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Yard Act and Years & Years locked in tight chart battle for UK Number One

There's currently less than 400 copies between Olly Alexander's 'Night Call' and the Leeds band's debut 'The Overload'

By Will Richards

A composite photo of Yard Act and Years & Years
Yard Act. (Photo: Phoebe Fox); Years & Years (Photo: Press).

Yard Act and Years & Years are locked in a tight chart battle for the UK Number One album this week, with less than 400 copies currently in it.

The Leeds band released debut album ‘The Overload’ last week (January 21), the same day Olly Alexander returned with ‘Night Call’, the third Years & Years album and first as a solo project.

According to Official Charts, at the midweek stage, less than 400 chart sales separate the two albums. 93 per cent of sales of ‘The Overload’ so far have come from physical formats including vinyl, CD and cassette, while ‘Night Call’ has greater streaming and digital download numbers.

Also in the chart race at #3 is the late Meat Loaf, whose classic 1977 album ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ is back in the charts following the sad news of his death last week.

As news of the chart battle emerged, Yard Act shared a spoof video on Twitter discussing their bid to top the charts.

In it, suited up frontman James Smith answers a retro telephone, saying: “I can’t believe it, a Number One album could be within our sights! But everyone’s gonna have to step it up a bit, and the best way to do that is to tell all your friends to buy in and invest in stocks in the company by buying a record or a CD or a cassette, or even downloading it.

“There are now even bonus tracks now available on Apple Music and/or iTunes, and directly through the Yard Act website. Come on, come on, come on!”

Reviewing Yard Act’s ‘The Overload’, Rolling Stone UK said: “Yard Act’s debut album drills down microscopically into modern life to excavate the bigger picture while accepting that blinkers remain attached.

“‘The Overload’ varies its palette with playful electronics, disco-lite grooves and discordant brass cacophonies, reflecting the diverse stories its characters inhabit. It’s a stellar debut effort.”

Read Rolling Stone UK’s feature with Yard Act all about ‘The Overload’ here.