Take That top UK charts for sixth time with new album III

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/08/take-that-top-uk-charts-album-iii

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Take That’s first album as a trio has debuted at No 1. Although it fell well short of sales of their last LP, III became the band’s sixth chart-topping record.

III sold 145,000 copies in its first seven days on the market, according to the Official Charts Company. This was enough to push it well ahead of last week’s No 1, Olly Murs’ Never Been Better, as well as Ed Sheeran’s chart fixture, X. But the sales figures could also be seen as disappointing: Take That’s last outing, 2010’s Progress, sold 235,000 copies in its very first day and 520,000 in its first week, making it the second-fastest-selling album in UK history.

Then again, the Take That of 2014 isn’t the same as the Take That of four years ago. Not only had Jason Orange yet to quit the group – Progress also marked the return of Robbie Williams, who hadn’t released an album with the group since 1995. This time, Williams seemed primed for a chart showdown with his former bandmates, releasing a surprise bits’n’bobs LP on the same day as III was due out. Unfortunately, the Official Charts Company ruled that Williams’ Under the Radar Volume 1 isn’t eligible for the UK official album chart as it was only for sale through the singer’s website.

Elsewhere on the album chart, AC/DC’s Rock or Bust became their 18th top 40 release. The Australian rockers finished behind Take That and Sheeran but just ahead of Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour and One Direction’s Four. Murs slipped to No 6 and McBusted’s collaborative debut enters at No 10.

On the singles chart, Take That made way for Union J and the renaissance of Sheeran’s song Thinking Out Loud, which returned to No 1. The rest of the top five was completed by Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, which rose four places to No 4, and Olly Murs’ Wrapped Up at No 5.