Olly Murs Bags U.K. Chart Crown With ‘Marry Me’

Olly Murs lands his fifth U.K. No. 1 with Marry Me (EMI), which bows at No. 1.

Marry Me is the British singer and songwriter’s seventh album, with In Case You Didn’t Know (2011), Right Place Right Time (2012), Never Been Better (2014), 24 HRS (2016) and now Marry Me all reaching the summit of the weekly survey.

The X Factor alum brushed-off controversy surrounding the lyrics to album track “I Hate You When You’re Drunk” to lead at the halfway point, and then on Friday, Dec. 9 when the chart proper was published.

Murs outpaces Taylor Swift‘s former leader Midnights (EMI), which lifts 3-2 on the latest survey, published Dec. 9.

Meanwhile, Atlanta recording artist and producer Metro Boomin blasts to No. 3 with Heroes & Villains (Island). That’s easily his highest charting album in the U.K., ahead of 2018’s Not All Heroes Wear Capes, which peaked at No. 16, and 2020’s Savage Mode II, a collaborative LP with 21 Savage that enjoyed a No. 10 best.

The U.K. singles chart is dominated by holiday singles, and, in particular, one “queen of Christmas.” It’s a similar tale on the albums survey, where festive sets by Cliff Richard (Christmas With Cliff down 2-4 via EastWest/Rhino), Michael Bublé (Christmas up 13-5 via Reprise), André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra (Silver Bells up 8-6 via Decca) and the Bocellis (A Family Christmas down 4-7 via Decca) impact the top 10.

As fans of Fleetwood Mac digest the sad news of Christine McVie’s death Nov. 30, aged 79, two of the Rock Hall-inducted band’s LPs appear in the U.K. top 20: Rumours (up 24-11 via Rhino/Warner Bros) and career retrospective 50 Years – Don’t Stop (up 23-15 via Rhino).

Finally, veteran electronic act Leftfield land in the top 20 with This Is What We Do (Virgin Music), their first studio album release in seven years. The duo (Neil Barnes and Adam Wren) have three previous top 10 appearances, starting with their classic debut from 1995’s Leftism (No. 3), followup Rhythm And Stealth in 1999 (No. 1) and 2015’s Alternative Light Source (No. 6).