Cian Ducrot’s ‘Victory’ Reigns on U.K. Album Chart

It’s victory for Cian Ducrot, the Irish singer and songwriter who races to No. 1 in the U.K. with his debut LP.

Ducrot overcomes a deficit at the midweek stage to snag the chart crown with Victory (via Polydor), ahead of Skindred’s eighth studio album, Smile (Earache).

Few chart races will come any tighter than this. Ducrot’s winning margin over Skindred, the Welsh heavy metal outfit, is just 150 chart units, the Official Charts Company reports.

Despite missing out on a debut crown, there’s no frowning for Skindred as Smile gives the Newport band its highest chart peak in the U.K., and first top 10 appearance.

Previously, Skindred impacted the U.K. top 40 with 2014’s Kill the Power (No. 28 peak), 2015’s Volume (No. 29) and 2018’s Big Tings (No. 26).

Also, Smile is the week’s most downloaded LP and the best seller on wax.

Completing the top 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Aug. 11, is Travis Scott’s previous leader Utopia (RCA), which dips 1-3.

South Yorkshire, England indie rock act the Sherlocks enjoy a career-best chart performance with People Like Me & You (Teddyboy), new at No. 4. The Sherlocks previously landed top 10 berths with 2017’s Live for the Moment (No. 6) and 2022’s World I Understand (No. 9).

Close behind is Miles Kane‘s One Man Band (Modern Sky), new at No. 5, the British artist’s highest-charting solo album. Kane has two No. 1 albums as part of the Last Shadow Puppets, his collaborative project with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, and boasts seven top 40 albums, five as a solo artist.

Finally, N-Dubz lands a fourth top 10 in the U.K. and equal career best with Timeless (EMI), the homegrown hip-hop act’s comeback album. It’s new at No. 6, matching their previous chart peak with 2009’s Against All Odds. Timeless is N-Dubz’s first studio album release in 13 years.