So, based on sales over the last 12 months of the new records we stock...
1. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform Educate Entertain
2. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything
3. The Horrors - Luminous
4. Solaris OST - Cliff Martinez
5. St Vincent - St Vincent
6. Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love
7. Sting - The Last Ship
8. Beck - Morning Phase
9. Lily Allen
10. Broken Bells - After The Disco
Personally, I'm so thrilled to have Public Service Broadcasting at number one. It's no secret that we love that band at Marrs HQ. In fact, we got in touch with their manager to find out how we could start stocking it on their behalf. This start the ball rolling, or disc spinning, in us stocking new records.
We're very proud to have ended up with such an eclectic chart. Proof, if ever it was needed, that diversity in music remains despite the Corporates endless greed and artless quest for money.
So, best selling bands/artist over the same period? We're not going to need a drum roll for this one...
1. Queen
2. Rolling Stones
3. Rush
4. Iron Maiden
5. Johnny Cash
6. Kraftwerk
7. Madness
8. New Order
9. Pink Floyd
10. Stevie Wonder
In someways, no surprises but dig a little deeper and there are some interesting points...
Firstly, no Beatles or Led Zeppelin in the top ten. I think Led Zeppelin are easily explained. Earlier this year they reissued their early LP's. The build up, as the massive hype machine started rolling, perhaps saw customers holding out for the remasters. I've not heard these myself, but plenty of reports on the net seem to be report multiple pressing issues. We decided not to risk stocking them.
The Beatles? Well, I had to double check the figures! Obviously a constant seller with generation after generation getting to discover their energy and wonder. I remember getting the Red and Blue albums, some 100 years ago, and being aghast at just how many of the songs I knew without knowing them to be Beatle songs. I miss being 15.
It's worth saying that Zed Zeppelin and The Beatles are 11th and 12th in the chart. Further, that Queen, Rolling Stones and Rush were largely bought by customers across Europe rather than the UK. A chart of sales to UK customers would have had Joy Division at number one.
The top ten (or twelve) clearly have a massive back catalogue which generally puts them at the top of any charts like this. This chart could be 20 years old.
