U2’s “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb” (Universal Island) starts a second week at the helm of European Top 100 Albums, despite losing four of its opening No. 1 rankings around the region.
The album drops off the top in Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Finland, but keeps control in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and Norway. In its second week in the United Kingdom, the album sells 127,000 units, for a two-week score of 327,000. The set also debuts this week at No. 1 in Sweden and No. 4 in Hungary.
Robbie Williams’ former chart-topper “Greatest Hits” (Chrysalis) moves back up 3-2 on European Top 100 Albums after holding at No. 1 position in Germany. The compilation moved close to its 1 millionth British sale in its seventh week there, ahead of last Monday’s (Dec. 6) release of the single “Misunderstood.” “Greatest Hits” is also holding up well in other territories, moving 3-2 in Switzerland and remaining at No. 2 in Holland, No. 3 in Austria, No. 4 in Italy and Denmark and No. 10 in Spain.
Two more retrospectives showing some staying power are “Best of Seal 1991-2004” (Warner Bros.) and Tina Turner’s “All The Best” (Parlophone). The Seal disc is up 6-4 on Top 100 Albums after rebounding 10-5 in Portugal; it holds at No. 4 in Switzerland. Turner is back up 9-6 on the European chart.
The highest debut on Top 100 Albums, at No. 11, is “MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z/Linkin Park: Collision Course” (WEA). Its top territorial debuts are at No. 5 in Germany and Austria and No. 9 in Switzerland. U.K. record buyers are more cautious, giving it a No. 38 debut.
“Baryton” by French mainstay Florent Pagny (Mercury) improves 22-15 after a 3-1 gain in his home market. The 43-year-old’s orchestral set debuted at No. 1 in France last month.
There’s a surprise on Eurochart Top 100 Singles, where the highly publicized all-star remake of “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” credited to Band Aid 20 and released by Mercury, fails to dislodge Destiny’s Chid’s “Lose My Breath” (Columbia) from No. 1. The R&B trio leads the pan-European survey for a third week with a wide range of territorial top-three placings, including No. 1 in Switzerland.
The “Do They Know It’s Christmas” cover, which is again raising money for the Band Aid Trust’s work in African famine relief, debuts at No. 2 overall. It’s No. 1 in the United Kingdom on first-week sales of 292,000 units, more than the sales of the rest of the top 40 combined. Only four other singles in that market this year have managed first-week sales in six figures. But the Band Aid 20 tally pales by comparison to the 750,000-unit debut for the original song, 20 years ago next week. The new “Christmas” also bows at No. 1 in Norway, Denmark and Ireland and at No. 7 in Germany.
