This generation’s most successful jazz and soul singer-songwriter, the man in the hat, Gregory Porter, makes chart history by landing two studio albums in the Official Albums Chart Top 20 simultaneously with 'Take Me To The Alley' at No.11 and classic album 'Liquid Spirit' at No.18, both released on Decca Records.
Porter is the only living male artist this year to take over the album chart in this way, with the only other singer to reach this level of sales on more than one studio album at one time being Adele.
Gregory has already broken records this year when his critically-acclaimed new album 'Take Me To The Alley' became the first jazz record to break into the Top 5 for over ten years after it was met by 4 and 5 star album reviews across the board, giving Porter his highest chart position yet.
Today's remarkable chart triumph follows Gregory's performance for BBC Radio 2's In Concert series at Maida Vale Studios last week, where he captivated UK fans in the studio and at home with his unique blend of jazz, blues, soul and gospel.
This level of public affection has seen Porter become an adopted national treasure in this country, having performed for the Queen multiple times, and graced the stages of the UK's best venues and summer festivals. The singer recently featured as the only musical performance on BBC1's 'Attenborough at 90' and joined the country's best performers on BBC2's 'Shakespeare Live!'. He also led a chorus of music stars, including Mumford and Sons, in a moving version of Prince's 'Purple Rain' on BBC2's 'Later with Jools'. This year has also seen Porter complete an extensive sold-out UK Headline Tour, opening and closing at prestigious London venues The Royal Albert Hall and Hammersmith Apollo. And after a show-stopping performance at Glastonbury last year, Gregory returned to the UK's biggest music festival last month but this time on the Pyramid Stage bill along with the likes of Muse, Adele, Coldplay and Beck.
As the Evening Standard put it, “Is it possible for Britain to love Gregory Porter any more than we already do?”
Gregory Porter will return to the UK on 11 September for BBC’s ‘A Festival In A Day' which will take over London’s glorious Hyde Park with Gregory performing to a crowd of thousands and joining a line-up that includes Elton John and Leann Rimes with more acts to be announced shortly.
