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Justin Bieber Storms UK Charts to Equal John Lennon's 1981 Feat


Justin Bieber performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Plaza on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 in New York.
Justin Bieber performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Plaza on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 in New York.

Justin Bieber stormed the British singles charts on Friday with three singles from his new album in the top five, a feat no other artist has managed since John Lennon, posthumously, in 1981.

The Canadian singer's singles "Sorry", "Love yourself" and "What do you mean" took first, third and fifth place. "Sorry" pushed Adele's "Hello" from the top spot it had occupied for three weeks.

Lennon's "Imagine" was top, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was third and "(Just Like) Starting Over" fifth in January 1981, the month after he was shot dead in New York.

Bieber's songs all come from his album "Purpose" which sold 90,000 copies this week. Every track from it charted inside the top 100 singles.

But it was narrowly beaten to top position in the album chart by four-piece boy band One Direction's "Made in the AM" which is now the fastest-selling album of 2015.

Notching up over 93,000 sales, this is the group's fourth UK No. 1 having previously scored the top place in 2012 with "Take Me Home," in 2013 with "Midnight Memories" and in 2014 with "Four".

The third most popular album was Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream," produced nearly 40 years after his death. This collection of Elvis classics featuring orchestral reworkings by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra had been number one for two weeks running.

Jeff Lynne's ELO was fourth with new entry "Alone In The Universe". The group's other album "All Over The World - The Very Best Of" re-entered at number 28.

Fifth place was taken by Little Mix's "Get Weird", slipping down from last week's second place.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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