Taylor Swift’s 1989 re-recording has biggest chart debut of the year

1989 (Taylor’s Version) features hit songs including Blank Space, Bad Blood and Shake It Off. Credit: AP

Taylor Swift’s re-recording of her juggernaut album 1989 is having the biggest opening week of the year so far, outperforming the rest of the top 40 combined.

According to the Official Charts Company, the superstar is on course to bag her 11th UK number one album with 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a new recording of her fifth album originally released in 2014.

The record has notched up 148,000 chart units since its release on Friday, easily beating the previous title holder, Lewis Capaldi.

The Scottish singer's second LP Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent accumulated more than 95,000 chart units during its first week on sale.

If Swift hits number one at the end of the week she will extend her record as the female solo artist with the most chart-topping albums this century.

The new 21-track offering marks the next stage of the ambitious re-record of her entire back catalogue to regain control of her masters.

It follows an ongoing and high-profile feud with her music manager Scooter Braun, who acquired the recordings of Swift's first six albums after he bought her former label, Big Machine, for $300 million (£237 million).

She later accused Braun of bullying her for years and suggested he was out to "dismantle" her work.

This is why she has been re-releasing all of her albums - they are all notably labelled 'Taylor's Version'.

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Taylor Swift, who has been touring the US this year, has been re-releasing her old music. Credit: AP

1989 (Taylor’s Version) features hit songs including Blank Space, Bad Blood and Shake It Off, as well as never-before-released songs “from the vault” such as Say Don’t Go, Now That We Don’t Talk and Suburban Legends.

The release of the re-recorded album comes shortly after the launch of the concert film of her Eras Tour in cinemas, which has broken box office records.

OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) are on the way to hit the number two spot with Bauhaus Staircase, according to the midweek charts.

The Rolling Stones will slip from the top spot to three with Hackney Diamonds.

Duran Duran are poised to enter the charts at number four with Danse Macabre while James Blunt looks set to take the fifth spot with his album Who We Used to Be.

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