Snow Patrol take lead for second UK Number 1 album, The Forest Is The Path

The trio will have to see off London Grammar and Eminem to secure the Number 1 spot on Friday.

Snow Patrol’s long-awaited comeback could result in the band’s first UK Number 1 album in 18 years.

The Forest Is The Path, the first album from Gary Lightbody, Johnny McDaid and Nathan Connolly since 2018, and their eighth overall, currently leads the race to top the Official Albums Chart.

The trio – hailing from Scotland and Northern Ireland – first topped the charts in 2006 with fourth album Eyes Open, and have claimed a total of seven Top 10 LPs to date.

Nipping at their heels, and not out of the race just yet, are tastemakers London Grammar with their fourth album The Greatest Love, which could become the trio’s fourth Top 10 record (2). Previously, the group have seen success with 2013’s If You Wait (2), 2017’s Truth is a Beautiful Thing (1) and 2021 release Californian Soil (1).

Following the release of its Expanded Mourner’s Edition, Eminem’s previous chart-topper The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is expected to rebound all the way back to Number 3 for a prospective sixth week inside the Top 10. The record topped the Official Albums Chart for three weeks earlier this summer.

Acclaimed Welsh rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen are celebrating 10 years of their debut album The Balcony this week, with a special reissue set to rocket the LP to its highest position ever (9), possibly going one better than its original 2014 peak (10).

London-based indie-rock artist Nilüfer Yanya is heading for her first-ever UK Top 40 album, with third record My Method Actor proving to be a breakout moment for the singer, songwriter and guitarist (17).

Jack White’s sixth solo album No Name is also predicted for a Top 20 debut (20), in what could become the eighth solo Top 40 entry for former The White Stripes member.

Bon Jovi’s Greatest Hits is on course to enter the Top 40 for the first time (28) following a new vinyl release, and Amy Winehouse’s seminal second album Back To Black (31) could make a return to the Top 40 following what would have been her 41st birthday on Saturday (14 September).

Electronic DJ Floating Points’ Cascade is on track to become the producer’s third UK Top 40 LP (32) and, finally, US jazz singer Lady Blackbird could secure her debut Albums Chart entry with Slang Spirituals (39).