Ed Sheeran has become the first artist to debut in the top two positions of the U.K. singles chart with new tracks, as “Shape Of You” and “Castle On The Hill” (Asylum/Warner Music) debut at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. Little Mix's Glory Days (Syco Music/Sony) starts a fifth non-consecutive week atop the album chart.
“Shape Of You” is Sheeran's third U.K. singles champion, after two 2014 chart-toppers, “Sing” and “Thinking Out Loud.” The new No. 1 scores 227,000 combined units, according to the Official Charts Company, and “Castle” a further 194,000. With streams of 13.4m and 11.07m, they each break Drake's previous one-week streaming record in the market, of 8.9m for “One Dance” last summer.
The rest of the singles top five is fairly dormant, with Rag 'n' Bone Man's “Human” (Best Laid Plans) down 2-3, Clean Bandit's nine-week reign with “Rockabye” (Atlantic/Warner) ending with a fall to No. 4, and Little Mix's “Touch” down 4-5. British singer J.P. Cooper's “September Song” (Universal Island) climbs 16-7, with “Call On Me” (All Around The World/Universal) by Australian talent Starley racing 26-8 and “You Don't Know Me” (Polydor/Universal) by Jax Jones & Raye bounding 33-9.
Little Mix's continuing album success holds off DJ Pete Tong's Classic House (Polydor/UMC/OMOD) with the Heritage Orchestra conducted by Jules Buckley, which holds at No. 2. The fifth album by You Me At Six, Night People (Infectious Music), which led the chart in midweek, enters at No. 3.
Ladies and Gentlemen — The Best of George Michael (Epic/Sony) climbs 11-4, its highest position since early 1999, while the recent David Bowie compilation Legacy (Parlophone/Warner Music) jumps from No. 18 to a new peak of No. 5. Sheeran's return to the singles chart prompts a 47-8 climb for his last studio album, x.