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.

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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.

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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.