don’t visit the current UK charts anymore, so thank you… Robbie Williams, I am not such a big fan, but I do like some of his songs; as you say, he writes catchy tunes. Not sure if I have listened to Sam Fender b4 I like this track and added him to my playlist…Then there is Lewis Capaldi, what can I say but that he is amazing xx

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  7. All good tracks and proof that there is new music out there well worth listening to. You’re right about Robbie, it does sound like Oasis but not enough that it feels like a rip-off. He’s someone who has always written reflective lyrics, and I like the video which is a bit more interesting than most. The Nathan Evans track is a joy; in fact I liked them all and some may make it on to my latest Spotify playlist, although I already have People Watching on there. And I have been listening to a young artist close to Sam’s neck of the woods called Finn Forster from Middlesborough. I saw him playing support to Stereophonics in December and apart from good songs he has a wonderful voice with a lovely soulful feel, in fact the best voice I’ve heard from a new artist in a long time.

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    • I often claim that music finished around 1976 but keep being proved wrong! Just as well, really.

      It would be ironic if Robbie was ripping off Oasis given their approach to The Beatles!

      Glad you liked them all. Nathan is a delight – so much fun in his music. I rate Elles and Sam highly too. Thanks for the tip on Finn Forster, I’ll look him up.

      And speaking of new music, is there anything coming from you?

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      • Oh that’s good, chuffed that you approve! His voice was just as good live as it is on the recordings.

        Thanks for asking about my own music. Last year was the best year I’ve had for my songs, but continued progress was curtailed completely by moving house. I recorded a song in the spring and another early July that I am now working on getting out by early March. Hopefully back in the studio in May.Desperate to get going on it again, I’ve really missed it.

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  8. What a truckload of talent in your post today, Clive! I absolutely love Elles Bailey and Lady Gaga, two strong and powerful ladies with the type of voice I like. Sam Fender is an extremely likable guy with a good voice; I thought his song was great. Fun track by Nathan Evans and Lewis Capaldi never disappoints. That leaves Robbie Williams. I was never a fan and that was based on nothing but stuff I’d heard about him and seeing a few videos by Take That which were annoying at best. Then I decided to pay a little attention to Williams and discovered he’s actually quite talented. I liked his songs and personally, he’s pulled himself out of a bad place and held it together. He deserves credit and respect for that. My opinion of Robbie Williams did a 180 and, while I’m never going to be his biggest fan, I really do enjoy him now. Excellent line up, Clive.

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    • I’m pleased you enjoyed them all so much, Nancy, and gave them such glowing reviews. I’m like you with Robbie – I’m not a fan but can appreciate him in smallish doses. This song came as a pleasant surprise when I was looking for one to play from the album. The others are all favourites of mine 😊

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  9. Lady Gaga’s song Poker Face might be a good choice for the upcoming Song Lyric Sunday theme on February 15, 2026, where we need to find a song that gets stuck in your head. Sometimes I want to poke her in her face when I am listening to this one.

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  10. All such good songs to hear again. But I enjoyed you including Robbie Williams. He is such a cool guy. What a journey he has walked. My daughter is a huge fan of his. When she was 11, I went with her to a concert in Vienna (2006). It was her very first concert. Last summer, she was in Vienna again for one of his concerts on his 2025 tour. This time, her little (unborn) baby girl was with her.

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  12. Clive, a treat for us this afternoon! I’ve never listened to Elles Bailey but love this song and heading over to listen to her album. Oh, I want to like Robbie Williams songs but haven’t quite there yet, not even with this one!

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