Cilla Black is on the brink of notching up her first top 40 hit in more than four decades, as fans rush to snap up copies of her most popular recordings.
Sales of Black’s Very Best Of album and former No 1 Anyone Who Had a Heart have surged as fans paid tribute following the death of the popular entertainer in Spain on the weekend.
Anyone Who Had a Heart, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, catapulted 32 places overnight to reach No 59 in the Official Charts, according to a snapshot of sales figures on Tuesday.
The track stands less than 1,000 sales, or streams, from entering this week’s official top 40 singles chart – previously it reached the No 1 spot for three weeks in the UK in 1964. The original version of the song was a top 10 US hit for Dionne Warwick, for whom it was written, although that version only made it to No 42 in the UK charts.
If the track cracks the Top 40 it will be Black’s first UK top 40 entry in 41 years, since 1974’s Baby We Can’t Go Wrong peaked at No 36.
The 2014 ITV drama Cilla, which featured actress Sheridan Smith, helped Anyone Who Had a Heart reach No 47 in the chart.
Meanwhile, in the album chart Black’s Very Best Of retrospective leapt 43 places overnight to No 25, her highest-charting album since 1982.
ITV is to air a tribute to the 72-year old adapting documentary The One and Only Cilla Black which aired two years ago to mark Black’s 50 years in showbusiness.
The broadcaster is also repeating the acclaimed drama Cilla on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 10.40pm.
