Bob Marley & The Wailers’ ‘Legend’ Reaches 15X Platinum In UK

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) announced Thursday that Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Legend, the Reggae band’s iconic greatest hits collection, has achieved 15X Platinum certification in the United Kingdom.

This milestone signifies sales and streaming figures exceeding 4.5 million units in the UK, building upon the 14X Platinum certification (4.2 million) it achieved in August 2022.

Legend now ranks as the eighth best-selling album in UK history, tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms at 15× Platinum. Queen’s Greatest Hits leads as the UK’s best-selling album with 23× Platinum, followed by ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits at 22× Platinum, and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Adele’s 21 tied for third at 18× Platinum each.

The 40-year-old album, released by Island Records in 1984, three years after Marley’s passing, continues to resonate with audiences.

It currently sits at No. 58 on the UK Albums Chart for its 1169th week, a remarkable feat second only to ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits (1184 weeks) in terms of chart longevity.

Legend features ten of Marley’s top 40 UK hits, including classics like Three Little Birds, Is This Love, and Could You Be Loved. It also includes tracks from the original Wailers featuring Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, such as Stir It Up, I Shot the Sheriff, and Get Up, Stand Up.

Three Little Birds (from Exodus) is the best selling single of the pack with a 3X Platinum certification (1.8 million units), while Is This Love (from Kaya) and Could You Be Loved (from Uprising) are both double platinum (1.2 million units each).

The other platinum-selling tracks (600,000 units) are No Woman, No Cry (from Live!), One Love/People Get Ready (from Exodus), Jamming (from Exodus), and Buffalo Solider  (from Confrontation).

Redemption Song (from Uprising), Stir It Up (from Catch A Fire) and Waiting In Vain (from Exodus) are currently certified Gold in the UK for moving 400,000 units each, while Get Up Stand Up (from Burnin’), Exodus, I Shot The Sheriff (from Burnin’) and Satisfy My Soul (from Kaya) are certified Silver for 200,000 units each.

Legend is also currently certified 18X Platinum in the United States, Diamond in France (1 million units), Platinum in Germany (500,000 units), 6X Platinum in Australia (420,000 units), 20X Platinum in New Zealand (300,000 units), 4X Platinum in Argentina (240,000), 2X Platinum in Canada (200,000 units), and 4X Platinum in Belgium.