UK's Best Selling Artists/Albums/Singles

[Basil]

This Thread represents the most extensive information on UK sales the ukmix forum has discovered to date

Index
Part One - Top Selling Album Artists 1984-2007 Updated jan 2008
Part Two - Top Selling Singles Artists 1952-2003
Part Three - All Time Top Selling Albums Updated jan 2007
Part Four - All Time Top Selling Singles Updated jan 2007
Part Five - Annual Best Selling Albums 1956-2007 Updated jan 2007
Part Six - Annual Best Selling Singles 1952-2007 Updated jan 2007







Part One - UK Top Selling Album Artists 1984 - 2007

Key
position end of 2004
position end of 2005
position end of 2006
position end of 2007
artist
total known album sales 1984-2007
maximum "missing" sales

(1) - (1) - (1) - 1 - Madonna - 18,028,000 - 962,000
(2) - (2) - (3) - 2 - Queen - 15,975,000 - 500,000
(4) - (3) - (2) - 3 - Robbie Williams - 15,760,000 - 397,000
(3) - (4) - (4) - 4 - U2 - 15,233,000 - 708,000
(8) - (6) - (5) - 5 - Oasis - 13,133,000 - 1,354,000
(5) - (5) - (6) - 6 - Michael Jackson - 12,931,000 - 1,634,000
(7) - (8) - (8) - 7 - The Beatles - 12,355,000 - 1,017,000
(6) - (7) - (7) - 8 - Simply Red - 11,916,000 - 2,676,000
(16) - (14) - (12) - 9 - Westlife - 10,418,000 - career total
(9) - (9) - (9) - 10 - Phil Collins - 10,203,000 - 2,021,000

These figures are taken from the end of year sales lists for albums and artists over the 24 year period 1984 to 2007. Totals are in blue.

There are a few gaps. The green figures are the maximum possible "missing" sales. In practice, the actual missing sales are likely to be far far less.

For some artists we have career totals until the end of 2007 with no missing sales. Westlife, for example.

Sales figures pre-1984 are so far extremely patchy and we would need a lot more to extend the number of years covered by this list - but 24 years is a start!

The rest of the list is as follows
(10) - (10) - (10) - 11 - Elton John - 9,384,000 - 1,599,000
(12) - (11) - (11) - 12 - R E M - 9,271,000 - 2,198,000
(11) - (12) - (13) - 13 - Celine Dion - 8,997,000 - 2,438,000
(17) - (16) - (16) - 14 - Rod Stewart - 8,804,000 - 456,000
(13) - (13) - (14) - 15 - Dire Straits - 8,730,000 - 2,765,000
(14) - (15) - (15) - 16 - George Michael - 8,708,000 - 2,266,000
(53) - (39) - (22) - 17 - Take That - 8,171,000 - 1,844,000
(25) - (21) - (24) - 18 - Elvis Presley - 7,318,000 - 1,208,000
(51) - (17) - (17) - 19 - Coldplay - 7,292,000 - 552,000
(20) - (23) - (25) - 20 - Kylie Minogue - 7,001,000 - 2,019,000

(18) - (19) - (18) - 21 - Bon Jovi - 6,833,000 - 2,587,000
(33) - (22) - (19) - 22 - Eminem - 6,783,000 - 668,000
(15) - (18) - (20) - 23 - Tina Turner - 6,769,000 - 2,732,000
(21) - (20) - (21) - 24 - Pink Floyd - 6,745,000 - 1,828,000
(22) - (26) - (22) - 25 - Meatloaf - 6,670,000 - 2,321,000
(19) - (24) - (26) - 26 - Beautiful South - 6,541,000 - 2,618,000
(29) - (31) - (32) - 27 - Whitney Houston - 6,269,000 - 3,043,000
(27) - (25) - (27) - 28 - Eurythmics - 6,160,000 - 2,592,000
(35) - (41) - (28) - 29 - Red Hot Chilli Peppers - 6,103,000 - 2,104,000
(23) - (27) - (29) - 30 - The Corrs - 6,033,000 - 2,516,000

(24) - (28) - (30) - 31 - Wet Wet Wet - 5,890,000 - 3,012,000
(31) - (33) - (31) - 32 - Fleetwood Mac - 5,798,000 - 2,542,000
(28) - (29) - (33) - 33 - Dido - 5,721,000 - 887,000
(26) - (30) - (34) - 34 - UB40 - 5,681,000 - 2,867,000
(32) - (35) - (35) - 35 - Cliff Richard - 5,629,000 - 2,497,000
(30) - (32) - (36) - 36 - Prince - 5,549,000 - 2,765,000
(36) - (42) - (43) - 37 - Eric Clapton - 5,514,000 - 2,611,000
(52) - (34) - (37) - 38 - Mariah Carey - 5,427,000 - 2,538,000
(48) - (50) - (51) - 39 - Bruce Springsteen - 4,320,000 - 2,407,000
(50) - (36) - (38) - 40 - Stereophonics - 5,258,000 - 1,122,000


(34) - (37) - (39) - 41 - Chris Rea - 5,182,000 - 3,301,000
(42) - (44) - (40) - 42 - Abba - 5,158,000 - 2,682,000
(43) - (38) - (41) - 43 - Enya - 5,153,000 - 2,875,000
(40) - (40) - (42) - 44 - Guns n Roses - 5,115,000 - 2,561,000
(39) - (43) - (44) - 45 - Shania Twain - 5,069,000 - 1,633,000
(37) - (45) - (45) - 46 - Lionel Richie - 5,044,000 - 2,572,000
(38) - (46) - (46) - 47 - Genesis - 5,018,000 - 3,034,000
(61) - (47) - (47) - 48 - David Gray - 4,995,000 - 1,218,000
(45) - (48) - (48) - 49 - Bryan Adams - 4,965,000 - 3,132,000
(41) - (49) - (49) - 50 - Spice Girls - 4,933,000 - 3,155,000

(47) - (54) - (50) - 51 - David Bowie - 4,933,000 - 2,003,000
(44) - (51) - (52) - 52 - M People - 4,819,000 - 3,008,000
(49) - (52) - (53) - 53 - Blur - 4,802,000 - 2,507,000
(46) - (53) - (54) - 54 - Texas - 4,746,000 - 2,513,000
(55) - (56) - (55) - 55 - Nirvana - 4,516,000 - 2,113,000
(59) - (55) - (56) - 56 - Michael Bolton - 4,457,000 - 3,080,000
(71) - (69) - (57) - 57 - Jamiroquai - 4,447,000 - 1,488,000
(54) - (57) - (58) - 58 - Pet Shop Boys - 4,342,000 - 3,149,000
(---) - (70) - (59) - 59 - Green Day - 4,312,000 - 1,743,000
(56) - (58) - (60) - 60 - Travis - 4,310,000 - 2,143,000

(57) - (59) - (61) - 61 - Simple Minds - 4,294,000 - 3,417,000
(58) - (60) - (62) - 62 - Steps - 4,281,000 - 2,618,000
(60) - (61) - (63) - 63 - Sting - 4,258,000 - 2,790,000
(62) - (62) - (64) - 64 - Erasure - 4,224,000 - 3,362,000
(63) - (63) - (65) - 65 - Cher - 4,168,000 - 3,526,000
(64) - (64) - (66) - 66 - Bob Marley - 4,159,000 - 2,800,000
(65) - (65) - (67) - 67 - Boyzone - 4,105,000 - 2,853,000
(78) - (77) - (68) - 68 - Paul Weller - 4,079,000 - 1,964,000
(66) - (66) - (69) - 69 - Gloria Estefan - 4,045,000 - 3,417,000
(67) - (67) - (70) - 70 - Robson/Jerome - 4,040,000 - 3,259,000

(68) - (68) - (71) - 71 - The Bee Gees - 4,021,000 - 2,779,000
(---) - (---) - (83) - 72 - Pink - 3,779,000 - n/a
(---) - (---) - (94) - 73 - Snow Patrol - 3,748,000 - career total
(---) - (---) - (89) - 74 - Sugarbabes - 3,725,000 - n/a
(74) - (73) - (72) - 75 - The Rolling Stones - 3,723,000 - 2,740,000
(---) - (---) - (73) - 76 - Scissor Sisters - 3,723,000 - 397,000
(69) - (71) - (73) - 77 - Blue - 3,703,000 - 1,357,000
(---) - (---) - (95) - 78 - James Blunt - 3,615,000 - career total
(70) - (72) - (74) - 79 - Lighthouse Family - 3,563,000 - 2,609,000
(---) - (---) - (---) - 80 - The Eagles - 3,547,000 - 2,619,000

TO UPDATE
(72) - (74) - (76) - 81 - Paul Simon - 3,538,000 - 3,581,000
(73) - (75) - (77) - 82 - Radiohead - 3,538,000 - 2,187,000
(76) - (76) - (78) - 83 - Daniel O'Donnell - 3,493,000 - 2,287,000
(---) - (---) - (97) - 84 - Andrea Bocelli - 3,441,000 - n/a
(79) - (80) - (79) - 85 - Verve - 3,429,000 - 2,685,000
(75) - (78) - (80) - 86 - Alanis Morissette - 3,427,000 - 3,008,000
(---) - (88) - (81) - 87 - Will Young 3,411,000 - 397,000
(77) - (79) - (82) - 88 - Manic Street Preachers - 3,371,000 - 2,825,000
(---) - (---) - (96) - 89 - Katie Melua - 3,360,000 - 137,000
(81) - (81) - (84) - 90 - Britney Spears - 3,320,000 - 2,053,000

(80) - (82) - (85) - 91 - Norah Jones - 3,299,000 - 1,274,000
(82) - (83) - (86) - 92 - Ronan Keating - 3,263,000 - 1,603,000
(---) - (---) - (87) - 93 - Keane - 3,250,000 - 397,000
(84) - (84) - (88) - 94 - Anastacia - 3,221,000 - 1,454,000
(99) - (85) - (90) - 95 - Prodigy - 3,156,000 - 2,521,000
(---) - (---) - (---) - 96 - The Killers - 3,122,000 - career total
(83) - (86) - (91) - 97 - Frank Sinatra - 3,088,000 - 3,015,000
(---) - (---) - (---) - 98 - Van Morrison - 3,064,000 - 3,144,000
(---) - (---) - (92) - 99 - Bob Dylan - 3,061,000 - n/a
(---) - (---) - (93) - 100 - Il Divo - 3,040,000 - 397,000

Relegated this year are

Wham
Kate Bush
Eternal

Relegated last year were

Carpenters
Inxs
Diana Ross
S Club
Simon & Garfunkel
Jason Donovan
Billy Joel
Van Morrison - has re-entered
Sade
Destiny's Child


This is RollingBob's list which uses known sales from MusicWeek/OCC sources and adds estimates to get an idea of all time UK album sales.

UK Top Selling Album Artists (to end of 2006)


1. The Beatles - 28.745m
2. Queen - 20.665m
3. Madonna - 18.328m
4. Elvis Presley - 18.171m
5. Michael Jackson - 16.411m
6. U2 - 16.233m
7. Robbie Williams - 15.760m
8. ABBA - 15.330m
9. Elton John - 15.194m
10. Rod Stewart - 14.872m
11. Oasis - 13.033m
12. Simply Red - 12.466m
13. Pink Floyd - 12.315m
14. Dire Straits - 11.860m
15. Phil Collins - 11.750m
16. The Rolling Stones - 11.617m
17. David Bowie - 11.280m
18. Cliff Richard - 11.096m
19. REM - 9.889m
20. Genesis - 9.603m
21. Celine Dion - 9.597m
22. Frank Sinatra - 9.480m
23. Bob Dylan - 9.380m
24. Westlife - 9.271m
25. George Michael - 9.208m
26. Meat Loaf - 9.170m
27. The Shadows - 9.088m
28. Fleetwood Mac - 9.027m
29. Diana Ross - 8.968m
30. Led Zeppelin - 8.510m

[Basil]

Part Two - UK Top Selling Singles Artists 1952 - 2003

The Channel 4 List - cut-off point dec 2003 or jan 2004.

1 - Cliff Richard - 20,969,006
2 - The Beatles - 20,799,632

3 - Elvis Presley - 19,293,118

4 - Madonna - 14,562,856

5 - Elton John - 13,475,063

6 - Michael Jackson - 11,310,958

7 - Queen - 10,334,713
8 - Abba - 10,004,039

9 - Paul McCartney - 9,781,603
10 - David Bowie - 9,392,410
11 - Rod Stewart - 9,046,492

12 - The Rolling Stones - 8,348,470

13 - Kylie Minogue - 7,994,130
14 - Stevie Wonder - 7,614,227
15 - Spice Girls - 7,507,213
16 - Shakin' Stevens - 7,108,330

17 - Whitney Houston - 6,993,105
18 - The Bee Gees - 6,943,851
19 - George Michael - 6,819,419
20 - Status Quo - 6,727,822
21 - Boney M - 6,587,018
22 - Slade - 6,520,171
23 - Olivia Newton John - 6,493,006
24 - Blondie - 6,456,881
25 - Boyzone - 6,435,711
26 - Oasis - 6,225,785

27 - UB40 - 5,997,222
28 - Tom Jones - 5,892,220
29 - Celine Dion - 5,683,264
30 - The Police - 5,617,175
31 - Madness - 5,564,459
32 - Diana Ross - 5,326,780
33 - Wham - 5,298,431
34 - Adam Ant - 5,296,965
35 - The Jam - 5,094,055
36 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - 5,008,067

37 - Robbie Williams - 4,973,227
38 - Pet Shop Boys - 4,913,655
39 - Phil Collins - 4,889,059
40 - Wet Wet Wet - 4,877,328
41 - Duran Duran - 4,846,531
42 - Everly Brothers - 4,827,957
43 - Shadows - 4,793,537
44 - Westlife - 4,726,116
45 - Gary Glitter - 4,717,834
46 - Engelbert Humperdinck - 4,710,328
47 - U2 - 4,663,427
48 - Bryan Adams - 4,614,135
49 - Frank Sinatra - 4,597,630
50 - Hollies - 4,597,450
51 - Hot Chocolate - 4,441,955
52 - Take That - 4,426,566
53 - Prince - 4,415,596
54 - Mariah Carey - 4,409,607
55 - Steps - 4,408,499
56 - Donna Summer - 4,389,529
57 - Janet Jackson - 4,359,645
58 - E L O - 4,241,169
59 - Cher - 4,080,650
60 - Erasure - 4,077,372

[Basil]

Part Three - All Time Top Selling UK Albums

This is Hanboo's version of the OCC list from November 2006

Key
rank
sales through stores (not including record clubs)
BPI shipment
title
artist

01 5,407,587 11 GREATEST HITS - QUEEN ***
02 4,811,996 0 SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND - BEATLES
03 4,314,715 14 WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY - OASIS
04 3,956,704 13 BROTHERS IN ARMS - DIRE STRAITS
05 3,943,950 13 GOLD-GREATEST HITS - ABBA
06 3,781,993 9 THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - PINK FLOYD
07 3,644,619 8 GREATEST HITS II - QUEEN ***
08 3,578,107 11 THRILLER - MICHAEL JACKSON
09 3,554,301 13 BAD - MICHAEL JACKSON
10 3,402,160 12 THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION - MADONNA
11 3,361,115 12 STARS - SIMPLY RED
12 3,344,280 10 COME ON OVER - SHANIA TWAIN
13 3,135,844 11 RUMOURS - FLEETWOOD MAC
14 3,054,374 8 URBAN HYMNS - VERVE
15 3,002,194 10 NO ANGEL - DIDO
16 3,001,062 1 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER - SIMON & GARFUNKEL
17 2,944,547 9 TALK ON CORNERS - CORRS
18 2,920,669 10 SPICE - SPICE GIRLS
19 2,895,874 9 BACK TO BEDLAM - JAMES BLUNT
20 2,851,429 9 WHITE LADDER - DAVID GRAY
21 2,837,285 7 BAT OUT OF HELL - MEAT LOAF
22 2,789,719 7 LIFE FOR RENT - DIDO
23 2,737,932 8 BUT SERIOUSLY - PHIL COLLINS
24 2,690,318 8 1 - BEATLES
25 2,669,825 9 THE MAN WHO - TRAVIS
26 2,665,553 6 THE JOSHUA TREE - U2
27 2,598,576 9 GREATEST HITS - ABBA
28 2,575,099 7 TUBULAR BELLS - MIKE OLDFIELD
29 2,574,249 7 A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD - COLDPLAY
30 2,556,042 10 I'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
31 2,551,238 10 JAGGED LITTLE PILL - ALANIS MORISSETTE
32 2,535,983 7 SCISSOR SISTERS - SCISSOR SISTERS
33 2,520,486 6 LEGEND - BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
34 2,498,950 8 HOPES AND FEARS - KEANE
35 2,452,236 5 WAR OF THE WORLDS - JEFF WAYNE'S MUSICAL VERSION
36 2,438,695 0 THE SOUND OF MUSIC - SOUNDTRACK
37 2,435,109 5 DIRTY DANCING - SOUNDTRACK
38 2,408,810 7 LADIES & GENTLEMEN-THE BEST OF - GEORGE MICHAEL
39 2,373,621 1 GREASE - SOUNDTRACK
40 2,369,847 7 COME AWAY WITH ME - NORAH JONES
41 2,345,126 8 X&Y - COLDPLAY
42 2,342,506 8 TRACY CHAPMAN - TRACY CHAPMAN
43 2,336,086 6 ROBSON & JEROME - ROBSON & JEROME
44 2,333,819 8 TANGO IN THE NIGHT - FLEETWOOD MAC
45 2,324,783 7 PARACHUTES - COLDPLAY
46 2,270,332 6 AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE - REM
47 2,237,603 6 WHITNEY - WHITNEY HOUSTON
48 2,233,158 5 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP - EMINEM
49 2,205,028 7 SWING WHEN YOU'RE WINNING - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
50 2,203,381 5 GRACELAND - PAUL SIMON
51 2,182,097 8 SING WHEN YOU'RE WINNING - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
52 2,151,142 1 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - SOUNDTRACK
53 2,138,030 7 THE BODYGUARD - SOUNDTRACK
54 2,134,524 9 THE VERY BEST OF - ELTON JOHN
55 2,121,000 8 SIMPLY THE BEST - TINA TURNER
56 2,105,698 6 KYLIE-THE ALBUM - KYLIE MINOGUE
57 2,093,363 7 FALLING INTO YOU - CELINE DION
58 2,074,860 8 LIFE THRU A LENS - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
59 2,055,996 6 GREATEST HITS - EURYTHMICS
60 2,037,380 6 ESCAPOLOGY - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
61 1,998,668 6 GREATEST HITS - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
62 1,984,152 6 LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE - CELINE DION
63 1,983,954 6 DANGEROUS - MICHAEL JACKSON
64 1,961,164 7 TRUE BLUE - MADONNA
65 1,945,240 2 APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION - GUNS N' ROSES
66 1,934,912 6 NO JACKET REQUIRED - PHIL COLLINS
67 1,925,783 0 ABBEY ROAD - BEATLES
68 1,923,366 7 A NEW FLAME - SIMPLY RED
69 1,915,008 5 BY THE WAY - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
70 1,891,896 3 CAN'T SLOW DOWN - LIONEL RICHIE
71 1,868,548 5 SONGS ABOUT JANE - MAROON5
72 1,867,427 5 CROSS ROAD-THE BEST OF - BON JOVI
73 1,850,852 5 STRIPPED - CHRISTINA AGUILERA
74 1,840,454 1 GREATEST HITS - SIMON & GARFUNKEL
75 1,828,890 6 CARRY ON UP THE CHARTS-THE BEST OF - BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
76 1,819,938 5 PLAY - MOBY
77 1,816,915 5 THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE - CELINE DION
78 1,816,781 6 BORN TO DO IT - CRAIG DAVID
79 1,809,480 6 THE GREATEST HITS - TEXAS
80 1,807,142 2 NEVERMIND - NIRVANA
81 1,803,681 0 SOUTH PACIFIC - SOUNDTRACK
82 1,802,172 5 JUSTIFIED - JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
83 1,800,144 3 AMERICAN IDIOT - GREEN DAY
84 1,799,784 6 BE HERE NOW - OASIS
85 1,793,978 4 BACK TO FRONT - LIONEL RICHIE
86 1,786,954 5 OUT OF TIME - REM
87 1,780,817 5 CALL OFF THE SEARCH - KATIE MELUA
88 1,772,936 5 EMPLOYMENT - KAISER CHIEFS
89 1,770,728 6 BY REQUEST - BOYZONE
90 1,745,974 6 BAT OUT OF HELL II - MEAT LOAF
91 1,740,386 7 DEFINITELY MAYBE - OASIS
92 1,731,863 5 JUST ENOUGH EDUCATION TO PERFORM - STEREOPHONICS
93 1,721,685 5 INTRODUCING THE HARDLINE ACCORDING TO… - TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY
94 1,712,173 5 MISSUNDAZTOOD - PINK
95 1,711,088 5 LET GO - AVRIL LAVIGNE
96 1,710,522 5 PERFORMANCE AND COCKTAILS - STEREOPHONICS
97 1,708,555 6 OLDER - GEORGE MICHAEL
98 1,694,353 1 PARALLEL LINES - BLONDIE
99 1,682,387 5 FEVER - KYLIE MINOGUE
100 1,680,651 5 10 GOOD REASONS - JASON DONOVAN
101 1,677,925 6 RAY OF LIGHT - MADONNA
102 1,675,804 5 COAST TO COAST - WESTLIFE
103 1,668,571 5 IN CONCERT - CARRERAS/DOMINGO/PAVAROTTI
104 1,653,225 1 ARRIVAL - ABBA
105 1,640,090 4 FRIDAY'S CHILD - WILL YOUNG
106 1,639,353 5 MY WAY-THE BEST OF - FRANK SINATRA
107 1,639,327 6 WHITE ON BLONDE - TEXAS
108 1,633,722 6 OCEAN DRIVE - LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY
109 1,626,126 3 LIKE A VIRGIN - MADONNA
110 1,614,517 5 GOTTA GET THRU THIS - DANIEL BEDINGFIELD

*** These 2 albums have inflated totals because sales from the separate release The Platinum Collection were also included.


Biggest BPI certs not in the top 110:

7 Various Artists - Now 44
6 UB40 - The Best Of UB40 Vol 1
6 Chris Rea - The Road To Hell
6 Simply Red - Greatest Hits

7xP is 2,100,000 and 6xP is 1,800,000 and yet these albums are not on the list.

[Basil]

Part Four - All Time Top Selling UK Singles

Key
Position end of 2003 (or jan 2004?)
Position late 2006 (from bobcatbob's list)

(1) - 1 - Elton John - Candle/Something - 4,868,000
(2) - 2 - Band Aid - Do They Know - 3,550,000
(3) - 3 - Queen - Bohemian Rahpsody - 2,130,000
(4) - 4 - Paul McCartney - Mull Of Kintyre - 2,050,000
(5) - 5 - Boney M - Rivers Of/Brown Girl - 1,995,000
(6) - 6 - Travolta/Newton John - One That I Want - 1,975,000
(7) - 7 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax - 1,910,000
(8) - 8 - The Beatles - She Loves You - 1,890,000
(9) - 9 - Robson/Jerome - Unchained/White Cliffs - 1,843,000
(10) - 10 - Boney M - Mary Boy/Oh My Lord - 1,790,000
(12) - 11 - Will Young - Anything/Evergreen - 1,789,000
(11) - 12 - Wet Wet Wet - Love is All Around - 1,783,000
(13) - 13 - Stevie Wonder - I Just Called - 1,775,000
(14) - 14 - The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand - 1,750,000
(15) - 15 - Aqua - Barbie Girl - 1,722,000
(16) - 16 - Cher - Believe - 1,672,000
(17) - 17 - Various - Perfect Day - 1,550,000
(18) - 18 - Bryan Adams - Everything I Do - 1,530,000
(19) - 19 - Ken Dodd - Tears - 1,521,000
(20) - 20 - The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love - 1,520,000
(21) - 21 - Travolta/Newton John - Summer Nights - 1,515,000
(22) - 22 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes - 1,510,000
(23) - 23 - John Lennon - Imagine - 1,490,000
(24) - 24 - Britney Spears - Baby One More Time - 1,450,000
(25) - 25 - Human League - Don't You Want Me - 1,430,000
(26) - 26 - Wham - Last Christmas - 1,420,000
(27) - 27 - The Beatles - I Feel Fine - 1,410,000
(28) - 28 - Puffy Daddy - I'll Be Missin You - 1,410,000
(29) - 29 - Culture Club - Karma Chameleon - 1,410,000
(30) - 30 - The Seekers - The Carnival is Over - 1,400,000
(31) - 31 - Bill Haley - Rock Around the Clock - 1,392,000
(32) - 32 - The Beatles - We Can Work it Out - 1,390,000
(33) - 33 - Village People - YMCA - 1,380,000
(34) - 34 - George Michael - Careless Whisper - 1,370,000
(35) - 35 - Engelbert Humperdinck - Release Me - 1,365,000
(36) - 36 - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You - 1,355,000
(38) - 37 - Gareth Gates - Unchained Melody - 1,340,000
(37) - 38 - Jennifer Rush - Power Of Love - 1,321,000
(39) - 39 - Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On - 1,312,000
(40) - 40 - Spice Girls - Wannabe - 1,269,000
(41) - 41 - Fugees - Killing Me Softly - 1,268,000
(42) - 42 - All Saints - Never Ever - 1,254,000
(46) - 43 - Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never - 1,246,000
(43) - 44 - Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise - 1,246,000
(44) - 45 - Paul Anka - Diana - 1,240,000
(45) - 46 - Celine Dion - Think Twice - 1,234,000
(47) - 47 - Tom Jones - Green Green Grass Of Home - 1,205,000
(48) - 48 - Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen - 1,201,00
(49) - 49 - Shaggy - It Wasn't Me - 1,181,000
(50) - 50 - Blondie - Heart of Glass - 1,180,000
(51) - 51 - Harry Belafonte - Mary's Boy Child - 1,175,000
(52) - 52 - Engelbert Humperdinck - Last Waltz - 1,160,000
(53) - 53 - Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes - 1,155,000
(54) - 54 - Steps - Tragedy/Heartbeat - 1,152,000
(55) - 55 - David Soul - Don't Give Up On Us - 1,145,000
(56) - 56 - Gary Glitter - I Love You Love - 1,140,000
(57) - 57 - Soft Cell - Tainted Love - 1,135,000
(58) - 58 - Acker Bilk - Stranger on the Shore - 1,130,000
(59) - 59 - Run DMC - It's Like That - 1,119,000
(60) - 60 - Teletubbies - Say eh-oh - 1,110,000
(61) - 61 - Babylon Zoo - Spaceman - 1,098,000
(62) - 62 - Frank Ifield - I Remember You - 1,096,000
(--) - 63 - Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas - 1,094,000
(63) - 64 - Robson/Jerome - I Believe/Up on the Roof - 1,093,000
(64) - 65 - Whigfield - Saturday Night - 1,092,000
(65) - 66 - Hear'say - Pure and Simple - 1,080,000
(66) - 67 - Boyzone - No Matter What - 1,074,000
(67) - 68 - Spice Girls - Two Become One - 1,072,000
(--) - 69 - Shayne Ward - That's My Goal - 1,065,000
(--) - 70 - Tony Christie - Is This the Way to Amarillo - 1,061,000
(68) - 71 - Cliff Richard - The Young Ones - 1,052,000
(69) - 72 - Michael Jackson - Earth Song - 1,038,000
(70) - 73 - Kylie Minogue - Can't Get It Out of My Head - 1,037,000
(71) - 74 - Eiffel 65 - Blue - 1,023,000
(72) - 75 - Bob the Builder - Can We Fix It - 1,008,000
(73) - 76 - Slade - Merry Christmas - 1,006,000
(74) - 77 - Brotherhood Of Man - Save Your Kisses - 1,006,000
(75) - 78 - Simon Park Orchestra - Eye Level - 1,005,000
(76) - 79 - New Order - Blue Monday - 1,001,000

So 79 Million Selling Singles in the UK.

80 - Jimmy Osmond - Long Haired Lover From Liverpool - 998,000
81 - Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall - 995,000
82 - Julie Covington - Don't Cry For Me Argentina - 993,000
83 - Survivor - Eye of the Tiger - 990,000
84 - New Seekers - I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing - 990,000
85 - Dawn - Tie A Yellow Ribbon - 988,000
86 - Adam & The Ants - Stand and Deliver - 985,000
87 - Showaddywaddy - Under the Moon of Love - 985,000
88 - Natalie Umbruglia - Torn - 982,000
89 - Kylie Minogue/Jason Donovan - Especially For You - 980,000
90 - Ian Dury & Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - 979,000
91 - The Archies - Sugar Sugar - 979,000
92 - Tight Fit - The Lion Sleeps Tonight - 978,000
93 - Cliff Richard/Shadows - The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - 976,000
94 - Irene Cara - Fame - 975,000
95 - Ray Parker Jnr - Ghostbusters - 974,000
96 - Billy Joel - Uptown Girl - 974,000
97 - Black Box - Ride On Time - 973,000
98 - The Tornadoes - Telstar - 967,000
99 - Oasis - Wonderwall - 966,000
100 - Royal Scots Dragoon Band - Amazing Grace

next 3
Take That - Back For Good - 959,000
Rod Stewart - Sailing - 950,000
Pussycat - Mississippi - 940,000

Looks like this list is about frozen because it doesn't include downloads. Physical sales of singles are too low for any new entries in the foreseeable future.

[Basil]

Part Five - Annual Best Selling UK Albums

sales that year where available

1956 - Soundtrack - Carousel
1957 - Soundtrack - The King and I
1958 - Broadway Cast - My Fair Lady
1959 - Soundtrack - South Pacific
1960 - Soundtrack - South Pacific
1961 - Elvis Presley - GI Blues
1962 - Soundtrack - West Side Story
1963 - The Beatles - With the Beatles
1964 - The Beatles - Beatles for Sale
1965 - Soundtrack - Sound Of Music
1966 - Soundtrack - Sound Of Music
1967 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper
1968 - Soundtrack - Sound Of Music
1969 - The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970 - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
1971 - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
1972 - Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits
1973 - Elton John - Don't Shoot Me
1974 - Carpenters - Singles 1969-1973
1975 - Stylistics - Best Of
1976 - Abba - Greatest Hits
1977 - Abba - Arrival
1978 - Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever
1979 - Blondie - Parallel Lines
1980 - Abba - Super Trouper
1981 - Adam/Ants - Kings Of Wild Frontier - 1,212,000
1982 - Barbra Streisand - Love Songs
1983 - Michael Jackson - Thriller - 1,525,000
1984 - Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down - 1,150,000
1985 - Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms - 1,200,000
1986 - Madonna - True Blue - 1,275,000
1987 - Michael Jackson - Bad - 1,650,000
1988 - Kylie Minogue - Kylie - 1,510,000
1989 - Jason Donovan - 10 Good Reasons - 1,450,000
1990 - Phil Collins - But Seriously
1991 - Simply Red - Stars
1992 - Simply Red - Stars
1993 - Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell Two
1994 - Bon Jovi - Crossroads
1995 - Robson/Jerome - Robson/Jerome - 2,050,000
1996 - Alanis Morissette - Jagged - 2,080,000
1997 - Oasis - Be Here Now - 1,520,000
1998 - Corrs - Talk On Corners - 1,676,000
1999 - Shania Twain - Come On Over - 2,201,837
2000 - The Beatles - One - 1,850,000
2001 - Dido - No Angel - 1,920,170
2002 - Robbie Williams - Escapology - 1,411,000
2003 - Dido - Life For Rent - 2,168,302
2004 - Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters - 1,594,259
2005 - James Blunt - Back to Bedlam - 2,367,758
2006 - Snow Patrol - Eyes Open - 1,514,554
2007 - Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - 1,586,194

Hats off to The Sound Of Music for being Top THREE times during the years the Beatles were at their peak.

Beatles were top 5 times, and Abba, Simon & Garfunkel 3.

[Basil]

Part Six - Annual Best Selling UK Singles

sales that year where available
total sale to date where available

1952 - Vera Lynn - Auf Wiederseh
1953 - Frankie Laine - I Believe
1954 - Doris Day - Secret Love
1955 - Slim Whitman - Rose Marie 750,000
1956 - Pat Boone - I'll Be Home
1957 - Paul Anka - Diana 1,240,000
1958 - Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock 829,000
1959 - Cliff Richard - Livin' Doll 800,000
1960 - Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never 1,246,000
1961 - Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight 800,000
1962 - Frank Ifield - I Remember You 1,096,000
1963 - The Beatles - She Loves You 1,890,000
1964 - The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love 1,520,000
1965 - Ken Dodd - Tears 1,521,000
1966 - Tom Jones - Green Green Grass Of Home 1,205,000
1967 - Engelbert Humperdinck - Release Me 1,365,000
1968 - The Beatles - Hey Jude 850,000 900,000
1969 - Archies - Sugar Sugar 979,000
1970 - Elvis Presley - The Wonder Of You 700,000 735,000
1971 - George Harrison - My Sweet Lord 700,000
1972 - New Seekers - I'd Like to Teach the World 990,000
1973 - Gary Glitter - I Love You Love 1,140,000
1974 - Mud - Tiger Feet 730,000
1975 - Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 2,130,000
1976 - Brotherhood Of Man - Save Your Kisses 1,006,000
1977 - Paul McCartney - Mull Of Kintyre 2,050,000
1978 - Boney M - Rivers Of Babylon 1,995,000
1979 - Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes 1,155,000
1980 - Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me 800,000 803,000
1981 - Human League - Don't You Want Me 1,430,000
1982 - Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen 1,201,000
1983 - Culture Club - Karma Chameleon 1,405,000
1984 - Band Aid - Do They Know It's Xmas 3,550,000
1985 - Jennifer Rush - Power Of Love 1,321,000
1986 - Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way 750,000
1987 - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up 780,000
1988 - Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine 750,000 783,000
1989 - Blackbox - Ride On Time 973,000
1990 - Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody 840,000
1991 - Bryan Adams - Everything I Do 1,527,000
1992 - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You 1,355,000
1993 - Meatloaf - I'd Do Anything For Love 760,000 763,000
1994 - Wet Wet Wet - Love is All Around 1,783,000
1995 - Robson/Jerome - Unchained/White Cliffs 1,843,000
1996 - Fugees - Killing Me Softly - 1,350,000
1997 - Elton John - Candle/Something in the Way - 4,770,000 4,868,000
1998 - Cher - Believe - 1,519,000 1,672,000
1999 - Britney Spears - Baby One More - 1,445,300 1,450,000
2000 - Bob the Builder - Can We Fix It - 853,151 1,008,000
2001 - Shaggy - It Wasn't Me - 1,151,130 - 1,181,000
2002 - Will Young - Anything/Evergreen - 1,783,919 - 1,789,000
2003 - Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love
2004 - Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas - 1,065,749 - 1,094,000
2005 - Tony Christie - Is This the Way to Amarillo - 1,100,233*** - 1,061,000
2006 - Gnarls Berkley - Crazy - 867,000
2007 - Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love - 787,652

Elvis was Top in 4 years and The Beatles in 3.

***figure for 2005 includes downloads. The total to date excludes downloads but includes 1971 sales! Techically this is the best selling single of 1971, being a re-issue, but that doesn't seem sensible so I've left it in 2005.

[Basil]

This is an attempt to put all the figures we now have on the UK in one place as a forum resource.

I've used postings by, among others, BoroButch, edge3, AutomaticBR, oldbloke, Hanboo, RollingBob, LostAvenger, Doves, john2000, bobcatbob, Theo, nelson, jszmiles, Robbie, amit1234, fiesta, MJDangerous, johnnyboy, zeus555 and Edu.

Forgive me if I've missed you out, I didn't keep a complete track of all my sources.

[joao]

But could you post a bigger list, not only TOP 10?

[Basil]

But could you post a bigger list, not only TOP 10?

It's now a Top 100

[Doves]

Oasis could soon overtake MJ in that list. if we add the new album sales of 476,000(as of 2weeks ago).and morning glory sales that seems to be holding very well. plus a few missing sales of 2001-2003-2004.

[oldbloke]

Hi Basil,
I know 'cos I've been there how long it can take to pull all this stuff together.
I may be interrupting you in mid-flow, but I have a few differences to some
of the info you have posted - but will leave this until you've finished. One
gap I can fill is 1972's top selling album - this was the year K-Tel, Ronco
and Arcade all made big with their compilations driven by huge (at that
time) TV advertising campaigns. K-Tel's first release, 20 Dynamic Hits,
was the biggest album of the year - in 3rd place that year, if you need a
legimate artist at the top of the list was Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest
Hits.

[joao]

But could you post a bigger list, not only TOP 10?

It's now a Top 100

Thanks a lot!!!

[Basil]

Hi Basil,
I know 'cos I've been there how long it can take to pull all this stuff together.
I may be interrupting you in mid-flow, but I have a few differences to some
of the info you have posted - but will leave this until you've finished. One
gap I can fill is 1972's top selling album - this was the year K-Tel, Ronco
and Arcade all made big with their compilations driven by huge (at that
time) TV advertising campaigns. K-Tel's first release, 20 Dynamic Hits,
was the biggest album of the year - in 3rd place that year, if you need a
legimate artist at the top of the list was Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest
Hits.

Cheers. Yeah, it's taken over 6 hours. I didn't want to put on that K-Tel album so left it blank, hoping someone would come up with a proper album! Many thanks, I'll put it straight on.

Now I've got the figures in place we can start editing and correcting them. Please post away.

The reason I did this was that all this UK information seemed to be on ever more threads. Some great stuff was being posted all over the place. If it's all here, we can all work on it and it won't get lost drifting away to page 27!

[edge3]

Great work Basil - thx, really appreciated.

I have to say though that the qualification on my top 100 album artist list is currently 2.505M (that's The Eagles - including an estimated 70K for their Very Best Of in 2002 which was # 188 on the year end album chart). This is what i've currently got for # 99 & # 100 :

99. Deacon Blue - 2.521M - total definite sales : ‘88 257K + ‘89 845K + jan 98 – jul 98 1.419M = 2.521M, total missing sales : ’87 & 98-04 = 2.041M

100. Eagles - 2.505M - total definite estimated sales : 257K ’88 + jan 98 – jul 98 1.355M + 66K 99 + 132K 00, 510K 01, 70K 02 (est – v.best of # 188) + 115K 03 = 2.505M, total estimated missing sales : ’87, ’89, 98 (65K), 99 (81K), 02 (est 330K), 03 (316K), 04 = 1.528M (est)

ps - this is not definitive as i've still got to go through & check the figures on some of the other artists.

[fiesta]

In this weeks Music Week, there is an interesting bit in Alan jones sales analysis, stating that Alanis Morrissettes albumJagged Little Pill sold over 2.5 million in the UK and is the 29th biggest seller of all time!! Looks as if theres already a all time best selling albums chart been compiled

[edge3]

In this weeks Music Week, there is an interesting bit in Alan jones sales analysis, stating that Alanis Morrissettes albumJagged Little Pill sold over 2.5 million in the UK and is the 29th biggest seller of all time!! Looks as if theres already a all time best selling albums chart been compiled

That's cool ...except he doesn't say 'it IS the 29th best seller of all time'...sounds more like 'it became / was the 29th best seller of all time'.

Actually i reckon Jagged Little Pill is now amoungst the top 15 best sellers of all time : it was certified 10xPlatinum in the UK in Oct 2002 so sales should now be at least 2.9M. Also rate your music.com has it listed as the 13th best seller of all time as at about Feb 2005 - though the 3M sales figure that it gives seems to only be based upon it's 10xP certification.

[joao]

In this weeks Music Week, there is an interesting bit in Alan jones sales analysis, stating that Alanis Morrissettes albumJagged Little Pill sold over 2.5 million in the UK and is the 29th biggest seller of all time!! Looks as if theres already a all time best selling albums chart been compiled

I´m disapointed ´cause I though it had sold 3 million copies and was # 10 of all time (or near), cause that´s what I saw on everyhit.com.

[edge3]

In this weeks Music Week, there is an interesting bit in Alan jones sales analysis, stating that Alanis Morrissettes albumJagged Little Pill sold over 2.5 million in the UK and is the 29th biggest seller of all time!! Looks as if theres already a all time best selling albums chart been compiled

I´m disapointed ´cause I though it had sold 3 million copies and was # 10 of all time (or near), cause that´s what I saw on everyhit.com.

Don't worry 'cos it almost certainly has my friend...here are the yearly sales for JLP :

' 95 : 230K
' 96 : 2080M
' 97 : 230K
' 98 : 107K
' 99 : 76K
' 00 : 123K
Total = 2.846M sold from 1995-2000. I'm missing figures for 2001-04 but it almost certainly would have passed 3M by now.

...& remember, Alan Jones does not specifically say that "it is currently the 29th best seller of all time"...rather he seems to be saying that "it became / was the 29th best seller of all time when it had passed the 2.5M sales mark (back sometime at the end of 1997)". So i'm sure everyhit.com is correct in saying it's the 13th best seller (or there abouts) of all time.

[Basil]

Great work Basil - thx, really appreciated.

I have to say though that the qualification on my top 100 album artist list is currently 2.505M (that's The Eagles - including an estimated 70K for their Very Best Of in 2002 which was # 188 on the year end album chart). This is what i've currently got for # 99 & # 100 :

Thanks edge. I think the difference in our figures is that I haven't included any estimations, tempting though it is. I'm trusting that more definite ones come to light through this thread.

If someone doesn't already know, we are all keen to have the end of year album list for 2002 that includes sales figures .... anyone have one?

Any UK sales lists pre-1987 would also be much appreciated.

[edge3]

Thanks edge. I think the difference in our figures is that I haven't included any estimations

Yes probably, although there are no estimations for Deacon Blue (definite sales of 2.521M).

[Basil]

I´m disapointed ´cause I though it had sold 3 million copies and was # 10 of all time (or near), cause that´s what I saw on everyhit.com.

The Top 10 UK best sellers are listed near the top of this page. All 10 shipped over 3.3m copies.

However, there are then 4 albums which have shipped 3.0m copies, which may make up positions 11 to 14 in unknown order. They are

Jaggged Little Pill - 3m by oct 2002
Spice - 3m by aug 2007
Come On Over - 3m by apr 2000
I've Been Expecting You - 3m by oct 2004

There are other possible contenders, even though they have not been certified over 3m for whatever reasons. These include

Legend - Bob Marley
Dark Side Of the Moon
Urban Hymns

I'll post the sales info I have on all these albums asap!

[fiesta]

Music Week confirmed Come On Overs sale as 3,335,000 back in April of this year

[edge3]

As i've just posted Jagged Little Pill has almost certainly sold 3M :

' 95 : 230K
' 96 : 2080M
' 97 : 230K
' 98 : 107K
' 99 : 76K
' 00 : 123K
Total = 2.846M sold from 1995-2000. I'm missing figures for 2001-04 but it almost certainly would have passed 3M by now.

Dark Side Of The Moon has just been certified 9xPlatinum in the UK (april 15th 2005) so i doubt it's actually reached 3M - i mean surely they would have certified it 10xP if it had / was close. Urban Hymns had sold 2,864,441 as at Oct 2004 according to Musicweek so it's sales should be not much more than 2.9M now. Legend was certified 6xP in Oct ' 94 so it's clearly under certifed but i doubt it's sold 3M.

[Basil]

Thanks edge. I think the difference in our figures is that I haven't included any estimations

Yes probably, although there are no estimations for Deacon Blue (definite sales of 2.521M).

Quite correct. I knew there would be a few mistakes like that lurking in there.

I missed the 1989 figure of 845,000 which is gigantic. Have corrected list, with Deacon Blue at 92 and Destiny's Child evicted!

Many thanks

[edge3]

Quite correct. I knew there would be a few mistakes like that lurking in there.

I missed the 1989 figure of 845,000 which is gigantic. Have corrected list, with Deacon Blue at 92 and Destiny's Child evicted!

Many thanks

No problem, i'm glad to help.