Ed Sheeran’s = (Equals) enters straight in at Number 1 with huge opening week numbers on the Official Albums Chart.
The record is Ed’s fifth to top the chart, and opens with 139,000 chart sales, outperforming the rest of this week’s Top 30 combined.
It’s the biggest opening week for an album in the UK this year – and biggest since Ed’s third album Divide, just over four years ago in March 2017.
68% of Equals’ opening week number is physical sales, including 11,600 copies on vinyl (the week’s best-seller on wax), while 18% comes from streaming, and 14% on downloads.
Celebrating the news Ed Sheeran told OfficialCharts.com:
“Thank you so much for making Equals the Number 1 album in the UK this week. I don’t know what else to say, you guys are great, thank you so much for all listening to it, I hope you enjoy it. I hope to see you on tour next year.”
Description automatically generatedEd Sheeran with his Official Number 1 Album Award for = (Equals) (credit: OfficialCharts.com)
Elsewhere, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft is new at Number 2 with retrospective Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1, his sixth UK Top 10 album, and the 25th anniversary re-release of Spice Girls’ iconic debut album Spice sends the record back to Number 5.
US band The War On Drugs are the final new entry in the Top 10 this week, debuting at Number 6 with their fifth album I Don’t Live Here Anymore.
Outside the Top 10, American blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa enters the Official Albums Chart at Number 13 with Time Clocks, as heavy metal band Mastodon’s Hushed and Grim arrives at Number 14.
Not far behind are Motörhead, with their greatest hits collection Everything Louder Forever entering at Number 18. Another iconic rock group, Pink Floyd, debut at Number 24 with a special remixed re-issue of their thirteenth album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
Tori Amos earns her 14th Top 40 album with Ocean To Ocean, another new entry at Number 25 and finally, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Symphonic Suites debuts at Number 35.
Official Albums Chart Top 5
Adele takes a third consecutive week at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart with Easy On Me.
In a close battle against Ed Sheeran’s former chart-topper Shivers, Easy On Me takes Number 1 with 78,600 chart sales – a lead of just 3,200 chart sales.
Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran takes the next three places on the Official Singles Chart, with Shivers (2), Bad Habits (3) and brand new song Overpass Graffiti (4) – the biggest digital download of the week with 23,400 sales – thanks to the release of his album =.
The Anxiety, AKA Willow Smith & Tyler Cole, climb two to land in the Top 10 at Number 10 with Meet Me At Our Spot, Tyler’s first Top 10 and Willow’s second following her debut single Whip My Hair back in 2010.
Elsewhere in the Top 20 Scottish producer/DJ Ewan McVicar climbs six to Number 15 with Tell Me Something Good – his first ever Top 20 hit. D-Block Europe are back with No Competition at Number 18, the duo’s seventh Top 20, and South London newcomer SwitchOTR earn his first Top 40 hit with Coming For You ft. A1 & J1, which debuts at Number 20.
Joel Corry lands at Number 23 with I Wish ft. Mabel, Joel’s 6th Top 40 single and Mabel’s 11th.
Further down, Better Days by Swedish musician Neiked, Mae Muller and Polo G enters the Top 40 for the first time after climbing 19 places to Number 33, while Justin Bieber’s Ghost becomes his 57th Top 40 single as it climbs two to Number 39.
Finally, two Halloween favourites squeeze into the Top 40 this week: Ray Parker Jr’s classic Ghostbusters (38) and Thriller by Michael Jackson (40).
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