Adele's New Album Makes UK Chart History

Adele's third album, 25, has become the fastest selling record in British history.

The Oscar-winning Skyfall singer's record has sold 800,307 copies in the first week of its release - surpassing Oasis's Be Here Now, which sold 696,000 units in its debut chart week in August 1997.

The album, which features the Number One single Hello, has enjoyed one of the biggest first day sales totals ever - selling more than 300,000 copies in 24 hours.

25 - which Adele described as a "make up album" and comes four years after 2011's 21 - is also the UK's most downloaded Number One album in history, having sold 252,423 digital copies.

The sales success of 25 - which has sold more than the last 19 Number One albums in the UK combined - meant the album has already received a double platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry.

It has also smashed sales records in the US, having sold 2.8 million copies in the first five days, including 1.45 million digital sales, according to Nielsen Music.

Martin Talbot, from Official Charts Company, said: "The massive impact of 25 this week marks the moment that Adele has transformed herself from a phenomenon of our age to an all-time great.

"The statistics surrounding the album are staggering, topped by the simple fact that no album has ever sold 800,000 copies to reach Number One in the history of British music."