Mumford And Sons - Are Mumford And Sons The New One Direction?

“The Brits are coming,” yelled Paul Revere in the 1800s, though we’re not sure he was talking about Mumford And Sons and One Direction. Nevertheless, it’s the two British groups who have dominated the notoriously difficult to crack US charts this year, proving that success on both sides of the Atlantic can be a realistic prospect for Blighty’s finest pop stars.

Folk rockers Mumford and Sons notched up the largest selling debut of the year this week, selling just under 600,000 copies of their second record ‘Babel’ and topping the US Billboard 200. The figures obliterated Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe’ which opened with sales of 274,000 back in June. According to Nielsen/Soundscan, Mumford and Son have sold the most albums in a debut week since Drake’s ‘Take Care’, which moved 630,000 copies in November 2011. The group’s single ‘I Will Wait’ currently sits atop the ‘Rock Airplay Chart’ while their previous effort ‘Sigh No More’ has risen from No.28 to No.12 on the album’s chart too. Mumford’s success this week meant Green Day had to settle for No.2 with a comparatively paltry 138,600 and No Doubt landed a credible No.3 on their return.

Back in March this year, boy-band One Direction became the first ever British group to score a Billboard No.1 with their debut album. ‘Up All Night’ romped to the top of the charts in its opening week and it’s likely their sophomore effort ‘Take Me Home’ will do the same upon its release in November.