http://c0903002.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/4874-abba_420x250.jpg

 

ABBA overtake The Beatles as Gold becomes the UK’s second biggest selling album of all-time

19/05/2013

By Daniel Lane

 

ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits becomes the UK's second biggest selling album of all-time, knocking The Beatles’ iconic album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band into third place.

 

ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits has overtaken sales of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to become the UK’s second biggest selling album of all time, according to the Official Charts Company’s sales data.

 

While both albums have now sold over 5.1 million copies in the UK, the Swedish band’s 1992 Best Of collection has nudged ahead of The Beatles’ iconic 1967 album by nearly 15,000 copies. An estimated one in five British households owns a copy of either Gold or Sgt Pepper’s.

 

The announcement coincides with this year’s Eurovision Song Contest being held in the group’s homeland; ABBA famously won Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo, which became their first ever Number 1 single on the UK’s Official Singles Chart.

 

ABBA founder / songwriter Björn Ulvaeus told OfficialCharts.com "It’s feels unreal - outselling the greatest record of all time!"

 

Official Charts Company Managing Director, Martin Talbot, adds “The British people took Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-frid to their hearts from the night that they won the Eurovision Song Contest on British soil, in Brighton, 39 years ago. So it is perhaps apt that their huge Gold hits album has reached such heady heights, all these years later.”

 

Swedish Chart Mafia

 

Gold features all nine of the Swedish band’s Official Singles Chart Number 1s – including Waterloo, Mamma Mia, Fernando, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You, The Name Of The Game, Take A Chance On Me, The Winner Takes It All and Super Trouper – and has spent a total of eight weeks at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart.

 

In related news, it’s a double celebration for ABBA star Agnetha Faltskog who also looks set to score her highest charting solo album of her career later this evening (Sunday). According to Wednesday’s Official Chart Update figures, her new offering, A, could go Top 10 when the new Official Albums Chart Top 100 is announced at 7pm tonight here. Agnetha‘s previous UK best was 2004’s My Colouring Book, which peaked at Number 12.

 

Queen’s 1981 Greatest Hits album remains the UK’s biggest selling album of all-time with 5.9 million sales. Adele’s landmark 2011 album, 21, and Oasis’ 1995 second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, complete the Top 5.

 

The Official Top 5 Biggest Selling Albums Of All-Time are as follows*:

 

ALBUM TITLE ARTIST YEAR OF RELEASE SALES TO DATE

1 GREATEST HITS QUEEN 1981 5.9 MILLION

2 GOLD - GREATEST HITS ABBA 1992 5.1 MILLION

3 SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND BEATLES 1967 5.1 MILLION

4 21 ADELE 2011 4.6 MILLION

5 (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? OASIS 1995 4.6 MILLION

 

© 2013 theOfficial Charts Company. All rights reserved. * - Sales rounded to the nearest 100k.

Edited May 18, 201312 yr by liamk97

Well this clearly happened a couple of months ago, why the delay in reporting?

 

Had to happen one day anyway. :(

Well this clearly happened a couple of months ago, why the delay in reporting?

 

Had to happen one day anyway. :(

I've noticed that Adele's 21 has now overtaken Oasis for fourth place too, yet this was also presumed to have happened a while back (I don't believe the OCC had confirmed it previously).

 

I love ABBA's music more so than The Beatles so I'm quite happy to see this achievement.

http://c0903002.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/4874-abba_420x250.jpg

 

ABBA overtake The Beatles as Gold becomes the UK’s second biggest selling album of all-time

19/05/2013

By Daniel Lane

 

ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits becomes the UK's second biggest selling album of all-time, knocking The Beatles’ iconic album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band into third place.

 

ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits has overtaken sales of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to become the UK’s second biggest selling album of all time, according to the Official Charts Company’s sales data.

 

 

Dont ya just love journalism where the say the same thing twice in a row.

Dont ya just love journalism where the say the same thing twice in a row.

On the website, it looks better as the first sentence is written in bold, a different colour and a different size - almost like a summary of what the report's about. But yeah, in pure writing it does seem strange. :P

 

I guess the reason why the OCC delayed announcing this was so they could reveal on the day of Eurovision, sort of as a tribute to ABBA I guess?

I wonder if Eurovision gave it the final push over the line :lol:

 

I wonder what it would take for it to move up to the #1 all-time spot. Maybe a reunion tour would do it? Though that's unlikely to happen I guess.

The OCC have announced that Gold, by ABBA is now 15,000 UK Sales ahead

of Sgt Pepper, by The Beatles.

 

THE UK'S TOP 5 BIGGEST SELLING ALBUMS

 

(To W/E 18th May 2013)

 

1. GREATEST HITS - QUEEN - (1981) - 5.9 MILLION

2. GOLD - GREATEST HITS - ABBA - (1992) - 5.1 MILLION

3. SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND - THE BEATLES - (1967) - 5.1 MILLION

4. 21 - ADELE - (2011) - 4.6 MILLION

5. (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? - OASIS - (1995) - 4.6 MILLION

 

The OCC delayed announcing this, as they wanted to do so around the time of the

2013 ESC in Sweden. Which they have.

 

The Queen Album has around 535,000 Sales added in from 2000's Triple Hits Set, The Platinum Collection. It

was decided to do that in 2006, when The OCC were compiling the UK's Top 100 All Time Best Selling Albums.

It was about a 3rd of TPC's Sales to that point. It was also given 50% of the Sales of Greatest Hits I & II, from

1994. That Double CD Set sold 50,000 to 80,000, in the UK, giving the first 2 Queen Hits Albums 25,000 to 40,000

Sales from that. Which gave Greatest Hits (One), & Greatest Hits II, 560,000 to 575,000 extra Sales, from the

1994 Double Set, & 2000 Triple Set.

 

It means that Greatest Hits has sold about 5,325,000 to 5,340,000, as a stand-alone Album.

 

Greatest Hits II, also got around 535,000 Sales, from TPC. & 25,000 to 40,000 Sales from Greatest Hits I & II.

So its Sales have also had 560,000 to 575,000 added to them

 

(Alan Jones admitted the added Sales, a few Years ago, in Music Week).

 

But, ABBA Gold did not get any Sales from Forever Gold, (1996), which contained

Gold, & More Gold. It sold 61,000, so both Gold & More Gold, should get 30,500

Sales each from it. (If ABBA were to be treated in the same way as Queen....).

 

Apparently, Universal have got several plans for the 40th Anniversary of ABBA's

ESC Win. (2014). So, they may well give a boost to Gold's Sales.

 

It is not widely known, but the UK ESC Jury decided to award Waterloo Zero Points,

at the 1974 Contest. The UK Jury disliked it.....

Edited May 19, 201312 yr by zeus555

Well this clearly happened a couple of months ago, why the delay in reporting?

 

Insider knowledge tells me that it was because The Beatles' album might have got a sales boost if ABBA had just overtaken The Beatles. :o

Insider knowledge tells me that it was because The Beatles' album might have got a sales boost if ABBA had just overtaken The Beatles. :o

 

Even if it *had*, it would probably have had to quardruple its sales to take back that place.

Even if it *had*, it would probably have had to quardruple its sales to take back that place.

 

Not really? If it was 500 sales ahead, it might have gone back to #2.

I've noticed that Adele's 21 has now overtaken Oasis for fourth place too, yet this was also presumed to have happened a while back (I don't believe the OCC had confirmed it previously).

 

They did late last year

 

http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/a...-all-time-1778/

 

 

 

They did late last year

 

http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/a...-all-time-1778/

Cheers, I might have missed that one then.