They may (or may not) be about to set out on their farewell tour, but Deep Purple are far from done; their twentieth studio album inFinite enters the chart at #6 today, their first top ten placing in thirty years and highest chart position since 1984’s Perfect Strangers charted at #5. Mike + The Mechanics are also celebrating a return to the top ten, charting at #9 with Let Me Fly; they were last in the top ten in 1996 when their Hits album reached #3. Further down the album chart Brian May & Kerry Ellis enter at #27 with Golden Days, while Depeche Mode’s BBC Four night last Friday helps The Best Of – Volume 1 climb 14 places to #46, although their latest album Spirit slips to 33.
It’s a quieter week for new releases, what with Easter and next week’s Record Store Day, but there are a few new albums around, including a new Gary Numan live set Obsession on vinyl, CD and DVD. Alphaville release a new album Strange Attractor and Live in London sees The Beat featuring Ranking Roger take to the stage back in 2013. Two early albums by The Triffids, Treeless Plain and In the Pines are reissued, with the others to follow in the coming weeks. Finally, in budget corner, The Very Best of Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers is, incredibly, a double CD, while there are new and reasonably priced compilations Classic 80s Pop (3CDs, with ABBA, Duran Duran, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, ABC and New Order amongst others) and 80s Mixtape – The Ultimate Collection (a 5CD set including Blondie again, Human League, Visage, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, UB40, Simple Minds, Culture Club, Rick Astley and Tears For Fears).
