Move over Lana Del Ray and Imelda May, there’s an old kid in town...

♦ Dame Vera Lynn’s latest album has sold more copies than any other record released by a female artist this year as the grey pound helped her beat younger rivals.

Months after celebrating her 100th birthday, Dame Vera has proved more popular than chart stars Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa and Imelda May.

The album, called 100, features re-orchestrated versions of her best-known songs, plus cover versions by singers including Alfie Boe and Aled Jones. It also has a previously unreleased recording of her singing Sailing, made famous by Rod Stewart.

Dame Vera, The Forces’ Sweetheart, became the oldest living artist to achieve a Top 10 album when 100 was released in March. She said at the time it was “truly humbling” to know people still enjoyed her songs.

The album has sold more than 100,000 copies. Her success owes something to the way the official UK chart is compiled. Older music fans prefer to buy physical albums, which carry greater weight in the chart than streaming. The Official Charts Company uses a formula that counts 100 streams of an album as one sale.

Almost all Dame Vera’s sales were physical copies, with only two per cent downloaded or streamed. But she may lose her crown to Taylor Swift by the end of the year when the US singer releases her new album.