With One Direction debuting at No.1 with their second album “Take Me Home”, following on from their first No.1 set “Up All Night”, let’s take a look at other artists who have scored a No.1 album with their first two (or even more) albums.
Harry Styles One Direction Photo by Ros O'Gorman
It’s something of a feat to score a No.1 album with your first release, let alone do it with your second and much harder for your third, fourth and so on, but some acts have done it, and continue to do so.
Here is a list of Artists who gone to No.1 with their first, second, third and so on albums, Greatest Hits and Best of compilations were not included in the listing, just studio albums.
7 – Twelfth Man; Wired World of Sports (1988), 12th Man Again (1990), Still the 12th Man (1993), Wired World of Sports 2 (1994), Tribute to Bill Lawry (1997), The Final Dig? (2001), Boned! (2006).
6 – Jimmy Barnes; Bodyswerve (1984), For the Working Class Man (1985), Freight Train Hearts (1987), Barnestorming (1988), Two Fires (1990) and Soul Deep (1991).
5 – Silverchair; Frogstomp (1995), Freakshow (1997), Neon Ballroom (1999), Diorama (2002) and Young Modern (2007).
3 – Delta Goodrem; Innocent Eyes (2003), Mistaken Identity (2004) and Delta (2007)
3 – Missy Higgins; The Sound of White (2004), On a Clear Night (2007) and The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle (2012)
2 – Skyhooks; Livin’ in the 70’s (Feb 1975) and Ego is Not a Dirty Word (July1975)
2 – Men at Work; Business as Usual (1981) and Cargo (1983)
2 – Whitney Houston; Whitney (1986) and Whitney Houston (1987)
2 – Crowded House: Crowded House (1986) and Temple of Low Men (1988)
2 – Diesel; Hepfidelity (1992) and The Lobbyist (1993)
2 – Matchbox 20; Yourself or Someone Like You (1997) and Mad Season (2000)
2 – Savage Garden; Savage Garden (1997) and Affirmation (1999)
2 – Dido; No Angel (2001) and Life for Rent (2003)
2 – Avril Lavigne; Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004)
2 – Evanescence; Fallen (2004) and The Open Door (2006)
2 – Shannon Noll; That’s What I’m Talking About (2004) and Lift (2005)
2 – il Divo; il Divo (March 2005) and Ancora (Nov 2005)
2 – James Blunt; Back to Bedlam (2005) and All the Lost Souls (2007)
2 – Damien Leith; The Winners Journey (2006) and Where We Land (2007)
2 – Lady GaGa; The Fame Monster (2010) and Born This Way (2011)
2 – Justin Bieber; My Worlds (2010) and Believe (2012)
2 – One Direction; Up All Night (April 2012) and Take Me Home (Nov 2012)
The first seven acts on the list are all Australian, proving that we support our own artists more than overseas acts. The Twelfth Man has only released seven albums, all of which have gone to No.1, plus he has had two No.1 singles (his first and second). Jimmy Barnes started his solo career just after Cold Chisel took a break, and thus he already had a large fan base ready to buy his albums. Silverchair’s five studio albums all have gone to No.1, plus they’ve also all debuted at the No.1 position.
Pete Murray has had three consecutive No.1 albums, but they were his 2nd, 3rd and 4th albums, having released an independent album prior to “Feeler” in 2003. Pearl Jam has had six successive No.1 albums in Australia, but their first “Ten” made it to No.14 initially, later peaking at No.11 in 2009. U2 and Midnight Oil have had a lot of No.1 albums also, but none were their first releases.
