Nathan Carter beats Mumford & Sons in chart battle

He knocked Ellie Goulding off the top of the Irish Albums Chart at the first week of asking just over a year ago, and now Nathan Carter has outsold Mumford & Sons.
The Donegal artist and giant pop star slayer is back with his latest LP, Beautiful Life, and it's the biggest selling album in the country this week. A nice early birthday present for the country performer, who turns 25 at the end of the month.
It means Mumford & Sons' Wilder Mind has to settle for a highly respectable second position. Still selling well, it seems the band have not shed fans since putting down the banjos and going for a more direct rock route on this outing. They talk to Colm O'Hare in the current issue of Hot Press (Forbidden Fruit/'Vote Yes' cover) about the new direction.
Hozier holds onto third for another week, while Taylor Swift's 1989 is similarly immovable at No. 4.
Some veteran artists have high placing new entries. Leonard Cohen's latest live document, Can't Forget: Souvenir Of The Grand Tour, rounds off the Top 5, while the new collaboration between Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind, is at No. 12.
Roisin Murphy's first album in eight years, Hairless Toys, arrives at No. 16. You can read the HP verdict on the record in the current issue (hint: the line: "Welcome back, your majesty" is employed).