Five weeks after their free download snuck onto millions of iTunes accounts, U2’s Songs of Innocence is finally eligible for the UK charts, although it hasn’t topped them.
The Irish band’s 13th studio LP debuts at No 6, well behind Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, George Ezra, and this week’s hit debut, Ella Henderson’s Chapter One. Songs of Innocence is only eligible for the album chart because it finally got a physical release, on 13 October. But most fans have either contented themselves with the gratis digital version, or decided after listening that the record wasn’t worth buying. This is U2’s lowest chart debut in 33 years.
As reported last week, Songs of Innocence has been downloaded 26 million times worldwide and “experienced”, via streams and samples, by another 55 million. It is unknown how many of these listeners then made use of a special Apple website designed to help them remove the music from their computer.
On the singles chart, Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass maintains its dominant position at No 1: the American singer’s debut single is now the second-longest-running chart-topper of 2014, behind Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, and has sold more than 300,000 copies since 28 September.
Even One Direction was no match for Trainor’s body-positivism: Steal My Girl, from their forthcoming album Four, debuts at No 3, behind All About That Bass and Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. The rest of the top five is completed by Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud and Jessie J’s Bang Bang.
Official singles chart top five
1. Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
2. Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
3. One Direction - Steal My Girl
4. Jessie J ft Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande - Bang Bang
5. Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Official albums chart top five
1. Ella Henderson - Chapter One
2. Ed Sheeran - X
3. Sam Smith - In the Lonely Hour
4. George Ezra - Wanted On Voyage
5. Jessie J - Sweet Talker
