The Reytons have claimed their second UK Number One album with ‘A Love Letter To A Broken Town’.
The Rotherham band’s self-released fourth studio record entered the Official Albums Chart at the top spot today (August 14), emulating 2023’s ‘What’s Rock And Roll?’ to become their second chart-topper.
It has also topped the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, and frontman Jonny Yerrell has highlighted the fact that the achievement has come despite the lack of mainstream radio support for the album.
“This week has been overwhelming, the love and support we have felt from our community has been incredible,” he said. “This has to be the first album in history to reach Number One in the Official Charts without a single play on mainstream radio!”
“I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s been unapologetically us, Rotherham and Reytons,” he added.
Celebrating the result on Instagram, the band dedicated their chart-topper to “the grafters, the dreamers and the everyday people who taught us everything we know”.
The result follows a close midweek battle with FLO, who released their second album ‘Therapy At The Club’ this week. They ultimate went in at Number Five, while other new entries in the Top 40 included Role Model at Number Six, Overmono at Number 12, and Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Number 33.
The Reytons’ chart success began when their 2021 debut ‘Kids Off The Estate’ narrowly missed the Top 10. ‘What’s Rock And Roll?’ took them to the top in 2023, while third album ‘Ballad Of A Bystander’ reached Number Two, despite the band claiming that they sold more copies than James Arthur at Number One.
Speaking to NME in 2023 about reaching the top spot, Yerrell said the band’s DIY approach had grown out of necessity.
“We’re proud that we’ve done it independently, and it’s just a reminder that you can do it,” he said. “Because we’ve had so many doors shut in our face over the years that we’ve had to literally find different ways around things, make things happen our own way.”
“There’s no financial backing, we never started with any money. We started with very little money, if anything. We’ve had to work our way to where we are. The whole Reytons thing is just to say, ‘This is a community’, and I want everyone to feel part of that. And also feel like they can achieve it as well.”
The Reytons previewed ‘A Love Letter To A Broken Town’ with the singles ‘Jukebox’ and ‘Busker’s Paradise’ and their first world tour resumes in the UK and Ireland in October, including a date at London’s Alexandra Palace, before they head to Asia and Australia next year. See all the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
