QUEEN's 'Greatest Hits' Becomes First Album To Reach Seven Million U.K. Chart 'Sales'

British rock legends QUEEN have made U.K. chart history as they became the first act ever to reach seven million U.K. chart "sales" of an album, the Official Charts Company has confirmed.

QUEEN surpassed the seven-million milestone with its 1981 "Greatest Hits" album. The official best-selling album of all time in the U.K., the record includes such classic tracks as "We Will Rock You", "Don't Stop Me Now" and the group's top-selling behemoth "Bohemian Rhapsody".

"Greatest Hits" reaches this record-breaking achievement through a combination of physical sales, downloads and streams.

Back in 2014, "Greatest Hits" became the first album to ever surpass six million sales in the U.K. and, as pure sales (physical and digital download copies) of the collection continue to increase, the group's back catalog proves enduringly popular in the modern streaming age. "Greatest Hits" has accumulated an incredible 1.26 billion total U.K. streams to date, with the album's most-streamed track being "Bohemian Rhapsody", which boasts 240 million U.K. streams and counting. The record also recently celebrated its 1000th week on the Official Albums Chart, with QUEEN becoming the first British act ever to achieve this landmark milestone.

Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, QUEEN guitarist Brian May says: "We're here to bring you the joyous news that QUEEN's 'Greatest Hits' album has sold seven million copies, which nobody has ever done before. No album has done this before in history. Thank you, we appreciate it."

QUEEN's Roger Taylor adds: "The British public and their infinitely-great taste have made this the biggest-selling album in history. Thank you very much; we're humbled and honored. We salute you!"

Martin Talbot, chief executive, Official Charts Company, comments: "It really is a fantastic achievement by QUEEN to become the first act to notch up seven million sales of one album, with their legendary 'Greatest Hits'. When it was released for the first time in 1981, career-spanning packages such as 'Greatest Hits' were relatively rare, the preserve of only the very biggest acts. QUEEN's 'Greatest Hits' can claim to be in more than one-in-four U.K. households' record collections today, and there is no doubt that its massive success has done as much as any other release to turn hits packages into the omnipresent album concept that they are today."

The news comes as QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT have announced "Rhapsody Over London", a concert film available to stream live and on demand later this month. The exclusive concert spectacular, filmed live at London's O2 Arena during the group's sold-out European tour, will premiere live via Kiswe's global streaming platform on July 24. The stream will also include a question-and-answer session with Brian, Roger and Adam, speaking backstage from the penultimate show of their European tour.

"Rhapsody Over London" will give fans worldwide the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience QUEEN's dazzling 28-song show, which honors the late Freddie Mercury's enduring ethos that "too far is never far enough."

Photo credit: Official Charts Company