Foo Fighters beat Noel Gallagher to claim UK Number 1 album with 'But Here We Are'

The triumph in the neck-and-neck race

Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 9th Jun 2023

Foo Fighters have beaten Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to the UK album chart Number 1 with their emotionally raw 11th studio record ‘But Here We Are.’

At the midweek point on Monday, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ ‘Council Skies’ was ahead of Foo Fighters’ ‘But Here We Are’ by just 200 copies in what was an almost neck-and-neck chart race.

Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Josh Freese gained momentum as the week progressed and ‘But Here We Are’ became the band’s sixth UK chart-topper today (9th June).

According to the Official Charts Company, ‘But Here We Are’ racked up 44,500 chart units over the past seven days.

Foo Fighters previously reached Number 1 in the UK with 2002’s ‘One By One’, 2007’s ‘Echoes Silence Patience & Grace’, 2011’s ‘Wasting Light’, 2017’s ‘Concrete and Gold’, and 2021’s ‘Medicine at Midnight.’

‘But Here We Are’ is the first album Foo Fighters have released since the death of Taylor Hawkins in March 2022, and it’s dedicated to Hawkins, and Dave Grohl’s mum Virginia Grohl, who passed away last summer.

Foo Fighters are currently touring ‘But Here We Are’ across the globe with their newly recruited drummer Josh Freese.

Foo Fighters

In charting at Number 2 with ‘Council Skies’, Noel Gallagher has missed out on the chart summit for the first time in his recording career.

Noel held an Official Chart record for his unbroken streak of all ten previous studio albums – released both as part of Oasis and his solo project High Flying Birds – reaching Number 1, the most for any artist.

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters confirmed they will be touring the UK in 2024.

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