The Lathums score number one album with debut ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’
It's straight in at the top for the Wigan heroes
By Nick Reilly
The Lathums have gone straight in at Number One on the Official Albums Chart with their debut album, cementing a remarkable rise to fame.
The Wigan band hit the top spot with ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’, which knocked Drake‘s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ off the top spot.
They now finish ahead of London’s Public Service Broadcasting, who enter the charts at number 2 with ‘Bright Magic’ – their fourth and most successful album to date.
According to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), it now means that 2021 is on course to be the best year for British bands in over a decade. New data reveals that British bands have ruled the Number 1 spot on the Official Album Charts for 11 out of 39 chart weeks – which equates to 28 percent.
In contrast, a figure of just 17 percent was registered in 2020 and 15 percent in 2019.
The Lathums frontman Alex Moore said: “We’re four friends from Wigan who just love making music and are at Number 1 with our debut album, it’ll take a while for this one to sink in. It proves what’s possible for young, British artists with a pure-at-heart ambition to reach people with songs like ours, making friends every step along the way and finding that dreams can come true.
“How Beautiful Life Can Be is about seeing the good in things, holding on and coming through difficult times with a smile at the end. Today our smiles couldn’t be any wider. Thank you.”
Similar scenes were witnessed in April when Scottish rockers The Snuts hit the top spot with their debut album ‘W.L.’
The Lathums have previously scored a Top 20 EP with ‘The Memories We Make’. In November 2020, they helped their home football team Wigan Athletic FC avoid administration by raffling a one-off vinyl.