Mamma Mia soundtracks top UK album chart

The UK album chart is awash with soundtracks in a way that hasn’t been seen since the 1960s.

The cast recording of the Abba movie sequel Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again is at number one, mirroring its position in the cinema box office chart.

The album features Cher and Lily James re-interpreting Abba’s hits, and sold 35,000 copies to reach the top.

It pushed The Greatest Showman soundtrack down to number two, while the first Mamma Mia! album is at five.

The last time there were three soundtracks in the top five was February 1969,  , according to the Official Charts Company.

After initially debuting inside the top 10 last week, the soundtrack that accompanies the second Mamma Mia! musical film has bolted to the top of the album chart in the U.K. According to the Official Charts Company, the upbeat collection shifted 35,000 equivalent units this frame, which was enough to land it on the throne.

The Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again soundtrack started at No. 4 last week, and it looked for a moment like that might remain its high peak. Had that been the case, it still would have marked an all-time best placement for the film series on the albums tally.

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again features some of ABBA’s biggest and most beloved hit singles reimagined by some of the most successful actors in Hollywood. The track listing includes songs like “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” and, of course, “Mamma Mia.” The list of artists involved in the chart-topping effort includes such visionaries as Cher, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Andy Garcia.

The Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again soundtrack is the second album to come from a film franchise to land at No. 1 in the U.K. this year, following the Greatest Showman. That title, which is still inside the top five months after the film with which it shares a name has disappeared has vanished from theaters, owned the top spot for almost two dozen frames, making it one of the most successful releases in the United Kingdom of the past several years.

Three songs from Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again appear on the singles ranking this week, and they’re all new to the chart. “When I Kissed the Teacher” starts at No. 91, Cher and Andy Garcia’s take on “Fernando” begins at No. 92 and “Why Did it Have to be Me?” kicks off at No. 98.