Rolling Stones' Forty Licks: A Chart-Topping Milestone

Rolling Stones' Forty Licks: A Chart-Topping Milestone

The Rolling Stones are set to release their new album, Foreign Tongues, in less than a month, following their previous album, Hackney Diamonds, released in 2023. The band started promoting Foreign Tongues with the single "In the Stars" in early May, and had quietly released "Rough and Twisted" under the name the Cockroaches in mid-April.

Before Foreign Tongues hits the charts in the UK, a beloved compilation by the Rolling Stones has helped the band achieve a milestone it had never reached before. Forty Licks, the compilation, has managed to stay on the Official Albums chart for 156 weeks, marking three years on the competitive tally.

Forty Licks is the first Rolling Stones release to reach three years on the Official Albums chart, with their self-titled debut album coming closest to a year but falling short by just one week. The compilation has been able to maintain its presence on the chart due to a combination of sales and streaming activity, a trend seen in many popular albums and compilations today.

The changing landscape of music consumption and chart compilation has allowed albums like Forty Licks to have a prolonged presence on the Official Albums chart. This shift in how music is consumed has enabled even older projects to remain among the most consumed albums, despite potentially lower sales figures.

It took the Rolling Stones over 60 years to achieve this milestone on the Official Albums chart, a feat that newer acts have reached much more quickly. Forty Licks has appeared on two UK charts this week, descending in both rankings but still maintaining its presence among the most-played albums on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.