ALBUMs
Five studio albums, five instant number ones - that's the proud record of The Arctic Monkeys, whose latest success, AM, storms to the top of the chart with an impressive first week sale of 157,329. The only artist album to sell more copies in a week this year is Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, which opened 16 weeks ago on sales of 165,091.
Following hot on the heels of hit singles Do I Wanna Know? (number 11) and Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? (number eight), AM sold 69,432 copies digitally last week, a total beaten only by six albums in chart history. It also sold 5,170 copies on vinyl, the fifth highest tally for an album in that format in the 715 weeks that have elapsed thus far in the 21st century.
Previous Arctic Monkeys albums followed a perfect but downward spiral, with each album opening with a lower sale and spending fewer weeks at number one than its predecessors - a pattern now broken by AM.
First album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) sold 363,735 copies on the first of its four weeks at number one; second album Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) sold 227,922 copies on the first of its three weeks at number one; Humbug (2009) sold 96,313 copies on the first of its two weeks at number one; and Suck It And See (2011) sold 82,424 copies on its only week at number one. The albums' to-date sales are in the same order too: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (1,475,982 sales), Favourite Worst Nightmare (821,128 sales), Humbug (320.921 sales) and Suck It And See (287,417 sales).
Arctic Moneys are the 24th group to have five number one albums but only the fifth to do so with their first five albums, following The Beatles, Oasis, Coldplay and Keane. The only acts to have had more number one albums in the 21st century are Robbie Williams (eight), Eminem and Westlife (seven apiece) and Madonna (six). Coldplay, Oasis, Bruce Springsteen and Keane have also had five. The only acts to have had more than five number one albums in a row are Abba (eight), Led Zeppelin (eight), The Beatles (seven) and Eminem (six). Of these acts, however, only The Beatles' run started - like Arctic Monkeys' - with their first album. Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner also topped the album chart with side project Last Shadow Puppets in 2008, when their only album to date, The Age Of The Understatement debuted at the summit on sales of 51,186 copies. It has sold 285,082 copies.
While their melancholically mellifluous second hit single Strong climbs 17-16 (16,871 sales), London Grammar's first album, If You Wait, posts a number two debut (33,130 sales). Also housing their recent number 31 hit, Wasting My Young Years - another moody masterpiece - the album is on their own Metal & Dust Recordings label via Ministry Of Sound.
Goldfrapp score their fourth straight Top 10 studio album, debuting at number four (13,817 sales) with Tales Of Us. Surprisingly, their most recent release before Tales Of Us - the compilation The Singles - didn't do nearly as well, peaking at number 33. Tales Of Us improves on the debut position but not the first week sales of Goldfrapp's last studio album, Head First, which both opened and peaked at number six in 2010 with 23,261 takers.
One of the hottest new bands of 2013, The Strypes hail - like my mother - from the tiny Irish town of Cavan and have been making a big noise, with a series of triumphant festival appearances in the summer. Their first album, Snapshot, debuts at number five this week (11,553 sales)
Fleet of foot, Rod Stewart quicksteps his way to a six week peak with Time, which dashes 26-6 (10,194 sales) following his appearance on the season premier of Strictly Come Dancing. Rod's new album of old recordings, Rarities makes a good first impression too, debuting at number 35 (2,965 sales).
Elsewhere in the Top 10, The 1975's eponymous debut dips 1-3 (15,130 sales), Richard & Adam's The Impossible Dream declines 4-7 (7,517 sales), Passenger's All The Little Lights recovers 9-8 (7,056 sales), Bastille's Bad Blood jumps 12-9 (6,866 sales) and Tom Odell's Long Way Down bounces 15-10 (6,738 sales).
Only 10 months after making his chart debut with Trilogy (number 37, 6,285 sales), alternative R&B artist Weeknd from Canada debuts at number 12 (5,732 sales) with follow-up, Kiss Land. US R&B singer Janelle Monae also makes big strides between her first album The ArchAndroid (number 51, 3,555 sales) and second album, The Electric Lady, which debuts this week at number 14 (5,498 sales). Monae's profile was raised enormously by her guest appearance on Fun's chart-topper We Are Young last year. It is not on the album, although collaborations with Prince, Solange Knowles, Erykah Badu and Miguel are.
Murray Gold's Doctor Who - Series 7 soundtrack debuts at number 37 (2,806 sales). Gold is musical director for the long-running BBC sci-fi/drama series and has previously made the Top 200 with seven prior Dr Who titles: The Original TV Soundtrack (2006, number 136), Series 3 (2007, number 65), Series 4 (2008, number 92), Series 4: The Specials (2010, number 49), Series 5 (2010, number 53), A Christmas Carol (2011, number 150) and Series 6 (2011, number 142),
Also new to the Top 40 this week: The Clash's double disc retrospective The Clash Hits Back (number 13, 5,730 sales) and Liquid Spirit (number 40, 2,502 sales), the first chart album by US jazz artist Gregory Porter. The Clash's more comprehensive Sound System - a digitally remastered box set containing 11 CDs and a DVD - also charts, debuting at number 53 (1,869 sales).
Fast fades: Debuting inside the Top 10 last week, the following albums make deep declines: Rizzle Kicks' Roaring 20s (3-20, 4,463 sales), Nine Inch Nails' Hesitation Marks (2-36, 2,907 sales), Ariana Grande's Yours Truly (7-45, 2,338 sales) and Babyshambles' Sequel To The Prequel (10-47, 2,286 sales). After holding Top 10 places for two weeks, Naughty Boy's Hotel Cabana (6-22, 4,189 sales) and Avenged Sevenfold's Hail To The King (8-31, 3,238 sales) also tumble heavily.
Three previous live albums by Madonna have made the Top 20 in the last seven years - but MDNA World Tour seems unlikely to do so, after debuting at number 55 (1,759 sales). She previously debuted and peaked at number 18 (14,449 sales) with I'm Gonna Tell You A Secret (2006), number seven (22,227 sales) with The Confessions Tour (2007) and number 17 (12,405 sales) with Sweet & Sticky Tour (2010). The DVD version of MDNA World Tour sold 5,599 copies and debuts at number 31 on the Video Chart. Madonna's studio MDNA album topped the chart but fell rapidly and has sold only 131,924 copies in 18 months.
Now That's What I Call Music! 85 is the number one compilation for the eighth straight week, selling a further 22,010 copies.
Overall album sales are up 6.35% week-on-week at 1,430,926 - 1.24% below same week 2012 sales of 1,448,913, and 32.43% below same week 2003 sales of 2,117,583. Vinyl album sales are up 49.60% week-on-week at 20,582 - 127.25% above same week 2012 sales of 9,057, and 69.27% above same week 2003 sales of 12,159. Year-to-date vinyl album sales, at 487,787, are up 101.82% year-on-year at their highest level since 2001, when the same stage tally was 529,895.
SINGLES
It's a more muted Roar from Katy Perry this week but sales of 103,444 copies are enough to give her an extremely comfortable second week at number one with the introductory single from Prism, which drops in five weeks.
Its sales exploding 92.04% week-on-week, Counting Stars has now become US band OneRepublic's highest charting UK hit. With a 179-43-30-20-17-13-2 chart trajectory, the track has sold 115,843 copies, 39,696 of them last week. Their debut hit, and previous highest charting single, Apologize (credited to Timbaland presents OneRepublic), reached number three in 2007 and has sold 611,412 copies. OneRepublic's sudden leap means that Ellie Goulding is bumped 2-3 with her former chart-topper, Burn (39,056 sales) - a song co-written and produced by the band's lead singer Ryan Tedder.
Canadian rapper Drake's third Top 10 hit, Hold On, We're Going Home climbs for the fifth straight week, moving 6-5 (36,853 sales).
Macklemore & Lewis - who were unknown at the start of the year - make it a hat trick of 2013 Top 10 smashes with Same Love (feat. Mary Lambert) jumping 20-9 (23,621 sales) on its third chart appearance. Parent album The Heist has yet to come near to matching its singles' chart peaks, having climbed only as high as number 25. That was 17 weeks ago, but it is heading north again, climbing 46-34 (3,050 sales) this week.
Elsewhere in the Top 10: Avicii's Wake Me Up drifts 3-4 (38,493 sales), Klangkarussell's Sonnentanz (Sun Don't Shine) falls 4-6 (34,014 sales), Lana Del Rey Vs. Cedric Gervais' Summertime Sadness descends 5-7 (29,736 sales), Miley Cyrus' We Can't Stop dips 7-8 (24,186 sales) and Lady Gaga's Applause fades 8-10 (21,876 sales).
Early midweek sales flashes showed Coldplay and Example to be on course for their 14th and eight Top 10 hits respectively. They may still get them but with sales cooling as the week progressed, Coldplay's Atlas debuts at number 12 (19,546 sales) and Example's All The Wrong Places at number 13 (18,616 sales).
Two other singles debut inside the Top 40 this week: What I Might Do by Ben Pearce (number 25, 9,723 sales) and Party Right by Lethal Bizzle feat. Ruby Goe (number 29, 8,773 sales).
While parent release AM sets the pace on the album chart, Arctic Monkeys single Do I Wanna Know? makes a strong resurgence, jumping 24-14, with sales up 44.80% week-on-week 12 weeks after it debuted and peaked at number 11. Why D'You Always Call Me When You're High? - the most recent single from the album - makes a more modest recovery, climbing 26-20 (13,298 sales), while 2012 single R U Mine? - also on the album - re-enters the Top 200 at number 45 (6,074 sales). Not a single (yet), Arabella nonetheless becomes the fourth track from AM to chart, debuting at number 155 (1,528 sales)
Love More climbs 52-34 (7,746 sales) for Chris Brown fear. Nicki Minaj. It is Brown's 23rd Top 40 hit, and Minaj's 15th.
Olly Murs' latest hit, Right Pace Right Time, continues its ascent, jumping 35-27 (8,838 sales).
Returning to the Top 40 after a 25 week break thanks to a cover version aired on The X Factor, Swedish House Mafia's Don't You Worry Child leaps 122-40. It sold 6,712 copies last week, and raises its career tally to 892,264.
After debuting last week at number 50 on two days sales, Mutya Keisha Siobhan's Flatline perked up considerably in the first of the midweek sales flashes on Tuesday, when it was ranked 34th. But the boost - like its initial impact, due largely to their performance of the track on Alan Carr's Chatty Man show on Channel 4 - was short-lived, and the single ends up falling to number 54 (4,604 sales).
Overall singles sales are down 8.33% week-on-week at 2,956,800 - 13.52% below same week 2012 sales of 3,418,998. It breaks a run of 108 straight weeks in which more than 3m singles have been sold. The last time they were lower was week 33, 2011 (sales week ending 21 August 2011, chart dated 28 August 2011) when 2,910,445 singles were sold. It is also the first week in which only one single managed to break the 40,000 sales mark since week 1, 2012 (sales week ending 7 January 2012, chart dated 14 January 2012), when nFlo Rida's Good Feeling climbed 3-1 (50,907 sales) and Coldplay's Paradise dipped 1-2 on sales of 36,488.
