David Bowie :: Charts & Sales History

[Basil]

US Sales

Key
year of release
year of latest riaa certification
title
US chart peak
riaa shipment
soundscan total since 1991 - courtesy of Hanboo
weeks on catalogue chart since 1982

Studio Albums
1969 none Space Oddity - 16 - 84,000
1970 none The Man Who Sold the World - 105 - 77,000
1972 none Hunky Dory - 93 - 166,000 - 16wks
1972 1974 Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust - 75 - 500,000 - 465,000 - 277wks (46 at No.1)
1973 1983 Aladdin Sane - 17 - 500,000 - 133,000 - 20wks
1974 1974 Diamond Dogs - 5 - 500,000 - 108,000 - 48wks
1975 1975 Young Americans - 9 - 500,000 - 94,000
1976 1976 Station to Station - 3 - 500,000 - 98,000
1977 none Low - 11 - 103,000
1977 none Heroes - 35 - 86,000 - 60wks
1979 none Lodger - 20 - 37,000
1980 none Scary Monsters - 12 - 87,000
1983 1983 Let's Dance - 4 - 1,000,000 - 174,000
1984 1984 Tonight - 11 - 1,000,000 - 22,000
1987 1987 Never Let Me Down - 34 - 500,000 - 13,000
1993 none Black Tie White Noise - 39 - 167,000
1995 none Outside - 21 - 192,000
1997 none Earthling - 39 - 254,000
1999 none Hours - 47
2002 none Heathen - 14 - 233,000
2003 none Reality - 29 - 148,000

Covers Album
1973 none Pin Ups - 23 - 47,000 - 16wks

These figures clearly show the sales pattern of Bowie's 21 studio albums (plus Pin Ups).

Ziggy Stardust is way ahead on catalogue sales and is flanked by the runners-up, Hunky Dory and Aladdin Sane.

Following another commercial peak with Let's Dance, sales dropped thereafter. Look at the terrible soundscan sales for the 2 follow ups.

The recent run of albums since 1993 have all fallen well short of Gold, but have sold similar steady figures.

The problem in re-certifying old albums lies in all the different labels involved - Mercury, RCA, Rykodisc, Virgin and others.

Live Albums
2000 none Bowie at the Beeb 1968-1972 - 181
1983 none Ziggy Stardust Live 1973 - 89
1974 1974 David Live 1974 - 8 - 500,000
1978 none Stage 1978 - 44

Soundtracks
1978 none Peter and the Wolf - 136
1982 none Christiane F - 135
1986 none Labyrinth - 68

Compilations on CD
1989 1995 Sound and Vision (box) - 97 - 167,000
1990 1991 Changesbowie - 39 - 1,000,000 - 708,000
2002 2004 Best of Bowie - 70 - 1,000,000 - 1,046,000 nov 2007 - 3wks
2002 none Best of Bowie (2CD) - 108

Early (Vinyl) Compilations
1973 none Images 1966-1967 - 144
1976 1981 ChangesOneBowie - 10 - 1,000,000
1981 none ChangesTwoBowie - 68
1983 none Golden Years - 99
1984 none Fame and Fashion - 147

Tin Machine
1989 none Tin Machine - 28
1991 none Tin Machine II - 126

Shipment Total - 8,667,000

The total US sale of all the above albums is likely to be 18 to 20 million.

[Basil]

UK Sales

Key
year of release
year of latest BPI certification
title
UK chart peak
BPI shipment
weeks on Top 200 chart for pre-1994 albums

Studio Albums
1969 none Space Oddity - 17
1970 none The Man Who Sold the World - 26
1972 1982 Hunky Dory - 3 - 300,000 - 28wks
1972 1982 Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust - 5 - 300,000 - 42wks
1973 none Aladdin Sane - 1 - 3wks
1974 none Diamond Dogs - 1 - 7wks
1975 1975 Young Americans - 2 - 60,000 - 3wks
1976 none Station to Station - 5 - 3wks
1977 1977 Low - 2 - 60,000 - 3wks
1977 none Heroes - 3 - 3wks
1979 1979 Lodger - 4 - 100,000
1980 1981 Scary Monsters - 1 - 300,000 - 2wks
1983 1983 Let's Dance - 1 - 300,000 - 5wks
1984 1984 Tonight - 1 - 100,000
1987 1987 Never Let Me Down - 6 - 100,000
1993 1993 Black Tie White Noise - 1 - 100,000 - 1wk
1995 1995 Outside - 8 - 60,000
1997 none Earthling - 6
1999 1999 Hours - 5 - 60,000
2002 2002 Heathen - 5 - 100,000
2003 2003 Reality - 3 - 100,000

Covers Album
1973 1973 Pin Ups - 1 - 100,000 - 5wks

So, apart from the the first 2 albums - which sold heavily but over a long period - the rest of these 22 albums form an unbroken run of Top 10 Hits - with 7 reaching Number One.

The certifications are rubbish, of course. All, aside from some of the recent ones, should be at least Gold. Ziggy Stardust is likely well over 1 million.

Because of the various labels involved, they may never be properly certified.

Live Albums
2000 2000 Live at the Beeb 1968-1972 - 7 - 60,000
1994 none Santa Monica 1972 - 74
1983 none Ziggy Stardust Live 1973 - 17 - 2wks
1974 none David Live 1974 - 2
1978 1978 Stage 1978 - 5

CD Compilations
1990 1990 Changesbowie - 1 - 300,000 - 5wks
1993 1994 Singles Collection - 9 - 300,000 - 58wks
1997 1997 Best 1969/1974 - 13 - 100,000
1998 1998 Best 1974/1979 - 39 - 60,000
2002 2005 Best of Bowie - 11 - 600,000

Earlier (Vinyl) Compilations
1976 none ChangesOneBowie - 2
1981 1982 ChangesTwoBowie - 24 - 100,000
1981 1981 Very Best Of - 3 - 300,000
1983 none Rare - 34
1983 none Golden Years - 33
1984 none Fame and Fashion - 40
1984 none Love You Till Tuesday - 53
1985 1990 The Collection - 60,000

Tin Machine
1989 1989 Tin Machine - 3 - 100,000
1991 none Tin Machine - 23

Total Shipment (for what it's worth) - 4,220,000

Bowie's UK sales from 1984 to 2005 were 4,740,000. A maximum of 1,250,000 were "missing".

Actual UK sales during this period were therefore around 5,500,000

His sales heyday in the UK were the years 1972-1983.

His total UK album sales since 1968 are likely 12-15 million.

[Basil]

Sales form elsewhere

End

[davidalic]

SPAIN certifications:
1983 Let´s dance GOLD
1984 Tonight GOLD
1990 Changesbowie GOLD

[NothingFails]

wow, Bowie is pretty undercertified looking at this list. If Ziggy Stardust was #1 on the catalog chart nearly a year in the 80's, plus the near 500k in the soundscan age (and plus it recharted in 1990 when the Rykodisc issue came out), it likely should be at 2 or 3 million easily. Let's Dance is probably at 2 or 3 million as well. While Low, Heroes, Scary Monsters and Hunky Dory should all be gold (Hunky may very well be platinum also). I guess we'll never know considering Bowie left RCA in the early 80's and then they didn't both recertifying his albums when he had a commercial renaissance after Let's Dance on EMI, and then those albums have also been issued on various labels since then like Rykodisc and Virgin.

His catalog is definately a case of undercertification. I wonder what Earthling shipped/sold as well. The album had a short chart life, but it spun off a hit single nearly a year after it's run with "I'm Afraid Of Americans" and he toured his butt off to promote it, that I wouldn't be too surprised if it sold 300-400k easily.

[NothingFails]

I think catalogue sales for Tonight and Never Let Me Down are because both albums were horrible, they both sold well upon initial release but people pretty much agree those albums were his weakest efforts and that's why they've sold so poorly

[Basil]

SPAIN certifications:

Many thanks davidalic.

[teenwildlife]

Great work Basil - Aladdin Sane is platinum in the UK.

These are US album sales given in one of his biographies in 1983.They seem to be accurate as they match the RIAA certifications.Ziggy Stardust is the only one that doesn't match.I think they came to light during legal proceedings with his former management company Mainman.

Space Oddity 455,548
The Man Who Sold The world 207,302
Hunky Dory 445,613
Ziggy Stardust 1,381,435
Aladdin Sane 531,862
Pinups 421,427
Diamond Dogs 745,361
David Live 598,835
Young Americans 923,018
Station To Station 552,791
Changesonebowie 1,331,247
Low 265,906
Heroes 279,050
Stage 127,350
Lodger 153,364
Scary Monsters 347,413
Changestwobowie 143,994
Christine F 26,156
Baal's Hymn EP 24,212


Best of Bowie (1 cd) - scanned 708k up to aug 05
Earthling - scans were 200k in 1998.

It would seem that added certifications would now likely be

3 x Platinum - Ziggy Stardust

Platinum - Diamond Dogs,David Live,Young Americans

Gold - Space Oddity,Hunky Dory,Pinups,Low,
Heroes,Scary Monsters

[NothingFails]

Great work Basil - Aladdin Sane is platinum in the UK.

These are US album sales given in one of his biographies in 1983.They seem to be accurate as they match the RIAA certifications.Ziggy Stardust is the only one that doesn't match.I think they came to light during legal proceedings with his former management company Mainman.

Space Oddity 455,548
The Man Who Sold The world 207,302
Hunky Dory 445,613
Ziggy Stardust 1,381,435
Aladdin Sane 531,862
Pinups 421,427
Diamond Dogs 745,361
David Live 598,835
Young Americans 923,018
Station To Station 552,791
Changesonebowie 1,331,247
Low 265,906
Heroes 279,050
Stage 127,350
Lodger 153,364
Scary Monsters 347,413
Changestwobowie 143,994
Christine F 26,156
Baal's Hymn EP 24,212

Best of Bowie (1 cd) - scanned 708k up to aug 05
Earthling - scans were 200k in 1998.

It would seem that added certifications would now likely be

3 x Platinum - Ziggy Stardust

Platinum - Diamond Dogs,David Live,Young Americans

Gold - Space Oddity,Hunky Dory,Pinups,Low,
Heroes,Scary Monsters

those sales are a little TOO precise for pre-Soundscan.

I think Station To Station had sold more than 552k between 76-83. The album peaked at #3 and spent 30-someodd weeks on the chart, it easily could've been past a million. Or were album sales really poor at the time?

[Basil]

I think catalogue sales for Tonight and Never Let Me Down are because both albums were horrible, they both sold well upon initial release but people pretty much agree those albums were his weakest efforts and that's why they've sold so poorly

I think this and your analyses in the other post are spot on.

Bowie almost seems a cult figure in the US. The UK is a much stonger market for him.

I was surprised the Ziggy Stardust album wasn't in the all time UK album Top 110 just released.

[Basil]

These are US album sales given in one of his biographies in 1983.They seem to be accurate as they match the RIAA certifications.Ziggy Stardust is the only one that doesn't match.I think they came to light during legal proceedings with his former management company Mainman.

Excellent find.

They look good to me and match chart performance well.

A big range of sales. The US record buyer definitely picking and choosing which of Bowie's albums to buy.

[NothingFails]

if the album sales are authentic (up to 1983), then frankly, the music industry has been in a worse recession than it is currently.

I mean, Lodger was a top 20 album and sold less than 200k. Scary Monsters was a top 15 album that was in the top 40 through Xmas 1980 and could only muster up 337k. Station To Station got to #3 and spent over 30 weeks on the chart and only sold 552k. If those numbers are factual, then frankly the music industry isn't any worse now that it was back then. We're just spoiled because we had some really good years in the 80's and 90's/early 00's.

[jimmmm]

Can someone print as accurately as possible sales figures for all DAVID BOWIE albums, including TIN MACHINE, in the UK, PLEASE!!!

[Priestfan]

Does anyone have soundscan sales for Earthling, Hours and Heathen? Heathen was Bowie's biggest seller in recent years so that one is probably the closest to Gold in the US.

[teenwildlife]

Best of Bowie now certified platinum in US.

Heathen scanned 226k up to jan 04 according to Hanboo.

[Basil]

Best of Bowie now certified platinum in US.

Heathen scanned 226k up to jan 04 according to Hanboo.

Thanks teenwildlife.

Hanboo's latest for Heathen is 233k and 37k for Lodger. I've updated the first post of the thread with all this.

[NothingFails]

Hanboo posted that Earthling has scanned 254k as of 06/01.

[VincentHanna]

1979 none Lodger - 20 - 37,000
1984 1984 Tonight - 11 - 1,000,000 - 22,000

Somehow I'm reassured about humanity when I see that.

[VincentHanna]

France sales
(quite incomplete, sales are estimations)

1973 - Aladdin Sane - gold - 114.100
1980 - Scary Monsters - gold - 379.000
1983 - Let's Dance - platinum - 847.700
1984 - Tonight - gold - ?
1987 - Never Let Me Down - gold - 159.500
1990 - ChangesBowie- platinum - 355.900
1993 - The Singles Collection - 2x gold - 140.300
1999 - Hours - gold - 112.900
2002 - Heathen - gold - 132.300
2003 - Reality - gold - 104.400

gold = 100.000
platinum = 400.000 (until 1988, then 300.000, and since 2006 it's 200.000 lol)

[Basil]

1993 none Black Tie White Noise - 39 - 167,000
1995 none Outside - 21 - 192,000
1997 none Earthling - 39 - 254,000
1999 none Hours - 47
2002 none Heathen - 14 - 233,000
2003 none Reality - 29 - 148,000

There are now (thanks to Hanboo), soundscan totals on all Bowie's studio albums except Hours.

These are his soundscan era albums - looks like Hours will have scanned no more than 250,000 mark.

Seems there is no chance of these albums ever going Gold.

Full list is in the first post of this thread.

[borderwolf]

Thanks to Basil and Hanboo for SoundScan figures!

[Salt_The_Fries]

One question. Where's the 136 million albums he sold?

[Maripol]

if the album sales are authentic (up to 1983), then frankly, the music industry has been in a worse recession than it is currently.

I mean, Lodger was a top 20 album and sold less than 200k. Scary Monsters was a top 15 album that was in the top 40 through Xmas 1980 and could only muster up 337k. Station To Station got to #3 and spent over 30 weeks on the chart and only sold 552k. If those numbers are factual, then frankly the music industry isn't any worse now that it was back then. We're just spoiled because we had some really good years in the 80's and 90's/early 00's.

In the UK, album sales are at all all-time high overall over past five years. 2007 is slightly down on last few, but prob only because their have been very few major new albums released so far.

Late 70s/early 80s was, in fact, a recession time in UK - album sales were very low. Picked up around 83/84.

Bowie never sold massive amounts of records with each release - his music is far too eclectic.

[NothingFails]

if the album sales are authentic (up to 1983), then frankly, the music industry has been in a worse recession than it is currently.

I mean, Lodger was a top 20 album and sold less than 200k. Scary Monsters was a top 15 album that was in the top 40 through Xmas 1980 and could only muster up 337k. Station To Station got to #3 and spent over 30 weeks on the chart and only sold 552k. If those numbers are factual, then frankly the music industry isn't any worse now that it was back then. We're just spoiled because we had some really good years in the 80's and 90's/early 00's.

In the UK, album sales are at all all-time high overall over past five years. 2007 is slightly down on last few, but prob only because their have been very few major new albums released so far.

Late 70s/early 80s was, in fact, a recession time in UK - album sales were very low. Picked up around 83/84.

Bowie never sold massive amounts of records with each release - his music is far too eclectic.

true, but these are supposed US sales. Right now people are lamented the death of CD's in America (ok, that's a stretch, but album sales are lower than they've been in a very long time), but if these numbers through 1983 are factual, than sales were likely worse in the 70's than they are now if Young Americans couldn't sell 1 million and Station To Station only topped out with 552k despite peaking at #3 and having a relatively healthy chart run (in comparison, Mariah's Glitter, Madonna's American Life and Janet's 20 Y.O. all sold around 100k more, and those three were massive flops, Station To Station was a "hit"). If these numbers are true, then today's album sales in perspective aren't really that godawful.

[Basil]

Following the discussion above, I've combined the figures from teenwildlife for figures up to early 1983(ish) with soundscan figures from early 1991 onwards.

This leaves a gap of 8 years from early 1983 to early 1991. During this time Bowie was doing pretty good in the US with 3 platinum and 2 gold albums in these years. So we may assume that some of these titles enjoyed decent sales - especially those appearing on the catalogue chart in the 80's.




Key
year of release
year of latest riaa certification
title
riaa shipment
figures to early 1983 + soundscan from early 1991
weeks on catalogue chart since 1982

Studio Albums
1969 none Space Oddity - 540,000
1970 none The Man Who Sold the World - 285,000
1972 none Hunky Dory - 612,000 - 16wks
1972 1974 Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust - 500,000 - 1,847,000 - 277wks (46 at No.1)
1973 1983 Aladdin Sane - 500,000 - 665,000 - 20wks
1974 1974 Diamond Dogs - 500,000 - 854,000 - 48wks
1975 1975 Young Americans - 500,000 - 1,018,000
1976 1976 Station to Station - 500,000 - 651,000
1977 none Low - 369,000
1977 none Heroes - 366,000 - 60wks
1979 none Lodger - 191,000
1980 none Scary Monsters - 435,000

1973 none Pin Ups - 469,000 - 16wks

The reason many Bowie albums are not properly certified is a lack of co-operation between the record companies that released these albums - RCA, Rykodisc and Virgin.

It would seem that if all the sales were added up, he should have the following (extra) riaa certs.

Gold
Space Oddity
Hunky Dory
Pin Ups

Platinum
Young Americans

Double Platinum
Ziggy Stardust