The Lathums have earned their first Official Albums Chart number one with their debut album, ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’.

The Wigan-based indie band have shot to the top of the charts just one week after their first-ever album was released, underlining their impressive rise from playing local pubs to national acclaim inside two years.

In a statement, the band said: "It's a very special day. We are at Number One and that's an achievement that's going to be there, for everyone to see, forever. It's overwhelming, but our journey has only just begun and for us and you, our fans, it's a journey that we're going on together.

"This is for our families who believed in us all the way from the start, for all our friends who have supported us along the way, and most importantly everyone who bought and listened to the album, without you our lifelong dream wouldn't be possible. Guitar music is back where it belongs."

The Lathums finished just ahead of another band, Public Service Broadcasting, whose record ‘Bright Magic’ saw them take second place, as well as earning them the best seller of the week in independent record stores.

Lathums frontman Alex Moore told OfficialCharts.com of the band’s win: “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.”

The top five of the Official Albums Chart is finished by Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ in third, ‘Sour’ by Olivia Rodrigo in fourth, and Lil Nas X’s record ‘Montero’ in fifth.

Meanwhile in the Official Singles Chart, Ed Sheeran bagged his third week at number one with ‘Shivers’, while ‘Cold Heart’ by Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa held on to second place.

'My Universe', Coldplay’s collaboration with K-Pop sensations BTS, was a new entry at number three, and the track was also the week’s biggest seller across both digital downloads and CD, notching up 27,000 pure sales over the last seven days.