Kate Bush could claim her first UK Number 1 album in 30 years
The dawning of Kate Bush's first Number 1 album for 30 years is on the horizon in this week’s Official Albums Chart.
Before The Dawn, Kate's live album featuring recordings from her 2014 Eventim Apollo London residency of the same name, is currently holding the top spot on today's Official Albums Chart Update, some 5,000 combined sales ahead of Little Mix's Glory Days, which has dropped one place since Friday (2).
Kate's last album to reach Number 1 in the UK was The Whole Story, her career retrospective which hit the top spot on January 11, 1987. The album was initially released in November 1986 and went on to spend two weeks at the top.
MORE: Kate Bush's complete UK singles and albums chart history
Kate Bush has another two Number 1 records to her name; her third studio album Never For Ever (1980), and 1985's Hounds of Love. Kate is also the only female artist in chart history to score a Top 3 album in each of the last five decades.
Here are the four most recent live albums to have peaked at Number 1; should Kate hold on to the top spot by Friday, Before The Dawn will be the first live record to hit the Official Albums Chart helm in 12 years.
| YEAR | TITLE | ARTIST |
| 1994 | UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK | NIRVANA |
| 1994 | LIVE AT THE BBC | BEATLES |
| 1995 | PULSE | PINK FLOYD |
| 2004 | LIVE IN HYDE PARK | RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS |
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MORE: Check out this week's Official Top 100 Albums Chart Update in full here
New entries and high climbers
The Weeknd's Starboy rounds out the Top 5 at the midweek stage, a new entry at Number 5, while Andre Rieu's Falling In Love starts at 6, a potential eighth Top 10 album for the Dutch violinist and conductor.
Busted's first studio album in 13 years Night Driver is also aiming for the Top 10, currently at Number 8, and The Chase TV presenter Bradley Walsh is following in the footsteps of Pointless' Alexander Armstrong by transitioning to music - his album Chasing Dreams is at 10 at the halfway mark.
Heading for this week’s Top 20 at the mid-week stage are Pete Tong, who is set to hit the road with Jules Buckley’s Heritage Orchestra for a run of ‘Ibiza Classics’ UK arena shows this week – the accompanying release Classic House enters at Number 12. Plus Susan Boyle's A Wonderful World (16), and new Prince greatest hits collection 4Ever is at 20.
Further down, Rumer's This Girl's In Love: a Bacharach and David Songbook is fresh in at 24, Aled Jones' new Christmas album One Voice at Christmas could become his second Top 40 entry of 2016 at 28, and Kylie Christmas rebounds into the Top 40 following the release of its Snow Queen edition, up 89 rungs on the ladder to 33.
Finally, former Official Albums Chart Number 1 act the Military Wives Choirs lands at 39 with At Home For Christmas.
Check out this week's Top 100 Official Albums Chart Update in full
Look back through every Official UK Number 1 album of 2016 so far below:
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Naos
She should. The album's great.
VT
V T
Well after her last interview chances are somewhere around zero...
EH
Edward Howard
Good luck to her. :)
Roderick McKie
Excellent news, because Before the Dawn is a fantastic album. I was lucky enough to be at one of the concerts and I'd almost forgotten how brilliant the band she'd assembled was - and how magnificent her voice sounded. The LP set is simply gorgeous.
Robin Carmody, that's a fantastic piece of trivia, especially, the Bruno Brookes nugget.
Robin Carmody
'The Whole Story' did not go to number one on 11th January 1987 - it got there on 14th January, announced by Simon Mayo on Radio 1 (it would normally have been Bruno Brookes, but he was on holiday).
Even later that year, when the singles chart switched to being announced on the Sunday before the Saturday to which it is dated (which you insist on retconning long before it happened), the album chart was announced on Mondays for some time thereafter.
(And yes, I know how this must sound ...)