In the week of the 30th anniversary of his death, Elvis Presley returned to the top of the U.K. album chart yesterday (Aug. 19) with RCA’s new two-CD compilation “The King.” But the label’s attempts to get his 1968 classic “Suspicious Minds” to the top of the singles chart for the first time were unsuccessful, as the reissued track debuted at No. 11. Kanye West’s “Stronger” (Def Jam) is the new leader on that chart, with a 3-1 climb.
The Presley retrospective is his 11th chart-topping album in the U.K. He first led the survey in November 1956 with “Rock’n’Roll” and most recently in October 2002 with “30 #1 Hits.” The single, part of another reissue series of 18 Elvis tracks by Sony BMG, was re-released last Thursday, the 30th anniversary of his passing, but therefore only had three days’ sales computed into the new chart.
“The King” unseated London singer/songwriter Kate Nash, whose “Made of Bricks” (Fiction/Polydor) had debuted at No. 1 last week. Newton Faulkner’s “Hand Built By Robots” (Ugly Truth) spent a third week at No. 3 and Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” (Universal Island), apparently undamaged by wall-to-wall British press coverage of her drug-related personal problems, rebounded 7-4 in its 42nd chart week.
Leeds band the Pigeon Detectives had a good week, as their debut album “Wait for Me” (Dance to the Radio) jumped 34-11 and its latest single “Take Her Back” soared 58-20. Ben’s Brother, the melodic British rock band fronted by Jamie Hartman, moved 24-14 with the debut album “Beta Male Fairytales” and 69-38 with its current single “Let Me Out” (Relentless/Virgin).
Sweden’s Robyn debuted at No. 20 with her self-titled album on Konichiwa, but its single “With Every Heartbeat,” with Kleerup, lost top place on the singles list to West, falling 1-2. Plain White T’s climbed 6-5 with “Hey There Delilah” (Angel) and there was a 27-6 move for “I Found U” (Positiva) by Axwell featuring Max C. Axwell, aka Swedish dance producer Axel Hedfors. The act had a top 20 U.K. entry in 2005 with “Feel The Vibe (Til The Morning Comes)’.”
Another dance hit crossing over into the pop top 10 was “Love Is Gone” by French producer David Guetta featuring Chris Willis, which gave the Angel label simultaneous U.K. top 10 hits with a 21-9 climb. Meanwhile, London rock band Hard-Fi returned at No. 12 with “Suburban Knights” (Necessary/Atlantic), the first single from its second album, “Once Upon a Time in the West,” which follows on Sept. 3.
Billboard’s composite European sales charts show Mika’s “Life in Cartoon Motion” (Casablanca/Universal Island) at No. 1 for a third week on the European Top 100 Albums chart and Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (Def Jam) featuring Jay-Z leading Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for an 11th week.
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