Chart Watch
As expected, Prince dominates the album chart, landing fourteen albums in the top 100 in the week after his death, and makes a significant impact on the singles chart too. As was the case when David Bowie died in January, the casual purchaser looking for a Best Of album is spoiled for choice, the popular vote being split between The Very Best of Prince at number 2 and Ultimate Prince at 3, while The Hits / The B-Sides also appears at 13. Of his studio albums, Purple Rain leaps from 55 to 4 and there are re-entries for Sign O’ The Times (15), 1999 (28), Parade (41), Around the World in a Day (47), HITnRUN Phase One (50), Diamonds and Pearls (51), Dirty Mind (61), Lovesexy (75), Batman (92) and Art Official Age (94). Purple Rain also leads Prince’s assault on the singles chart, reaching number 6 (two places higher than its original 1984 peak) and backed up by When Doves Cry (26), Kiss (38), Raspberry Beret (47), 1999 (49) and Little Red Corvette at 70.
New Releases
Another quiet week for new releases unless you’re a fan of Billy Ocean, who returns with Here You Are, a double CD comprising a disc of his greatest hits and an album of newly recorded covers, including his latest single A Simple Game.
