In the end, Elton John would not be denied his crown as The Lockdown Sessions (EMI) opens at No. 1 on the U.K. chart.
The Rocket Man’s latest record blasts off for 31,000 chart sales, with 84% of that tally from CD and vinyl sales, the OCC reports.
The collaborative collection, which includes the U.K. No. 1 single “Cold Heart” (Pnau Remix) with Dua Lipa, is John’s eighth U.K. No. 1 album and first in almost a decade.
The Lockdown Sessions leads an all-new Top 4, with Lana Del Rey’s Blue Banisters (Polydor) bounding in at No. 2, and leading the territory in vinyl sales.
Also new to the chart is Duran Duran’s 15th studio album Future Past (BMG), arriving at No. 3. That’s DD’s highest-charting album since the classic lineup reunited in 2004 for Astronaut, which also peaked at No. 3.
Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro snag a third U.K. Top 10 with The Myth Of Happily Ever After (Warner Records), new at No. 4, while last week’s leader, Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres (Parlophone), dips 1-5.
Further down the list, the 40th anniversary reissue of The Rolling Stones’ Tattoo You (Polydor) makes an impression at No. 7 and rising artist Mimi Webb starts at No. 9 with her EP Seven Shades Of Heartbreak (RCA).
Meanwhile, Adele continues to dominate the U.K. singles chart with “Easy On Me” (Columbia) clinching a second week at No. 1.
The lead track from her forthcoming album release 30, “Easy” does it with 11 million streams, keeping it “comfortably” at the summit, the OCC reports, following its record-setting debut.
As the release date for Adele’s fourth LP draws closer, the singing star’s three catalog albums all feature in the national Top 40: 25 is at No. 6, 21 at No. 13, and 19 at No. 35.
Finally, Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd capture the highest new entry on the Official U.K. Singles Chart with “Moth To A Flame” (Republic Records), fluttering in at No. 15. “Moth” becomes The Weeknd’s 19th Top 20 single and the reunited SHM’s seventh, and first to crack the survey in nine years, since 2012’s “Don’t You Worry Child.”