Royal Blood is pumping on the midweek U.K. chart with the rockers’ new album How Did We Get So Dark? (Warner Bros) while DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” (Black Butter/We The Best) collaboration with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller is poised for the highest debut on the national singles survey.
At the halfway point of the chart week, Royal Blood’s latest LP has a 23,000 combined sales edge over the No. 2 ranked title, Ed Sheeran's Divide (Asylum), according to the Official Charts Company. Should Dark stay where it is when the Official U.K Albums Chart is published this Friday, it’ll be a perfect two-for-two for the Brighton duo. Their debut self-titled set also reached the summit on its release in 2014.
Others aiming high this week include Canadian rock outfit Nickelback with their ninth and most recent set Feed the Machine (BMG), which starts at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart Update, while Lorde’s second album Melodrama (Virgin) bows at No. 5.
New releases from Fleet Foxes, Ride and Alison Moyet earn top 20 berths while David Bowie's Cracked Actor (Parlophone), a rare, live set taped in Los Angeles back in 1974, breaks into the midweek chart at No. 15. Cracked Actor was previously unreleased until April when it was pressed on vinyl for a special limited Record Store Day run. Its bolt up the chart is a result of its wider reissue on CD. The late, great artist is also at No. 18 on the midweek tally following the gold vinyl release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.
On the midweek singles survey, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber's “Despacito” (Def Jam/RBMG/Republic/UMLE) is cruising to a seventh week at No. 1, while Liam Payne's "Strip That Down" (Capitol) featuring Quavo is at No. 2. Khaled's "Wild Thoughts" is just 300 downloads and streaming equivalent sales adrift of the former One Direction singer's latest track to bow at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart Update.
