Paul Kelly makes chart history with his first #1 album

Just a few days ago, we wrote how Paul Kelly was in with a chance to score his first ever #1 album. Now, the charts are out, and Kelly has made chart history by topping the charts for the first time in his long, illustrious career.

It might be hard to believe, but for an Aussie musician so beloved by the Australian public, out of the 23 albums that Paul Kelly has released over 36 years, only six of them have made the top ten in the charts.

Paul Kelly And The Messengers’ So Much Water So Close to Home just snuck into the top ten back in 1989, his first album to do so. A collaborative live album with Neil Finn, 2013’s Goin’ Your Way, hit number five, and his Songs From The South compilation record hit number two in 1997, but as far as his solo studio records went, …Nothing but a Dream hit number seven in 2001, his most successful album until yesterday.

Now, Life Is Fine has managed to top the ARIA charts. An impressive achievement in its own right, but it also has the honour of being the first Aussie album to top the ARIA charts since the albums charts began to include streaming in its official count back in May.

Already included in the offical count for singles since 2014, the albums charts made this change in order to become more in line with the methods used by many other national charts around the world.

Considering that streaming now accounts for 38% of the market value of Australia’s music industry, it only makes sense that the counting of streaming figures was adopted by the ARIA charts.

Now, with Paul Kelly taking his much-deserved, and long-overdue spot at the top of the ARIA charts, he is most likely agreeing with his album’s title right now, stating that life is well and truly fine.

Check out ‘Firewood And Candles’, from Paul Kelly’s Life Is Fine, below.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.