Saturday 21 June 2008

Coldplay album set to top UK chart

Coldplay's new album is set to top the UK charts this Sunday (June 14) � despite only being out for three days.

'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' sold 125,000 copies on its' day of release yesterday (June 12), making it certain to top the charts ahead of The Fratellis, Neil Diamond and Paul Weller.

Music retail chain HMV are now predicting the album to sell around 250,000 copies by the time the chart is announced at 7pm on Sunday.

HMV spokesperson Gennaro Castaldo said: "This rate of sales exceeds even our optimistic forecasts, and shows how massively popular a band Coldplay remain despite having been away for the best part of three years. Aside from having a substantial core fanbase, Coldplay are one of the few acts that can genuinely connect with a much wider audience.

"While we've also been selling large quantities of the album online and as a download at hmv.com, this clearly shows that there is still a massive public appetite to buy CDs from record stores across the country. HMV placed one of its largest-ever orders in anticipation of this release."

Coldplay's last album, 2005's 'X&Y', sold 465,000 copies in its first week of release in the UK.