Foo Fighters have battled their way to the No.1 spot in the Irish charts with their new album Medicine at Midnight. In doing so, the current Hot Press covers stars have unseated the commercial wunderkind that is Dermot Kennedy, whose Without Fear has been all of 71 weeks on the charts. Kennedy slips just one place to No.2.

The second highest newcomer this week is The Weeknd, with The Highlights, which enters at No.3. The Weeknd featured at the Super Bowl final last weekend – though even that large scale global exposure was not enough to work the magic here in Ireland. The Weeknd is one of just a few artists – Dermot Kennedy and Fleetwood Mac among them – to have two albums in the Top 30, with his earlier After Hours climbing to No.20 from No.42.

Among the factors propelling Foo Fighters ahead in the big race were: being featured on the cover of Hot Press; an impressive Late Late Show appearance in which Dave Grohl (pictured) spoke warmly about his Irish roots; generally very positive reviews for what is widely regarded as an excellent album; and an advertising campaign, which backed up the highly effective PR and media drive.

Also new in the Top 30 this week are the Fleet Foxes album, Shore, which enters at No.16; and Brad Heidi’s debut The First. Heidi’s excellent offering is one of just four Irish albums in the charts, alongside two by Dermot Kennedy and one from Hozier – the latter, his eponymous debut which has now been an astonishing 333 weeks in the Irish charts.

Pick up your copy of the new issue of Hot Press, featuring the full interview with flip cover stars Foo Fighters, in shops now – or order online below: