Charts analysis: Lana Del Rey leads all-new albums Top 5 with strong sales for Did You Know...

As popular as she is unique, Lana Del Rey storms to the top of the albums chart this week with Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd… Racking up impressive first week consumption of 41,925 units – the highest for a No.1 album since Taylor Swift’s Midnights achieved a second week tally of 48,113 21 weeks ago – Did You Know… sold 9,717 CDs, 20,809 vinyl albums, 2,582 cassettes and 998 digital downloads, deriving a further 7,819 units from sales-equivalent streams. Comprising 16 songs – all co-authored and co-produced by Del Rey – with a playing time in excess of 77 minutes, the album is the 37-year-old New Yorker’s sixth No.1, and provides her highest weekly sale since her second album, Ultraviolence, sped to the summit on sales of 48,028 copies in 2014. Her debut Born To Die, stormed to a No.1 debut on sales of 116,745 copies in 2012, in the wake of back-to-back No.9 hit singles with Video Games and the title track. It remains her biggest album, with to-date sales of 1,408,997 copies – more than the rest of her output combined. Del Rey has had nine Top 40 albums, with two No.2s and a No.25 in addition to her No.1s. That No.25 album – Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass - is a 2020 spoken word set, with incidental music from regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. The only other act to have Top 40 success with both vocal and spoken word material in the 21st century is Nick Cave, whose spoken word set Seven Psalms reached No.39 last year. Edging ahead of Celine Dion, who has had five No.1 albums, Del Rey has now had more No.1 albums than all but four female soloists, namely Madonna, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue and Barbra Streisand. In pursuit of their 3rd No.1 album in total, and first since Ultra in 1997, Depeche Mode were unlucky to be up against Del Rey, and have to settle for a No.2 debut on sales of 22,078 copies for their 15th studio album, Memento Mori. Following the death of Andy Fletcher last May, Depeche Mode is now a duo, comprising founder members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. Including compilations and live sets, Memento Mori is their 22nd Top 75 album since their 1981 chart debut, and their 18th Top 10 entry. In Germany, where they have charted 45 albums – including 12” Singles sets and a lot of live sets – Memento Mori is their 12th No.1, debuting atop the chart there today ahead of local legend Herbert Gronemeyer, who has had 13 No.1s but opens at No.2 with Das Ist Los. After consecutive No.2 albums – the highest charting sets of their career – with 2013’s Save Rock And Roll, 2015’s American Beauty/American Psycho and 2018’s Mania, Chicago quartet Fall Out Boy are down a notch with their eighth studio album, So Much (For) Stardust debuting at No.3 (20,779 sales). Chart positions aren’t everything, of course, and all of their No.2 albums trail far behind their top albums on cumulative sales, these being third album, Infinity On High, which reached No.3 in 2007, and has sold 573,962 copies, and second album, From Under The Cork Tree, which reached No.12 in 2005, and has sold 499,640 copies. It is the first time the top three have all sold more than 20,000 for 17 weeks. One of the most successful albums ever, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon debuted and peaked at No.2 50 years ago this week. It makes two appearances in the Top 20 this week, with the original album, newly remastered and expanded, vaulting 100-17 (4,001 sales) to achieve its highest chart position for since October 2011, when the releases of a six disc ‘immersion version’ of the CD helped it to No.11. Meanwhile, a standalone release of The Dark Side Of The Moon: Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London 1974 – which is also part of the 50th anniversary box set – debuts at No.4 (13,001 sales). The highest-charting album by a male country soloist since Glen Campbell’s poignant swansong Adios reached No.2 in 2017, Gettin’ Old debuts at No.5 (9,845 sales) for Luke Combs. The fourth album by the 33-year-old from North Carolina, it arrives less than nine months after his third album – and first Top 10 entry - Growin’ Up, which debuted and peaked at No.9 (5,179 sales) last July and has gone on to sell 39,246 copies.. The two albums were recorded at the same sessions. It is the first all new Top 5 since 14 May 2021 – 98 weeks ago – when Rag’n’Bone Man, Michael Ball, Dodie, Squid and Van Morrison swept away the previous week’s contenders. The rest of this week’s Top 10: The Highlights (2-6, 8,426 sales) by The Weeknd, Midnights (4-7, 6,369 sales) by Taylor Swift, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (7-8, 5,472 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, Diamonds (9-9, 5,430 sales) by Elton John and Curtain Call: The Hits (8-10, 5,089 sales) by Eminem. Of U2’s 10 previous No.1 albums, none fell out of the Top 10 on its second week – but that’s just what their stripped-back re-recordings set Songs Of Surrender does this week, slumping to No.34 (3,116 sales). Also exiting the Top 10 are: Endless Summer Vacation (3-11, 5,008 sales) by Miley Cyrus, Harry’s House (10-15, 4,567 sales) by Harry Styles, Trustfall (5-16, 4,201 sales) by Pink and A Fistful Of Peaches, No.6 last week for Black Honey, but now out of the Top 200 (422 sales). Tokyo female metal duo Babymetal become the first Japanese act to secure three Top 40 albums, with fourth release, The Other One, debuting at No.32 (3,218 sales). Their eponymous 2014 debut reached No.103, while Metal Resistance reached No.15 in 2016 and Metal Galaxy reached No.19 in 2019. Also new to the Top 75: Love & Money (No.35, 3,102 sales), the ninth studio album by singer/songwriter Katie Melua, and the first to fall short of the Top 10; The Journey – Part 1 (No.41, 2,724 sales), a band-approved new compilation by The Kinks, delivering their 19th chart album in a career stretching back nearly 60 years; False Lankum (No.47, 2,299 sales), the third album by Dublin folk/rock quartet Lankum, whose previous best placing came in 2019, when second album The Livelong Day, reached No.106. No.2 behind both T. Rex and The Rolling Stones when initially released, Elton John’s fifth album, Honky Chateau, has been released in a slightly belated expanded and remastered 50th anniversary edition, and makes its first chart appearance since November 1972 at No.33 (3,166 sales). Daisy Jones & The Six, a fictional band who are the subject of Amazon’s mockumentary series of the same name, continue to climb with Aurora. No.46 on debut three weeks ago, it moved first to No.44, then to No.40 and now jumps to No.26 (3,565 sales). No.5 in 1981, before multi-artist compilations were exiled to their own chart, Dance Craze: The Best Of British Ska….Live reached No.17 on the compilation chart when re-released on vinyl in 2020. Newly remastered and available in expanded editions on CD and vinyl, it now re-enters the compilation chart at No.1 (3,810 sales, 2,125 CD, 1,685 vinyl). It is also newly available on DVD and blu-ray. Overall album sales are up 3.50% week-on-week at 2,252,189, 9.86% above same week 2022 sales of 2,050,080. Physical product accounts for 402,280 sales, 17.86% of the total.

BRIT Trust Diaries: Nadra Shah, Nordoff & Robbins' director of engagement and communications

In the latest edition of the BRIT Trust Diaries, Nadra Shah, Nordoff & Robbins’ director of engagement and communications, discusses why the UK’s largest music therapy charity has overhauled its identity in order to reposition itself as a champion of the social value of music, and to further raise awareness of music therapy in society more generally… Making the decision to go through a brand reposition is never taken lightly, especially for a charity. It can be a long process involving lots of people both internally and outside the organisation, not to mention the cost. But when the case presented is clear, you have to act. The starting point is to always look at the evidence, and research told us that the vital need for music therapy across the UK is currently the highest it’s ever been, but sadly the truth was that public understanding of the benefits and even awareness of music therapy remains low. To protect and increase both our services and future funding, we had to change the way in which we communicate our work and its impact, particularly among the next generation of givers and cause-driven music lovers who appreciate the power of music. This initial research work sent us down a long, tough, yet incredibly rewarding path of creativity and teamwork that has allowed us to arrive at where we are today. Working with the brilliant minds at world-renowned design agency Pentagram and digital agency Hex, we led with our mission, clients and accessibility at the core of this work. We re-defined our purpose, amplifying music throughout our brand, adding flexibility, colour and vibrancy every step of the way to better represent the amazing people our music therapists work with daily. To rename or not to rename, that was the question. When you asked some people, the surnames of our founders felt odd and not associated with what we do. But Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins were the driving force behind a unique practice that has stood the test of time. So that magic and now inserted into our brand name brings these two pioneers to life. Nordoff and Robbins are in our DNA, they are our heritage. The new logo is a result of aiming to convey the unique connection between music therapist and client – an experience that explores sound in unusual ways that go beyond the classic conventions of music. Our new identity is respectful of the charity’s rich heritage and expertise, while ensuring that we remain relevant in an increasingly busy world, where competition for attention is high. Support from our many friends across the music industry, not least The BRIT Trust, is vital to our ongoing mission Nadra Shah We now have a cohesive brand that will help us to clearly express our ambition and, crucially, hold the public’s attention. The new identity effectively communicates the power and connection that Nordoff and Robbins stands for, and puts people and music at the heart of what we do. Although we are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved so far, we see this as just the beginning. Support from our many friends across the music industry, not least The BRIT Trust, is vital to our ongoing mission to continue helping people to break through with music, and as such we need your help now more than ever. Through decades of invaluable support from across the industry (giving you all a shout out would take me way beyond my word count!), to recently announced partnerships with ASM Global, SWG3 and events such as Music Mudder with Wasserman Music and the O2 Silver Clef Awards, we are beyond grateful in what you’ve helped us to achieve so far. Now, with an ever-increasing demand for our services across the UK and a focus on the huge wealth of musical talent in the North coming later this year, we want to engage the next generation of exceptional music industry executives with our cause, so we can continue making music therapy accessible to even more people across society. We’re in it for the long haul, and we hope you are too. For more information on Nordoff and Robbins, please visit here.

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