U.K. MIDWEEKS: THE 1975 HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

The decision to keep The 1975’s new album from Spotify for its first two weeks on sale doesn’t seem to be harming sales as I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It (Dirty Hit/Polydor) is currently outselling the rest of the Top 3 in the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart combined. It looks set to hit #1 stateside too—a goal manager/Dirty Hit founder Jamie Oborne has long been hoping for.

The record is on subscription-only streaming services and Apple Music scored a big exclusive (for what was surely a big payout) with the band’s Live in LA performance, which was streamed on Friday before an interview with Zane Lowe. It will be their second U.K. #1 album, and first in the U.S., where the record goes through Interscope.

Three albums in the U.K.’s midweek Top 5 spurned Spotify in some form: Adele’s at #2 with 25, which is still not yet available to stream on the platform, while Coldplay are at #5 with A Head Full of Dreams (Parlophone)—a release that was also withheld from Spotify for two weeks.

Elsewhere, Best of Bowie (Parlophone) is down one place to #3 and Justin Bieber’s Purpose (Virgin EMI) stays at #4.

Over on the Official Singles Chart midweeks, Rihanna’s ANTI campaign is finally gaining traction in the U.K., as “Work” could be headed for #1 this week following her BRITs performance. The track is currently 8k combined sales behind Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” (Warner Bros.), with more than enough time to improve its chances before Friday. Coldplay's post-BRITs uplift continues as Beyoncé collaboration “Hymn for the Weekend” rises seven places to #3.

Rounding off today’s Top 5 update are Jonas Blue and Dakota’s “Fast Car” (Positiva) at #4 and Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” (Island), which looks set to enter this week’s Top 10 after jumping six places to #5.