The UK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] [2] [3] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical albums. Melody Maker magazine published the United Kingdom album charts for the first time in 1956. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 5 of the UK Albums Chart during 1956, as well as albums which peaked in 1957 but were in the top 5 in 1956. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top 5 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
Fifteen albums were in the top five this year. High Society credited to Various artists was released in 1956 but did not reach its peak until 1957. Two artists scored multiple entries in the top 5 in 1956 (excluding Various artists, who are all different performers under the same name). Bill Haley & His Comets, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Lonnie Donegan and Mario Lanza are among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 5 album in 1956.
The first album to reach number-one in the United Kingdom was Songs for Swingin' Lovers by Frank Sinatra. Six different albums peaked at number-one in 1956, with albums credited to Various artists (3) having the most albums hit that position.
Fifteen albums charted in the top 5 in 1956, with fourteen albums reaching their peak this year.
Two artists scored multiple entries in the top 5 in 1956.
Seven artists achieved their first top 5 album in 1956 as a lead artist. Of these, two went on to record another hit album that year: Bill Haley & His Comets and Mel Tormé.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings.
| Artist | Number of top 10s | First entry | Chart position | Other entries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Sinatra | 1 | Songs for Swingin' Lovers | 1 | - | |
| Mel Tormé | 2 | Mel Tormé at the Crescendo | 3 | Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette (3) | |
| Louis Armstrong | 1 | Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo, Vol. 1 | 4 | - | |
| Bill Haley & His Comets | 2 | Rock Around the Clock | 2 | Rock 'n Roll Stage Show (1) | |
| Mario Lanza | 1 | Songs from The Student Prince and Other Famous Melodies | 5 | - | |
| Elvis Presley | 1 | Elvis Presley Rock 'n' Roll | 1 | - | |
| Lonnie Donegan | 1 | Lonnie Donegan Showcase | 2 | - |
Cast recordings from various films and musicals made the top 5 this year. These included Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, The Eddy Duchin Story, High Society, The King and I, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Salad Days and Songs from The Student Prince.
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| ♦ | Album released in 1956 but peaked in 1957. | |
| (#) | Year-end top ten album position and rank | |
| Entered | The date that the album first appeared in the chart. | |
| Peak | Highest position that the song reached in the UK Albums Chart. |
| Entered (week ending) | data-sort-type="number" | Weeks in top 10 | Single | Artist | data-sort-type="number" | Peak | Peak reached (week ending) | data-sort-type="number" | Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Songs for Swingin' Lovers | Frank Sinatra | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 25 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 1 | 6 | |||||
| 4 | Gene Norman Presents Mel Tormé At The Crescendo | Mel Tormé | 3 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo, Vol. 1 | Louis Armstrong | 4 | 1 | |||||
| 67 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 19 | Rock Around the Clock | Bill Haley & His Comets | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 1 | Songs from The Student Prince and Other Famous Melodies | Mario Lanza | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette | Mel Tormé with Marty Paich and his Dek-Tette | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 4 | The Eddy Duchin Story: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 94 | The King and I: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 1 | 48 | |||||
| 1 | Salad Days | London Cast | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Rock 'n Roll Stage Show | Bill Haley & His Comets | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 7 | Elvis Presley Rock 'N' Roll | Elvis Presley | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 22 | Lonnie Donegan Showcase | Lonnie Donegan | 2 | 7 | |||||
| 26 | High Society: Original Soundtrack ♦ | Various artists | 1 | 1 |
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 5 entries in 1956. The figures only include main artists, with featured artists and appearances on compilation albums not counted individually for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1956 is also shown.
| Entries | Artist | Weeks | Albums |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Bill Haley & His Comets | 18 | Rock Around the Clock, Rock 'n Roll Stage Show |
| Mel Tormé | 7 | Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette, Gene Norman Presents Mel Torme At The Crescendo |
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