Three new entries, not much else on the singles charts, deluge on the albums.  Let’s run through it…

1.  James Arthur – “Say You Won’t Let Go”

Two weeks at number one, which by the standards of this year is hardly a surprise.

2.  The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk – “Starboy”

Climbing one place, which it makes it his biggest hit.

5.  Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj – “Side to Side”

Another one place climb.

9.  Niall Horan – “This Town”

Another One Direction member making his solo debut.  Where Zayn Malik decided to go for the drastic change of direction, Horan is sticking much closer to his established  territory.  It’s not at all hard to imagine this vaguely folky number as a One Direction song, and in fact it would be a pretty good one.  Well, at least in the version shown in the video above, which is just Horan and an acoustic guitar.  The actual single version fills out the arrangement with some strings, which really does it no favours – the effect is simply bland and a bit Sunday afternoon.  But there’s a respectable song in here.

16.  Zara Larsson – “Ain’t My Fault”

Climbing another 7 places.  This has now moved 30-32-26-23-16, which seems to be a fairly typical slow burn climb in 2016.

23.  Craig David & Sigala – “Ain’t Giving Up”

Well, that’s unexpected.  This entered at 29 at the start of September and dropped out of the chart almost instantly.  It re-entered at 39 last week.  I can only guess the resurgence is thanks to the promotion for the release of his album “Following My Intuition”, which enters at 1 this week.  That’s his first number 1 since his debut “Born To Do It” in 2000, but bearing in mind that the overall decline of the album market has tended to favour established acts (their audience still buys albums and still thinks of them as the basic unit of music), it’s probably not quite as amazing as you might think – after all, David’s last album, in 2010, still managed a respectable number 13.

24.  The Chainsmokers featuring Phoebe Ryan

Blimey, we’re on to the next single already – with “Closer” still at number 3, and “Don’t Let Me Down” still at 15.  And a formula is very clearly emerging.  Ryan is one of those singers who’s signed to a major label but has more success writing for name artists than she does releasing her own material – this is her chart debut.

28.  Hailee Steinfeld & Grey featuring Zedd – “Starving”

Up nine places this week, so it’s gathering momentum now that it’s finally broken into the top 40.

31.  Dua Lipa – “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)”

Up seven places.  I still think it’s a bit of a novelty record.

34.  Neiked – “Sexual”

He’s a Swedish producer.  Despite the cover art above, this is much more pleasantly bouncy and playful than you might be expecting.  The inexplicably uncredited singer is called Dyo.

On the album chart, it’s a busy week.

• “Following My Intuition” by Craig David at 1.  We’ve covered that.
• “22, A Million” by Bon Iver at 2.  Their last album got to number 4, so this isn’t especially a surprise.  The track listing looks like something off an Aphex Twin album, and the lyric videos look like a video installation.  Sample track: “29 #Strafford APTS”.
• “My Universe” by The Shires at 3.  English country music, though that’s on the extremely broad, self-certifying definition of “country” that seems to prevail these days..  Their debut album made number 10 last year.  Title track.
• “Keep Me Singing” by Van Morrison at 4.  Studio album number 36.  His studio albums usually make the top ten, but this is still the highest one has got since “Magic Time” in 2005.  Single: “Too Late”.
• “Take Control” by Slaves at 6.  Second album for the punk-rap duo; the first one got to 8.  Single: “Consume or be Consumed”, featuring Mike D.  Good stuff.
• “Head Carrier” by The Pixies at 7.  Their second album since re-forming.  Single: “Um Chagga Lagga”.  It’s not the world’s greatest video but when you bear in mind that “Velouria” had a video consisting of 23 seconds of the band running towards the camera…
• “Sorceress” by Opeth at 11.  Let’s see, they’re on Nuclear Blast records and the single is called “The Wilde Flowers” – yes, it’s Swedish progressive rock.  It’s their 12th album and their fourth (and highest) to chart in this country.
• “Believers by Deacon Blue at 13.  Their third album since re-forming, and their highest position for a studio album since 1993 (though to be fair, not by much).  Single: “This is a Love Song”.  They still sound pretty much the same as they did at their peak.
• “A Seat at the Table” by Solange at 17.  Beyonce’s sister is on her third album, but has had remarkably little impact on the UK chart – her only previous appearance on either chart was in 2008 when her single “I Decided” reached number 27.  In America, this is a number one album.  Single: “Don’t Touch My Hair”.
• “Wild” by Joanne Shaw Taylor at 19.  English blues guitarist.  This is her sixth album, and the first to chart (the previous one got to 41).  Not to be confused with the presenter of Police 5.  Single: “Dyin’ To Know”.
• “The Altar” by Banks at 24.  Alt-R&B, I guess.  Second album, coming in slightly below the first.  Single: “Gemini Feed”.
• “American Band” by Drive-By Truckers at 29.  Come on, what do you think it sounds like?  It’s their 11th album and the second (and higher) to chart in the UK.  Single: “What it Means”.
• “Another Fall From Grace” by The Mission at 38.  You see what I mean about the failing album market favouring old timers – the Mission last made the album chart in 1992.  Single: “Tyranny of Secrets”.  The video offers a subtle and nuanced view of global politics.