Depeche Mode’s “Sounds of the Universe” (Mute/EMI) starts a second week at the European Top 100 Albums summit, and it’s an 11th week at No. 1 on European Hot 100 Singles for Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” (Interscope/Universal).
While “Universe” makes a sharp 2-12 descent in the band’s native United Kingdom and falls 1-2 in Denmark, 2-4 in France and 2-9 in Portugal, a second week on top in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary, and a new entry at No. 1 in Spain, are enough to prevent Bob Dylan’s “Together Through Life” (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment) from making a pan-European No. 1 debut. He arrives in runner-up spot after securing his first British chart-topping album (and seventh in total) for 39 years, on sales of 42,000.
“Life” is also new at No. 1 in Denmark, scores No. 2 entries in Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland, No.3 in Holland, No. 6 in Italy and No. 9 in France, and climbs 7-3 in the Belgian region of Flanders. Dylan’s last studio release, 2006’s “Modern Times,” had a week at the pan-European summit in September 2006; “Love and Theft” debuted at No. 2 in 2001.
Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” album is down 2-3 overall, as it falls 1-3 in the United Kingdom and 2-3 in Ireland, although it’s up 7-4 in Germany. “Poker Face” scores yet another week atop the European Hot 100 as it stays at No. 1 in Germany and climbs 3-1 in Ireland and 2-1 in Holland.
Also falling one rung each on Top 100 Albums are U2’s “No Line on the Horizon” (Mercury/Universal), at No. 4, and Beyoncé’s “I Am…Sasha Fierce” (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment) at No. 5. The U2 album’s highest European ranking of the week is No. 4 in Spain; it’s back up six spots to No. 27 in the United Kingdom. Beyoncé is at No. 4 in both the United Kingdom and Norway.
Pink’s “Funhouse” (LaFace/Sony Music Entertainment) continues to benefit from her just-completed European tour, rising 7-6 after a 10-6 climb in the United Kingdom, where total sales are 771,000. The album is steady at No. 4 in Ireland and the single “Please Don’t Leave Me” moves 19-17 on the European Hot 100, with climbs of 9-8 in Germany and 13-12 in the United Kingdom.
“Quiet Nights” (Verve/Universal) slips 6-7 on Top 100 Albums for Diana Krall, despite a good week in Portugal and Greece, with climbs of 3-2 and 5-2 respectively. U.K. rock band the Enemy, from Coventry in the English midlands, hits No. 8 on the composite chart with its sophomore album “Music For The People” (Warner Bros.), after a local debut at No. 2. Initial sales of 35,000 are a little under 4,000 less than those for the 2007 debut “We’ll Live and Die In These Towns,” which opened at No. 1 there.
Kings of Leon’s “Only By The Night” (Hand Me Down/Sony Music Entertainment) dips 5-9 Europe-wide, despite a 16-10 climb in Greece, and German duo Rosenstolz re-enters the aggregate chart at No. 10 with “Die Suche Geht Weiter” (Universal Island) after climbing back 43-3 in that market. The album debuted at No. 5 on Top 100 Albums last October, and revives via a new edition featuring a live CD and DVD.
