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James Morrison wakes up to Number One album; Sak Noel tops Official Singles; Nirvana returns to Top 10

02/10/2011

James Morrison claims his second Official Albums Chart Number One today as third release The Awakening flies to the summit, selling almost twice that of its nearest rival and last week’s Number One, Kasabian’s Velociraptor!. In the Official Singles Chart, Spanish DJ and producer Sak Noel makes his Official Charts debut at the top as single Loca People, already a hit across Europe, take this week’s title, just ahead of nearest rival, Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera which holds at Number Two.  

James Morrison’s The Awakening follows his debut, Undiscovered, released when the singer/songwriter and musician was just 21, which was Number One in 2006, and Songs For You, Truths For Me (Number Three, 2008). Between them, the two albums have sold some 4.5 million copies and made Morrison an international star.

He has sold out arena tours across the world, supported Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, was asked to contribute to Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning album The Imagination Project and won the 2007 Brit Award for Best Male and was the biggest-selling British male solo artist in 2006.

 But despite this early success, The Awakening represents something of a coming of age for Morrison who says: “My first two albums felt like practice shots,” he says, “and now I’ve graduated. In many ways this feels like my first proper album.”  Morrison’s single I Won’t Let You Go is at Number Six in this week’s Official Singles Chart.

The Official Albums Chart Top 10 sees just one other new entry and two re-entries.  Blink 182’s Neighborhoods is straight in at Number Six, ten years after the US band last had a studio album in the Top 10 when Take Off Your Pants And Jacket was Number Four in 2001.  US Alternative rock band Nirvana’s influential multi-million-selling classic Nevermind, which first entered the UK charts twenty years ago this month, and previously peaked at Number Seven, marks a personal best performance as the re-mastered anniversary edition sees the album jump from last week’s 157 to this week’s Number Five.  (The other notable re-mastered re-release this week is Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, which peaked at Number Two in 1973, and re-enters the Official Albums Chart at this week’s Number 11.) And Bruno Mars’ former Number One Doo-Wops & Hooligans climbs one place from last week’s 11 to this week’s Number Ten.  Since making its Official Albums Chart debut at Number One in January Doo Wops & Hooligans has been in the Top 10 for all but nine weeks and had never dropped lower than Number 13.

The Official Singles Chart sees a new name at the top, courtesy of Sak Noel’s Loca People, but the track has already topped charts in Belgium, Denmark and Holland and made the Top 10 in Austria, Sweden and Switzerland.  The multi-talented Noel also directed the video for Loca People.  When he’s not making records or DJ-ing himself, or making videos for other artists, he oversees Moguda Productions, a company he co-founded, which runs Spain’s Moguda Dance Festival, now in its third year.
 
The Official Single Chart Top 10 sees two other new entries this week, most notable the phenomenal rise of Goo Goo Dolls’ Iris, a single which was first released in 1998 and previously peaked at Number 26, which climbs from last week’s 120 to this week’s Number 3 after two X Factor contestants chose to perform the song on the UK reality show last weekend.  Goo Goo Dolls were last in the public eye in the UK when they performed a sold out UK tour in November 2010 in support of their ninth studio album Something For The Rest Of Us.  Finally, Bad Meets Evil, the rap super-duo of Royce da 5’9” (Bad) and Eminem (Evil) see their latest single Lighters ft. Bruno Mars climb from last week’s 13 to this week’s Number 10 having first entered the Official Singles Chart at Number 37 in June.

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Notes to Editors
 
1.   Chart information quoted from this release must be credited to the Official Charts Company
 
2.  The Official Charts Company is a joint venture between record labels’ body the BPI and ERA, the Entertainment Retailers Association.   The Official Charts Company is responsible for the commissioning, marketing, distribution and management of the UK’s industry standard music and video charts and is endorsed by the BVA (British Video Association).
 
3. The Official Charts Company compiles its charts from sales information gathered across all key distribution (or entertainment) channels including all major high street retail chains, independent stores, supermarkets, mail order internet retailers and digital music service providers. This market research sample equates to 99% of the total UK Singles market; 98% of the total UK Albums market and 90% of the total UK DVD market.

For further information contact:
Amy Howard, Official Charts Company.
T: 01480 860 530  M. 07768 891 264
E: amy@theofficialcharts.com
W:  www.theofficialcharts.com
The Chart Show with Reggie Yates, Sundays  4pm-7pm, BBC Radio 1.
The Official Chart Update with Greg James, Wednesdays 3.30pm-4pm, BBC Radio 1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/
Jo Whiley features Official Albums Chart highlights, Mondays between 8 and 9pm, BBC Radio 2

 

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