Rag’N’Bone Man’s stunning first week album sale has signalled an end to the great British new artist drought – with leading execs predicting plenty more breakthroughs to come in 2017.

Human (Columbia) sold 117,101 copies as it debuted at No.1, according to the Official Charts Company – the biggest first week sale for a debut album since Rebecca Ferguson’s Heaven moved 128,458 in 2011.

Discounting the already-famous likes of Michael Ball & Alfie Boe/Bradley Walsh, no debut UK album went ...