A host of veteran artists are sitting in the upper reaches of the Official Chart Company's Albums chart in Britain, taking nine of the top twenty positions.
The big one is Pink Floyd's The Endless River which has become the fastest selling album of the year in the U.K. The album is their sixth chart topper in Britain and their first since 1995's Pulse. Their number 1's were Atom Heart Mother (1970), Wish You Were Here (1975), The Final Cut (1983) and The Division Bell (1994).
The Foo Fighters are denied their fourth British number 1 as Sonic Highways comes in at 2 for the week. Their last five studio albums, dating back to 2002's One by One, have all started at either 1 or 2 in England.
Queen have put their first studio album (even if the studio was used in the 80's and 90's) in 19 years at number 5 in its first week, a bit short of where they have historically gone. The last time they didn't make the top four on the charts with original material was 1980's Flash Gordon soundtrack which peaked at 10. Their six albums of original material since that time have included four number 1's (A Kind of Magic (1986), The Miracle (1989), Innuendo (1991) and Made in Heaven (1995), a number 2 (The Works (1984), and a number 4 (Hot Space (1982).
At 17 is the debut of The Soundtrack of My Life by Donny Osmond. The long-in-the-works album falls short of his last set, 2007's Love Songs of the 70's (#7). Overall, it's his ninth top twenty studio album in the U.K.
One step down at 18 is Bloodstone and Diamonds by Machine Head, a distinct improvement in chart position over their last studio set, Unto the Locust (2011 / #43). It's their fourth top twenty album although they are yet to hit the top ten:
The More Things Change... (1997 / #16)
The Burning Red (1999 / #13)
The Blackening (2007 / #16)
Bloodstone and Diamonds (2014 / #18)
Garth Brooks opens at 23 with his comeback album Man Against Machine. Brooks has had a rather erratic history with British record buyers. His 1993 album In Pieces went to number 2 but 1990's No Fences and 1992's The Chase didn't even chart.
Whitney Houston's live compilation, Her Greatest Performances has been coupled with the Ultimate Collection hits set in England, debuting at 33 while the performance album, alone, premiers at 66.
Finally, the deluxe version of Tears For Fears' Songs From the Big Chair debuts at 95.
The top five albums for the week in Britain:
The Endless River - Pink Floyd
Sonic Highways - Foo Fighters
X - Ed Sheeran
In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith
Forever - Queen
The top five singles:
Wake Me Up - Gareth Malone's All Star Choir
Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran
Steal My Girl - One Direction
I Don't Care - Cheryl
All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
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