List of UK top-five albums in 1956
Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entries
Frank Sinatra 1 Songs for Swingin ' Lovers 1 -
Mel Tormé 2 Mel Tormé at the Crescendo 3 Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette ( 3 )
Louis Armstrong 1 Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo , Vol . 1 4 -
Bill Haley & His Comets 2 Rock Around the Clock 2 Rock ' n Roll Stage Show ( 1 )
Mario Lanza 1 Songs from The Student Prince and Other Famous Melodies 5 -
Elvis Presley 1 Elvis Presley Rock ' n ' Roll 1 -
Lonnie Donegan 1 Lonnie Donegan Showcase 2 -
Background -- Chart debuts
Seven artists achieved their first top 5 album in 1956 as a lead artist . Of these , two went on to record another hit album that year : Bill Haley & His Comets and Mel Tormé . The following table ( collapsed on desktop site ) does not include featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings .
The UK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical albums. Melody Maker magazine published the United Kingdom album charts for the first time in 1956. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 5 of the UK Albums Chart during 1956, as well as albums which peaked in 1957 but were in the top 5 in 1956. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top 5 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced). Fifteen albums were in the top five this year. High Society credited to Various artists was released in 1956 but did not reach its peak until 1957. Two artists scored multiple entries in the top 5 in 1956 (excluding Various artists, who are all different performers under the same name). Bill Haley & His Comets, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Lonnie Donegan and Mario Lanza are among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 5 album in 1956. The first album to reach number-one in the United Kingdom was Songs for Swingin' Lovers by Frank Sinatra. Six different albums peaked at number-one in 1956, with albums credited to Various artists (3) having the most albums hit that position.