The UK music industry can sheepishly applaud itself today for the dominance of home-sourced artists in the first half of 2014. Looking over the Pond brings a couple of celebrative trinkets: at the time of going to press, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith sit grinning at No.1 on the US albums and digital track charts, respectively. Meanwhile Coldplay claimed the fifth biggest album in the territory in H1, selling 589,000 copies along the way.

But those mind-party balloons suddenly deflate in unison ...