patrick wrote:
I think it's actually far more of a coincidence than you're making out. Hence no skyrocketing of Nightlife sales when it eventually cranked out a Top 10 hit.
But Drunk was released in the first week of January, the quietest time of the year for both singles and albums. It made the top 10 because it was pretty much the only new release that week, and also because it was released in three CD formats, a first for PSB (I think). It was also the first PSB single ever to be rejected by Radio 1 and Capital FM so it got very little airplay. As a result it crept into the top 10 almost unnoticed and drifted out again.
The pattern I mentioned in the previous post doesn't just apply to PSB, it applies to every artist. For example, Dido sold 400,000 copies of Life For Rent in its first week following White Flag, Dido's biggest hit. It stayed in the upper reaches of the album charts for over a year. Now compare that to her current album, which was one of the most eagerly awaited of 2008. It was preceded by Don't Believe In Love, her worst single to date, which was rejected by Radio 1 and it didn't even make the top 40. The album sold only 60,000 in its first week, that's nearly seven times less. It's disappeared without a trace since.
And what about Madonna? Ray Of Light and Music were both preceded by number one hits and the albums sold bucketloads. American Life failed to reach number one and nosedived the following week. The album sold very poorly in the UK. In fact, Confessions Of A Dancefloor, preceded by Hung Up (number one for three weeks), had outsold its predecessor within a month.
patrick wrote:
The album sold well because it was the best thing they'd done in a decade. The reviews were great. The press was genuflecting.
I don't think reviews have a huge influence, to be honest. Release got very good reviews, for example, and Bilingual got some of the best reviews of PSB's career. Going back to Dido, her album was extremely well received by the press but it didn't stop it bombing. Ultimately, the lead single tends to be a more significant barometer because if the average person is underwhelmed by a single, he/she is far less likely to fork out for the accompanying album.
patrick wrote:
I find it difficult to imagine a universe where it did so well because general audiences were blown away with I'm with stupid while shopping.
And how many artists get a free hour-long infomercial to promote their new album on telly?
Oh, I'm not suggesting the public were blown away by I'm with stupid. But it was considered by some radio DJs to be PSB's best single for years, and it got more airplay than previous singles. I think it did sell beyond the fanbase as I believe we have at least one poster here who became a fan on the back of it. Who's to say there weren't others?
As for A Life In Pop, I could be wrong but I think it was broadcast quite late during a weekday, so I don't think viewing figures would have been that big. I doubt that many people beyond the fanbase saw it.
Passion, love, sex, money, violence, religion, injustice and death. More on that story later.
