Manic Street Preachers claim second Number 1 on Official Albums Chart

Manic Street Preachers win a close battle for Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart after a nail-biting race against Steps all week according to the Official Charts Company.

The Welsh rockers, who hail from Blackwood earn their second chart-topper with their 14^th studio collection The Ultra Vivid Lament, picking up 27,000 chart sales. It means Steps settle for second place with What The Future Holds Pt 2, the group’s fourth album to land in the runner-up slot.

Celebrating the news, Manic Street Preachers told OfficialCharts.com: “It’s amazing to be back at Number 1 after 23 years – it was a titanic chart battle and we are absolutely over the moon. Thanks to all our fans, supporters and Sony for keeping the faith.”

The chart battles echoes their tussle for the top spot back in 1998, when Manics’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours beat Steps’ Step One to Number 1 by a hefty 95,000 sales. The margin is considerably closer this time, with just 2,000 chart sales separating them.

91% of Manics’ chart sales were physical, including 6,300 copies on vinyl, meaning it takes the top spot on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

Last week’s Number 1, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, drops to Number 3, while two more new releases land in the Top 5. The Stranglers’ Dark Matters enters at 4, the Surrey rockers their first Top 10 since 1990, and The Vaccines land at 5 with Back In Love City, their fifth consecutive Top 5 record.