Best-selling acts - UK

[Wayne]

Basil's best-selling acts:

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 - 9,000,000 - 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

[Wayne]

(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

[Wayne]

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

[Wayne]

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

[Wayne]

Some new Totals off Alan Jones, (Music Week Sales Report), Monday 16th April 2012.

Regarding the All Time UK Singles Acts:,

1) The Beatles - He says that with Digital Sales added in, they now have 21,824,296 UK Singles Sales.

2) Elvis Presley has - 21,532,246 UK Singles Sales

3) Cliff Richard has - 21,498,951 UK Singles Sales.

4) Madonna is 4th - 17,582,206 UK Singles Sales

After The Beatles, the 2 Groups with the most UK Singles Sales are:,

A) Queen - 12,556,708

B) ABBA - 11,189,520

Rhianna is already on 13,311,889 UK Singles Sales.

Lady GaGa has 7,246,566 - and she has only been Charting since January 2009.

All Totals go up to Sunday 8th April - which is the W/E 14th April Singles Chart.