The xx have debuted at No.1 in the albums chart with their third album, I See You.
The album achieved first week sales of 26,513 (including 5,856 from streams), easily seeing off competition from former No.1, Little Mix’s Glory Days (15,265).
I See You is the trio’s second No.1 album, following in the footsteps of 2012’s Coexist, which sold 58,266 in its first week. Their self-titled, Mercury Prize winning debut, from 2009, entered at No.36 with 4,180 sales but went on to peak at No.3 on a highest weekly sale of 28,666.
Coexist has sold 266,239 copies in the UK to date, while xx has sold 562,400, according to Official Charts Company data.
Caius Pawson, the band’s manager, this week told Music Week he believes the band balance streaming and physical sales well.
“I think the band has always done very well on streaming and I think every record they've put out has been Beggars biggest streamed record up to that point. Their fans were very much early adopters with streaming,” he said. “But at the same time, the physical format has always been so wonderfully put together, they have great relationships with HMV and this time round Sainsbury’s and Tesco. It feels very good.”
Read the full interview in next week’s edition of Music Week.
The xx have announced extensive touring plans to support the album, including a record-breaking seven-night run at the O2 Brixton Academy.
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