George Michael beats Kylie Minogue in British album chart battle

LONDON - Singer George Michael racked up his seventh British number one album on Sunday as "Symphonica" took top spot in the charts, beating off competition from Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue, the Official Charts Company said.

Michael's first new album in nearly 10 years outsold Minogue's "Kiss Me Once" by 20,000 copies in a battle between two artists with a record of British chart success stretching back to the 1980s.

Last week's number one album, Elbow's "The Take Off And Landing of Everything", drifted to fifth place, while Paloma Faith's "A Perfect Contradiction" fell to fourth from second. Pharrell Williams's "G I R L" held its place at number three.

Duke Dumot and Jax Jones claimed top spot in the singles chart with their newly released dance track "I Got U". Route 94's "My Love" clung onto second spot while John Legend rose three places to number three with "All Of Me".

Pharrell Williams's "Happy" slipped one spot to fourth, while last week's number one, "Tsunami" by Canadian duo Dvbbs and Miami DJ Borgeous, featuring London MC Tinie Tempah, dropped to fifth place.