Lionel Richie tops chart after playing Glastonbury

US singer Lionel Richie performs on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm near the village of Pilton in Somerset, South West England on June 28, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Tens of thousands of people watched Richie perform at Glastonbury last Sunday, in a performance hailed as one of the big hits of the five-day music festival, which has been held on a farm in England since 1970.

LONDON

Crooner Lionel Richie scored his first number one in the United Kingdom in 23 years after playing an acclaimed set at British music festival Glastonbury, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday.

"The Definitive Collection" of the music of Lionel Richie & The Commodores was the most-sold album in the United Kingdom this week, based on sales of CDs, downloads, vinyl, and audio streams.

It reached number 10 in the chart when it was released in 2003, according to the Official Charts Company, which said Richie last had a number one album in 1992, with "Back to Front".

Tens of thousands of people watched Richie perform at Glastonbury last Sunday, in a performance hailed as one of the big hits of the five-day music festival, which has been held on a farm in England since 1970.

A banner featuring an image of Lionel Richie is raised above the crowd in front of the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm near the village of Pilton in Somerset, South West England, on June 27, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

"I was overwhelmed performing at Glastonbury in front of all those people and for the fans to make the album Number 1 is unbelievable," Richie told OfficialCharts.com.

"The UK has always been a special place for me, thank you, I love you all."