British indie band The Lathums have hit #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart with their debut set, How Beautiful Life Can Be (Island). Over on singles, Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” claims the biggest single week of download sales this year.
With The Lathums’ success, British bands have ruled the #1 spot on the Official Albums Chart for 11 out of 39 weeks in 2021, according to BPI analysis. The return of guitar acts to the top of the charts has had an impact on bands breaking through: 2021 is on course to be the best year for new British groups in well over a decade, thanks to Top 10 albums from acts The Snuts, Wolf Alice, Shame, Pale Waves and Easy Life.
Public Service Broadcasting chart at #2 today with Bright Magic (PIAS), followed by Drake’s Certified Lover Boy (Island), which drops to #3.
On the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” (Atlantic) holds at the top for a third week with 64k sales.