British females continued to rule the new U.K. sales charts published yesterday (April 13), with Duffy's "Rockferry" album (A&M/Universal) rebounding 2-1 and Estelle's "American Boy" (Homeschool/Atlantic) starting a fourth week atop the singles survey.

Duffy's album leads the way for the fifth of its six weeks of release. The only title to interrupt the sequence, R.E.M.'s "Accelerate" (Warner Bros.), fell to No. 3 after its chart-topping debut last week. The Rolling Stones made a strong debut at No. 2 with the double live CD that accompanies and shares a name with their new Martin Scorsese-directed concert film, "Shine a Light" (Polydor/Universal). Including compilations and live sets, it's the Stones' 35th U.K. top 10 album.

Manchester rock newcomers the Courteeners made a No. 4 start with their first album, "St. Jude" (A&M/Universal), which follows last week's No. 19 single debut "Not Nineteen Forever." Scouting For Girls' self-titled Epic/Sony BMG album ascended 13-8 as the single "Heartbeat" rose 27-19, and there was a No. 10 debut for veteran, reunited British rock act James' new studio set, "Hey Ma" (Mercury/Universal).

Estelle's single holds at the top ahead of a 4-2 climb for "Black & Gold" (Island/Universal) by Australian artist Sam Sparro. "4 Minutes" (Warner Bros.) by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake climbed 8-4 and Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" (Def Jam/Universal) 6-5, and there was a No. 9 debut for dance crossover "Cry for You" (Hard2Beat) by September. Indie rock outfit the Black Kids made a No. 11 start with "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (Almost Gold/Universal).

R.E.M.'s "Accelerate" (Warner Bros.) gave the band a winning return to European Top 100 Albums, debuting at No. 1 as Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" (Syco Music/Sony BMG) snagged a fifth week atop Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, the last three consecutively.