ANALYSIS
Music Week digs into the month’s top chart stories...
PLAY TO WIN DAVE
The Boy Who Played The Harp (Neighbourhood) SALES: 93,426
Dave broke chart records with his third album, The Boy Who Played The Harp, which debuted at No.1 last month with 73,799 units (51,809 physical copies, 368 downloads, 21,602 sales equivalent streams). That makes it the second biggest opening for a British album release this year, behind Sam Fender’s Mercury Prize-winning People Watching, and the fourth biggest overall. With his latest chart result, Dave became the first British rap act to debut three albums at No.1. The Boy Who Played The Harp is also the fastest-selling rap LP on vinyl since post-1994 chart records began, moving 15,561 copies in the first week. In addition to topping the monthly LP rankings, Dave’s Tems collaboration Raindance made No.10 in November’s singles (106,499 units).
SHOW THE WAY
TAYLOR SWIFT The Life Of A Showgirl (EMI)
SALES: 75,153 Taylor Swift moved a whopping half a million units of The Life Of A Showgirl in its first month of release in October. Her 12th studio album is still going strong with a further 75,153 units amassed in November, during which time it remained firmly in the Top 3, including a return to No.1 for a fourth non-consecutive week. The album – comfortably the biggest of the year – was further boosted by the release of an expanded edition on DSPs, including acoustic versions of some of the songs.
SCREAM TEAM
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Everybody Scream (Polydor)
SALES: 38,999 Florence + The Machine scored their
fifth No.1 album with Everybody Scream, which opened at the summit on 31,369 units (15,476 CDs, 8,504 vinyl LPs, 1,724 cassettes, 1,370 downloads and 4,295 sales-equivalent streams). Newly confirmed as a 2026 Reading & Leeds Festival headliner, Florence + The Machine have notched up three Top 75 singles on this current campaign, including the album title track.
musicweek.com 06
In full feather: Taylor Swift
WEST LIFE 02 01
Heart to harp: Dave
LILY ALLEN West End Girl (BMG)
SALES: 59,948 Newly signed to BMG, Lily Allen’s first album in seven years became a streaming phenomenon following its release in late October. Fans flocked to hear her break-up record, which debuted at No.4 on consumption of 20,402 units, despite not being available physically. West End Girl then moved higher the following week – to No.2 – and delivered multiple hits. Allen has six entries in our monthly singles rankings, led by Pussy Palace (No.19, 74,668 units).
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Flo’ chart: Florence + The Machine
STAR POWER 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER Everyone’s A Star! (EMI)
SALES: 19,119
Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer are on a No.1
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streak – Everyone’s A Star! is their third consecutive chart-topper and fourth overall. The album opened on consumption of 19,119 units and makes our monthly Top 20. Following Kylie Minogue’s recent chart run, 5SOS are now the second Aussie act to have three No.1 LPs in the 2020s.
HUMAN NATURE
CAT BURNS How To Be A Human (RCA/Since ’93)
SALES: 17,985 Cat Burns has become a
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household name after appearing in BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors. The UK singer-songwriter’s second album debuted at No.5 (12,808 sales), beating the No.7 opening for last year’s debut LP, Early Twenties. That album has since amassed consumption of 36,881 units. Her biggest singles chart success is Go, which peaked at No.2 in 2022 and is about to pass two million units.
Music Week | 81
PHOTOS: Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott, Gabriel Moses, Autumn de Wilde
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