Robbie Williams breaks The Beatles' record with 16th number one album

Robbie Williams has made UK chart history by scoring his 16th Number One album, breaking the long-standing record he shared with The Beatles.

The 52-year-old pop superstar’s latest release BRITPOP surged to the top of the Official Albums Chart on Friday (23.01.26), making him the artist with the most UK Number One albums of all time.

Robbie already held the record for the most chart-topping albums by a solo artist, but this latest achievement cements his position above any other act in British chart history.

Reacting to the milestone, Robbie Williams said: "BRITPOP is the record I’ve always wanted to make, and seeing it become my 16th Number 1 album means everything to me. Thank you to all the fans who have been with me every step of the way. You’ve made my dreams come true.”

In an interview with the BBC, he also said: "This is unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

"I've always said my success has been the equivalent of stretching an elastic band from Stoke-on-Trent to the Moon. Well, I reckon the elastic band just got longer, and now it's orbiting Venus.

"It's just sensational what has happened. I feel like the Forrest Gump of pop.

"I'm going to take this week, at least, to remind myself of how lucky I am.

"Because for a while, I didn't get to do that because of mental illness or whatever. But now I am firmly in a place where the garden is blossoming, and I'm just surveying the pastures.

"And, I think that's the biggest achievement, that I can sit in that [moment] and take a deep breath and smile."

Robbie’s chart-topping journey began nearly three decades ago with his 1997 solo debut Life Thru a Lens, which launched him as one of the UK’s most successful pop artists. Since then, he has dominated the charts with a string of Number One releases including I’ve Been Expecting You, Sing When You’re Winning, Escapology, Greatest Hits, Rudebox and The Christmas Present, culminating in BRITPOP in 2026.

Released last Friday (16.01.26) via Columbia Records, BRITPOP marks Robbie’s 13th studio album and has been widely hailed as his strongest body of work in years. The record features singles Rocket, Spies, Human, Pretty Face and All My Life, alongside high-profile collaborations with Chris Martin, Gaz Coombes, Tony Iommi, Mexican pop duo Jesse and Joy and former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow.