David Bowie shoots to the top of the charts with The Next Day

The cover for The Next Day, by designer Jonathan Barnbrook, plays on the iconic cover of 1977's "Heroes"

David Bowie has scored his first number one album in 20 years with a record that is also the fastest-selling of the year so far.

The 66-year-old's new studio album The Next Day, his first new material in nearly a decade, is his first chart topper since 1993's Black Tie White Noise, the Official Charts Company said.

The Next Day racked up 94,000 sales this week, beating Biffy Clyro's Opposites which sold 71,600 copies in its opening week in January.

Bowie outsold the second-highest new entry of the week by more than two to one: Bon Jovi's What About Now which is at number two. The US rockers now have two albums in the top 40, as their Greatest Hits shot up 26 places to number 31.

Emeli Sande's Our Version Of Events slipped one place to number three, while last week's chart toppers Bastille fell three places to number four with Bad Blood.

This week's top five is completed by Bruno Mars's Unorthodox Jukebox.

In the singles chart, Justin Timberlake denied mid-week leader Nicole Scherzinger a second UK number one by claiming a third week at the top with Mirrors.

Scherzinger, a former Pussycat Doll, headed a tight race on Wednesday's official chart update with the new Will.I.Am-produced single "Boomerang", taken from her forthcoming second solo album.

As momentum slowed in the second half of the week, "Boomerang" slipped to number six with "Mirrors" holding strong to cement a third consecutive week at number one.

One Direction's Comic Relief single "One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)" is up four places to number two.

According to Official Charts Company sales records, the biggest-selling Comic Relief single is still Tony Christie and Peter Kay's "Is This The Way To Amarillo" which was at number one for seven weeks in 2005 and has sold 1.24 million copies.

PA