Take That and Alexandra set to top Christmas charts
Pop acts old and new are set to top the UK charts this Christmas, with bookies closing their bets on Take That and the latest 'X Factor' star achieving number ones.
The reformed man band are expected to take prime position in the album charts, while talent show winner Alexandra Burke looks set to have the number one single tomorrow.
Take That’s latest album had sold just over 990,000 copies by the end of Thursday’s trading, putting it on course to comfortably pass the one million mark yesterday.
That made 'The Circus' the fastest-selling album in the UK so far this millennium, according to the Official Charts Company.
'The Circus', now on just its 20th day in stores, is also the second fastest million-seller of all time in the UK, behind Oasis’s 'Be Here Now', while Take That’s 2006 album 'Beautiful World' is the third fastest.
The rapid ascent for Take That also left them with the second biggest-selling album of 2008, leapfrogging Coldplay’s 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'.
Duffy’s 'Rockferry' was the year’s runaway biggest seller so far, with 1.5 million copies sold in 2008 to date.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: “It has been an incredible run for Take That over the past few weeks, which should continue right through to Christmas.”
Meanwhile, bookies were complaining that this year’s 'X Factor' has ruined the betting market for the Christmas number two single as well as the number one.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed yesterday that he would be buying Burke’s hit single, 'Hallelujah', and it is clear much of the public are doing the same.
But William Hill, after closing the betting on Take That and Burke having the Christmas number ones, said it may also have to stop accepting bets on the Jeff Buckley version of 'Hallelujah' taking the second spot in the singles chart.
“Punters will be screaming 'Hallelujah' as Jeff Buckley looks nailed on for the number two, but there is little point in us creating number three betting as Leonard Cohen’s version of 'Hallelujah' is in with a chance of making it a 'Hallelujah' hat-trick,” said Hill’s spokesman Rupert Adams.
The bookies’ Christmas odds include 9/2 for the song 'Hallelujah' to have numbers one, two and three in the charts.
HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo commented: “It’s ironic, to say the least, that it’s taken a mass-audience populist show like the 'X Factor' to prompt massive interest in the highly individualist music of Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley, and their album sales at HMV are up as well.
“The whole story is a great twist to the race for the Christmas number one - it’s unprecedented to have different covers of the same song occupy the top two positions in the official Christmas charts, and Leonard Cohen’s original version of the song has also made the top 40 to make it more remarkable still.”
