Shed Seven’s sixth studio album has resulted in their first #1 on the Official Albums Chart. Noah Kahan spends a second week atop the singles chart.

A Matter of Time (Cooking Vinyl) gives the York-formed rock group the record for the longest gap between their debut album and first #1 album: 26 years and three months. It’s Shed Seven’s fifth Top 10 album.

Elsewhere, Busted’s former #1 compilation Greatest Hits 2.0 (Busted Live) returns to the Top 20 at #19 following the release of an extended Another Present for Everyone edition. Dublin garage-punk group SPRINTS rounds out the Top 20 with their debut Letter to Self (City Slang).

At singles, Kahan’s “Stick Season” (Republic) retains its title as the U.K.’s most-streamed track (7.5m streams) for a second week in a row.

Thanks a sync in the film Saltburn, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” (Polydor) swings to #2, matching the original peak position of the 2001 disco banger. Another throwback tune on the film’s soundtrack, Mason & Princess Superstar’s “Perfect (Exceeder)” (Armada) from 2006, jumps 14 spots to #26.

Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” (Warner) breaks into the Top 10 for the time, landing at #6. Moving up an incredible 37 slots is The Weeknd, Plaboy Carti & Madonna’s “Popular” (XO/Republic), returning to its previous peak of #11.

Liam Gallagher & John Squire’s “Just Another Rainbow” (Warner) is today’s highest new entry, at #16, becoming the former Oasis singer’s highest-charting solo single to date.

UMG U.K. celebrated a historic first on Friday: 10 albums in the Official Albums Top 10, thanks to releases by Lewis Capaldi, Taylor Swift and more.

Capaldi made a surprise return to #1 thanks to an extended edition of his #1 2023 set, Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent (EMI). That victory sealed UMG’s tally, which also included 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (EMI) by Swift at #2, The Highlights (Republic) by The Weeknd at #3, ABBA’s Gold - Greatest Hits (Polar Music) at #4 and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (Mercury/Republic) at #5.

The rest of the Top 10 was made up like so: Guts (Geffen) by Olivia Rodrigo at #6, Diamonds (Virgin EMI) by Elton John at #7, Midnights by Swift at #8, Folklore by Swift at #9 and Eminem’s Curtain Call — The Hits (Aftermath/Interscope) at #10.

May we raise a glass of champers to the hard-working teams in Blighty. Cheers!

Music sales in the U.K. grew 9.6% to reach £2.2b in 2023, less than a tenth of a percent below the sector’s all-time high in 2001, according to preliminary figures from the Entertainment Retailers’ Association.

The 9.6% growth is nearly twice as fast as that achieved in 2022, when music sales grew 5%.

Streaming rose 9.8% in value last year to reach £1.86b and 84% of the market.

Physical sales increased 10.9% to £311m, significantly improving 2022’s 4% decline. Vinyl album sales grew 17.8% to reach £177.3m, while CD recorded its first rise in sales value for two decades, up 2% to £126.2m. Music downloads dipped 5.9% to £42.7m.

ERA CEO Kim Bayley called the results “a red letter day for the music industry” and “a testament not just to the creativity of artists, but to the entrepreneurial drive of digital services and retailers.”

“A world without streaming now seems unthinkable,” she continued. “Meanwhile the tenacity of physical retailers has driven not just the vinyl revival, but a surprise increase in the value of CD sales. Given all we’ve been through, it really doesn’t get much better than this.”

Shed Seven are heading toward #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart. Over on singles, Liam Gallagher could be set for his first solo #1.

A Matter of Time (Cooking Vinyl) could be the fifth Top 10 and debut #1 for indie group Shed Seven on Friday.

Busted’s former #1 collection, Greatest Hits 2.0 (Busted Live), looks set to rebound into the Top 5 at #3 following the release of its extended Another Present for Everyone edition.

Dublin garage act SPRINTS are #4 with their debut Letter to Self (City Slang). Teddy Swims’ debut major label LP, I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1) (Warner), is #8.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, “Just Another Rainbow” (Warner)—a collaboration between Gallagher and Stone Roses guitarist John Squire—is #1.

“Murder on the Dancefloor” (Polydor) by Sophie Ellis-Bextor continues its upward climb thanks to an inclusion in the film Saltburn, today jumping four places to #4.

Swims is in the Top 10 for the first time with “Lose Control” at #7, while Bring Me the Horizon are #8 with “Kool-Aid” (RCA).

The U.K.’s Royal Mail is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Spice Girls with a collection of 15 stamps. It’s the first time the postal service has dedicated an issue to a female pop group.

Formed in 1994, the Spice Girls have since gone on to sell over 100m records worldwide and tally nine U.K. #1 singles. The collection has been created in partnership with UMG’s Bravado.

The main set of 10 stamps feature iconic images of the group and individual live performances from 1997 to 2012, spanning sets at The BRIT Awards, Madison Square Garden and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

A further five stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, feature individual images of the band members from the Spice World photoshoot. They are available to pre-order and go on sale on 1/11.

The Spice Girls are the sixth music group to feature in a dedicated stamp issue, following The Beatles in 2007, Pink Floyd in 2016, Queen in 2020, The Rolling Stones in 2022 and Iron Maiden in 2023.

Buzzing British band The Last Dinner Party have been crowned winners of BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2024, following their BRITs Rising Star win.

Signed to Island, the band is the first guitar act to win the award, which tips new acts for success, since Haim in 2013. They signed to UMG U.K. in early 2022 and have since supported The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park.

Their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, which has been worked on with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Haim), is due out in February.

Runners up for BBC Sound of 2024 are singer and songwriter Olivia Dean (EMI) at #2, DJ Peggy Gou (XL) at #3, South African artist Tyla (Epic) at #4 and soul artist Elmiene (Polydor/Def Jam) at #5.

The Weeknd and Miley Cyrus claimed 2023’s biggest selling album and single in the U.K., respectively. Taylor Swift's re-recording of her 2014 album was the only 2023 release in the Top 10.

The Highlights (Republic) by The Weeknd and Cyrus’s “Flowers” (RCA) took the top places. While there were no new albums, half of the singles Top 10 arrived last year.

The fact that hit albums from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Lewis Capaldi and The Rolling Stones missed out on the Top 10 is either a sign of the times, or a cause for concern.

“The stats highlight just how hard it is for new albums to make an impact in our increasingly streaming-obsessed and algorithm-driven world,” says James Hall, who has written a feature on the matter for The Telegraph.

UMG wins on albums with six entries, while Sony tallies the most singles with six in the Top 10. Elsewhere on albums, Sony has two and Warner and the indie sector take one apiece. UMG and Warner count one single each and the indie sector has two.

OFFICIAL ARTIST ALBUMS CHART 2023

1. The Weeknd The Highlights (Republic)
2. Taylor Swift Midnights (EMI)
3. Taylor Swift 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (EMI)
4. Elton John Diamonds (Virgin EMI)
5. Harry Styles Harry’s House(Columbia)
6. Fleetwood Mac 50 Years - Don’t Stop (Warner Records)
7. Eminem Curtain Call - The Hits(Interscope)
8. SZA SOS (RCA)
9. Arctic Monkeys AM (Domino)
10. ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits (Polar Music)

OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART 2023

1. Miley Cyrus “Flowers” (RCA)
2. Dave & Central Cee “Sprinter” (Neighbourhood/Live Yours)
3. RAYEf/070 Shake “Escapism” (Human Re Sources)
4. Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero” (EMI)
5. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding “Miracle” (Columbia)
6. Rema “Calm Down” (Mavin)
7. SZA “Kill Bill” (RCA)
8. PinkPantheress “Boy’s A Liar” (Parlophone)
9. Harry Styles “As It Was” (Columbia)
10. Libianca “People” (5K Records/Sony)

Women spent a record-breaking 31 weeks at #1 in 2023 as the U.K.’s recorded music consumption rose 10% in 2023.

A ninth consecutive year of growth saw 182.8m albums (or their equivalent) sold and streamed last year. Streaming, which was up 12.8%, now makes up 87.7% of the market.

Women artists spent the most weeks at #1 on the Official Singles Chart since the countdown launched in 1952. The 31-week charge was led by Miley Cyrus with her 10-week chart-topper “Flowers” (Columbia). Tracks by Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Kenya Grace and RAYE were among the other entries.

Based on combined streaming and sales activity, four of 2023’s five biggest tracks and seven of the year’s Top 10 were by women. Thirteen of the year’s Top 20 tracks were by women, while nearly half (48.5%) of the tracks that reached the Top 10 of the weekly Official Singles Chart were by women, either solo or in collaboration with other artists. This represented their highest annual share of Top 10 hits this century.

“Whilst work continues toward achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts,” BPI Chief Executive Dr Jo Twist, OBE, said. “There is a more diverse range of recording artists than ever achieving great success with the backing of their labels. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”

Overall, vinyl sales rose 11.8% to hit 6.1m. Sales grew at their fastest rate this decade and rose for a 16th consecutive year, taking the format to its highest level since 1990.

Physical albums dipped 1.1% to 17.1m or 9.4% of the market, while digital albums dropped 4.6% to tally 3.5m or 1.9%. CD sales declined 6.9% to 10.8m.