Happy Birthday to the CD! In the U.K., they’ve been commercially available for 30 years now, with the first titles available on the format coming from ABBA and Billy Joel. CDs are the most successful format in the history of the recorded music industry. The BPI’s quarterly survey of trade shipments first picked up sales of CDs in the third quarter of 1983 when 63,000 units were sold by U.K. record companies. By the end of the year, 300,000 had been sold. The following year, sales more than doubled to 800,000, but in 1985 the format became more ubiquitous when 3.1 million discs were sold.
When we look at the top albums ever sold on CD, we see some interesting things. Adele’s 21 album was only released in January 2011, yet is in second place in the chart with more than 3.5 million CDs sold. The oldest title in the chart is ABBA’s Gold (the best seller) followed by The Verve’s Urban Hymns, released 15 years ago in September 1997. Rather surprisingly, no compilations feature in the top 30 but their sales do tend to be over much shorter time periods and they age quickly.
Only three artists had more than one title in the top 30 — Coldplay and Robbie Williams had three each, with Robbie’s three titles featuring sequentially at positions 25, 26 and 27, and Dido featured twice. U.K. artists are especially well-represented in the chart, taking 21 of the top 30 and no fewer than eight of the top 10. A multitude of Greatest Hits available on several artists probably account for why only four Greatest Hits packages appear on the list.
Check out the full list below:
TOP 30 CD Albums of All Time in the U.K.
1. Gold – Greatest Hits – ABBA – Polydor (1992) – 4,038,351
2. 21 – Adele – XL Recordings (2011) – 3,553,624
3. What’s The Story Morning Glory – Oasis – Big Brother (1995) – 3,425,546
4. Back To Black – Amy Winehouse – Universal Island (2006) – 3,225,624
5. Back To Bedlam – James Blunt – Atlantic Records UK (2004) – 3,209,086
6. No Angel – Dido – RCA Label Group (2000) – 3,031,643
7. Come On Over – Shania Twain – Mercury (1997) – 3,026,994
8. Spirit – Leona Lewis – RCA Label Group (2007) – 2,951,178
9. Urban Hymns – The Verve – Virgin (1997) – 2,904,857
10. White Ladder – David Gray – Atlantic Records UK (2000) – 2,883,400
11. Life For Rent – Dido – RCA Label Group (2003) – 2,857,276
12. 1 – The Beatles – Parlophone/Virgin (2000) – 2,854,626
13. A Rush Of Blood To The Head – Coldplay – Parlophone (2002) – 2,755,800
14. Beautiful World – Take That – Polydor (2006) – 2,735,312
15. Hopes And Fears – Keane – Universal Island (2007) – 2,732,968
16. Crazy Love – Michael Buble – Warner Bros (2009) – 2,724,906
17. Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters – Polydor (2004) – 2,719,002
18. Talk On Corners – The Corrs – Atlantic Records UK (1997) – 2,651,526
19. X&Y – Coldplay – Parlophone (2005) – 2,608,448
20. The Man Who – Travis – Independiente (1999) – 2,553,626
21. Parachutes – Coldplay – Parlophone (2000) – 2,480,059
22. The Fame – Lady Gaga – Polydor (2009) – 2,476,984
23. Come Away With Me – Norah Jones – Parlophone (2002) – 2,471,070
24. Only By The Night – Kings Of Leon – Columbia Label Group (2008) – 2,399,373
25. I’ve Been Expecting You – Robbie Williams – EMI Records (1998) – 2,377,991
26. Greatest Hits – Robbie Williams – EMI Records (2004) – 2,269,981
27. Swing When You’re Winning – Robbie Williams – EMI Records (2001) – 2,232,232
28. The Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem – Polydor (2000) – 2,231,288
29. Eyes Open – Snow Patrol – Polydor (2006) – 2,219,570
30. Ladies & Gentlemen – The Best Of – George Michael – RCA Label Group (1998) – 2,203,334
[Source: Official Charts Company]
Whereas 229 different albums have sold a million CD copies, only six single titles have reached this threshold since OCC began to track sales at the beginning of 1994. Of those, three were charity-related releases: Elton John’s re-recording of Candle In The Wind (The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund), Band Aid 20′s re-recording of Do They Know It’s Christmas, which sold 1.1 million and Perfect Day, (Children In Need). The impact of reality TV shows such as Popstars, Pop Idol and X Factor is also evident in the chart with Will Young, Gareth Gates, Shayne Ward and Hear’Say, all featuring in the Top 30.
TOP 10 CD Singles of All Time in the U.K.
1. “Something About The Way You Look/Candle” – Elton John – Mercury (1997) – 3,005,377
2. “Anything Is Possible/Evergreen” – Will Young – RCA Label Group (2002) – 1,517,513
3. “Unchained Melody” – Gareth Gates – RCA Label Group 2002 – 1,135,902
4. “Believe” – Cher – Warner Bros 1998 – 1,107,749
5. “Do They Know It’s Christmas” – Band Aid 20 – Mercury (2004) – 1,104,176
6. “Perfect Day” – Various Artists – EMI Records (1997) – 1,067,496
7. “Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears – RCA Label Group (1999) – 944,031
8. “That’s My Goal” – Shayne Ward – RCA Label Group (2005) – 923,676
9. “Barbie Girl” – Aqua – Universal Island (1997) – 886,547
10. “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion – Columbia Label Group (1998) – 877,239
[Source: The Official Charts Company -- Chart reflects sales from W5 1994 to W37 2012]
Obviously digital singles now account for over 95% of all single sales, with the ever present X Factor-winning single regularly being the only CD single that sells in any great number. With even CD albums starting to lose their footing as the dominant format, I wonder what these charts will look like in another 30 years…
