Singer Neil Diamond has promised to “celebrate in a big way” if his new album, ‘Home Before Dark’, tops the US Billboard chart this week.

The record is widely expected to earn Diamond his first ever US number one when sales figures are published today (May 13th).

Speaking to BBC 6 Music, Diamond said that he “hope it happens”.

“It's beyond exciting. It's groundbreaking for me after all these years to reach this point in my career,” he said. “So I'm hoping that it actually does go to number one.”

Earlier today (May 13th) Diamond revealed that he was relishing the prospect of playing this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

The singer, who will be at the event for the first time, said his only concern was whether he and his band might get “laughed out of the country.”

Last week Diamond played a secret show at the Bitter End in New York for just 200 fans.

(by Jason Gregory)