The Brighton-based rock duo, comprised of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, appear to be heading a brand-new Top 5 that is entirely fresh to the chart. Having topped the chart with all four of their previous studio releases—2014’s self-titled debut, 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark?, 2021’s Typhoons, and 2023’s Back to the Water Below—the band are aiming to notch a fifth consecutive number-one.
Hot on their heels is James Blunt, whose eighth studio album Airplane Mode is speeding toward a Number 2 debut. The record is on track to become Blunt’s ninth consecutive Top 10 entry, continuing an unbroken streak dating back to 2004’s Back to Bedlam.
At Number 3, prog-rock stalwart Steven Wilson enters the frame with his ninth solo studio effort Requiem for a Village, which could become his fifth solo Top 10 album. Meanwhile, Kings of Leon are eyeing a 10th Top 10 LP at Number 4 with O My Beloved, their first entirely self-produced full-length release.
Completing the potential all-new Top 5 is the late George Michael with The Faith Tour, featuring 18 previously unreleased live recordings from his landmark 1988 Paris concert. Further down the midweek updates, Skepta sits at Number 6 with The Fork and Knife, while Bryan Adams targets a 13th Top 10 album at Number 8 with How’s It Goin’.
Passenger holds Number 9 with Wild Love, and Queen round out the Top 10 with their 40th-anniversary remixed live release Budapest. Additional new entries across the chart include Roxy Music’s deluxe reissue of For Your Pleasure, Tinie Tempah’s The Night’s Not Dead, La Roux’s Old Flames, and a 30th-anniversary box set release for the Spice Girls.
