U.K. MIDWEEKS: ABBEY ROAD LOOKING FAB AT 50

The 50th anniversary edition of The Beatles’ Abbey Road (Apple Corps) looks set to claim the U.K.’s Official Albums #1 this week five decades after it first ruled the chart. Over on singles, Tones & I and Regard are battling it out for the top spot.

At the midweek point, Abbey Road is sitting 12k combined sales ahead of last week’s #1, Why Me? Why Not. (Warner Records) by Liam Gallagher.

Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (Virgin EMI) is back in the Top 5 at #3, rising four places following his BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance alongside a symphony orchestra.

South London collective D-Block Europe are on course to claim the week’s highest new entry at #4 with their self-released mixtape, PTSD. They also have the highest new track on singles, “Playing For Keeps,” at #13.

Elsewhere on albums, Swedish prog-metal group Opeth could claim their highest charting album yet with In Cauda Venenum (Nuclear Blast) at #8, and Scouting For Girls’ fifth record, The Trouble With Boys (Sony CMG), is #10.

On the Official Singles midweeks, Ed Sheeran looks set to finally be dethroned from #1 by “Dance Monkey” (Parlophone) from Tones & I, which is also sitting at the top of the iTunes and Spotify U.K. charts today.

“Ride It” (Ministry of Sound) by Regard is close behind at #2, while Capaldi looks set to claim his fourth Top 10 single with “Bruises” at #8. Finally, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds could debut at #15 with “This Is The Place” (Ignition) from their new EP of the same name.