History boys: One Direction become first British act to top US charts with first two albums

It’s the first time a British band have seen their first two albums debut at Number One after their first offering hit top spot in March

Superstars now: One Direction

PA

One Direction have made US music history after their new album Take Me Home hit the top of the charts.

It’s the first time a British band have seen their first two albums debut at Number One - after their first offering, Up All Night, secured top spot in March this year.

The group’s second album has sold 540,000 in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan - the year’s third-highest debut behind Taylor Swift’s Red, which sold 1.2 million units in its first week earlier this month and Mumford & Sons’ Babel, which sold more than 600,000 albums in September.

“We just want to say a massive thanks to all the fans who have supported us,” band member Harry Styles, 18, said.

“We can send tweets and thank them, but 140 characters is never going be enough to say how much it means.”

The album also debuted at No. 1 in the UK this week and is No. 1 in more than 30 countries

“We were a little bit nervous about how people were going to take it,” 19-year-old Niall Horan said of the new album during tour rehearsals.

“Everyone gets that second album syndrome.”

They say though they’re excited, they won’t be celebrating too much: ‘We’re finishing rehearsing soon and we’re going home to bed.’

The single from the album - Live While We’re Young - also made Billboard chart history after selling 341,000 copies in its first week, becoming the biggest opening week single sales for a non-US artist.

The quintet - Harry, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - initially came third on The X Factor but signed to Syco, the record label which has first refusal on all acts.

The band will face stiff competition from R&B star Rihanna for the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart next week, as her new album Unapologetic is out.