ABBA in the UK Charts, regular updates, etc.

ABBA Gold has risen from No.60 to No.54 in today's new UK Album Chart.

It only had just over 2 hours, to reflect the rise in its Sales, after the 'ABBA Christmas Party'
ended at 9.45 PM last night. (The UK Charts Weekly cut off time is Midnight on Thursday's).

Last night the UK Channel ITV 1 showed The ABBA Christmas Party.

Many of the guests on it were D-List, (some were even Z-List).

It was awful, as several of the guests made a mess of trying to sing ABBA songs.

However - It has caused a rise in the Sales of 'ABBA Gold' in the UK, & of the triple CD of 'Gold' from 2014.

Soon 'ABBA Gold' will become the 1st Album - ever - to reach 500 Top 75 Weeks in the UK.

Today's Christmas Day Album Chart has seen 'ABBA Gold' reach its 496th Top 75 Week, its 732nd Top 100 Week,
& its 1102nd Top 200 Week. (It's 734th Top 200 Week, if The OCC had not missed out 2 No.77 Positions for it -
one in 1993 & one in 1994).

'ABBA Gold's Top 75 & Top 100 Weeks are 'All Time Chart Records'. Its Top 200 Weeks are the 3rd most ever. Beaten
by 'Greatest Hits' (One) by Queen, which has well over 1,200, and 'Legend' by Bob Marley & The Wailers, which has
reached 1,169 Top 200 Weeks, In today's Chart.

ABBA Gold has sold around 5,300,000 to 5,420,000 UK copies since September 1992.

It depends whether it sold 730,000, (an ABBA Fan's estimate), or 850,000, (Polydor + my Music Industry 'Contacts), between 1992 & 1993.

ABBA Gold was the UK's 103rd Best Selling Album of 2014 - with 70,300 Sales.

It was the 79th UK Best Selling Album for 2015 - with 84,000 Sales.

Its UK Shipments were 900,000 by August 1994. It got its 3rd UK Platinum Award in August 1994. 3 X 300,000 = 900,000.

The UK Charts Company only started recording UK Sales from W/E 12th February 1994. That is when they took over the  compiling of all of the UK's Charts.

'ABBA Gold' sold a Total of 850,000 in 1992 & 1993 + 25,000 in the first 5 Charts of 1994. Which gives a UK Total of 875,000 between September 1992
& W/E 5th February 1994. (The 1st 5 Charts of 1994 were W/E 8th January 1994 to W/E 5th February 1994. The W/E 1st January 1994 Chart was the last
Chart of 1993 & its Sales went towards the 1993 Charts).

The OCC, (Official UK Charts Company), publish several UK Album Charts on Friday's.

Here is where ABBA Gold is in today's Charts - Week Ending 23rd June.

ABBA Gold is at No.63, in the 'Main', (Artist), Album Chart. It is up from
No.78. It is its 503rd Top 75 Week & 741st Top 100 Week. Both are still
'All Time' UK Album Chart Records. (Gold really has 743 Top 100 Weeks,
as The OCC miss out 2 No.77 Positions - from 1993 & 1994).

In the Sales, (only), UK Album Chart, Gold is at No.51. It is at No.50 in the Scotland
only Album Chart & also at No.50 in the Downloads Chart. It is at No.70 in the Physical
Chart.

Mamma Mia! (Soundtrack), is up from No.8 to No.6 in the Soundtracks Top 50. It is its
415th Week in that Chart.

I'm told that the 'Close Down Sales' of the British Home Store 'Chain' are selling ABBA Gold off at just £1.99 a copy.
Those Sales will count towards the UK Charts.

ABBA Gold sold about 3,500 to be at No.18 in the latest UK Chart. In the Sales Chart it is doing even better - No.14
for a 2nd Week. It is at No.12 in Scotland & as high as No.9 in the Physical Chart, which counts CD's & Vinyl. It is
in the Download Chart that ABBA Gold does not do nearly as well. It is at No.91 this Week.

ABBA Gold's 101 Top 20 Weeks are one of the most ever for a UK Album. At No.16 this Week is X by Ed Sheeran &
that has spent even longer in the Top 20 - 103 Weeks. So that will reach 2 Years in the Top 20 next Week.

Gold down from 28 to 56 in the UK album charts.

ABBA GOLD stays at #81 this week

For those that have an interest..

In the UK charts Gold rises to 48, and perhaps more remarkable it's the 72nd best selling album of 2016.

more facts and figures to follow... I hope..

ABBA GOLD - IN THE UK's ANNUAL TOP 200 BEST SELLING ALBUMS


(It sold 88,500 to be the UK's 72nd Best Selling Album of 2016)


01)... It was 12th for 1992 -- Sales??? -- (525,000 -- Estimated)  ***

02)... It was 36th for 1993 -- Sales??? -- (205,000 -- Estimated)  ***

03)... It was 63rd for 1994 -- Sales??? -- (168,000 -- Estimated)  ***

04)... It was 80th for 1995 -- Sales??? -- (140,000 -- Estimated)   ***

05)... It was 87th for 1996 -- 130,000

06)... It was 100th for 1997 -- 110,000

07)... It was 55th for 1998 -- 211,000

08)... It was 4th in 1999 -- 1,253,187

09)... It was 41st in 2000 -- 367,000

10)... It was 148th in 2001 -- 107,080

11)... It was not in the Top 200 of 2002 -- (42,000 -- Estimated)  ***

12)... It was 193rd in 2003 -- 95,000

13)... It was 47th in 2004 -- 380,000

14)... It was 118th in 2005 -- 160,000

15)... It was 194th in 2006 -- 94,000

16)... It was 166th in 2007 -- 91,800

17)... It was 19th in 2008 -- 410,119

18)... It was 54th in 2009 -- 248,500

19)... It was 90th in 2010 -- 150,900

20)... It was 130th in 2011 -- 95,400

21)... It was 140th in 2012 -- 81,300

22)... It was 119th in 2013 -- 77,250

23)... It was 103rd in 2014 -- 70,300

24)... It was 79th in 2015 -- 84,000

25)... It was 72nd in 2016 -- 88,500

26)... 2017 - So Far -- W/E 12th January -- 3,100 + W/E 19th January -- 2,300 + W/E 26th January - 2,000 = 7,400


*** = Estimated Sales by another ABBA Fan -- Not I.


'ABBA Gold -- UK Total -- W/E 3rd October 1992 to W/E 26th January 2017 = 5,392,736 = 5,393,000 (Rounded)

Just in case anyone is interested..

Gold only drops 5 places to 53 in this weeks UK album charts.

There is still a lot of confusion about just how many UK copies 'ABBA Gold' has sold.

The UK's Official Charts Company has it on around 5,320,000 to 5,350,000.

They said that it had reached 'Almost 5,300,000' UK Sales, on July 12th last Year.
It has sold at least 60,000 copies since then. So, if it was on 5,260,000 last July,
it would be on 5,320,000 now. Likewise, if it was on 5,290,000 last July, it would
be on 5,350,000 now.

A fellow called Gezza has compiled Lists of the UK's Top 100 Best Selling Albums, for
the 1990's, 2000's & 2010's, (so far). He gets 'ABBA Gold' to be on over 5,500,000 -
almost 200,000 more than The OCC say. This can be explained, by the fact, that The OCC
has lowered its UK Sales for many UK Singles & Albums from 1994 to 1996 - by re-calculating
them via a different method. For example, 'Live at The BBC' by The Beatles, (1994), has
been lowered from 720,000 UK Sales to 480,000 UK Sales - lowered by 240,000.

A)... He has 'ABBA Gold' as the 4th UK Best Seller of the 1990's --- 2,860,000 Sales

B)... The 25th UK Best Seller of the 2,000's --- 1,995,170 Sales

C)... The 80th Best Seller of the 2010's --- (So Far) --- 649,400 Sales

D)... Giving a Total of 5,504,570, since September 1992 - which Gezza has rounded up to 5,504,600 Sales

E)... It is a lot more than The OCC say. It depends on where Gezza gets the 'extra' Sales from, as to which
Total is the most accurate. (The OCC have clearly removed a lot of its Sales from 1995, 1995 & 1996).

The OCC can be wrong, about the Sales of big UK Albums. For example, their Total for 'Legend' by
Bob Marley & The Wailers, is said to be far too low, by several 'Chart Experts'. If you add up all of its
UK Year End Sales, since it was released, (1987), you get a much bigger Total than The OCC give for it.
They have obviously removed a lot of its Sales for 1994, 1995 & 1996, but even that would not be enough
to account for the 100's of 1,000's of its Sales that The OCC do not count.

The B.P.I., (British Phonographic Industry), have just given 'The Name Of The Game' Budget CD, (2002),
a UK Platinum Award - for 300,000 Sales. Budget CD's used to have to sell twice as many copies as
full or mid priced CD's to go Platinum - 600,000. But, the Rules have now been changed & a Budget 
CD can now go Platinum on 300,000 UK Sales.  ('The Name Of The Game' CD had sold 292,100 UK
copies, when The Official UK Charts Company last gave me its Sales, in July 2016. It has now sold 
the extra 7,900 needed to reach 300,000 - and Platinum status).

It is the 12th ABBA Album to go Platinum, in the UK. They have 35 Platinum Awards between them,
with 'ABBA Gold', (17), & '[Greatest Hits', (8), having the most.

ABBA should be on a lot more than 35 UK Platinum Album Awards. The following Albums only have
one Platinum Disk each, & all of them need to be given more - when The B.P.I. get around to it.
'Arrival', 'The Album', 'Voulez-Vous', 'Greatest Hits Vol.2', 'Super Trouper', 'The Visitors' and 'The
Singles - The First Ten Years'. The 'Arrival' Album alone should have 5 Platinum Awards - not 1.


ABBA - THE NAME OF THE GAME


Platinum Certification (Album) 06 January 2017


UNIVERSAL MUSIC (SPECTRUM MUSIC)


Released 14 October 2002

Gold back in the UK album charts after dropping out of the official top 75 last week, back at 65, its 520 th week on those charts...

'ABBA Gold' no longer has the most Weeks in the UK Top 75. It has now been over-taken
by 'Legend' by Bob Marley & The Wailers. 'Gold' has 521 Top 75 Weeks and 'Legend' has
525 Top 75 Weeks. 'Legend' is at No.28 this Week.

Their UK Sales are not even close, however. 'Gold' has sold around 5,400,000 and 'Legend'
has sold around 3,500,000 to 3,600,000.....

Gold, slowly moving up the UK album charts, up from 73 to 69, its 522nd week in the charts and ABBAs 1091st weeks in total.