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Music Week Sales Analysis
Alan Jones

Eagles top UK album chart

Monday November 5, 2007

For the first time in 2007, the number one single and number one album both sold more than 100,000 copies last week, writes Alan Jones.

The Eagles soar to the top of the album chart for the very first time with Long Road Out Of Eden, more than 33 years after their debut. Their first album of new material for 28 years, it sold 134,080 copies last week.

The Eaglesprevious chart peak came in 1976, when they spent nine weeks at number two - four of them with Their Greatest Hits (behind Status Quos For You Blue and TVs Rock Follies), the rest with Hotel California, runner-up to Abbas Arrival for five weeks.

Their first album of new material since The Long Run in 1979, Long Road Out Of Eden recorded the highest tally for any album for five weeks, and the fourth highest tally for an artist album so far this year. It helped overall album sales to a double-digit jump for the second week in a row, climbing 10.4% week-on-week at 2,402,223. In a trying year, thats the highest total for 20 weeks, and the ninth highest tally of the year.

The Eagles become simultaneously both the group to have its first number one furthest into its chart career, and the oldest group ever to have a number one album.

More than 33 years since the country rockers made their UK chart debut with On The Border, their new album a double disc set comprising 20 songs and nearly 95 minutes of new music was made by Glenn Frey (58), Joe Walsh (59), Don Henley (60) and Timothy B. Schmit (60) average age 59.

Its first week sales are treble any previous one week sales tally for any of the groups original albums or compilations.

Despite their long absence from the recording studio, Eagles albums have sold a highly respectable 1,772,393 copies in the 21st century, with 2001s compilation The Very Best Of Eagles leading the way with sales of 703,718. Their 1975 classic Hotel California is the 13th biggest-selling album of all-time in America, and was also a huge hit here, reaching number two and selling upwards of 1.5m copies, including 243,351 since 2000.

Like every single album in the groups canon, it increased its sales last week, enjoying a 39.2% boost week-on-week to 618 sales. The groups biggest seller last week, aside from the new album, was The Complete Greatest Hits, which received a 70.2% boost to 1,831 sales and moves 178-113 as a result.

With The Eagles leading the way, most of the increase in sales last week was in the artist album sector, which swelled 13.3% week-on-week to 1,893,893. Compilation sales were almost static, rising just 0.7% to 508,330 though even that was a good result, as the number one compilation, Radio 1s Live Lounge Volume 2, saw its sales fall from a strong first week tally of 64,320 to 39,395. It slides 1-4 on the combined albums chart as a result.

On a less positive note, overall album sales were 7.3% behind same week sales of 2,590,512 in 2006, 16.1% adrift of same week sales of 2,864,618 in 2005, and the lowest tally for week 44 since 1999 when 2,374,398 albums were sold in the comparable week.

Theyve had their problems but Britney and Whitney are both back in the charts this week. While Britney delivers a whole new album, as detailed below,Whitney is still working on hers, and instead releases new compilation The Ultimate Collection, which debuts at number five on sales of 37,228. Houstons last album of new material, Just Whitney, peaked at number 76 in 2002 and sold just 42,114 copies but her 2000 Greatest Hits album topped the chart and sold 1,646,809 copies, while another compilation, Love Whitney, got to number 22 in 2002 and sold 46,264 copies.

Spears last studio album, In The Zone (2003), debuted at number 14 and peaked at number 13 but the number three success of introductory single Gimme More help follow-up Blackout to make a much more convincing debut at number two on sales of 42,207. First appearances arent everything, however, and despite its low peak In The Zone has sold 526,748 copies more than the 454,534 copies 2001 predecessor, and number four hit, Britney sold. Overall sales of Spears albums in the UK since her 1999 debut are a commendable 4,001,255.

Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant and bluegrass/country singer/fiddle player Alison Krausss Raising Sand collaboration has been well received on both sides of the Atlantic. It sold 112,000 copies to secure runners-up slot in America, and 39,246 to debut at number four here. Raising Sand is 59 year old Plants 13th chart album here outside of Led Zeppelin, of which only his 1982 solo debut, Pictures At Eleven, charted higher (number two). Krauss, 36, scored her previous highest charting album earlier this year, peaking at number 38 with A Hundred Miles Or More in April.

11 years after their previous duets album Timeless reached number 13, Irish pair Daniel ODonnell and Mary Duffs aptly-titled Together Again debuts at number six on sales of 25,430. Apart from collaborations with ODonnell, Duff has only charted once, reaching number 52 with 2005s The Ultimate Collection. But MOR/country crooner ODonnell is the most prolific chartmaker of the 21st century, chalking up 10 Top 20 albums and eighth Top 10 albums since 2000. 45 year old ODonnell has had 23 Top 40 albums and 27 Top 75 albums including at least one every year since his 1988 chart debut, something no other artist can match.

The rest of the Top 10 is made up of albums in retreat: The Trick Of Life by The Hoosiers dips 1-3 on sales of 40,502; Amy Winehouses Back To Black falls 5-7 despite increasing sales 3% to 25,190; Van Morrisons career-spanning Still On Top The Greatest Hits dives 2-8 on sales of 22,299; Mark Ronsons Version is off 3-9 on sales of 21,839; and The Sugababes Change declines 4-10 on sales of 19,804.

New entries not mentioned elsewhere: Queens Rock Montreal arrives at number 20 on sales of 10,908; The Backstreet Boys Umbreakable follows immediately behind, at number 21 on sales of 10,504; The Libertines Best Of: Time For Heroes is number 23 with 9,694 buyers; Avenged Sevenfolds self-titled set attracts 9,505 purchases to debut at number 24; and Nine Black Alps Love/Hate was apparently loved by 2,986 record buyers to earn a number 69 debut.

Meanwhile, although Leona Lewis second single Bleeding Love naturally sold considerably fewer copies last week than the week before, singles overall held up extremely well, with a grand total of 1,834,847 sales 3.4% down week-on-week but still comfortably the second highest total of 2007.

Bleeding Love, remains way ahead at the top of the singles chart, with second week sales of 158,370 lifting its cumulative tally to 377,215 enough for it to already rank third for the year, with every prospect of surpassing Mikas Grace Kelly (478,077) and Rihannas Umbrella (473,212).

Lewis debut album, Spirit, is released next Monday (12th) and will include both Bleeding Love and her previous number one A Moment Like This.

Bleeding Loves b-side Forgiveness slips 42-64 this week on sales of 2,148, while A Moment Like This dips 55-71 on sales of 1,862.

Understandably falling well short of A Moment Like This huge first week sales, Bleeding Love nevertheless easily surpassed its illustrious predecessors second week sales Helped by Christmas gift buying and the fact that Lewis had just won X Factor A Moment Like This sold a staggering 571,253 copies on its first week but dipped to 109,027 sales (a figure falsely reported as 128,077 at the time but revised downwards because of OCC weighting inaccuracies shortly afterwards) the following week 31.2% below Bleeding Loves second week tally.

Bleeding Loves robust second week leaves Take Thats Rule The World in the shade for the second week in a row, though sales of 57,146 earn the Mancunian group a repeat runners-up placing.

McFlys The Heart Never Lies cannot manage to hold its position, however, and tumbles 3-10 on sales of 12,440 copies, to be replaced at number three by Westlifes Home.

Oasis equalled Westlifes tally of 21 consecutive Top 10 hits last week but Westlife reassert themselves as top group this week debuting at number three with Home, the first single from their new album, Back Home, which is released today (5th). Home is a cover of Michael Bubles 2005 number 31 hit, and sold 42,161 copies last week. Where Westlife score over Oasis is that their string of hits is from their debut (Oasis missed the Top 10 with their first two hits) and all of their singles have reached the Top 5., not just the Top 10.

Home sold 42,161 copies last week - only slightly fewer copies than the 44,305 copies that immediate predecessor The Rose sold when opening at number one last November. Its the highest sale for a number three single for 98 weeks, beating everything since The Pogues & Kirsty MacColls reissued Fairytale Of New York sold 54,631 copies in third position in Christmas week

Its another great week for Ryan Tedder. The 28 year old OneRepublic singer co-wrote (with teen star Jesse McCartney) Leona Lewis Bleeding Love, which continues at number one, while Apologize, which he wrote alone, climbs 7-4. The latter track - billed to Timbaland presents OneRepublic, and featured on both Timbalands Shock Value and OneRepublics upcoming debut album Dreaming Out Loud has increased sales nine weeks in a row. It sold 33,242 copies last week, lifting its overall total to 86,361. Tedder also produced and co-penned Jennifer Lopezs Do IT Well, a number 11 hit last month.

Half of the singles in the Top 10 are static this week in addition to the Leona Lewis and Take That singles mentioned above, there are holds for Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouses Valerie, The Freemasons Uninvited, and Goodbye Mr A by The Hoosiers. Remaining at five, eight and nine rsepctively, they sold 29,211, 19,348 and 13,070 copies.

The Sugababes slow fade continues with About You Now down 4-6 on sales of 25,835 copies, while Britney Spears is off a notch with Gimme More down 6-7 on sales of 22,556.

Essex boys Koopa made news in January when their single Blag, Steal & Borrow - available only as a 77p download on their own Juxtaposition imprint - reached number 31, leading to a flurry of stories about them being the first unsigned band to have a Top 40 hit. They followed it by reaching number 21 with The One-Off Song For The Summer in June, and improve again to debut at number 16 with latest single The Crash, on sales of 8,470. The band has still to release an album.

Missing out on chart hits only in 1975 and 1978, Cliff Richard extends his span of hits to more than 49 years, registering his 122nd hit with When I Need You, a number one hit for Leo Sayer in 1977 and number five for Will Mellor in 1998. One of five new tracks on Richards Love..The Album, its his 122nd Top 40 hit but looks like being one of his smallest, as it debuts at number 38 on physical and digital sales combined, though downloads account for only 434 of its 4,064 sales.

Showing how well the singles market has recovered this year, all of the top seven singles this week sold more copies than Lewis debut hit A Moment Like This sold when it was number one for the fourth and last time in January, with just 20,665 sales.

The continued growth of interest in Halloween, and the ease with which it is possible to buy related titles online, brought our first ever Top 75 singles chart re-entries tied to the festivities, with Michael Jacksons Thriller and Ray Parker Juniors Ghostbusters returning at 57 and 70, respectively, on sales of 2,731 and 1,985. Thriller was a number 10 hit in 1983, and returns a week shy of the 24th anniversary of its chart debut, while Ghostbusters was number two the following year. Neither record had charted since. The number three Halloween hit is Bobby Boris Picketts Monster Mash, which falls just short of the published chart at number 79 on sales of 1,673. In America, the same three songs, coincidentally, are the top Halloween hits but in a different order, with Thriller the 38th best-seller overall (21,201 sales), followed by Monster Mash (number 59, 16,573) and Ghostbusters (number 95, 9,555).

For the first time in more than two years, three records racked up radio audiences of more than 60m last week.

In a closely-contested fight for radio airplay chart honours, The Sugababes About You Now finally reaches pole position, usurping the two top retail titles, Leona Lewis Bleeding Love and Take Thats Rule The World.

Take Thats track was the number one song on the chart last week but is now nearly 2m impressions behind About You Now. It leads Lewis Bleeding Love by a similar margin. All three titles registered growth, and exceeded the 60.31m audience that won Take That the title last week.

About You Nows arrival at number one comes five weeks after it topped the sales chart for the first time, and follows a 129-71-22-12-4-3-2-2-3 career path on the radio chart up to now. The Sugababes last solo single Easy got no higher than number 19 on the airplay chart last year, while their subsequent Walk This Way collaboration with Girls Aloud, although benefiting Comic Relief, got a less than charitable welcome from radio, and suffered a number 54 airplay peak.

The biggest mover on the chart this week comes from Rihannas Hate That I Love You, which rockets 30-9, giving the young Barbadian her third straight Top 10 airplay success from her Good Girl Gone Bad album; the blockbusting Umbrella spent four weeks at number one on the chart a modest haul compared to its 10 week retail reign while Shut Up And Drive peaked at number five. Hate That I Love Yous big leap was largely due to 17 plays from Radio One and six from Radio Two which, between them accounted for a 62.72% slice of the records radio audience. 66 stations contributed to its 958 plays total, with top tallies of 34 from Galaxy 102.2 FM, 30 from Hallam FM and 24 apiece from 97.6 Chiltern FM and KISS 105/108.

Although Leona Lewis has yet to reach the radio summit, the video clip for Bleeding Love takes over at the top of the TV airplay chart, despatching Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouses three week topper Valerie to number two by the slenderest of margins. Lewis track was aired 459 times on monitored stations, once more than Valerie. The two were way ahead of the rest of the field; third placed Apologize was played 351 times.