U.K. CHARTS: SHEERAN SCORES FIFTH #1

Ed Sheeran has scored his fifth #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart as = (Atlantic) outperforms the rest of this week’s Top 30 combined. Over on singles, Adele rules for a third week with “Easy on Me” (Columbia).

With 139k in sales, = claims the biggest opening week for an album in the U.K. this year. It’s the biggest first week since Sheeran’s third album, Divide, shifted 672k in March 2017.

Of that 139k, 68% was physical, including 11.6k on vinyl; 18% came from streaming and 14% were downloads.

Elsewhere, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft’s Acoustic Hymns—Vol. 1 (BMG) is #2 and the 25th anniversary edition of the Spice Girls’ debut, Spice (Virgin), sends the album back to #5.

The War on Drugs' I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Atlantic) is the final new entry in today’s Top 10, at #6. Further down, Joe Bonamassa’s Time Clocks (J&R Adventures) is #13 and Mastodon’s Hushed and Grim (Reprise) is #14.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, Adele’s “Easy on Me” gained 78.6k in sales this week to remain on top. It was a close battle as Sheeran’s “Shivers” sits just 3.2k behind it, at #2. His “Bad Habits” rises to #3 and “Overpass Graffiti” is a new entry at #4.

THE ANXIETY’s “Meet Me at Our Spot” (Polydor) climbs two to land in the Top 10, at #10, while Scottish DJ/producer Ewan McVicar climbs six to #15 with “Tell Me Something Good” (Ministry of Sound).

D-Block Europe’s self-released “No Competition” is #18, and South London newcomer SwitchOTR earns his first Top 40 with “Coming for You” f/A1 & J1 (Sony), debuting at #20.