Rag'n'Bone Man picks up sales record for debut album, Human

Rag'n'Bone Man's debut album has gone straight to the top of the official charts with record-breaking sales from a male artist this decade.
Rag'n'Bone Man, real name Rory Graham, said hitting the top of the charts "means the world". (Photo: PA)Rag'n'Bone Man, real name Rory Graham, said hitting the top of the charts "means the world". (Photo: PA)
Rag'n'Bone Man, real name Rory Graham, said hitting the top of the charts "means the world". (Photo: PA)

Human, released last Friday, outsold Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith's inaugural records and earned the Sussex-born singer the fastest-selling debut release by a male act over the past seven years.

Rag'n'Bone Man, real name Rory Graham, said hitting the top of the charts "means the world".

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The record shifted 117,000 copies across physical, download and streaming, outselling the rest of the top 10 combined, according to the Official Charts Company

Only three debut artists have sold more in a week since 2010, One Direction's Up All Night, Rebecca Ferguson's Heaven, and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' self-titled release.

It is also the fastest-selling album since David Bowie's final record before his death, Blackstar.

The singer told OfficialCharts.com: "A massive thank you for going out and buying my album, streaming it and making it such a success so quickly.

"It means the world to me. Number one album... smash."

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Human knocked Elbow's Little Fictions down to second and is joined in the top five by two more new releases including British rockers Thunder's Rip It Up.

London-born rapper Nines goes straight in at fourth with his debut release One Foot Out.

Remaining in the top five is the soundtrack to Oscar-tipped La La Land.

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran remains at the top of the official singles charts for a sixth-straight week with Shape Of You, although his second single Castle On The Hill dropped to third.

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It was replaced by Rag'n'Bone Man's Human while Jax Jones Ft Raye's You Don't Know Me dropped to third.

Zayn and Taylor Swift's duet on I Don't Wanna Live Forever reached a new high of fifth as it moved up four places.

And Katy Perry's return to music saw her Skip Marley-featured Chained To The Rhythm debut at seventh - Perry's 14th top 10 single.