Take That score sixth UK Number 1 album with III

The LP is the group’s first as a trio, following Jason Orange’s departure back in September, and counts Official Singles Chart Number 1, These Days, as its lead single.

Racking up sales of nearly 145,000 in the last seven days, III finishes the week over 38,000 copies ahead of this week’s Number 2, Ed Sheeran’s X, which was announced earlier this week by the Official Charts Company and BPI to have now sold over a million copies in the UK.

Take That have previously topped the Official Albums Chart with Everything Changes (1993), Nobody Else (1995), Greatest Hits (1996), Beautiful World (2006), The Circus (2008), and Progress (2010).

New at Number 3, Aussie rockers AC/DC score their 18th UK Top 40 album with Rock Or Bust, followed by Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, holding firm at 4.

Meanwhile, One Direction’s Four (5) spends its third week in the Top 5.

New entries

Further to Take That’s III (1) and AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust (3), there are three new entries in today’s Official Albums Chart Top 40.

With their self-titled debut studio album, supergroup McBusted enter the chart today at Number 9.

Multinational operatic vocal group Il Divo score their ninth UK Top 40 with A Musical Affair – Live In Japan (20), while Kiesza rounds out this week’s Top 40 with her debut release, Sound Of A Woman (40).

Elsewhere, former The X Factor contestant Ella Henderson climbs 14 places to 12 today with debut studio album Chapter One, as The Vamps jump 28 positions to 15 with Meet The Vamps, thanks to a Christmas Edition of the album.

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

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