National Album Day 2025 Rocks the UK: Vinyl Sales Surge 54% as Fans Celebrate Classic Albums

In what was considered National Album Day’s strongest year to date, Official Charts Company data reveal that the UK albums market enjoyed a further boost this past weekend with vinyl LP sales rising 54% over the equivalent period the previous weekend and by 23.9% on the prior year thanks to around 60 re-issues of popular and classic albums released exclusively by record labels to tie in with this year’s rock-themed National Album Day.

National Album Day titles accounted for one in every five albums sold and 34 of the 100 biggest-selling vinyl titles on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart over last weekend, led by Ghost’s Meliora, Manic Street Preachers’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks, and Queen’s A Night At The Opera – which this October is celebrating its 50^th anniversary year.

The event generated around 1,000 press news items or broadcast mentions, but also saw a huge amount of social media engagement, with nearly a million views of National Album Day owned content across the campaign and 3.8 million views on Instagram. Highlights included collaborations with Queen, Pixies, Iron Maiden, Sabaton, Green Day, and Gavin Rossdale among many others.

This eighth edition of the annual event dedicated to celebrating the ‘art of the album’ and encouraging engagement with the album format, was held on Saturday 18^th October, organised jointly by record labels body the BPI, and ERA, the UK’s digital entertainment and retail association, in partnership with BBC Radio 2, Official Charts, and the wider music industry.

Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI CEO and Kim Bayley, ERA CEO, jointly said:

“Building on the success of the Mercury Prize, which also celebrates the art of the album, National Album Day keeps growing in its appeal, reaching a wider audience who share a love of the album format and recognise its power for authentic storytelling. It’s so encouraging to see the growing impact the day is having, and the BPI and ERA together would like to thank our many partners who bring the day to life – BBC Radio 2, our Album Champions, the UK’s label and retail communities, and the wider music industry.”

This year’s Album Champions, Wolf Alice, Nova Twins, Architects, Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén, and metal icons Iron Maiden, led the celebrations, championing the enduring power of the album as a medium for authentic storytelling and artistic expression. Each represents a different era and style of British rock, from Wolf Alice’s Mercury Prize-winning alternative rock to Iron Maiden’s 50-year legacy in metal. They were invited as passionate advocates for a genre that remains at the heart of British music, accounting for over 50% of all Official Chart vinyl album sales in 2024.

BBC Radio 2 celebrated rock in all its forms with a week of special shows and guests. Shaun Keaveny hosted The Friday Rock Show, while Romesh Ranganathan and Zoe Ball fronted Saturday programmes, with Zoe counting down her top three Yacht Rock albums. Debbie Harry joined Shaun Keaveny on Jo Whiley’s show to discuss the reissue of Blondie’s 1999 album No Exit. The new series, Radio 2 Eras: Queen, hosted by Bill Bailey, explored the band’s story through the lens of Bohemian Rhapsody to mark its 50th anniversary, featuring exclusive interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor, rare BBC archive material, and new insights from those close to the band. A special four-part Radio 2 series marked National Album Day’s theme – The Women Who Rock, celebrated pioneering female artists across four decades. Dermot O’Leary’s Alternative Sounds of the 90s showcased the decade’s rock diversity, with music from Nirvana, Faith No More, and Skunk Anansie, plus Jez from Doves selecting his favourite 90s bands. Other highlights included Spinal Tap 2, The Rock Show Special, Chrissie Hynde in the Piano Room, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco featuring rock stompers.

Wide-ranging activities took place, including Skin in conversation with Nova Twins about the importance of albums to artists as part of this month’s Black Story; PPL data celebrating Queen as the most played rock group of the 21st century; the Official Charts revealing the official biggest rock and metal albums of this century, led by Green Day’s American Idiot, an Official Charts x National Albums Day video series showcasing a range of artists from YUNGBLUD to Kaiser Chiefs discussing their favourite rock albums of all timeBPI research by Paul Williams confirming Oxford as the UK’s top destination for launching rock groups; a competition to have your mural painted in Bristol hosted by ERA; a Pitchblack Playback of Radiohead’s Kid A 25th Anniversary at Riverside Studios; and more.

A diverse collection of 60 classic and contemporary rock albums were released, many in limited-edition coloured vinyl. Leading the line-up was the 50th Anniversary Edition of Queen’s A Night At The Opera, featuring Bohemian Rhapsody, issued worldwide on crystal-clear vinyl with gold labels and re-released in the UK to coincide with National Album Day. Other highlights included Amy Macdonald’s A Curious Thing, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, Teenage Fanclub’s Grand Prix, Stereophonics’ Language. Sex. Violence. Other?, and Manic Street Preachers’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. Punk and new wave were represented by Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks and The Stranglers’ Rattus Norvegicus. Several albums also marked their 50th anniversaries, including Patti Smith’s Horses, Status Quo’s On The Level, and Steve Hillage’s Fish Rising. Rock icons such as Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, Jimi Hendrix, Pixies, The Cult, The Alan Parsons Project, and The Rolling Stones also featured, while contemporary favourites like Liam Gallagher, SKIN, Architects, Kasabian, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs rounded out the impressive line-up.