CHARTS ANALYSIS: The Boss returns to number one.

Alan Jones

IT'S All change at the top of the charts this week, with Lily Allen claiming her second number one single, and Bruce Springsteen topping the artist albums chart for the eighth time.

Springsteen's latest album, Working On A Dream, comprises a dozen new songs written by The Boss, and debuts at number one on first-week sales of 67,316. It thus beats the opening tallies of Springsteen's previous 21st century chart-toppers: Devils & Dust (62,311, 2005) and The Rising (57,071, 2002) but not Magic (77,692, 2007). At 59, Springsteen has charted 27 albums in the UK, dating back to 1975's Born To Run.

Springsteen's main rivals in the race for this week's number one, Franz Ferdinand enjoyed largely positive reviews for their third album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. The band have kept fans waiting for more than three years since You Could Have It So Much Better, which debuted at number one on sales of 101,884. Their self-titled 2004 debut opened big, too, selling 75,457 copies to debut at number three. By comparison, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand's first-week sales of 27,558 are clearly disappointing, and much of the blame must fall on first single Ulysses, which peaked at number 20. Their first album has sold a massive 1,252,458 copies so far, while You Could Have It So Much Better has sold 485,245 units.

Last week's chart-toppers, White Lies, suffer a big drop on their second week in the chart, with their debut album To Lose My Life... falling 1-8, with sales of 15,065 - a 47.9% dip week-on-week.

Chingford indie quartet The Rifles have been on five labels in less than four years, and celebrate their arrival at Warner Music's sixsevennine label with a number 27 debut for new album Great Escape on sales of 7,405, easily beating their previous best placing of number 68, set by 2006's No Love Lost.

The Rifles' first label was the indie Xtra Mile, which was set up five years ago, and has never had a Top 75 album - until this week. It breaks its duck with Frank Turner's Love, Ire & Song/The First Three Years, a double-disc set featuring his 12-song 2008 album and a 24- track compilation. It debuts at number 72 on sales of 2,627 copies, and is also the first chart album for 27-year-old Turner, who has one of the more exotic birthplaces of any chart act (Bahrain) and a style which straddles folk and rock, with some x-rated lyrics.