One million copies of 25 have been shipped to UK retailers, including HMV and Tesco, with more set to arrive in warehouses in the weeks ahead of Christmas. Ian Topping, CEO of HMV, said: “We've seen a great start with the release of the Adele album this morning. Sales have far exceeded expectations and based on our morning trading it's our fastest selling album for many years.
“Feedback from stores is also very encouraging with a lot of excitement from customers resulting in a real buzz in store, the like of which we haven't seen for some time. It really feels like the Christmas season has now started very strongly.”