Shirebrook singer who recorded album from her bed beats Taylor Swift and The Killers to chart success

Kara Jane Spencer, 29, who needs full-time nursing care after being diagnosed with the devastating energy-sapping condition M.E, knocked Taylor Swift and The Killers off their perches when her debut album, ‘It’s Still M.E.’ shot to number two in the UK Amazon two best selling charts at the weekend.

Kara was diagnosed with M.E., also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, when she was just 16.

Her condition deteriorated so much that she now survives on supplemental oxygen, and it has taken her two years to record the nine-track album – recorded line by line because her voice lacks the endurance to lay down a track in one session.

In May, Kara appealed for help to complete the album and more than 100 musicians and record producers volunteered to turn her vocals into the finished job.

She is hoping the album will raise at least £100,000 for medical research funded by UK-wide charity, the ME Association.

Kara said: "I feel incredulous, downloads and streaming have just gone 'boom'.

"I still feel like I am in a dream state – it's not something that happens to normal people."

The album was released on August 8, on International Severe M.E. Day, and there have been TV appearances with stories appearing in the national newspapers and the music press.

Kara lost the ability to talk while she was at school, and had to record the album from her bed.

She said: "Until then, I was healthy and active – ‘loud, crazy and always laughing’ in the words of my sister.

"My condition steadily deteriorated until I became completely bedridden.

"Whenever I do something, there's always a cost or payback and I will be in pain."

She told the Daily Express: "Songs came to me because I had loved and lost.

"That's very poignant in my life because of me and my love.

"We still love each other but we just can't be together.

"He is disabled and I am very disabled so there's no life we could have together.

"It's not just an album about a poorly girl – it's something a lot of people have related to."

Tony Britton, fundraising and PR manager at the ME Association, said: "Kara is an amazing woman with a beautiful singing voice.

"The M.E. community round the world is so proud of what she has achieved.

"The charity has set up a fund for a tissue bank to further the cause of medical research into this horribly neglected and under-funded disease and Kara is giving it a huge kickstart."

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To make a donation to the £100,000 appeal separately from buying the album, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kara-jane-sings.