LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 26: Bill Wyman performs with Micki Free during day 2 of the Hard Rock … [+]
Bill Wyman is one of the most respected guitarists in the rock world. He spent more than 30 years as a member of the Rolling Stones before stepping away from the globally-adored band. Since then, the musician has continued to work on his own, and he still maintains a large fan base in his home country of the U.K.
The rocker recently released Drive My Car, his first new solo album in nearly a decade. This week, the title debuts on two charts in the U.K., and it instantly helps the legendary star reach a new high point on both of them.
Between the two charts it reaches upon its arrival, Drive My Car appears highest on the Official Physical Albums ranking. On that tally, which measures the bestselling full-lengths and EPs on any physical medium in the U.K., Wyman’s latest opens at No. 39.
Drive My Car marks Wyman’s first top 40 hit on the Official Physical Albums chart–as a soloist, that is. Before this new placement, his loftiest position was No. 52. He landed in that spot with his debut appearance on the tally, Groovin’, in 2000. That set was marketed as coming from Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings.
The same project is also new to the Official Albums Sales chart. That list ranks titles by their sales count–with those numbers including physical and digital purchases–and Drive My Car opens at No. 43. It narrowly misses out on becoming a top 40 win for the 80-something-year-old rock musician.
Wyman has only reached the Official Albums Sales tally once before, and Drive My Car brings him to a previously-unknown height. His most recent release—his only other appearance, too—2015’s Back to Basics, spent just one week at No. 78.
Drive My Car didn’t perform well enough to land on the all-genre, all-consumption albums chart in the U.K. Wyman has reached that list before without the Rolling Stones, but he hasn’t debuted a title as among the 100 most popular efforts in the nation since 2001.
