Ed Sheeran Sprints to Lead on Midweek U.K. Albums Chart

When the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday (Nov. 5), expect Ed Sheeran’s name to be top of the list.

Sheeran’s = (equals) (via Asylum) is the runaway leader at the midweek stage, and is currently outperforming the rest of the Top 40 combined, the OCC reports.

The British singer’s latest effort shifted 84,000 chart sales across the weekend, and is on course to eclipse Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres (101,000 chart sales) for the biggest opening week of 2021.

Sheeran should keep his streak alive. His debut + (from 2011), x (2014), and ÷ (2017), all went to No. 1 in the U.K., as did his 2019 LP No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019).

With = leading the chart update, and his track “Overpass Graffiti” ruling the singles chart blast, Sheeran is in pursuit of a rare chart double.

In a midweek Top 10 stacked with new releases, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft bows at No. 2 with Acoustic Hymns – Vol. 1 (BMG), the 25th anniversary edition of Spice Girls’ Spice (UMC/Virgin) is at No. 3, and The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Atlantic) begins at No. 5.

All will be revealed late Friday.