Royal Blood Crowned on U.K. Chart With ‘Back to the Water Below’
Written by djfrosty on September 11, 2023
Royal Blood reigns over the U.K. albums chart as Back to the Water Below (Warner Record) enters at No. 1.
The leader at the midweek stage, when it held an imposing 2-to-1 advantage over its nearest rival, Back to the Water Below keeps the duo’s perfect U.K. chart streak alive.
The Worthing, England formed rock act, comprising Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, now boast four consecutive No. 1 studio albums, starting with their eponymously-titled debut from 2014, 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark and 2021’s Typhoons.
Back to the Water Below was the week’s best-seller on vinyl, with physical sales accounting for over 85% of the first week total, the Official Charts Company reports.
Completing the top three this week is Travis Scott’s former leader Utopia (RCA), up 5-2, while the 1975’s self-titled debut LP (via Dirty Hit/Polydor) rebounds to No. 3, thanks to the release of a 10th anniversary edition, issued in multiple formats.
Burna Boy’s history-setting new album I Told Them… (via Atlantic) continues to perform well in its second week, dipping 1-4. The Nigeria-born artist (real name: Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) is a stadium headliner in the U.K. With I Told Them…, he made history as the first international Afrobeats artist to snag a U.K. No. 1 album.
British shoegaze veterans Slowdive enjoy a career-high and first-ever top 10 appearance with Everything Alive (Dead Oceans). It’s new at No. 6 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Friday, Sept. 8.
Prior to Everything Alive, the Reading, England-raised band impacted the top 40 on two occasions, with 1991’s Just for a Day (No. 32) and their 2017 comeback effort Slowdive (No. 17).
Finally, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós bags a sixth top 40 LP with Átta (BMG). It’s new at No. 30, following its release on physical formats. Átta is the group’s eighth studio album, and first in 10 years.