Alabama Shakes debut at Number 3 in UK album chart

Alabama Shakes have entered the Official UK Album Chart at Number Three with their debut, Boys & Girls.

The band, who released the record last Monday (April 9), topped the midweek chart on Wednesday (11), outselling nearest rival Adele's 21 by 300 copies.

But Adele pulled back the deficit to return to assume her usual place at the top of the rundown, with last week's chart-topper, Nicki Minaj/'s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, taking the Number Two spot, according to the Official Charts Company.

Speaking to NME following the announcement of the chart, Alabama Shakes singer Brittany Howard said: "It's totally unexpected but really cool. We started this as a project for ourselves and now everybody is joining in."

She added: "We worked really hard with this album. It's incredible to see it doing so well. A lot people are happy to see people do something that they love. We're not going to change with this success.

The Number 3 placing comes just six months after Alabama Shakes were signed in the UK by Rough Trade - and is made even more remarkable by the fact the band have only played three UK gigs to date, a sold-out triple-header at London's Boston Arms in February.