Take That’s Progress sets new sales record; JLS score Number One with Children In Need

21/11/2010

Take That have set a new sales standard with their latest album Progress, which has achieved the biggest opening week sales of any album for 13 years – the Official Charts Company confirms today.

The album sold almost 520,000 copies last week, more than the rest of the Top 10 biggest selling albums put together, to top today’s (Sunday) Official Albums Chart, according to Official Charts Company data.

The achievement represents the highest one-week sale for any album this century and one of the all-time fastest sales - the album sold more than Coldplay’s X&Y in 2005 (465,000 week one) and Take That’s The Circus in 2008 (432,000 week one).

In fact, the last album to sell more than 500,000 copies in a week was Oasis’s Be Here Now, which sold 663,000 in its first chart week in 1997 – after being released on the Thursday.

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot says, “Since their reunion as a four-piece four years ago, Take That have firmly established themselves as the UK’s favourite band.

“Following the return of Robbie Williams to their ranks, that record has been further cemented – and they are now well on course to rule Christmas 2010, just as they dominated Christmas  2006 and 2008.”

Take That’s reunion album, Beautiful World, sold 2.5m copies in the UK and held the Number One spot for 8 weeks, with its 2008 follow-up The Circus selling 1m copies in just 18 days on its way to 2.2m sales to date, and was Number One for 5 weeks.

Then, earlier this year, they announced plans to reform with their erstwhile fifth member Robbie Williams. Earlier this month, ticket sales for next year’s Progress tour broke all records to secure Progress as the fastest and biggest selling tour in UK history with a total of 1.34m tickets sold, the first million going in just eight hours.

As lead single from the Progress album, The Flood entered the charts two weeks ago at number two to secure the band their 16th Top 5 hit single.??Elsewhere in a busy Official Albums Chart this week, Rihanna’s Loud enters at 2, with Andre Rieu’s Moonlight Serenade in at 4, Pink’s Greatest Hits in at 5 and Bruce Springsteen’s The Promise entering at 7.

JLS dominate the Official Singles Chart this week, their Children In Need single Love You More arriving firmly at Number One, outselling Take That’s second placed The Flood by almost 40%.

The success represents a quickfire fourth Number One single for the four-piece X-Factor 2008 runners-up – and comes as the band prepare to release their second album, Outta This World, tomorrow (Monday, 22).

JLS singer Aston says he is delighted at the success: “We are soooooo proud to be the Official Number One with the Children In Need single. It's actually incredible what's happened these past few weeks and what's really topped it off is that the single has helped to raise loads of money for such a fantastic cause.

 

“So we have to thank Children in Need for letting us get involved in the first place and everyone who has supported the record! Definitely one of our highlights to date and we hope to do a lot more for the charity in the future!”

Elsewhere in the Official Singles Chart, Westlife’s new single Safe enters at 10.

 

 

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