The All-New Chart Updates Thread

[Matthew T]

Take That playing game of Patience on chart
12 December 2006 - 10:50:38


Take That are continuing to dominate the Christmas market as they look poised this weekend to remain at the top of the singles and artist albums charts.

Retail reports indicate the Polydor acts single Patience and parent album Beautiful World will spend respectively a fourth and third week at number one this Sunday, in what will be the penultimate surveys before Christmas.

Take Thats ongoing lead on albums comes in a market where the chart is now virtually locked in until Christmas, with little movement among the Top 10 titles and no new releases figuring in the chart. As such, the top five positions, which were filled last week by Take That, Big Brothers Oasis, Ss Westlife, Sycos Il Divo and the Mercury-handled U2, are expected to be occupied by the same acts again, while only Polydors Snow Patrol are likely to move into the Top 10.

The bands Eyes Open, which is already the biggest seller of the year to date, is set to be one of the strongest sales gainers of the week. Other big week-on-week sales gainers include Fascination/Polydors Girls Aloud, J/Sony BMGs Rod Stewart and a UMTV-handled Neil Diamond best of.

In contrast to the albums countdown, the singles chart will enjoy plenty of movement this weekend. Two Polydor releases, Chris Cornells You Know My Name and Gwen Stefanis Wind It Up, are likely to move into the top five as a result of newly-issued physical formats, while the All Around The World track Truly Madly Deeply by Cascada and Bad Boy/Atlantics Tell Me by P Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera are on course to leap into the Top 10 for the same reason.

Meanwhile, Sir Cliff Richard will add to his unrivalled list of festive hits with 21st Century Christmas and a remake of his first hit Move It almost a certainty for a Top 10 debut on Sunday.

1 - Take That
2 - Chris Cornell
3 - Gwen Stefani

5 - Cascada
6 - Cliff Richard
8 - P Diddy
11 - Lil Chris
14 - Pogues
17 - Katie + Peter
18 - Matt Willis

[Milky Tears]

50,000 downloads in 30 minutes, or something. That's wot The Mighty Leona did do last night. The single will sell over a million and she'll be the BIGGEST UK FEMALE SOLO ARTIST OF ALL-TIME EVER FOR ETERNITY ALWAYS FOREVER!!


This week's sales info from Music Week:

Take That dominate again, topping the singles chart for the fourth week in a row, and the artist album chart for the third time on the trot, writes Alan Jones.

Patience’s fourth frame as top single was attended by sales of 30,833, the lowest for a number one for 16 weeks but parent album Beautiful World’s sales swelled 15% to 229,001, the highest for a number one album for 10 weeks, and the fourth highest of the year.

Take That are the first group to spend more than a fortnight atop both charts simultaneously since The Spice Girls enjoyed a concurrent three week reign with 2 Become 1 and Spice in 1996.

A slot on the final of The X Factor reputedly earned Take That 400,000 in appearance fees but they stand to earn much more from the boost it will give to Beautiful World, which has thus far sold 597,149 copies, and will top the million mark before the end of the year - though not before the band’s 2005 hits compilation Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection, which rockets to a 43 week high, moving 36-21 on sales of 47,978, taking its cume to 995,371. It’s only a week away from eclipsing their 1998 Greatest Hits set, which has sold 1,060,376 copies.

Its latest leap takes it past former Take That star Robbie Williams’ latest album Rudebox which slips 27-28 on sales of 38,675, with an eight week cume of 383,702 being Williams’ lowest for a studio set since first solo album Life Thru A Lens’ same stage 29,888 in 1997.

Although their performance of Patience on The X Factor will serve Take That well, it’s ironic that the artist who will curtail it’s run at number one is new X Factor champion Leona, with whom they performed A Million Love Songs.

Beautiful World was the only album to sell more than 200,000 copies last week, but overall album sales jumped 16.7% week-on-week to 7,362,658. While that’s 3.95% below the 7,665,901 albums sold in the same week last year, it was a week in which most albums made handsome gains in sales, with the only Top 40 artist entries to decline being I’m Not Dead by Pink, and The Kooks’ Inside In/Inside Out.

The top 74 albums sold more than 10,000 (Emma Bunton, at 75, sold 9,926), and the top six, all non-movers, sold more than 100,000, with Take That being followed by Oasis (151,903), Westlife (150,467), Il Divo (121,557), U2 (113,682) and The Beatles (106,852).

Rounding out the Top 10, Snow Patrol (14-7, 96,483 sales), Girls Aloud (7-8, 95,785), George Michael (8-9, 92,498) and Jamiroquai (10-10, 90,698).

Eyes Open is certain to be the biggest selling album of 2006, and is also now well on track to become Snow Patrol’s biggest seller by the weekend. The album returns to the Top 10 after an absence of six weeks. It has sold 1,296,929 copies in 33 weeks and is closing rapidly on predecessor Final Straw, Snow Patrol’s breakthrough album, which has thus far sold 1,423,047 copies. Eyes Open’s sales last week were its highest since its first week tally of 126,809.

While latest single Land Of A Thousand Words slumps 19-42, The Scissor Sisters’ second album Ta-Dah! outperforms the market, plumping up its sales by 33.9% week-on-week to 84,973 as it climbs 13-11. Though way behind their self-titled debut’s 2,581,048 tally, it raises its 13 week cume to 954,253, and will become 2006’s fourth million selling album later this week. Razorlight’s self-titled second album (up 13-11) sold 81,999 copies last week taking its cume to 874,891, beating the 856,612 sales of their Up All Night debut, and will also top the million mark by Christmas.

More than 10 years after its release, The Best Of Neil Diamond catapults into the Top 40. The album, dating from May 1996, sold 1,374 copies on its first week in the shops and charted at number 68, dropping out the following week. It was reactivated last month, following the success of Diamond’s latest album, 12 Songs, which reached number five in February and won masses of critical acclaim. It jumps 45-30 this week on sales of 35,984 to secure Diamond his 29th Top 40 album in a run that stretches back to 1971.

Gloria Estefan’s appearance on ITV’s penultimate X Factor results show nine days ago, singing a medley of hits, was baffling. She neither held a workshop for the remaining hopefuls or ventured an opinion on their singing. It certainly paid dividends for her though, catapulting her Very Best Of set 71-40 on sales of 30,414. An Audience With Lionel Richie, on ITV the same evening, helped his latest album, Coming Home, to rebound 145-67 on sales of 12,922. Even more impressively, The Definitive Collection (also featuring The Commodores), soars 76-37 with 32,929 sales.

On the compilation chart, runner-up Radio 1’s Live Lounge surges 39.9% to 90,271 sales but Now! 65 remains a comfortable leader, while its sales slip 8% week-on-week to 152,481. A 27 day sales tally of 719,263 leave it poised to eclipse Now! 64 (762,624 sales) as the year’s top compilation.

Bunton's still shifted almost 10,000 copies at number 75, but The People reports that she "fears the chop":

http://www.people.co.uk/showbiz/show...name_page.html

[Milky Tears]

The rest of the info from Music Week:

While album sales forge ahead, singles are off 4% week-on-week at 1,266,194, with no single able to challenge the continuing supremacy of Take Thats Patience.

Changes in the market mean Patience is not one of Take Thats bigger sellers (191,689 sales so far) but their ninth chart-toppers four week run at the summit equals their personal best, set by Pray in 1993 and equalled by Back For Good in 1995.

The weeks highest debut belongs to chart veteran Cliff Richard. 48 years after Move It gave Cliff Richard his first hit, he registers his 121st Top 40 hit with 21st Century Christmas and a new version of Move It, this time featuring Brian May and Brian Bennett. The double A-sided single debuts at number two on sales of 23,787, instantly matching the chart peak of the original Move It. Assuming the new single has peaked - Leona will certainly keep it off the top - it is Cliffs first number two since 1989s The Best Of Me, and the 11th of his career.

Audioslaves last single, Original Fire, reached number 92 in September, a one place improvement on its immediate predecessor, Doesnt Remind Me, but the bands lead singer Chris Cornell is having a great deal more success with his first solo single You Know My Name, which improves 12-7 this week on sales of 14,518. Its the theme from the 21st official James Bond film Casino Royale, and the 10th to make the Top 10 joining efforts from Wings, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton, Duran Duran, A-Ha, Gladys Knight, Louis Armstrong, Tina Turner and Madonna.

Truly Madly Deeply was a massive hit for Aussie duo Savage Garden in 1998. It was in the Top 10 for 11 weeks peaking at number four and selling 669,743 copies. Its now a hit for German dance trio Cascada, whose cover jumps 17-4 this week, on sales of 17,421, providing them with their second Top 10 success. Their first single, Everytime We Touch, departs the Top 75 after 20 weeks, having been deleted. It peaked at number two, has sold 194,973 copies and is number 13 for the year.

Regina Belle and Peabo Brysons original version of A Whole New World from the movie Aladdin reached number 12 in 1993, and its peak is matched this week by Katie Price and Peter Andres cover. The single, which sold 9,382 copies last week, is taken from the Andres album of the same name, which has moved 20-29-43 since release, selling 95,729 copies. Although much ridiculed, the couple are to be commended for the fact that all of their royalties for single and album are split between five charities, while they get nothing.

While her second solo album, The Sweet Escape, retreats 26-48, introductory single Wind It Up jumps 8-3, on sales of 17,706 equalling her best chart placing away from No Doubt. She sang guest vocals on Pharrell Williams number three hit Can I Have It Like That last year. Williams returns the favour by co-writing and co-producing Wind It Up.

Other Top 10 singles not mentioned above: Boogie 2Nite by Booty Luv retreats 2-5 on sales of 16,105; Akon and Eminem fall 3-6 with Smack That on sales of 15,056; P Diddy and Christina Aguileras Tell Me rises 20-8; Lazy Town dip 4-9 on sales of 10,404; and The Pogues & Kirsty MacColls 1987 evergreen Fairytale Of New York makes the Top 10 for the second Christmas in a row. It reached number three last year, and climbs 23-10 this week on sales of 10,005.

More seasonal arrivals: Crazy Frogs Last Christmas debuts at number 16 (8,082 sales); Andy Abraham & Michael Underwoods December Brings Me To You arrives at number 18 (7,535); 67 year old actor Ricky Tomlinsons Christmas My Arse! debuts at number 25 (5,467), topping the number 28 peak of his 2001 single Are You Looking At Me.

The weeks biggest loser is Morrissey, whose latest single I Just Want To See The Boy Happy suffers a serious second week slump, diving 16-74 with sales off 83.7% at 1,038.

Morrissey held up well!!

[Pip Madeley]

Eyes Open is certain to be the biggest selling album of 2006

God that's depressing

[Milky Tears]

Can we guess who's heading for the top this week?

McFly, Girls Aloud and Carey are all heading for the top ten right now, but Carey is ineligible for the final chart.


Beautiful World has shifted 100,000 in two days!!

I'm waiting for Matt to do his stuff?

[Matthew T]

Nothing more to add...very dull for Xmas week!

The physical chart is interesting this week though:

## 01 Cliff Richard - 21st Century Christmas / Move It
01 02 Take That - Patience
## 03 Cascada - Truly Madly Deeply
## 04 Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up
02 05 Lazy Town - Bing Bang (Time To Dance)
03 06 Akon feat. Eminem - Smack That
## 07 Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
## 08 P. Diddy feat Christina Aguilera - Tell Me
## 09 Katie Price & Peter Andre - A Whole New World
04 10 Booty Luv - Boogie 2Nite
## 11 Crazy Frog - Last Christmas
## 12 Andy Abraham feat. Michael Underwood - December Brings Me Back To You
## 13 El Chombo - Chacarron
## 14 Matt Willis - Don't Let It Go To Waste
## 15 Ricky Tomlinson - Christmas My Arse
08 16 Fedde Le Grand - Put Your Hands Up For Detroit
## 17 Lil' Chris - Gettin' Enough
05 18 Emma Bunton - Downtown
12 19 Beyonce - Irreplaceable
10 20 Justin Timberlake feat. TI - My Love
13 21 Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To An End)
07 22 Jamelia - Beware Of The Dog
## 23 Lily Allen - Littlest Things
## 24 Shakira feat. Carlos Santana - Illegal
09 25 Westlife - The Rose
14 26 Christina Aguilera - Hurt
18 27 The Fratellis - Whistle For The Choir
11 28 Scissor Sisters - Land Of A Thousand Words
## 29 Snoop Dogg feat. R. Kelly - That's That
20 30 Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody

Poor Cliff!

and interesting to see that Nelly Furtado is only doing so well because of downloads...

[Milky Tears]

Downloads have destroyed the UK singles chart. It was much better when it was only based on piss-poor low sales.

[Pip Madeley]

They still seem low anyway, this from a BBC poll:

Will you buy a Christmas single this year?

Yes, I'm stocking up - 4.11%
Ho ho no - 95.89%
28002 Votes Cast

[Si Hunt]

Well that's proof enough for me.

Si.

[Milky Tears]

Leona's single sold 571,000 copies, Take That shifted 50,000 and McFly 21,000. Are they not easily the lowest-selling Christmas number two and three singles of all-time ever all-time?

I think Mariah Carey might've been top ten if it was eligible. Shame Sir Cliff Clifferton and The Pogues/Kirsty McColl aren't top five.

Take That's album sold 443,070 copies to stay on top of the chart. Massive sales this week as Westlife sold 236,558, Oasis 191,258 and even Girls Aloud a mighty 129,888 at number 11.

Must be huge sales for Il Divo, Georgie Boy, U2, Snow Patrol, Beatles, Razorlight and Scissor Sisters as they're all top ten.

Other album sales/positions:

103347 Pink (15)
87166 Take That [Ult Coll] (17)
53262 Robbie Williams (29)
47776 Cliff Richard (33)
25349 McFly (52)

[Milky Tears]

Iron Maiden sold 16,352 copies to chart at number three the other day. Leona's down to 128,077. She'd sold 699,330 by the end of the year, failing to top Gnarls Barkleys 'Crazy' (819,553) as 2006's biggest single.

From Music Week:

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 Barkleys Crazy (819,553 sales) in the 2006 rankings, further still behind same stage sales of 874,444 for 2005 X Factor winner Shayne Wards debut single Thats 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 Reids second UK number one but Elofssons eighth - they co-wrote Unbreakable for Westlife, and Elofsson also wrote the groups Ill 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 Thats 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, its the veteran metal bands 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 Years Eve.

39 years after Syd Barretts song See Emily Play earned Pink Floyd their first chart hit, peaking at number 20, former band member David Gilmours 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. Gilmours only previous chart records outside the band, On An Island and Smile, both peaked at number 72 in 2006.

Midweek news from Music Week:

New chart rules mean big hits return
03 January 2007 - 11:11:01

Snow Patrols Chasing Cars is on course for a return to the Top 10, months after the physical version of the single was deleted, thanks to the new chart rules which came into effect this week.

With new rules meaning all digital sales count towards the chart, regardless of the availability of a physical equivalent to buy in the shops, early retail reports put the Snow Patrol single firmly inside the Top 10, long after it was deleted by record company Polydor in order to boost album sales. It is joined in the Top 40 by other long-since physically deleted singles, such as Gnarls Barkleys Crazy, Nelly Furtados Maneater and The Automatics Monster.

However, the extra lease of chart life these singles are receiving is not proving sufficient to dislodge last weeks number one from the top spot, with X Factor winner Leona Lewis still comfortably outselling nearest challenger Take That. Eric Prydz Vs Floyds Proper Education makes a march into the Top Five from last weeks 77 following the physical release of the single this week. U2s Window In The Skies is new inside the Top 10.

The new rules have also thrown some unusual new entries into the chart. The Kooks digital-only Live At The Astoria EP is new at 27, while an act called Gay Gordon & The Mince Pies have a version of Auld Lang Syne in the Top 75.

I need to hear Gay Gordon & The Mince Pies!

[Dave Tudor]

I had no idea that 'Arnold Layne' was in the top twenty until yesterday! Fantastic! It's fitting that there is a Syd Barrett song in the charts on the weekend of what would have been his 61st birthday.

With Eric Pryks' dodgy dance remix of 'Another Brick In The Wall' certain to hit the top five later today, providing that 'Arnold Layne' hasn't disappeared, that'll be two Pink Floyd songs together in the singles charts for the first time ever.

[Jonno]

I need to hear Gay Gordon & The Mince Pies!

I have a track of theirs on CD called The Essential Wally Party Medley. It's true!

[Matthew T]

Lots of old songs making the lower regions of the charts thanks to the new rules....

58 Michael Andrews & Gary Jules - Mad World

64 Linkin Park & Jay-Z - Numb/Encore

154 Madonna - Hung Up

188 Take That - A Million Love Songs

76 Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

157 Robbie Williams - Angels

144 Oasis - Wonderwall

185 Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

170 DJ Sammy & Yanou featuring Do - Heaven

196 Eminem - Lose Yourself

127 Eric Prydz - Call On Me

[Milky Tears]

Winehouse's album has went flying up the charts. That's what happens when you appear on TV shows with your a*rse/baps hanging out all week.

[Pip Madeley]

I'll be taking an interest in the charts for the first time in ages next week, as Jarvis releases his first proper debut solo single.

[Matthew T]

I'll be taking an interest in the charts for the first time in ages next week, as Jarvis releases his first proper debut solo single.

I'll let you know where it gets to if it doesn't make the top 75.

[Pip Madeley]

Please

[Milky Tears]

Album sales from Music Week:

Take That claim first 2007 number one album
07 January 2007 - 19:10:25

Two weeks ago, a sale of 29,638 would have sufficed only for a number 47 slot on the album chart. This week its enough to earn Take Thats comeback album Beautiful World a sixth straight week at number one, writes Alan Jones.

Its a vivid illustration of how dramatically the market declines between the week prior to Christmas and the first of the new year.

Beautiful World turned in a stunning sale of 443,070 a fortnight ago, the best ever by any album outside of its first week, but its sale last week was the lowest for a number one album since 2002, when The Doves Last Broadcast topped the list for the second and last time with sales of just 22,437.

Beautiful Worlds reign is now the longest for a new album (as opposed to compilation) by a British group since 1998, when The Verves Urban Hymns survived six weeks on its second stint at number one, following an earlier five week residency.

Take Thats continued occupation of the top slot was subjected to a late challenge from Amy Winehouses second album, Back To Black, whose powerful resurgence has seen it move 41-27-20-16-2 in the last four weeks.

The latter position marks a new peak for Back To Black, which debuted at number three in October. It sold nearly 28,000 copies last week, lifting its cume to 331,000. New single You Know Im No Good debuts at number 40 on sales of 3,000 downloads, while Rehab rebounds 25-20 on sales of 5,500. And Winehouses debut album Frank is back in the Top 75 for the first time since 2004, having moved 190-163-102-62 in the last four weeks.

Lily Allens third single Littlest Thing peaked at number 21 last month, failing to match the success of predecessors Smile (number one) and LDN (number six) but its getting plenty of airplay and helps her debut album to improve its chart placing for the sixth week in a row. The album has moved 61-49-46-42-35-29-14 increasing its cumulative sales to 538,000, including 15,000 last week. All three Allen singles are in the Top 75, Littlest Thing slipping 32-41, while Smile and LDN rebound 59-52 and 75-72 respectively.

A renewed TV advertising campaign for Ray Lamontagnes Trouble sees the album soar 135-44 this week on sales of 6,000. The 2004 release, which peaked at number five last year, has thus far sold 343,000 copies. Lamontagnes follow-up album Till The Sun Turns To Black has failed to capitalise on Troubles success so far, peaking at number 73 and selling just 24,000 copies. First single, How Come, reached number 110 in November. In America, where Trouble peaked at a lowly number 189, Till The Sun Turns To Black fared much better, reaching number 28.

As upcoming single Me Plus One climbs 76-61 on the airplay chart, Kasabians revitalised Empire album climbs to its highest chart placing in 15 weeks. The album reached its lowest placing to date four weeks ago but has since progressed 69-63-59-19-11. Sales last week of 17,000 lift its 19 week cume to 429,000, compared to the 754,000 haul of its self-titled 2004 debut. Me Plus One wont be physically released for another three weeks (January 29), though it is, of course, now eligible to chart prematurely on downloads alone.

While Take Thats occupation of the artist chart apex continues, Now! 65s six week reign as top compilations is over. On its 12th week in the chart, Radio Ones Live Lounge returns to pole position. Its the third time it has topped the chart, and it does so even though its own sales are off 56.5% week-on-week to 21,000. Every single album in the chart suffered double digit dips in sales from last week, though there is a new entry at number four from Clubbers Guide 2007, which opened its career with a sale of more than 14,500.

Of the Top 75 artist albums, the only ones to post week-on-week gains are Ray Lamontagnes Trouble and The Zutons Tired Of Hanging Around.

How much they gained and how much the rest declined, we cant say, for the simple reason that the weighting process used by Millward Brown (the OCCs number crunchers) to estimate sales for the last week of 2006 overestimated the size of the market by up to 5%. As this affects all titles differently, the data for week 52 will be re-run later this week, and its likely that sales of every title will be adjusted downwards, and some chart positions - weekly and annual - may also be affected.

What we can say about album sales last week is that at 2,738,751 they were 6.5% below the same week in 2006.

Piss-poor sales (as usual for the first week of the year), but Winehouse was close.

[Dave Tudor]

So, what are the new rules again?

And why have I missed the Winehouse arse and baps?!

[Milky Tears]

Singles info from the same report:

Meanwhile singles sales were up 53.1% year-on-year at 1,459,139, and new chart rules meaning tracks don’t have to be available physically have been implemented. The most visible result is the re-entry of four recent but deleted hits in the Top 40, most notably Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, which resumes its chart career after a seven week interruption by re-entering at number nine.

Although dipping 69.4% week-on-week, Leona Lewis’ debut hit A Moment Like This’ 39,000 sales tally last week was 70.6% ahead of new runners-up Eric Prydz & Floyd, and take its three week haul to 738,000. That’s already way in excess of the 202,000 career sales of first X Factor winner Steve Brookstein’s Against All Odds debut but 21.5% behind same stage sales of second X Factor winner Shayne Ward’s That’s My Goal, which had sold upwards of 928,000 copies by this time last year, a tally since increased to nearly 1,070,000.

Number one for five weeks exactly 27 years ago, Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall provides all of the vital samples for Eric Prydz Vs. Floyd’s Proper Education, which rockets 77-2 this week on sales of nearly 23,000. Swede Prydz’s only previous UK Top 40 hit, Call On Me, sampled Steve Winwood’s Valerie and topped the chart in 2004. Pink Floyd last single, High Hopes/Keep Talking. peaked at number 26 in 1994, while guitarist David Gilmour’s Arnold Layne tribute to Floyd legend Syd Barrett peaked at number 19 last week.

After consecutive number two hits with collaborations One (with Mary J Blige) and The Saints Are Coming (Green Day), U2 debut at number four with Window In The Skies on sales of nearly 12,000. Window In The Skies is U2’s 39th hit in all, its 11th Top 10 hit in a row and was a new recording made for their U2 18 Singles compilation which ends a six week run in the Top 10, slipping 9-12 on sales of 16,000, taking its cume to nearly 633,000.

Repeated airings on The Disney Channel laid the foundations for the High School Musical to embark on an extended run in the compilation chart but a BBC premier on 29 December drew an audience of 3.4m and resulted in six songs from the TV movie soundtrack to make their Top 200 debuts as the already charting Breaking Free and We’re All In This Together - number nine and number 40 hits respectively, last year - improve 52-37 and 66 -60. Debuts: Stick to The Status Quo (74), Start Of Something New (90), Getcha Head In The Game (125), Bop To The Top (137), What I’ve Been Looking For (155) and When There Was Me And You (184). The High School Musical soundtrack jumps 5-2 on sales of 19,000.

The aforementioned change in chart rules restores 11 old hits to the Top 75 while 13 tracks more than 10 years old return to the 76-200 segment of the chart, with Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen (from 1979) leading the way at number 76, followed by The Proclaimers 1998 hit I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) at number 92, Survivor’s 1982 chart-topper Eye Of The Tiger at number 123, Auld Lang Syne by Gay Gordon & The Mince Pies - a minuscule 1986 hit - at number 140, and Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns’ N Roses (1998) at number 146.

Also back: Summer Of ’69 by Bryan Adams (number 167), 9 To 5 by Dolly Parton (number 175), Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (number 179), Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi (number 181), Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (number 185), A Million Love Songs by Take That (number 189) and All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (number 194, though it would have spent much of December in the Top 20 had it been eligible at the time). But perhaps the most surprising entry to the chart is a track from vowel-free southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who are represented, at number 150, not by the classic Free Bird not their anthem Sweet Home Alabama but by I Ain’t The One, the introductory track on their 1973 debut album Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd), which has never been a hit.

History is made on the radio airplay chart this week, with Universal taking 10 of the Top 11 places. The major’s dominance reaches a new peak thanks to U2’s Window In The Skies (up 5-1), Take That’s Patience (1-2), Keane’s A Bad Dream (33-3), You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse (15-4) and The Scissor Sisters’ I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ (2-5) plus Grace Kelly by Mika (18-7), Before I Fall To Pieces by Razorlight (17-8), Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (7-9), America by Razorlight (3-10) and The Fratellis’ Whistle For The Choir (16-11). Sandwiched between the two runs of five is Booty Luv’s Boogie 2Nite on Hed Kandi, leaving Universal’s fellow major record companies (EMI, Sony BMG and Warner Music) completely shut-out.

Hed Kandi is now part of the Ministry Of Sound’s group of labels, and the dance powerhouse is itself making history on the TV airplay chart, where it is the first ever indie label to occupy all of the top three places simulateneously - a feat it acgieves thanks to Sharam’s PATT (Party All The Time) (up 8-3), Booty Luv’s Boogie 2Nite (2-2) and Eric Pryd Vs. Floyd’s Proper Education, which is number one for the fourth straight week.

Loads of classics in the lower reaches.

Looks like Leona might be gone next week. She ain't no Shayne Ward.

Hail The Skynyrd!

Edited to add: Winehouse flesh was all over Hootenanny and The Friday Night Project, Dave. A solid two/three hours on Friday night.

[Dave Tudor]

But perhaps the most surprising entry to the chart is a track from vowel-free southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who are represented, at number 150, not by the classic Free Bird not their anthem Sweet Home Alabama but by I Aint The One, the introductory track on their 1973 debut album Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd), which has never been a hit.

How bizarre!

So now basically anything can get in the charts!? Fantastic!

I look forward to Blood, Sweat & Tears getting a surprise number one next week.

I've seen enough tattooed Winehouse flesh this Xmas/New Year period, thank you very much!

[Milky Tears]

Music Week report that "HMV is today pulling the Official Charts Company singles chart from its racks after deeming the countdown no longer relevant to its in-store offer."

The OCC chart sucks and is not cool.

BBC News link I should've posted earlier:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6244461.stm

[Matthew T]

Eric Prydz Vs Floyd climbing high on mid-weeks
09 January 2007 - 16:21:26

Leona Lewis reign atop the singles chart could be drawing to a close as midweek singles sales figures show Eric Prydz Vs Floyd climbing high. Prydz Vs Floyds Proper Education (Data/Positiva) was last weeks highest new entry at number two, and sales figures since the weekend indicate it could take pole position by the end of the week.

Meanwhile US teen idol Jojo makes a giant leap from 22-4 with the Billy Steinberg-penned ballad Too Little Too Late (Mercury). Snow Patrols Chasing Cars - by far the most popular track on their Eyes Open album - is still hanging around the Top 10 this week, while unsigned act Koopa are doing very well with their digital-only track Blag, Steal Or Borrow.

Second highest new entry is a re-release of The Automatics Raoul (B-Unique) and the Freemasons Rain Down Love (Loaded) makes great gains from download to physical format, helped by its ever-increasing airplay support.

That JoJo track is quite good (I just bought it!) and good to see Freemasons doing well.

[Matthew T]

More figures:

Singles
01 Leona - A Moment Like This
02 Eric Prydz vs. Floyd - Proper Education
03 Take That
04 Jo Jo - Too Little Too Late

Top 10
Nelly Furtado

Top 15
Freemasons
Snow Patrol

Top 20
Koopa - Blag, Steal Or Borrow
Amy Winehouse - Both songs

Top 30
Ordinary Boys
Automatic
Evanescence
DJ Shadow

Top 40
Jarvis
Cooper Temple Clause

Top 50
Nerina Pallot
Lynyrd Skynyrd

Top 60
Just Jack

Top 75
The View
Jamie T
Mason

Top 100
Ben Macklin
Cheetah Girls
Vanessa Hudgens
Klaxons
Fergie
My Chem Romance
The Gossip