ANALYSIS The Official UK Singles & Albums Charts are compiled by the Official Charts Company, based on a sample of more than 15,000 physical and digital outlets. They count actual sales and audio streams from last Friday to Thursday, based on sales of downloads, CDs, vinyl and other physical formats and audio streams weighted using SEA2 methodology.


Happier place: Billie Eilish makes history with second No.1 album


n BYJAMES MASTERTON B


illie Eilish becomes the first international female for seven years to top the charts with her first two releases. Eilish’s second full album Happier Than Ever duplicates the success of its predecessor to debut at the top of the


British charts.


The album registers a sale of 38,855, of which fully 23,550 are attributable to physical sales. Co-written and produced by her brother Finneas O’Connell, the album’s 16 tracks accumulated 19.8 million streams between them – although that wasn’t quite enough to make it the most streamed album of the week. Eilish’s debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go registered a sale of 48,410 when it too debuted at the top in April 2019, its sales to date now totaling 686,787.


The album that outstreamed Billie is Dave’s We’re All Alone In This Together, which sees its consumption dive over 72% to 20,515, but that is still more than enough to secure it second place for the week as it remains some distance ahead of the rest of the market. Just below, Sour holds firm at No.3 for Olivia Rodrigo (12,474 sales) as it rapidly heads towards the quarter of a million mark, with Anne-Marie’s Therapy behind with 6,234 sales making her No.4 for the week.


Five years after his death the vast musical vaults of Prince have finally produced a complete, unreleased album. Welcome 2 America was recorded in March 2010 in largely improvised fashion only for the star to shelve its release entirely. Eleven years later it finally becomes Prince’s first full posthumous studio album and debuts on the British charts at No.5 (6,034), his 22nd Top 10 record and his first of “new” material since 2014’s Art Official Age peaked at No.8. Back on the chart for the first time in a year is Unknown T, his new mixtape Adolescence the follow-up to Rise Above Hate which reached No.14 in July 2020. He goes one better this time around, reaching the Top 10 for the first time as he makes an impressive No.8 with 4,030 sales.


Just over a year after their second album Sex, Death & The Infinite Void gave them their first ever Top 10 record, Creeper are back once more. Their first recordings since a small change in personnel, American Noir is a Steinman-esque 8-track mini epic, most of its songs off-cuts from the sessions which spawned their 2020 album. Their sixth extended-play release, it duly becomes the first of these to chart and lands at No.13 (3,750 sales). The View’s planned one-year hiatus has so far turned into four, but that does mean there has been time for not one but now two solo albums from their lead singer Kyle Falconer. His debut No, Thank You reached No.40 upon release in August 2018, and now three years down the line he returns with No Love Songs For Laura which goes 14 places better, charting at No.26 with 2,605 sales. Released to coincide with a 10th anniversary tour later this year, 10 is the seventh album from doo-wop revivalists The Overtones.


No.1


Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever (Interscope/Polydor) This week’s sales: 38,855 | Physical: 23,550 | Downloads: 2,397 | Streams: 12,908 |Total sales to date: 38,856 |


Happier days:


Billie Eilish’s second album Happier Than Ever makes history as her first two albums have now hit No.1


Their first full-length release in three years, it frustratingly becomes their lowest charting album to date, its No.27 (2,553 sales) falling short of the No.25 peak of their 2015 Christmas album. Slightly deeper into their career are Big Big Train, the prog rockers charting this week with no less than their 13th studio album. Common Ground charges to No.31 with 2,434 sales). Erasure’s 18th album The Neon became their highest charting album for 26 years when it debuted at No.4 last August, and this week it is joined by a companion release. The Neon Remixed is a two-disc set of remixes of the originals along with previously unreleased track Secrets. Perhaps one for dedicated completists, the album can’t quite match the impact of the original, charting at No.33 (2,255 sales) as the 23rd chart album of Vince and Andy’s career. Bristolian Yolanda ‘Yola’ Quartey narrowly missed the charts with her 2019 debut Walk Through Fire, but makes the grade with some ease with the follow-up. The versatile singer-songwriter has a new entry at No.46 (1,834 sales) with Stand For Myself. A member of Chattanooga hip-hop collective The House, Isaiah


Rashad makes the British charts for the first time with his third album The House Is Burning which charts at No.55 (1,563 sales). The side project of Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, LUMP reached No.14 in June 2016 with their self-titled debut. Three years on the duo return with Animal, which can’t quite manage the same impact and becomes the final new arrival of the week at No.65 with 1,442 sales.


A 3.69% drop takes the albums market to 1,757,795 total sales with physical purchases also down 9.82% to 343,134 but that is still a pleasing 19.52% market share.


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