Gorillaz have scored their first No.1 album in 18 years - and seen their opening sales increase compared to the group’s most recent releases.
Cracker Island debuted at the summit with sales of 22,440 units, according to the Official Charts Company. As revealed in our weekly charts analysis, the total was made up of 4,895 CDs, 11,449 12-inch vinyl albums, 268 7-inch vinyl albums, 1,264 cassettes, 1,232 digital downloads and 3,332 sales-equivalent streams.
The album reached the top 18 years after Demon Dayz became their only previous No.1. The virtual act conceived by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett first appeared in the albums chart almost 22 years, when their eponymous debut entered at No.3.
Cracker Island’s opening week was bigger than both 2020’s Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez (No.2, 15,543 sales) and 2018’s The Now Now (No.5, 16,535).
“This No 1 album is a fantastic appreciation for Damon and Jamie,” said Niamh Byrne & Regine Moylett, Eleven Management. “We at Eleven are as always inspired by their work and we love bringing their adventurous, funny and creative spirit to the world, and pushing the boundaries of where their music and art takes us”.
Cracker Island is proof that their creative spirit is as powerful as it's ever been
Nick Burgess & Mark Mitchell
“Gorillaz have always been, and very much remain, one of the most innovative and pioneering bands on the planet,” said Nick Burgess & Mark Mitchell, Parlophone co-presidents. “Cracker Island is proof that their creative spirit is as powerful as it's ever been, and the success of the album shows the audience is still growing and evolving with the band’s music.
“It's been an amazing team effort on a global scale from Damon, Jamie and the Eleven management team who have worked tirelessly with Parlophone and the Warner commercial and international teams to deliver a global success story. Congratulations to Gorillaz on your No.1 album."
With their eighth album, Gorillaz have now released as many studio albums as Albarn’s group Blur. With Blur on six chart-topping albums, Albarn now has eight No.1 albums in total.
As revealed in our charts analysis, Demon Dayz holds the record for Gorillaz’s highest first week sales (105,320), their highest weekly sale (176,006) and their highest cumulative sale, which currently stands at 1,943,725 units.
PHOTO: Eleven Management and Parlophone execs, along with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
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