As reported elsewhere on the site, Sheeran's + enters at five on the chart this week on the back of 42,000 sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making it the highest arrival in history by a brand new UK male solo artist. This excludes Thom Yorke's whose introductory solo set The Eraser started in runner-up position in 2006, but he clearly had previous US chart success with Radiohead, including topping the countdown with Kid A and In Rainbows.

While Sheeran is ...