The latest album from Coldplay, Viva La Vida has entered the UK album chart at number one, replacing the excellent 22 Dreams from Paul Weller, that falls to number four in the chart.

The tactic of releasing the album on a Thursday, instead of the customary Monday release, has paid dividends for Coldplay as the album sold over 300,000 copies in just three days, earning it a platinum award.

Coldplay are hoping to achieve the record for first week album sales, their last album holds second place for its sales of 464,000 copies sold during it’s first week of release. Oasis album Be There Now from 1997 holds the number one spot for the fasting selling album during it’s first week of release, selling 695,000 copies.

Following the recent turmoil at EMI, with top artists such as Paul McCartney and Radiohead defecting from the company, the early success of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida will be very welcome indeed.