Ed Sheeran secures third week at Number 1 with =

Plus chart-toppers by Billie Eilish, Kylie and Dave are back in the chart.

Ed Sheeran has claimed a third non-consecutive week at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart with = (Equals).

This week, Ed’s latest album was named by the Official Charts Company as the second biggest album of 2021 in the UK. Ed’s third studio album Divide also re-enters the Top 10 this week, at Number 8.

Little Mix are also leading the charge of several greatest hits collections nesting in the Top 10. Between Us is up one to a re-peak of Number 4, while Elton John’s Diamonds rises two to Number 7. On the day his new record Dawn FM drops, The Weeknd’s The Highlights re-enters the Top 10 at Number 9, while Fleetwood Mac jump five to Number 10 with 50 Years – Don’t Stop.

MORE: All the Number 1 albums

And in the UK post-Christmas chart lull, there are a lot more hits collections present in the wider Top 40 too; ABBA Gold (11), Queen’s Greatest Hits (13), Eminem and Curtain Call - The Hits (17), George Michael’s Twenty Five (19), The Beatles’ 1 (23), Michael Jackson with Number Ones (27) and David Bowie’s Legacy (38).

Elsewhere, several former chart-topping records have rebounded once again into the Top 40. These include Kylie Minogue’s Disco (28), Tom Grennan’s Evering Road (31), Dave with We’re All Alone In This Together (33) and Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever (34). This week’s biggest climber is Taylor Swift’s Folklore, which vaults 26 spots to Number 40.