ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
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Arctic Monkeys Make UK History
(Look @ the 2006 Pick to Break Thread to see who called it)
Arctic Monkeys make UK chart history
LONDON (AP) - The Arctic Monkeys' first album has become the fastest-selling British debut of all time, with more than 360,000 people buying the record in just its first week on the charts.
On Monday, music retailers were rejoicing over the mania for the Sheffield foursome's catchy guitar hooks and clever lyrics on their much-anticipated Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
Figures from the Official UK Charts Co., which compiles all album sales in Britain, show the quartet easily smashed the record previously held by pop band Hear'Say. Their Popstars album - the result of a hugely-popular reality television show - sold just over 306,000 copies in a week in March 2001.
"This album clearly didn't lave that launchpad," HMV spokesman Phil Penman said Monday. "This album was launched on the back of word of mouth, music reviews and the quality of the music itself."
In just its first day of release, on Jan. 24, almost 120,000 copies of the record were sold. The fastest selling British album of all time is Oasis' third album, Be Here Now, which came out in August 1997 and sold 655,000 copies in its first week of release.
The Monkeys, signed to independent record label Domino, shot to fame in a matter of months, thanks partly to clever use of the Internet to market their music. Excellent media reviews followed, and the group's debut singles - I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor and When the Sun Goes Down - both topped the British singles chart.
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