Dame Vera Lynn tops charts

(PA)

The Forces' Sweetheart has trumped the Fab Four in the battle for the top of the charts, making Dame Vera Lynn the oldest living artist to have a No 1 album.

Dame Vera's debut offering We'll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn hit the top spot, meaning the 92-year-old has now usurped Bob Dylan as the oldest artist to grace the premium position. Her album outsold artists including Arctic Monkeys, Jamie T and The Kings of Leon, and even trumped The Beatles' much-hyped remastered editions.

The Beatles occupied the 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 21st, 24th, 29th, 31st, 33rd, 37th and 38th spots, according to the Official Charts Company. It is 70 years to the month since Dame Vera, then 22, visited the Decca studios and first recorded "We'll Meet Again" in 1939.

Dame Vera said: "I am extremely surprised and delighted, and a big 'thank you' to all my fans for putting me there." HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said: "It's a really lovely surprise, that nobody could have imagined a few weeks ago; it's ironic that it's taken one revered British icon to block the historic return of another."