Foals take on Les Miserables in Official Albums Chart race

Foals look set to enter the Official Albums Chart at Number 1 this Sunday with their new album, Holy Fire.

Foals could be on course to knock The Motion Picture Cast Recording of Tom Hooper’s big screen adaptation of Les Miserables off the top of the Official Albums Chart.

Foals’ third album, Holy Fire, currently has a lead of around 7,000 copies on Les Miserables (Number 2). If the Oxford rockers can maintain their edge through to Sunday’s final whistle, it will be their highest charting album to date (2008’s Antidotes and 2010’s Total Life Forever peaked at Number 3 and Number 8, respectively).

Emeli Sande celebrated the first anniversary of the release of Our Version Of Events last weekend. The million-selling album, which is at Number 3 today, has never dropped out of the Top 10 since its release a year ago. Our Version Of Events now looks set to score its 53rd week in the Top 10, further cementing Emeli’s position as the solo act to spend the most consecutive weeks in the Official Albums Chart Top 10 with a debut album. If she can maintain another nine weeks in the Top 10, she will equal the over-all record of 62 weeks set by The Beatles’ Please Please Me.

Today’s Top 5 is completed by Jake Bugg’s eponymous debut album (4) and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (5).

New Entries

In addition to Foals’ Holy Fire (Number 1), there are six other new entries on the Official Albums Chart Update Top 40.

Bullet For My Valentine are on course for this week’s second highest new entry with Temper Temper at Number 6. The Welsh rockers’ fourth full-length will be their third Top 10 album in a row.

Meanwhile Ivor Novello Award winning guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson looks set to score his highest charting solo album of his 40+ year career on Sunday. His latest album, Electric, is new in at Number 9 on today’s Update.

Swedish / Ethiopian singer songwriter Emilia Mitiku, who first shot to international acclaim in 1998 with her Top 5 single Big Big World, returns to the charts this week with her fifth studio album, I Belong To You. She is at Number 15 today. London-based dubstep / rock crossover duo, Modestep, enter one place behind Emilia with their debut album, Evolution Theory (16).

Canadian twins Tegan And Sara look set to make their chart debut with Heartthrob at 23, while Ocean Colour Scene are at Number 25 today with Painting, their first new material in almost three years.

The Official Albums Chart Update Top 40 is as follows:

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