Ed Sheeran lands first U.K. chart topper with Sing

Pop star Ed Sheeran is celebrating after scoring his first U.K. number one single. The A Team hitmaker has previously enjoyed four top 10 hits from his debut album, +, but new song Sing is the first of his tracks to hit pole position in his native country.
The chart triumph comes days after Sheeran admitted he didn’t want to release Sing as the initial offering from his forthcoming album X, revealing he was swayed to do so after receiving advice from his superstar pals Taylor Swift, Elton John and superproducer Pharrell Williams.
The song keeps Sam Smith’s Stay With Me at number two, while last week’s chart-topper, Secondcity’s I Wanna Feel, drops two places to three.
In the U.K. albums chart, Smith lands a second week at the top with The Lonely Hour, ahead of Coldplay’s Ghost Stories at two and Clean Bandit’s New Eyes, which debuts at three.
There was also good news for Dame Vera Lynn – the beloved entertainer’s new war songs release, titled The Ultimate Collection, enters the albums chart at 13, making her the oldest living artist to hit Britain’s top 20 at the age of 97. The disc was released this week (ends08Jun14) to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Lynn became the darling of British troops during World War Two with her songs of hope. She also holds the record as the first and only artist over the age of 90 to reach number one on the U.K. album charts, thanks to her 2009 compilation album, We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn.