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Gnarls Barkley makes chart history
Source: Music Week


Brilliant, controversial and unorthodox basketball player Charles Barkley made NBA history, becoming one of only four players to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. This week, Gnarls Barkley - whose name is a jokey tribute to Charles - makes chart history, becoming the first act to reach number one on downloads alone, writes Alan Jones

Admittedly it's only the third week in which chart regulations allow such an occurrence but it's still a superb achievement to top the chart without physical sales.

A duo comprising Brian Burton and Thomas Calloway - better known as Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo - Gnarls Barkley sold 31,703 copies of Crazy on download last week, a total sure to swell a week hence, when the CD single sales kick in, and likely to jump again in a fortnight, after the 12-inch is released.

Thanks to Gnarls Barkley, Crazy draws level with Angel as the title most-used on Top 40 songs this week. Both titles have been used for a dozen different Top 40 songs since the singles chart was introduced in 1952 - but Crazy has the edge when the survey is extended to the Top 75, with 19 different songs of that title charting, compared to 16 called Angel. Gnarls Barkley's single is the first ever number one Crazy. Only Seal's Crazy - number two in 1990 - has previously reached the Top 10.

Although physical singles sales were off 1% last week at 257,534, Crazy's massive popularity helped downloads to jump by 16% to 893,810. With Top 20 debuts on the combined singles chart for Morrissey, The Streets, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson and Mary J Blige/U2 as well as Gnarls Barkley, the overall market was up 12%, to 1,151,345 - its second highest level of the year, just 520 below the 2006 best recorded four weeks ago. Singles sales have now topped the million mark for 11 weeks in a row.

Crazy's dash to the top of the chart means Ne-Yo's So Sick slips to number two, with sales of 25,311, 10.5% down week-on-week.

Hot on the heels of the news that Morrissey's new best mate is The Fonz, he's in a happy daze this week as You Have Killed Me, the introductory single from his new album Ringleader Of The Tormentors, debuts at number three on sales of 19,246. That equals his previous best chart position, as established by Irish Blood, English Heart (first week sales - 27,445), the first single from his last album You Are The Quarry. Mozza has now had 26 solo Top 40 hits, and 42 hits in all, including 16 fronting The Smiths.

And it's a big week for The Streets who registers his ninth hit with When You Wasn't Famous, the first single from his upcoming (third) album The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, while his blockbusting second album A Grand Don't Come For Free completed its millionth sale on Saturday. When You Wasn't Famous sold 12,119 copies last week, to debut at number eight. and is the story of how he tried to date a celebrity. Speculation abounds that it's about Rachel Stevens, who was also the subject of Fit But You Know It.

Suffer Well is the third single from the Depeche Mode's 11th studio album Playing The Angel, and debuts at number 12 this week on sales of 8,623 to provide the group with its 40th Top 40 hit. Despite the fact that all three singles from the album have made the Top 20, Playing The Angel has performed very modestly by Depeche Mode standards, spending four weeks in the Top 75 (6-20-42-73) last October, and remaining absent ever since, with cumulative sales of only 80,133 to date.

Registering his sixth Top 20 single in as many weeks, Michael Jackson debuts at number 17 with The Way You Make Me Feel (6,448 sales). Originally a number three hit in 1987, if follows Jacko's previous 2006 dualdisc reissues which are - in order of charting - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, which reached number 17, Rock With You (number 15), Billie Jean (number 11), Beat It (number 15) and Bad (number 16).

Seasoned veterans Mary J. Blige and U2 make an unlikely pairing but their collaboration on a new version of U2's One - a number seven single in 1992, the year prior to Blige's first hit - is a success, debuting this week at number 19. It's Blige's 27th Top 40 hit and U2's 37th.

The track also features on Blige's current album The Breakthrough, which surges 55-41 this week, coming within a place of the number 40 slot in which it peaked eight weeks ago.

Despite its low chart peak, The Breakthrough, which was issued last December, has sold well, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, and its to date sales of 141,249 are well in excess of Blige's last album, 2003's Love & Life, which peaked at a much loftier number eight position but sold relatively modestly, with only 100,821 copies shifted to date.

Meanwhile, album sales were understandably down last week, as the effect of Mother's Day worked its way out of the figures. Sales for Sunday (25 March, Mother's Day) were up 29% up week-on-week but they were down, and by more every day, for the rest of the week, with Saturday (1 April) off a massive 43.6%. In the week as a whole, 2,771,255 albums were sold - 21.9% down on the previous frame's tally of 3,550,061. Artist albums declined 21.4% to 2,307,067, while compilations slid 24.8% to 461,587.

Amongst the albums to suffer most were X-Factor runner-up Andy Abraham and Journey South, who finished third in the talent finding competition.

Abraham's debut album The Impossible Dream suffered a 71.4% downturn to 50,5190 sales and slips 2-4, while Journey South's self-titled debut set dipped 89.9% to 65,185 sales, falling 1-3 as a result, allowing Embrace to capture the third number one album of their career with This New Day, while Massive Attack - who were also chasing their third number one album - followed close behind at number two.

Embrace enjoyed the best opening week's sales of their career with This New Day, which shifted 76,322 copies last week. It's Embrace's third number one album, and their second in a row. Its 2004 predecessor Out Of Nothing had first week sales of 55,613, while their 1998 debut album The Good Will Out also opened in pole position, with first week sales of 42,932. Nature's Law - the first single from the new album - debuted at number two last week.

It's been quite a week for Embrace - last Monday (26th) it was announced that the band would be recording the official England World Cup song, World At Your Feet, but landing their third number one album is arguably a greater achievement.

After hearing of This New Day's success on Sunday, band leader Danny McNamara said: "It's unbelievable that we've just had our third No. 1 album after being together for almost ten years. It's been the same gang of lads since the start - me, Rik, Mike, Mickey and Steve. We've been through our ups and downs but today is definitely a day to celebrate".

Massive Attack's excellent new single Live With Me - featuring superb guest vocals from 60 year old legend Terry Callier - disappointed slightly, debuting at number 17 last week but the Bristol group's first hits compilation, Collected - The Best Of Massive Attack enjoyed excellent first week sales of 72,471 copies last week to secure a number two debut. The group's last two studio albums were both number ones - the first of their career. 2003's 100th Window opened with sales of 65,436, and 1998's Mezzanine with sales of 86,460.

The third and last new entry to the Top 10 comes from New York garage rock trio The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who debut at number seven with second album, Show Your Bones, while introductory single Gold Lion slips 18-39. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's first full length album, Fever To Tell registered first week sales of 22,118 when debuting at number 13 in 2003, and spent just six weeks in the Top 75 but has gone on to sell 128,502, including 1,432 last week - enough to earn it a Top 200 berth (at number 173) for the first time in more than two years.

Finally, Brighton band The Kooks, also deserve a mention for achieving the extremely rare feat of climbing into the Top 10 of the singles and albums chart simultaneously. The band's latest single Naive debuted at number 28 on downloads last week, and now races to number six, helping to generate new interest in their Inside Out/Ouside In album, which jumps 33-9 to equal its January debut/peak position. Its sales last week - 22,389 - are its best for any of its 10 weeks on release, and lift its cume to 96,312.

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Summary

Singles

01 Gnarls Barkley 31,703
02 Ne-Yo 25,311
03 Morrissey 19,246

08 The Streets 12,119
12 Depeche Mode 8,623
17 Michael Jackson 6,448

Albums

01 Embrace 76,322
02 Massive Attack 72,471
03 Journey South 65,185
04 Andy Abraham 50,190

09 Kooks 22,389
Depeche Mode to date 80,133