James on course for first chart-topping album in 18 years

They say patience is a virtue, and one band who that all too well are British rock band James, who could be scoring their first Number 1 album in nearly two decades this week.

Following their first Number 1 album - 1998's The Best Of - James are on the cusp of their second UK chart topper with their 14^th studio album Girl At The End Of The World , 18 years after they last reached the top spot.

The record is currently just under 2,000 combined sales ahead of its nearest competitor, Adele’s 25. Can the Manchester group hold onto their early lead and grab their first non-compilation Number 1?

MORE: Read James' complete UK chart history

A further two new entries land inside the update Top 5: Iggy Pop's seventeenth studio album Post Pop Depression is at 3, and Underworld's first album in six years Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future sits at 4.

New Entries and High Climbers

James, Iggy Pop and Underworld are not the only new entries in this week's Top 40, as another eight albums make their debuts in today's Official Chart Update.

Joining them in the Top 10 are Primal Scream. Their eleventh album Chaosmosis features Haim and Sky Ferreira and is a new entry at 6.

Gwen Stefani’s third solo album and first in ten years, This Is What The Truth Feels Like, starts at Number 11, Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL's Batman vs Superman - Dawn of Justice OST enters at 17, rock band Room 94's Lost Youth is at 21, and 30 Goes Around The Sun by The Wonder Stuff is new at 22.

Further down the chart, Walking On Cars’ Oh Wonder leaps 12 spots to Number 26, and four more new albums could earn a spot in this week’s Top 40: Richmond Fontaine's You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To (35), A-ha’s retrospective Time and Again: The Ultimate A-ha (36), and Scott Sorry's When We Were Kings (38).

Finally, after a well-received performance on Radio 1’s Live Lounge last week, Oh Wonder’s self-titled debut could be back in the Top 40 some six months after its release, currently up 94 places to 39. 

See this week's Official Top 100 Singles Chart Update in full