Robbie Williams’ “Greatest Hits” (Chrysalis) starts a second week at No. 1 on European Top 100 Albums. The set retains pole position in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, where two-week sales are close to 469,000 units. It also debuts at No. 3 in Sweden and No. 5 in the Czech Republic.
With R.E.M.’s “Around the Sun” (Warner Bros.) holding at No. 2 overall, Depeche Mode’s “Remixes 81-04” (Mute) is the highest debut, at No. 3. Available in single-, double- and triple-CD editions, “Remixes” opens at No. 2 in Germany, No. 6 in Italy and No. 9 in Spain; in the group’s native Britain, it makes a modest start at No. 24. Mute director of international Donna Vergier says the album’s initial European shipment was 250,000 units but swift re-orders will soon see it approach 300,000.
Leonard Cohen bows at No. 6 on Top 100 Albums with “Dear Heather” (Columbia). The 70-year-old Canadian has a particularly strong sales base in Scandinavia: The album debuts at No. 1 in Denmark and No. 2 in Norway. It’s also new at No. 5 in Portugal and Ireland. Cohen’s last studio set, “Ten New Songs,” opened at No. 5 overall in October 2001.
Italian singer Laura Pausini’s “Resta in Ascolto” (Atlantic) is new at No. 7 on Top 100 Albums. It starts at No. 1 in Italy, No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 3 in Spain and No. 10 in Switzerland. The title track tops the Italian singles chart for the fourth week. Pausini has been promoting the album this week in Holland, Italy and France, and will start an extensive European tour Feb. 5, 2005, in Torino, Italy.
The final top-10 newcomer on Top 100 Albums is Placebo’s singles retrospective “Once More With Feeling” (Virgin), which opens at No. 9. The album arrives at No. 4 in Switzerland and No. 8 in both Italy and the United Kingdom, the latter with sales of 27,000. It’s also up 14-3 in Belgium.
Eric Prydz tops Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for a second week with “Call on Me” (Data/Ministry of Sound). The track holds at No. 1 in Germany and Ireland and climbs 11-4 in Austria. In the United Kingdom, it falls to No. 2 after an aggregate five weeks at No. 1.
Star Academy 4’s “Laissez-Moi Dancer” (Mercury) is up 4-3 on the Eurochart, after retaining the No. 1 spot in France and Belgium.
“Wonderful” (Def Jam), by Ja Rule featuring R. Kelly & Ashanti, debuts at No. 4 on the Eurochart after opening at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
“Gentleman” (Up Music/Warner Music), by French-based R&B duo Tragédie, is up 10-5 on the Eurochart, after climbing 15-3 in Belgium and holding at No. 2 in France.
