Paul Weller scores fourth number one album

Weller's album has been praised by critics for its "aural kaleidoscope"

Paul Weller's latest album has entered the Official UK chart at number one, giving him the fourth chart-topper of his solo career.

The psychedelic rock of Sonik Kicks knocked last week's number one by the Military Wives down to third place.

Weller's victory comes 30 years after his first band, The Jam, last reached the top with the single Beat Surrender.

In the singles chart, Katy Perry's Part Of Me debuted at number one, ending Gotye's four-week run at the top.

His single Somebody That I Used To Know dropped to number three. It has now sold more than 500,000 copies in the UK - the first song to do so in 2012.

Gotyerecently told the BBChe had taken more than six months to finish the song, and nearly scrapped it altogether.

It was a healthy week in the top 10 singles countdown, with Jamaican reggae artist Sean Paul also scoring a new entry at number two.

His hit She Doesn't Mind was closely followed by urban star Labrinth - a new entry at four with the vocodered dance track Last Time - and JLS, who took the Sport Relief single, Proud, to number six.

In between them was cartoonish rapper Nicki Minaj, whose single Starships fell three places.

Lower down the chart, Florence + The Machine made a surprise return to the Top 40, as their previous single Shake It Out jumped from 87 to 35.

Adele achievement

The album chart remained relatively static, although French DJ David Guetta saw his record Nothing But The Beat leapfrog to number two following an appearance on the Graham Norton Show.

Below it came the Military Wives, followed by Brit award-winning newcomer Emeli Sande at four, and Adele at number five.

Her album, 21, notched up its 61st week in the top 10, having overtaken sales records of classics such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon and Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms over the course of the week.

The Tottenham-born singer now has the sixth biggest-selling album in UK chart history, with 4.15 million copies sold.

Weller, meanwhile, has now released 11 studio albums, all of which have reached the top 10.

That's in addition to his six records with mod rock trio The Jam and a further six with The Style Council.

Speaking to Q Magazine this month, the 53-year-old said he had no intention of slowing down.

"One great album will never be enough," said the musician, affectionately referred to as The Modfather.

He added that, at the end of his life, he wanted to make sure there was "a good stack of albums to leave behind".