Congratulations! Er, not you Cliff, as Stormzy beats him to No1 slot

IT was a chart battle like no other. But grime artist Stormzy has triumphed over Sir Cliff Richard in a nail-biting fight to claim this week’s number one album.

The British rapper, 29, born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, scored a hat-trick as he secured the top spot for a third time with his latest release This Is What I Mean.

The Croydon-born star, who was just 575 records ahead in the midweek charts, previously topped the charts with his 2019 hit album Heavy Is The Head.

The triumph denied Sir Cliff, 82, pictured, the number one with Christmas with Cliff, his first festive album in 19 years, but he has landed his 47th top ten solo album. Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, said: ‘Everyone loves a tight number 1 race and this week’s battle between Sir Cliff Richard and Stormzy has been an absolute classic, pitching two of our musical icons head-to-head.’ Meanwhile, in an extraordinary comeback, Michael Buble’s 2011 Christmas album climbed to take 1 th spot.