Robbie Williams does the pop chart double

ROBBIE Williams laid claim to the pop throne last night as he reigned supreme across both singles and album charts.

The aptly named Take the Crown was a new entry at the top of the album charts, while Candy, his 14th number one, stayed at the top of the singles chart for the second week in a row.

The one-two came despite BBC Radio 1 failing to put Candy on its Breakfast Show playlist because Williams does not appeal to its audience.

Programme chiefs decided the song was not appropriate for the target audience of 15- to 29-year-olds, but it became his first solo number one for eight years, despite the lack of coverage on the primetime radio show.

Take the Crown was Williams’s tenth number one album in 15 years as a solo artist, and it was the second time he has topped both charts simultaneously, according to the Official Charts Company.

The last time he did the double was in December 2001, when Something Stupid, his duet with actress Nicole Kidman, hit the top spot during his easy-listening covers album Swing When You’re Winning’s seven-week stay at the top of the album chart.