Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds claim fastest-selling album of 2015 so far

Noel Gallagher and his band of High Flying Birds will no doubt be celebrating today as they land straight in at Number 1 on this week’s Official Albums Chart.

The band’s second album Chasing Yesterday racked up combined sales of 89,000 to become the fastest-selling LP of the year so far. 

Chasing Yesterday, which follows their chart-topping 2011 self-titled debut, was streamed 1,700 times over the past seven days. The most-streamed album was Ed Sheeran’s X with 3,700 plays. Details of how streaming is included into the Official Albums Chart can be found here. 

Meanwhile, Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour is at 2, Sheeran’s X is at 3, George Ezra’s Wanted On Voyage holds at 4, and Royal Blood’s self-titled album completes the Top 5. 

New entries and high climbers

Kelly Clarkson is new at Number 6 on today’s chart with her seventh studio album Piece By Piece, marking her fifth UK Top 10 album, and five-piece harmony group The Overtones earn their fourth Top 10 album with Sweet Soul Music at Number 8. 

Rounding off this week’s Top 10 is Brave from country duo The Shires. The band – made up of Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earl - make Official Charts history with the placing by becoming the first British country band to score a UK Top 10 album. 

Official Charts Company Chief Executive Martin Talbot said:  “This is a fantastic feat by this young British country duo. No country act has ever made this kind of impact on the chart before – it is truly remarkable.”

Elsewhere, British rocker Steve Wilson scores the highest-charting album of his 32-year career with Hand. Cannot. Erase. at Number 13, and Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection enters at Number 32. 

The Official Albums Chart Top 10 is as follows. Click here to see the Official Albums Chart Top 100 in full after 7pm.

© 2015 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.