Queen Is Back On The Billboard Charts With A ‘New’ Album

Queen may not be producing new music these days, but the band is still very much active — and commercially successful. While it has been years since the legendary rock outfit released a proper studio album, the group continues to thrive on the charts thanks to one of the most celebrated and valuable catalogs in music history. The band frequently reappears on various rankings with special editions, reissues, and commemorative releases, and this week, Queen once again earns a new win with a drop filled with music from the vault.

De Lane Lea Demos Is a Brand New Project From Queen

Despite the fact that the musicians are not crafting new original tunes or albums any longer, Queen still manages to make a splash whenever it offers fans something they haven’t heard before — or at least not in an official capacity. This frame, the group returns with De Lane Lea Demos, a new EP that immediately finds space on two Billboard tallies. The short collection arrives at No. 24 on the Vinyl Albums list and No. 31 on the Top Album Sales chart, becoming a bestseller immediately.

De Lane Lea Demos Sold Nearly 5,000 Copies in a Few Days

In its first few days of availability, De Lane Lea Demos sold 4,800 copies in the U.S. That number is according to Luminate, the company that collects sales and streaming data for Billboard’s charts.

This was a particularly busy frame for new music, with plenty of beloved acts dropping albums and EPs. While Queen’s latest effort doesn’t claim one of the top starts of the week, the fact that the rockers are still landing new wins at all is remarkable. On the Top Album Sales chart, De Lane Lea Demos ranks as the sixteenth-highest debut out of 28 newcomers.

A Rare Appearance for Queen on the Vinyl Albums Chart

Surprisingly, De Lane Lea Demos is just Queen’s fifth title to land on the Vinyl Albums chart. Given the group’s towering commercial success and the resurgence of vinyl as a viable and bestselling format in recent years, that’s a fairly small number. On the Top Album Sales ranking, Queen has now appeared with 20 different projects throughout its long career.

De Lane Lea Demos Was Released as Part of Record Store Day

Queen issued De Lane Lea Demos in celebration of Record Store Day, a semi-annual event that often sees exclusive and limited-edition vinyl releases come from major artists. Only 5,000 copies of the 12-inch vinyl were pressed, and almost all of them sold out within a matter of days.

The five-song set is made up of Queen’s earliest demo recordings, laid down between late 1971 and early 1972. The musicians taped the songs at the famed De Lane Lea Studios in London — a name that the EP borrows.