Rod Stewart tops UK album chart for first time in 34 years

LONDON, (Reuters) – Veteran rocker Rod Stewart scored his first British album chart number one in more than 30 years on Sunday with “Time”, while the French electro outfit Daft Punk clung to the top of the singles chart, the Official Charts Company said.

Stewart, sporting his trademark spiky blonde hairdo, told Reuters that the process of putting together his new autobiography had freed up what is normally a slow song writing process.

“I’ve written some decent songs, but I’ve never considered myself a songwriter because it doesn’t come naturally,” he said. “It doesn’t flow out of my pen like it does with some songwriters, it’s always been a struggle. It was much more enjoyable this time round.”

“Time” is Stewart’s first fully self-penned album in more than 20 years, and his eighth British number one album. Despite his success, Stewart, a 68-year-old father of eight, said he had no intention of slowing down any time soon.

Stewart tours from June, and hopes at some point to work again with his old Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, now a guitarist with the Rolling Stones.

“Once that window of opportunity opens up, then Ronnie and I will get together and we’ll all come out on Zimmer frames and wheelchairs, but we’ll do it,” he said.

Another veteran singer, ABBA’s Agnetha Faltskog, scored the highest charting album of her solo career with a sixth place for “A”, her first new album in almost a decade.

In the singles chart, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” is on track to become Britain’s biggest selling of the year, with the group’s hotly anticipated new album out on Monday.

The highest new entry in the singles chart was “Heart Attack” by former Disney star and current U.S. “X Factor” talent show judge Demi Lovato, which came in at number three.