Barry Manilow’s What a Time earns the singer his first hit on the U.K.’s vinyl albums chart and he earns his debut top 10 on several other rankings. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 21: Barry Manilow performs during the first of his three “Record-Breaking Charity Weekend Celebration” shows as part of his residency “Barry Manilow – The Hits Come Home!” at the International Theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on September 21, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Manilow is raising money for six charities over the weekend as he gets set to surpass Elvis Presley’s mark of 636 performances at the venue on September 23. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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More than half a century ago, Barry Manilow released his self-titled debut album. It became a commercial success in the United States, but it would be a few more years before he cracked the most important lists in the United Kingdom.
In the decades since then, Manilow has remained a favorite for millions of fans around the world, including in the U.K., where he continues to score new wins every time he releases music. The superstar’s thirty-third studio LP What a Time debuts on multiple tallies in that country this time around, and amazingly, decades into his career, Manilow cracks the top 10 on several rosters for the first time – and he even manages to appear on one list he’s never seen before.
Barry Manilow Reaches the Vinyl Chart for the First Time
Manilow arrives on the Official Vinyl Albums chart for the first time in his lengthy career this week. His new set What a Time debuts at No. 19 on the format-focused roster.
Barry Manilow Charts His First Top 10 on Two Lists
What a Time brings Manilow to the top 10 on two U.K.-based rankings for the first time. The recently-released set opens in eighth place on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Album Downloads charts. Those tallies rank the bestselling releases via any format and the top performers on platforms such as iTunes and Amazon, specifically in the U.K., respectively.
On the more competitive of the two, the Official Albums Sales chart, Manilow reached his career high – until this week, that is – with This Is My Town: Songs of New York, which climbed all the way to No. 18. Over on the downloads list, Ultimate Manilow nearly helped him enter the top 40 for the first time when it launched at No. 43 in the summer of 2023. That position has stood as his most impressive placement ever since.
Barry Manilow Matches His Physical Chart Peak
The singer matches his previously established top showing on the Official Physical Albums chart. What a Time opens at No. 8 – the same spot where it kicks off its time on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Album Downloads tallies – and it helps the legendary artist double his total number of appearances between Nos. 1 and 10.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 12: Singer Barry Manilow performs onstage during the “Manilow: The Last Seattle Concert” at Climate Pledge Arena on July 12, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
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The Ultimate Manilow compilation launched on the Official Physical Albums rundown more than 20 years ago in March 2004, and it topped out at No. 8. Manilow nearly scored his second top 10 bestseller on physical formats in 2011 with 15 Minutes, though that project missed out on the uppermost region by just one space as it peaked in eleventh place.
What a Time Underperforms on the Main Albums Chart
Despite the fact that What a Time marks a new career high or brings Manilow back to an already-set peak on four of the five charts it reaches in the U.K., the set underperforms slightly on the main list of the most-consumed releases in the nation, the Official Albums chart. On that ranking, What a Time is new at No. 34.
The fact that Manilow continues to send new releases into the top 40 more than five decades after he broke out is impressive, though he has not seen a collection stall so low in years. The last time one of Manilow’s projects peaked in a less impressive position on the Official Albums chart was back in 2008, when The Best of: Music and Passion climbed to No. 54 and stopped there. In the nearly two decades since, The Greatest Songs of the Eighties (No. 22), The Greatest Love Songs of All Time (No. 26), 15 Minutes (No. 20), My Dream Duets (No. 28) and This Is My Town: Songs of New York (No. 26) have all soared higher than his latest studio effort.