U.K. MIDWEEKS: ROYAL BLOOD ROCK #1

Warner Bros. rock duo Royal Blood are heading toward #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart with their second album, How Did We Get So Dark, sitting 23k combined sales ahead of Ed Sheeran at midway stage. Over at singles, Sony imprint Black Butter looks set for another Top 5 hit thanks again to DJ Khaled.

Royal Blood broke through big time in 2014 with their Mercury Prize-nominated self-titled debut opening at #1 and being named the fastest-selling British rock album in three years with 66k copies in week one. Can its successor top that?

Nickelback are the second highest new entry with ninth studio album Feed the Machine (BMG) starting at #3, while Lorde is currently #5 with Melodrama (Virgin EMI); her Pure Heroine hit #4 in Blighty in 2013. Ed Sheeran is #2 with ÷ (Atlantic) and Rag’n’Bone Man is still at #4 with Human (Columbia).

Further down, Fleet Foxes’ first album in six years and their major label debut, Crack-Up (Warner Bros.), is #8 in today's sales flash, ahead of Ride, whose Weather Diaries (Wichita) is #11.

Over on the Official Singles Chart, DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller's "Wild Thoughts" (Black Butter/We The Best) is the only new Top 5 entry, sitting at #3. It’s just 300 combined sales behind closest competitor, Liam Payne f/Quavo’s “Strip that Down” (Capitol). The track follows Khaled’s first U.K. chart topper, “I’m The One” in May, which was the debut #1 single for Black Butter (led by Henry Village and Joe Gossa) since the label was acquired by Sony in 2014.

Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber are on track for a seventh week at #1 with “Despacito” (Polydor), while “One Last Time” (Island) byAriana Grande is #4 and “Unforgettable” (Black Butter) by French Montanaf/Swae Lee is #5.