zeus555

Like Radio One, The BRITS are a bit obsessed with the idea of an Act being 'Relevant'. Therefore, it would not surprise me if Ariana Grande, was the next International Female to get the 'Lifetime Achievement' Award. As regards the next International Male Artist to get it, we may see Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake get it. Perhaps Drake... The BRITS 'Committee' may just go for Artists who are having Hits in the present day, rather than rewarding Artists who have achieved a lot over several Decades, but are seen as 'Old' or 'Irrelevant' in this Decade... Which would leave out Madonna, Kylie, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Diana Ross, ABBA, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, and many other 'Old' International Acts...

The 'Official' reason why Pink has been given the Award is because The BRITS have opened the 'Outstanding Contribution' Award to International Acts. However, I think that the fact that she has a New Album due, ('Hurts 2B Human'), and Single, ('Walk Me Home'), is why she has been chosen to be the 1st 'International' Female to get it. The BRITS wanted someone big, who would turn up to perform and that is why Pink has been given the Award. Madonna's New material is not ready, and Kylie's New material was last Year. ABBA have spent longer at No.1 in the UK than any Act since The Beatles split, (Post-1970), and they have never even had a BRIT Award. They were nominated for Best International Album at the very 1st Awards in 1977. They were called The Britannia Awards then. As they were the 1st, they were given for all of UK Chart History. ABBA's 'Arrival' lost to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' by Simon & Garfunkel in the Best International Album category. The other 2 Nominees were 'Tapestry' by Carole King and 'Songs In The Key Of Life' by Stevie Wonder. That is the 1st - and last - time that ABBA ever got a BRITS Nomination. Other Acts were given the 'Outstanding Contribution' Award more than once. The Beatles got it in both 1977 and 1983. Robbie Williams, David Bowie and Elton John have been given 'Special' BRITS Awards more than once, to celebrate their Careers. As a contrast, I don't think that Take That have had the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award even once. (Sometimes the Award has been called the 'Lifetime Achievement' Award and it has been called the 'Icon' Award, at other times). Although 2 of U2 were born in the UK, they are regarded as an Irish Group. So, they were the 1st, (and last), Non-UK Group to get the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award, in 2001. Bob Geldof got the Award in 2005, and he too is Irish. Let's face it, he didn't get the Award for his 2 UK No.1's with the Boomtown Rats. He got it for his Charity work with Band Aid and Live Aid... Now that the 'Outstanding Contribution To Music' Award has been given to Pink, we can expect to see it given to other 'International' Acts, in the future. Such as Madonna, Kyle Minogue, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder etc., etc. (I can't see it being given to ABBA, as they will not all turn up tp accept the Award. They certainly will not perform. So, ABBA are probably out of the question, for the Award...).

In case anyone doesn't know - Pink is to get The BRIT Award for 'Outstanding Contribution To Music' Award at The BRITS. She is the first Non-UK Female to get it and the first Solo Female to do so. It means that she has been awarded it, when even Madonna never was...

ABBA and The Bee Gees just miss the List with 19 Top 10's each...

In case anyone is still unsure of the final UK Charts of 2018. The OCC tell me that the current UK Charts - W/E 3rd January 2019 - are the last Charts for 2018. With a Sales 'Cut-Off' Date of Thursday 27th December 2018. The 1st UK Charts of 2019 are those for W/E 10th January - even though 4 Days of their Sales were in 2018.

In case anyone is still unsure of the final UK Charts of 2018. The OCC tell me that the current UK Charts - W/E 3rd January 2019 - are the last Charts for 2018. With a Sales 'Cut-Off' Date of Thursday 27th December 2018. The 1st UK Charts of 2019 are those for W/E 10th January - even though 4 Days of their Sales were in 2018.

Yes - John - Thank You for your Chart Commentaries too.

Dannyboy -- Thank you for all of your interesting UK 'All Time' Charts. They are very interesting and much appreciated by many of us. We realise how much time and effort you put into them.

Paul -- Thank you for doing these Weekly UK Album Totals Up-Dates. They really are much appreciated. I - and others - look forward to seeing your Weekly Up-Dates in 2019.

Simon - Thanks for all of your Weekly Chart Commentaries and the great efforts that you put into them.

Dannyboy -- Thanks for all of your Lists. I Post a lot on an ABBA Forum, as well as on some UK Chart Sites. I often feel a bit frustrated, that only a few people respond to my Posts. The vast majority, of the Members of Chart Sites, never Post at all. Others Post very rarely. It seems to be normal, for most people not to Post at all. I've decided to live with that, and to carry on Posting anyhow. Poor Simon, (Suedehead), does his excellent Chart Commentaries every Week. I notice that he gets hardly any Posts - 'Feed Back' on them. He Posts them here and at Haven. I find that very sad, as he puts much effort into them. As you do with your Chart Lists...

'Odyssey' is Take That's 8th UK No.1 Album - not their 9th. It gives them a 30th Week at No.1 on the Album Chart. The same as Madonna has managed with 12 No.1's.

So several people - including me - get 'Music Box' to be on over 1,500,000 UK Sales, and all of a sudden The OCC lower them to 1,180,000? (Both Gezza and Shireblogger have also got its UK Sales to be over 1,500,000, in the past). The B.P.I. also get its UK Sales to be over 1,500,000. They have it on 5 X Platinum.

Dannyboy - I don't just comment about 'your' errors'. I've thanked you for your, (hard), work in the past. I'm sorry that you took my comments to be 'rude'. The alternative is for anyone who spots any errors in your Lists, to pretend not to notice them. To say nothing. In case you get offended. Personally, I like people to point out any Chart errors that I make. It does no-one any good to pretend that everything is accurate, when it isn't. I was not criticising your Chart work. I was pointing out that it is best not to go by everything on The OCC Site. They make a lot of mistakes. (Such as giving The Beatles 65 UK No.1 Singles Weeks, when it should be 69 No.1 Weeks). I was just pointing out that The OCC have made errors about The Shadows Hits. They have included 1 of their No.1's with Cliff Richard and ignored their other 6 No.1's with him. They are not consistent. They should either include all of The Shadows, (before then, The Drifters), Hits with Cliff, or not include any of them. Including some, but not others is just messy. The old Guinness Chart Books etc. used to include all of Cliff & The Drifters and Cliff & The Shadows Hits, with The Shadows Hits. However, I know several people at The OCC and they tell me that they do not count any Cliff Hits as Shadows/Drifters Hits. Which is rather confusing, when they include some in The Shadows 'Section' on their Site. I know several UK Chart Experts and DJ's. We are in touch often. If I make an error, I'm delighted when they tell me. I'd rather be told my mistakes, than have people pretending that I haven't made any...

You have used The OCC's Singles Chart Stats for The Shadows. This is wrong. The OCC have messed up The Shadows Stats. As The Shadows they had 5 UK No.1 Singles. As Cliff Richard and The Shadows they had 7 more No.1 Singles. The OCC only counts 1 of those 7 No.1's with Cliff. Which means that it gives them 6 No.1 Hits. You should either count every Hit they had with Cliff, or none at all. Mixing them up is pointless. As The Shadows they had 5 No.1 Singles and 16 Top 10 Hits. Really, they are the only UK Singles Stats that you should count for them. In the past, The OCC have told me that they do not regard Cliff and The Shadows Hits as being Shadows Hits. By including some Cliff Hits in The Shadows Section, they have contradicted their own rules.

!Michael Myers! The Soundtrack to 'Mamma Mia! 2' has sold no-where near as well as the Soundtrack to 'Mamma Mia! 1'. The 1st Soundtrack is on over 1,500,000 UK Sales. However, the 2nd Film has been huge in the UK. It is the UK's 14th 'All Time' Box Office success. The 1st Film is a few places higher - No.11. So, the 2nd Film has far, far out-performed its Soundtrack. As to why the 2nd Soundtrack has done relatively poorly, it is hard to tell. Some say that it is because it has 5 Songs on it from the 1st Soundtrack. (Even though they are new recordings). Others say that it is because it has a lot of ABBA Songs on it that are 'unknown' to many people. What I do know is that 'The Greatest Showman' Film has not been anywhere near as big a UK Hit, as either 'Mamma Mia!' Film. 'The Greatest Showman' has taken around £49 Million in the UK. Not even enough to be in the 'All Time' UK Top 33. So its Soundtrack has been a lot bigger than the one for the 2nd 'Mamma Mia!', but the Film itself is far behind that 2nd Film... Here are the UK's 'All Time' Box Office Films -- The List Is a Top 33: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highe..._United_Kingdom

Lonnie - I'll buy all of your Books, as soon as they are all ready. I love Chart Books. (I love many Books. I own about 1,500 and they cover many Subjects - all Non-Fiction). I'll make sure to tell every 'Chart Expert' that I know, about your Chart Books.

Lady GaGa could be the 1st Solo Female to have the UK's No.1 Single, Album and Movie, at the same time. However, Olivia Newton-John may have beaten her to it, in 1978. She was No.1 - at the same time - for several Weeks, with 'Summer Nights', (with John Travolta), and the 'Grease' Soundtrack. As 'Grease' was the UK's No.1 Film for 1978, she was very likely also No.1 - at the same time - with that Movie. Agnetha and Frida probably achieved it as half of ABBA in 1978. That would be with 'Take A Chance On Me', 'The Album' and 'ABBA - The Movie'. 'ABBA - The Movie' was the UK's 7th biggest Film of 1978. Which means that it was almost certainly No.1 in the Weekly UK Box Office.

There are not going to be any New ABBA 'Singles' released this Year. That idea has now been 'delayed', until at least March 2019. This has been confirmed by both Bjorn and ABBA's friend and spokeswoman, Gorel Hanser. If and when the 2 New ABBA Songs are released, they will not just be on Download and Streaming. ABBA plan to release several Physical Formats of them too. That means CD Singles, 7 Inch Vinyl, and maybe Coloured Vinyl. This is an attempt to over-come the fact that 'Old' Acts tend to struggle with Streaming, and cannot get big hit 'Singles' any more. (As can be seen by how Madonna, Kylie and Take That Singles have struggled in the past few Years). ABBA made the mistake of revealing their 2 New Songs far, far too early. They announced that they'd recorded them way back in April. (They actually recorded them in June 2017, so they'd already had them recorded for 10 Months, when they told 'The World' about them, in April). The problem lies in the fact, that the New Songs were to be 'sung' and promoted, by 4 ABBA Holograms - The 'ABBAtars'. However, ABBA are having problems with the technology, and The 'ABBAtars' will not be seen on Tour until 2020 now. (If ABBA decide to go ahead with the 'Project' at all). The 'ABBAtars' look as ABBA did on their 1979 World Tour. In July, Benny said that he and Bjorn had a 3rd New ABBA Song 'in mind', for The 'ABBAtars' to perform on Tour. If The 'ABBAtars' idea is dropped, then the 3rd New ABBA Song may just never get recorded. A 2 Hour Global ABBA TV Special was to reveal The 'ABBAtars' on Tuesday December 18th. It has now been delayed until at least March 2019. Just like the 2 New Songs. (This has been confirmed by ABBA and the BBC). The TV Special may never get made now. The idea may just be forgotten. We will see. The 'ABBAtars' were supposed to 'sing', (mime), the 1st New Song in it - 'I Still Have Faith In You'.

Dannyboy -- Your Chart Count Downs are very interesting. I check this Thread a few times a day. We can see that you put a lot of work into these 'Projects'. Please carry on. It is appreciated. Hopefully you will do an Albums Artists Top 100 at some stage...

As many of us know, the UK Sales of 'Sgt Pepper' are controversial, to some people. Here is why: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_..._United_Kingdom

There has been some surprise that neither ABBA nor Queen made the List. Both Groups would be in the Top 10 of the UK's Best Selling Album's Acts. Queen would be 2nd, (after The Beatles), and ABBA would be about 8th. But neither Act had a truly gigantic Selling UK Studio Album. Not one that sold the 2.7 Million needed to reach the All Time Top 40, anyway... Both ABBA and Queen sell far better with Compilation Albums. Queen have the UK's No.1 'Hits' Album, with 'Greatest Hits' (One). They are also 3rd with 'Greatest Hits II'. ABBA are 2nd with 'Gold' and 8th with 'Greatest Hits', (One). It was 7th but 'Ladies And Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael', overtook it, after he died, a few Years ago. In 2008, Alan Jones gave out the UK's Total Sales of 'ABBA Gold' on 2 or 3 occasions, due to it returning to No.1. If you carefully add his Totals to its Sales to the end of 2008, and for 2009 - 2018, (so far), you get over 5,580,000 UK Sales for it. Which means that it should have had an 18th UK Platinum Award ages ago. Instead it is still stuck on 17 for 5,100,000. I have worked it out 4 times and always I get over 5,580,000 UK Sales for it. I don't see how 'Sgt. Pepper' can over-take either 'ABBA Gold' or 'Greatest Hits', by Queen. Both of those Albums spend far, far longer in the UK Top 75 than The Beatles Album. That means that it consistently sells less than those 2 Albums. So how can it ever outsell them?

Dannyboy - If you are copying your Singles Chart Data from The OCC Site, remember that they sometimes make mistakes. For example, The OCC gives The Beatles 461 Weeks in the Singles Top 75. It should be 465 Weeks. They give The Beatles 65 No.1 Singles Weeks. It should be 69 No.1 Weeks. They give The Beatles 188 Top 10 Singles Weeks. it should be 192 Top 10 Weeks. All of those mistakes are because of them getting 'Get Back' wrong in 1969. They only give it 2 No.1 Weeks - instead of 6. They give it 5 Top 10 Weeks - instead of 9. They give it 13 Weeks in the entire Chart - it should be 17. Oddly, if you 'Click On' 'Get Back', to see The OCC Chart Run, they get it right. But, they still miss out 4 No.1 Weeks in all of the Statistics, that I've mentioned.

Dannyboy -- ABBA have had 25 UK Top 40, (and Top 75), Hits. You give them 26 because you think that 'Dancing Queen' was a Remix in 1992. It wasn't. It was exactly the same version that reached No.1 in 1976. The OCC call it 'Dancing Queen (1992)'. It is because they think that it was a Remix. They should treat it the same as 'Waterloo', (No.20 in 2004), and 'Mamma Mia', (No.56 in 2008). They don't regard them as New ABBA Hits. They see them them as carrying on the Chart Runs of the 1974 and 1976 hits. Well, 'Dancing Queen', in 1992, carries on the Chart Run of the 1976 No.1.

Cher would have had more Sales with 2 versions of her Album. I see that Rod has 2 versions of his.