Tom Grennan U.K. No. 1 With ‘What Ifs & Maybes’
Written by djfrosty on June 25, 2023
There are no ifs, no buts about it — Tom Grennan has the U.K. chart crown with What Ifs & Maybes (Insanity).
The leader at the midweek point, What Ifs & Maybes holds on to give the British singer and songwriter his second U.K. leader.
It’s the followup to Grennan’s Evering Road, which led the chart in 2021, and debut Lighting Matches, which peaked at No. 5 in 2018.
Grennan outmuscles some heavy rock in the form of Queens of the Stone Age, whose eighth studio set In Times New Roman (Matador) bows at No. 2. In Times New Roman becomes the sixth U.K. top 10 appearance for Josh Jomme and Co., and is the followup to Villains, which led the national chart following its release in 2017. In Times New Roman also starts at No. 2 on Australia’s ARIA Chart, behind homegrown blues-rock outfit The Teskey Brothers’ The Winding Way.
Closing out the U.K. top three is Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (Columbia), up 4-3.
Meanwhile, London synth-pop veterans Pet Shop Boys check in for an 18th U.K. top 10 with their career retrospect, SMASH: The Singles 1985-2020 (Parlophone). It’s new at No. 4. Close behind, at No. 5, is Far From Saints’ eponymously titled album, via Ignition. Far From Saints is a project featuring Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones, along with the Wind And The Wave’s members Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker.
The top end of the latest Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Friday, June 23, is stacked with new releases. Among them, Texas’s compilation The Very Best Of – 1989-2023 (PIAS Recordings). The pop-rock outfit drops in at No. 6, as fans tune-in ahead of the Texas’ performance at Glastonbury’s main Pyramid Stage.
Further down the list is Gunna, who fires away for his third U.K. top 10 spot with A Gift & A Curse (Warner Records), new at No. 9.
There’s a touch of history on the chart as ATEEZ becomes just the second male K-pop band — after BTS – to snag a U.K. top 10 album appearance, with The World Ep.2: Outlaw (KQ Entertainment). It’s new at No. 10. The pop act — Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho — recently toured the U.K. with The Fellowship: Break The Wall Tour, an itinerary that included a sold-out concert at London’s The O2.
Finally, Taylor Swift fever is sweeping the U.K. once again as five of the American pop superstar’s albums impact the top 40, led by Midnights (EMI), unchanged at No. 8. The latest outbreak is triggered by the announcement last week of the U.K. leg for her The Eras Tour.