Ward Thomas have made chart history by becoming the first UK country act to score a number one album.
Twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas have gone straight in at the top with their second studio album Cartwheels, beating Jamie T and his new album Trick.
We will be playing at @hmvtweets on Oxford Street tonight at 6pm! Come and say hello if you're around!! pic.twitter.com/fzQPuVIRoV
— Ward Thomas (@wardthomasmusic) September 5, 2016
The previous best position for a country act was held by The Shires with their debut album Brave in 2015, which reached number 10 in the charts – but Ward Thomas have outstripped them by a country mile.
The 22-year-olds from Hampshire told the Official Charts Company that the news had not really sunk in.
“We literally don’t know how to find the words,” they said.
#TBT Ice cream in the sun! Is Autumn here yet…? ð¦ pic.twitter.com/TOJCUtU5i2
— Ward Thomas (@wardthomasmusic) September 8, 2016
“This is completely crazy. We were just hoping for Top 40 and then here we are now!
“It’s been a crazy week and it’s been super tense. Thank you so much everyone for supporting us and supporting a great genre. We can’t express our appreciation for the amount of support we’ve had.
“It hasn’t really hit us yet and we really can’t believe it.”
The Ward Thomas’ debut album, From Where We Stand, only reached number 41 when it was released in 2014.
Greatest hits collection The Nation’s Favourite Carpenters Songs is at number two, while Jamie T’s fourth studio album Trick is at number three and Barbra Streisand’s Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway is at four.
The Chainsmokers have topped the singles chart for a second week with Closer, notching up 92,000 combined sales – a full 31,000 more than their nearest rival, DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s Let Me Love You.
