It took longer than we might have imagined, but this week Elton’s latest Greatest Hits album, Diamonds, hit the UK number one slot – after 8 years.
Not a point lost on lyricist and co-writer Bernie Taupin who put out a grateful post on Instagram.

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Diamonds has had a few incarnations since it was first released on 10 November 2017. It has also become, as Bernie mentioned, the longest-residing album on the Top 40 in history.
But it is worth thinking about how the chart music industry has changed since Elton’s first album success, with the “black album” Elton John of 1970. Back then instant recognition for an artist led to album and singles sales that quickly ran up the charts to the top spot. Often staying there for a week only. In 1990, Sleeping with the Past (1989) got to number one, but only after the success of re-released Sacrifice as a single, partly thanks to Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright.
These days it is different. The emergence of online downloads, Spotify and other distribution means a decent album can become a slow-burner. Creeping up the charts as did Diamonds (2017).
Diamonds needed some heavy lifting to get it to the top. Released first as a 2- and later 3-CD set where 17 bonus tracks were selected by Elton rather than the record company, spanned the hits of 1970 to 2016, it was re-issued in January 2025 as a Blu-ray audio disc that quickly sold out, featuring 51 tracks. Forty-eight tracks were remixed in Dolby Atmos with optional PCM stereo 48khz 24-bit mixes, whilst tracks 49-51 were only available in PCM.
 

https://eltonjohn.world/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Diamonds-diamond-edition.mp4
 
The visually amazing Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection, released on 3 Janaury 2025 was a special diamond effect impregnated vinyl edition.
We are thrilled that it is finally on top. But let’s not keep the man waiting so long next time, ok?