Taylor Swift has broken a chart record set by The Beatles after her re-released version of ‘Fearless’ took the number one spot in the Official Albums Chart.
The 31-year-old singer scored her third chart-topping album in just 259 days for ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version) ‘, after the success of ‘Folklore’ (July 31) and ‘Evermore’ (December 18), meaning she now holds the record for the fastest accumulation of three Number 1 albums in the UK chart.
Before Taylor took the record, The Beatles – made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – held it for 54 years after they secured three number one albums in 364 days between 1965-1966, with their LPs, ‘Help!’, ‘Rubber Soul’, and ‘Revolver’.
Elsewhere, Justin Bieber sat at number two with his album ‘Justice’, followed by Dua Lipa’s LP ‘Future Nostalgia’, Ariana Grande’s ‘Positions’ and Harry Styles’ ‘Fine Line’.
Taylor had previously revealed her plans to release new versions of her early records after Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings bought the rights to her back catalogue.
Speaking about her decision to re-record her tracks, she said: “It’s going to be fun, because it’ll feel like regaining a freedom and taking back what’s mine. When I created [these songs], I didn’t know what they would grow up to be. Going back in and knowing that it meant something to people is actually a really beautiful way to celebrate what the fans have done for my music.”
Announcing ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ on social media, she wrote: “I’m thrilled to tell you that my new version of ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ is done and will be with you soon. It has 26 songs including 6 never before released songs from the vault. ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’ will be out tonight.”