“Old Phone” and “Sapphire” climb back onto U.K. physical sales tallies as Ed Sheeran prepares to debut Play, his likely next No. 1 album. NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 24: Ed Sheeran performs onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)
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In a few days, Ed Sheeran will likely collect a new No. 1 album in the United Kingdom and perhaps in several other territories around the world as well. Play, his return to the radio-ready pop music that made him a superstar in the first place, is almost certainly headed for the summit on a number of U.K.-based rankings, if not every tally it’s eligible for. Ahead of the project’s arrival, several singles pushed from its tracklist return in the country and become top performers once more.
“Old Phone” Reenters Two Charts
Ed Sheeran released “Old Phone” in May as the second single from Play. While the track has not turned out to be one of the greatest successes of his career — or even of this era — the tune manages to break back onto a pair of rankings in the U.K. this frame. “Old Phone” reenters the Official Vinyl Singles chart at No. 25 and breaks back onto the Official Physical Singles tally at No. 30.
“Old Phone” Charts for the Second Time Ever
“Old Phone” appears on both lists that detail the bestselling tracks on physical formats for just the second week ever. It debuted on both rosters at No. 2 in mid-July and then quickly disappeared.
“Sapphire” Returns as Well
“Sapphire,” which arrived as a Play single about a month after “Old Phone,” also finds its way back to one roster in the U.K. This week, the catchy cut reenters the Official Physical Singles chart at No. 17. Like its predecessor, it peaked at No. 2 and has now spent just two frames on that list.
Unlike “Old Phone,” however, “Sapphire” lives on multiple other rosters at the moment. The Indian-inspired tune climbs several spaces on both the Official Physical Singles and Official Streaming charts, holds at No. 38 on the Official Singles tally — the ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.K. — and manages to remain a top 10 bestseller on both the Official Singles Sales and Official Singles Downloads rankings.
Two More Play Tracks Hold On
Two other tracks taken from Play also find space once more on charts in the U.K. “A Little More,” one of the most recent of the bunch, only holds on the Official Singles ranking, dipping to No. 48 as it fails to appear on any sales- or streaming-centric rosters.
“Azizam,” the first taste of the album that arrived in April, takes up space on five tallies. The months-old cut even manages to hold on inside the top 40 on two sales rankings before Play debuts.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/09/16/ed-sheeran-mounts-a-comeback-just-before-his-new-album-debut—likely-at-no-1/
