Breakthrough British acts are officially back, with eight 2017 debuts by UK artists on the list of the Top 200 albums for the first half of the year: six more than this time last year.

Furthermore, while no UK debut was even certified silver at the halfway stage in 2016, this year’s crop includes one double platinum and two gold albums, according to Official Charts Company data.

In 2016, only Zayn’s Mind Of Mine and Jack Garratt’s Phase made the ...