Queen :: Charts & Sales History

[Chester]

POLAND

A lot of new platinum albums certifications




http://www.zpav.pl/plyty.asp?page=platynowe&lang=en

Hur,
i hope you enjoy it

I certainly do. Thank you for posting the link.

It was a collection of exclusive Polish digipacks with brand new booklets with Polish liner notes. You could buy them every week added as a bonus to the newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" (the most important in Poland). It cost a little bit cheaper than Polish albums, 6 EUR instead of 8 EUR. Only "A Kind Of Magic", released on the beginning, cost 2,5 EUR, that's why it has moved so much.

Media concern Agora S.A., which released those albums, announced that more than 30,000 people bought Queen's albums every week with newspaper to have the whole collection. "A Night At The Opera" has moved more than 40,000 and "A Kind Of Magic" more than 60,000. The limited quantity of those albums were also sold seperately on newsstands (more and more Polish artists sells albums also there - it's a new form of distribution of music) and in record shops. For example, in the biggest web shop in Poland, Merlin.pl, there's only 14 titles left.
http://merlin.pl/Biblioteka-Gazety-Wybo ... +Wyborczej

That exclusive collection of digipacks was released under licence of EMI so you can count it as Queen's official sales figures.

[nucleardolphin]

what id like to know is why is 'Made in Heaven' certified platinum this year with all the others, when you can scroll down to 1996 and it was certified platinum there as well, strange......

[HUR]

According to Billboard, Freddie Mercury's "The Freddie Mercury Album" sold over a million in France, if I'm not reading anything incorrectly. Is that true?. MJDangerous or anyone?. If that is true, the sales of that album are likely to be close to 4 million in Europe.

UK: 700,000
Germany: 600,000
France: 1,000,000
Spain: 225,000
Netherlands: 75,000
Switzerland: 75,000
Austria: 60,000
Italy: 400,000
Sweden: 25,000+
Finland: 26,000

That would be about 3,900,000 in Europe assuming a similar success in other European countries (those ten countries represent averagely 83% of all sales in that continent).

[Chester]

what id like to know is why is 'Made in Heaven' certified platinum this year with all the others, when you can scroll down to 1996 and it was certified platinum there as well, strange......

One certification is for EMI and one is for Agora S.A.

[loris39]

DVD Italian chart:

Live at Wembley 17# (19th week in "TOP 20" in the year 2009)

[HUR]

Brain May's "Back To The Light" sold a million copies.

"The album "Back to the Light" followed, providing him with two further hit singles, the title track and "Too Much Love Will Kill You" -- a song he had previously performed live at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert as his gift to Freddie. When the song was later recorded by Queen on their final album, it won May his second Ivor Novello. "Back to the Light" achieved double gold status in the UK and sold more than a million copies worldwide."

http://www.hollywoodrecords.go.com/band ... raphy.html

[elvistheking]

HUR,

Vou tentar fazer um levantamento completo do Queen no Brasil.

Assim que eu tiver uma posição te aviso.

Se vc quiser me passe o seu endereço que te envio ( gratuitamente ) algum material brasileiro do Quenn ( CDs, DVDs, etc ).

Abraços.

[HUR]

HUR,

Vou tentar fazer um levantamento completo do Queen no Brasil.

Assim que eu tiver uma posição te aviso.

Se vc quiser me passe o seu endereço que te envio ( gratuitamente ) algum material brasileiro do Quenn ( CDs, DVDs, etc ).

Abraços.

Obrigado. Se você sabe algo sobre Queen em Brasil, você pode emitir-me a informação aqui. Meu portugueis fica cada vez pior.

[nucleardolphin]

HUR thankyou for your great answers always, not just with Queen but on the Iron Maiden Tour information too!

[slightlymad]

Some really good information posted on brianmay.com

**Sun 11 Jul 09**
'DON'T STOP ME NOW' MOST DOWNLOADED 70s TRACK
Music Week have compiled decade by decade research on the digital downoad charts, to mark the 5th anniversary of iTunes UK, launched 15 June 2004. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now tops the best sellers of the 1970''s with Bohemian Rhapsody placed 4th and We Will Rock You No 14.

CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE - reports
Digital: Timeless Tunes
July 11, 2009

EXTRACT:

What the research reveals is a precise snapshot of the oldies that still have commercial life in them and which acts' catalogues still resonate with the public.

[On the best sellers from the 70s...... ]

The Cadbury's connection continues in the Seventies list, which is topped by Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. This track's exposure in the iTunes era includes a TV commercial for Dairy Milk, featuring in the movie Shaun Of The Dead and its ongoing use in the We Will Rock You musical. It has sold around 220,000 downloads. Two other Queen singles are among the Seventies' 20 biggest sellers, with Bohemian Rhapsody at four and We Will Rock You at 14.

Three places below on the Seventies list sits Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven. Pre-digital, the band's presence on a singles chart would not have been possible as the band refused to allow the track to be lifted from their fourth studio album and released as a single anywhere in the world. Unbundled, it has sold more than 70,000 downloads and is the band's biggest digital seller.

Does anybody have the full list?

[borderwolf]

Poland
monthly shipments chart: june

63 SINGLES BOXSET VOL.2 - QUEEN

[Topicel]

Thank you, very good figure. If you get any sales for other albums last year, like "Platinum Collection", "Greatest Hits 1" or even "A Night At The Opera", that would be great.

I was checking, on some old Billboard magazines, the big performance of Freddie Mercury's "Remixes" in Italy.

20/12/1993: #2
27/12/1993: #2
03/01/1993: ?
10/01/1994: #2
17/07/1994: #2
24/01/1994: #3
31/01/1994: #4
07/02/1994: #4
14/02/1994: #4
21/02/1994: #5

The album appears to have spent at least 10 weeks inside the Top 10 towards the end of 1993 and early 1994. But it first entered the chart at the end of November. On 03/01/1994, the album may have stayed at #2 as in its previous two weeks, which means the album probably kept that position during at least 5 weeks, if not 6 or even 7.

Which album did it keep it off the top spot?. Bryan Adams's "So Far So Good", which stayed 12 weeks at #1 and sold 800,000 copies by the end of the year 1994. So it couldn't reach #1, but only because it was outsold by a smash selling album.

On the hitparade Italia, you can find that "Remixes" ended up being the #15 selling album of 1993, but that chart was based on points as all of the others. Based on the fact that it charted at #2 during the Christmas period of 1993, in a real Year-end, it would probably have been Top 5. I used to think it had done 250,000 to 300,000 units in Italy, but based on its amazing chart performance, I would say that it porbably sold close 500,000 or even more. This last number may look high, but it was a big seller.

Hi HUR, just visiting and noticed this post above. Getting a bit beyond my era but I can confirm 'Freddie Re-Mixes' shipped 409.9k in Italy by 31/12/93 after the 22/11/93 release, with 35.8k during the previous seven days, according to EMI International Marketing.

Regards,

Topicel

[HUR]

Thank you, very good figure. If you get any sales for other albums last year, like "Platinum Collection", "Greatest Hits 1" or even "A Night At The Opera", that would be great.

I was checking, on some old Billboard magazines, the big performance of Freddie Mercury's "Remixes" in Italy.

20/12/1993: #2
27/12/1993: #2
03/01/1993: ?
10/01/1994: #2
17/07/1994: #2
24/01/1994: #3
31/01/1994: #4
07/02/1994: #4
14/02/1994: #4
21/02/1994: #5

The album appears to have spent at least 10 weeks inside the Top 10 towards the end of 1993 and early 1994. But it first entered the chart at the end of November. On 03/01/1994, the album may have stayed at #2 as in its previous two weeks, which means the album probably kept that position during at least 5 weeks, if not 6 or even 7.

Which album did it keep it off the top spot?. Bryan Adams's "So Far So Good", which stayed 12 weeks at #1 and sold 800,000 copies by the end of the year 1994. So it couldn't reach #1, but only because it was outsold by a smash selling album.

On the hitparade Italia, you can find that "Remixes" ended up being the #15 selling album of 1993, but that chart was based on points as all of the others. Based on the fact that it charted at #2 during the Christmas period of 1993, in a real Year-end, it would probably have been Top 5. I used to think it had done 250,000 to 300,000 units in Italy, but based on its amazing chart performance, I would say that it porbably sold close 500,000 or even more. This last number may look high, but it was a big seller.

Hi HUR, just visiting and noticed this post above. Getting a bit beyond my era but I can confirm 'Freddie Re-Mixes' shipped 409.9k in Italy by 31/12/93 after the 22/11/93 release, with 35.8k during the previous seven days, according to EMI International Marketing.

Regards,

Topicel

Thank you, Topicel. That is a great figure, really. The album sold very well. In any other context, it would have been #1.

Do you any other figure for Queen or Freddie Mercury?.

[Topicel]

Bien sur mon ami.

I was unaware that this album didn't have a UK/US/Canada* release (at least until end 1993) and had never given it a thought. Stupid really.

End of year total internationally was 729.6k with 86k in the previous seven days. No reports available beyond that I'm afraid.

Topicel

* or Japan, Australia and other Far East territories too it seems.

[Topicel]

Thinking about it, maybe that isn't so good overall after Italy.

Topicel

[HUR]

Thinking about it, maybe that isn't so good overall after Italy.

Topicel

No, sadly it was released mainly in Europe, with only Italy being a big territory for it. Italians were really crazy towards Queen during the first half of the 90's.

The one that sold very well in other parts of the worls was "The Freddie Mercury Album", relesed in 1992. Surely in Italy, it sold even more than "Remixes", apart from going double platinum in UK and Spain, platinum in Germany and so on.

[Topicel]

Yes HUR, I saw your earlier post and hoped I could add to the 'The Freddie Mercury Album' details, but, sadly, only 1993 releases are with me.

I hesitate to comment further on your conclusions, other than to say if we have a total for 'Re-Mixes' then perhaps we can make some educated guesses from that, even retrospectively.

It will be more, surely?

Topicel

[HUR]

Yes HUR, I saw your earlier post and hoped I could add to the 'The Freddie Mercury Album' details, but, sadly, only 1993 releases are with me.

I hesitate to comment further on your conclusions, other than to say if we have a total for 'Re-Mixes' then perhaps we can make some educated guesses from that, even retrospectively.

It will be more, surely?

Topicel

Yes, I guess that "The Freddie Mercury Album" sold at least 400,000 units in Italy. But I'm not sure. I tried to find that figure on some old Billboard issues, but I couldn't get anything for the moment. I will keep serching.

What other 1993's titles do you have on hand?. Any idea about about "Five Live Ep", released in that same year?. It was a collaboration with George Michael, published by Emi everywhere except USA and Canada?.

[Topicel]

Yes HUR. It was listed as George Michael 'Five Live - Mini Album' and, as you say, was listed as not available in US/Canada but with an * alongside the Canadian entry for the last seven days of the year?

Perhaps issued in some way later? The notes say * meant that week's data not available, so maybe just a careful *?!

As for numbers, 105.6k in Italy at year end (0.8k for the last seven days) and worldwide total of 1,643.5k with 19.2k in the last seven days.

As I've mentioned to you before, no need to inflate Freddie and the band's sales! (I know George was involved big time too and I liked his early stuff just before then, but no contest with Mr. Showman himself imho!)

Best wishes,

Topicel

[nucleardolphin]

I think Ive asked something similar to this before, but if Freddie Mercury were alive, how big a world tour do you think they could do and how much would they have grossed? bearing in mind Iron Maiden (supposidly) grossed 108$ million on their lastest world tour, not to mention Van Halen and Genesis grossing around or over the same amount. Please don't make comparisons with the Queen and Paul Rodgers tour.

[slightlymad]

I think Ive asked something similar to this before, but if Freddie Mercury were alive, how big a world tour do you think they could do and how much would they have grossed? bearing in mind Iron Maiden (supposidly) grossed 108$ million on their lastest world tour, not to mention Van Halen and Genesis grossing around or over the same amount. Please don't make comparisons with the Queen and Paul Rodgers tour.

I have no doubt in my mind that if Freddie had lived Queen would be one of, if not the biggest touring act in the world, perhaps on the same scale as U2 and The Rolling Stones. Sadly we will never know.

[HUR]

It is difficult to know. Things I can say, is that from about 1979 to 1986, Queen were able to achieve higher attendances dispite charging higher prices and the fact they were visiting certain markets every other year or so. In Germany, for example, they played in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, and in 1986. By that last year, that should have been close being somehow "saturated", yet the band achieved a crowd of about 86,000 people in one of the 4 concerts there (for which I have seen claims about it being the biggest concert ever be held to that point). Some might say that their "Magic tour" reached that high attendances because of the limited amount of shows; but several facts show that the band didn't exactly meet demand in many markets, like in Ireland or even UK. In Ireland, they sold every ticket out on first day of going on sale, which clearly shows that they could have played a further date there or several others in smaller venues. In Hungary, they only made one concert, but according to Billboard, over 240,000 people tried to get tickets, which again proves that they could have played at least three sold-out dates in Budapest.

My point is that Queen were growing fastly as a live draw, with certain markets where they were one of the top acts. But that said, I doubt they could have managed a truly big tour in North America.

All in all, I think if they were with their original line-up, they would be on the same level as Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Billy Joel and Bon Jovi, but surely not on the same level as U2, Pink Floyd, Madonna or the Rolling Stones.

-----------------------

On an aside note, guys, I remember those rumours early this year about the possibility of a new compilation this year. Well, I was thinking, each year their record company releases a new version of their "Platinum Collection" with some ocassional price adjustments to boost their individual compilations too. That hasn't happenned this year. Maybe they are actually "restricting" the band's sales (they know that each year Queen have enough demand to sell between 200,000 to 250,000 copies of their compilations), in order to save them all for the end of the year when they will supposedly release a new Best-Of. What do you think?. The fact that no compilations are currently having sales, may tend to prove this.

[Topicel]

Makes sense HUR, makes plenty of sense!

Topicel

[loris39]

I don't think that 2009 is the right moment for a new compilation release, even if Greg Brooks, during an interview published in the website Queenheaven, has confirmed that the releases of "Greatest Hits 4" and "Queen Ballads" are going to be planned. In my opinion, the right moment will be in 2011, in occasion of the 20th anniversary of Freddie's death, or for example in 2013, for the 40th birthday of the band. I think that in 2009, according to the news published by Queenonline, we are going to expect the release of "Live in Hammersmith 1975".

[slightlymad]

My point is that Queen were growing fastly as a live draw, with certain markets where they were one of the top acts. But that said, I doubt they could have managed a truly big tour in North America.

All in all, I think if they were with their original line-up, they would be on the same level as Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Billy Joel and Bon Jovi, but surely not on the same level as U2, Pink Floyd, Madonna or the Rolling Stones.

Great analysis as always HUR, with regards the USA I thinks it's Jim Beech Queen's manager who said Freddie wouldn't tour America again without a hit record, that hit record never came so neither did the tour. That said if Fred was still alive after the huge success of Wayne's World in the USA amounting to a huge wave of interest in Queen again (7 million records sold in one year!) then a huge arena tour would have followed and America would have been conquered all over again