Take That claim fifth week at album summit
Source: Music Week


The vagaries of the calendar mean that Christmas Eve 2006 fell in Week 
52 rather than the more customary Week 51, with the result that sales 
for the year's ultimate week, at 5,314,581, were an impressive 32% up on 
the 4,026,048 sold in the same week last year, writes Alan Jones.

It follows a Christmas week in which sales of 10,176,752, -though up 
38.2% on the previous week and by far the highest of the year - were 
down 3.83% on the 10,581,571 sales in the same week in 2005.

Overall album sales for the crucial last four weeks of the year, at 
29,103,571, were 0.75% (216,033) up on 2005’s tally of 28,947,538, 
though this total does include a contribution of 288,886 from downloads, 
which were not logged in 2005.

Surging to the highest weekly sale since Coldplay’s X&Y sold 464,471 
copies on its debut in June 2005 and their own personal best of 443,070 
in the week ending December 23, Take That’s Beautiful World sold a 
less stellar but still significant 104,302 copies last week to take its 
34 day cume to 1,144,521. The album is number one for the fifth week in 
a row, and reached its millionth sale on its 27th day on release - 10 
days more than the all-time record of 17 days set by Oasis’ Be Here 
Now in 1997, and a day slower than previous record holders Robson & 
Jerome’s self-titled 1995 debut and The Beatles’ 1 in 2000.

Beautiful World also beats Take That’s previous best number one tally 
of four weeks for 1996’s Greatest Hits, and is the longest serving 
number one by any act since James Blunt’s Back To Bedlam completed an 
eight week stint in pole position in September 2005.

Despite the enormous sales turned in by Take That in the last few weeks, 
Snow Patrol’s Eyes Open is the runaway number one album of 2006. 
Having secured its highest ever weekly sale of 156,694 in the week 
before Christmas, it sold a further 60,931 copies last week to take its 
35 week cume to 1,514,554 Eyes Open climbs 7-3 this week, achieving its 
highest placing for 16 weeks. Its continued popularity owes a lot the 
band’s latest and most successful single Chasing Cars, which ranks 
14th for 2006 with sales of 210,606 copies.

Never likely to challenge the success of their 2000 hits blockbuster 1 
let alone their all-time piledriver Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club 
Band, The Beatles’ ‘mash-up’ set Love has nevertheless performed 
admirably so far. A tie-in with Cirque Du Soliel’s Las Vegas stage 
show, it has spent six weeks in the Top 10, moving 3-5-6-6-8-5, while 
selling 672,385 copies, including a massive 153,130 in the week before 
Christmas, and 52,377 last week. In America, it is the 37th Beatles 
album to sell upwards of a million copies, and has now sold more than 
1.3m copies.

Oasis’ Stop The Clocks compilation rebounds 3-2 on sales of 61,922 
(down 67.6%)., while Razorlight’s self-titled set surges 9-4 on sales 
of 57,358 (down60.4%).

A 50.6% dip in sales to 51,100 is no barrier to Pink’s I’m Not Dead 
registering a 15-6 improvement to land its highest chart placing for 30 
weeks; heading the other way with the chart’s biggest percentage dip 
in sales (down 78.6% to 50,516), Westlife’s The Love Album dives 2-7; 
James Morrison reaches a nine week peak with his self-titled debut, 
which is the biggest album by a new male artist in 2006, with sales of 
855,135, including 49,369 last week (down 59,3%) as it rallies 12-8; 
U2’s 18 Singles falls 6-9 on sales of 47,597 (down 70.8%); and the Top 
10 is completed by George Michael’s Twenty Five, which dips 5-10 on 
sales of 45,806 (down 72.9%).

With fewer seemingly attractive bargains available this sale season, the 
usual mass influx of old albums to the chart has not materialised. Of 
the albums that did lift their game because of discounting the most 
successful was Kasabian’s Empire, which can be picked up for less than 
£7, and rebounds to its highest position in eight weeks, moving 59-19 
on sales of 31,903. The title track of the album reached number nine, 
Shoot The Runner peaked at number 17 and third single Me Plus One is out 
in four weeks (29 January). Discounting also helps Westlife’s 
Unbreakable to catapult 91-32 and Pussycat Dolls’ PCD to escalate 
71-34 on sales of 19,850 and 17,615, respectively.

There are no bona-fide new entries but Hold Your Colour by Australian 
drum & bass/breaks/rave act Pendulum, re-enters at number 66 on sales of 
9,804, having previously charted at number 68 for a week in August 2005. 
The album has sold an impressive 106,747 copies so far, and most of its 
sales last week were from HMV stores, where it is currently discounted 
to £7.99.

Topping the compilations list for the sixth week in a row, Now! 65 sold 
55,372 copies last week to take its cume to 949,110 - 15.98% behind same 
stage sales of Now! 62 last year.Surprise hit of the year Radio One’s 
Live Lounge remains in close attendance, with sales of 48,240 lifting 
its cume to 598,139.

After enjoying the highest ever first week sales for a debut single by a 
female solo artist (beating Britney Spears’ 1999 bow ...Baby One More 
Time, which opened with sales of 463,722), X Factor winner Leona Lewis’ 
debut single A Moment Like This suffered a big second week dip, selling 
128,077 copies. Take That remain far behind at number two with Patience 
selling 35,164 copies.

Added to its first week tally of 571,253, that means A Moment Like This’
  sales to date are 699,330, placing it well behind Gnarls Barkley’s 
Crazy (819,553 sales) in the 2006 rankings, further still behind same 
stage sales of 874,444 for 2005 X Factor winner Shayne Ward’s debut 
single That’s My Goal, and even further behind the 1,458,756 copies 
Spears’ debut eventually sold.

A number one US hit for first American Idol Kelly Clarkson in 2002, A 
Moment Like This was penned by Swede Jorgen Elofsson and Scot John Reid, 
former leader of Nightcrawlers. A Moment Like This is Reid’s second UK 
number one but Elofsson’s eighth - they co-wrote Unbreakable for 
Westlife, and Elofsson also wrote the group’s I’ll Let You Go, Fool 
Again and My Love, as well as Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake) for Gareth 
Gates, Evergreen for Will Young and the aforementioned That’s My Goal 
for Shayne Ward.

With 7-inch picture disc, CD and DVD editions all featuring exclusive 
live tracks, Iron Maiden celebrate the success of their tour in support 
of latest album A Matter Of Life And Death with the single Different 
World. Debuting at number three on sales of 16,352, it’s the veteran 
metal band’s 32nd hit in 27 years as a chart force, and arrives 16 
years to the week after they secured their only number one with Bring 
Your Daughter To The Slaughter. A Matter Of Life And Death topped the 
100,000 sales mark on New Year’s Eve.

39 years after Syd Barrett’s song See Emily Play earned Pink Floyd 
their first chart hit, peaking at number 20, former band member David 
Gilmour’s live recordings of the song - recorded as a salute and 
tribute to Barrett who died six months ago, and featuring vocals from 
David Bowie and fellow Floyd alumnus, Rick Wright - debuts at number 19 
on sales of 7,582. Gilmour’s only previous chart records outside the 
band, On An Island and Smile, both peaked at number 72 in 2006.

Year-end round-ups on TV and radio have helped many of 2006’s biggest 
singles and albums to reclaim lost ground this week but no-one has 
benefited more than Justin Timberlake, who rebounds 18-14 with latest 
single My Love and 53-30 with SexyBack, his first solo chart-topper 
which has thus far spent 20 weeks on the chart and sold 239,234 copies. 
The album that spawned them both, FutureSex/LoveSounds, has been in the 
Top 30 ever since its release in September, and climbs 23-22 this week 
on sales of 28,768, taking its 16 week cume to 550,989.

While follow-up Land Of A Thousand Words plunges 60-100 with sales off 
36.8% at 1,168, Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ rebounds 
27-16, securing its highest placing for eight weeks on sales up 74.5% at 
9,574. I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ has so far spent 18 weeks in the 
Top 40, selling more than 353,373 copies. Both of the tracks mentioned 
above are from Scissor Sisters’ second album Ta-Dah!, which sold 
1,127,332 copies in the last 15 weeks of 2006, to emerge as the year’s 
second biggest seller.

An Iranian based in Washington DC, Sharam is half of Deep Dish, who have 
snared four Top 40 hits to date, most recently reaching number 14 in 
April 2006, with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams featuring a cameo 
new vocal from Mac’s Stevie Nicks. Sharam’s first solo hit is PATT 
(Party All The Time), which jumps 36-8 this week on sales of 11,286. 
It’s a cover of a 1985 recording by actor Eddie Murphy, which flopped 
here but reached number two in America. It was written by Canadian 
funkster Rick James, who also penned Superfreak, which was a number 
seven hit for BeatFreakz just two months ago.

===============================================================

Singles

01 Leona 128,077
02 Take That 35,164
03 Iron Maiden 16,352

08 Sharam 11,286
16 Scissor Sisters IDFLD 9,574
19 David Gimour 7,582

100 Scissor Sisters LOATW 1,168


Albums

01 Take That 104,302
02 Oasis 61,922
03 Snow Patrol 60,931
04 Razorlight 57,358
05 Beatles 52,377
06 Pink 51,100
07 Westlife 50,516
08 James Morrison 49,369
09 U2 47,597
10 George Michael 45,806

19 Kasabian 31,903
22 Justin Timberlake 28,768
32 Weatlife – Unbreakable 19,850
34 PCD 17,615
66 Pendulum 9,804

With thanks to Mikey @ buzzjack
-- 
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham (change 'invalid83261' to 'blueyonder' to email me)