U2 Chart/Sales Statistics

[edge3]

Best Of 1980-90 (1cd-version) is closing in on 3m in USA. March 17th 2007 catalogue chart showed :

193 U2 BEST OF U2-1980-90 1648 -15% 1928 2,930,506 (2xp)

It was at 2,439,000 by April 2005 so it's been shifting around 250,000 per year for last 2 years.

 

[doctorwho]

Best Of 1980-90 (1cd-version) is closing in on 3m in USA. March 17th 2007 catalogue chart showed :

193 U2 BEST OF U2-1980-90 1648 -15% 1928 2,930,506 (2xp)

It was at 2,439,000 by April 2005 so it's been shifting around 250,000 per year for last 2 years.

You wrote this comment almost 1.5 years ago. By now, I would say that the CD has probably reached the 3.1 or even 3.2M mark. Regardless, it is definitely 3x Platinum in the U.S.

It's time U2 had their entire catalog re-certified. Some of the certifications are very old.

 

[edge3]

Australian Top 50 album chart runs 1988-1998 (excluding Best Of '80-90) :

Rattle & Hum : 1 (ne 06/11/88)-1-1-1-1-2-2-6-8-8-10-10-9-13-15-15-20-23-25-37-40-45-42-44-x(x15)-49 (re 13/08/89)-35-35-31-31-28-19-15-9-6-11-10-16-12-16-19-24-27-32-40-41-40-38-39-41-44-50 (#1x5,T.5x7,T.10x16,T.20x27,51 woc)-x...

Joshua Tree : 40 (re 13/11/88)-42-34-36-50-x...*43 (re 24/09/89)-28-27-32-37-33-45-x...

UABRS : 39 (re 15/10/89)-43-x...

Unforgettable Fire : 39 (re 29/10/89)-50-x...

Achtung Baby : 1 (ne 01/12/91)-2-2-3-3-6-8-8-9-10-9-10-13-22-28-31-28-28-28-28-30-39-47-43-41-41-44-x-x-x-x-50-47-42-50-45-41-43-45-x-43-x(x16)-35 (re 05-12/93)-38 (#1x1,T.5x5,T.10x12,T.20x13,38 woc)-x...

Zooropa : 1 (ne 18/07/97)-1-1-1-2-3-3-3-6-6-10-14-13-12-18-19-19-12-6-4-6-8-13-14-11-9-13-15-20-21-22-26-23-28-18-16-16-14-10-16-21-29-39-37-x-42 (#1x4,T.5x8,T.10x17,T.20x35,45 woc)-x...

Pop : 1 (ne 16/03/97)-4-6-9-11-13-10-17-21-33-24-32-37-x...43 (re 25/11/98)-47-x-x-x-50-39 (#1x1,T.5x2,T.10x5,T.20x8,17 woc)-x...

 

[edge3]

Music & Media Top 100 European album chart runs, certs, YEC's since 1987 :

Joshua Tree (NE Mar 28th '87 & in wk 2 : 'never before has a no.1 emerged so quickly in the Top 100', YEC’s '87 2nd, '88 70th) :
7-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-6-5-7-9-9-14-15-16-?-16-26-24-27-29-35-41-24-27-34-28-34-58-53-60-62-62-63-65-72-91 (62 cwoc)-x...72 (RE Sept 4 ’93)-67-x...67 (RE 19th Jul '97, Fr, Den, Greece, Ire)-49-66-69-98-76-97-x...91 (RE 5th May '01, UK, Ire)-x…77 (RE 22/12/07)-57-62-70 (76 woc,17x1, 31 T.5, 37 wks T.10, 41 ? wks T.20, 54 T.50)-x...

UABRS : 91 (RE Apr 11 ’87)-x…93 (RE Jun 27 ’87)-90-88-90-77-77-81-70-72-72-85-83-93-x…
Unforgettable Fire : 100 (RE Jun 27 ’87)-x-x-x-x-x-x-80 (UK, Ire)-85-94-94-x
War : 97 (RE Aug 14 ’93)-71-62-44-36 (Fr 5)-33 (Fr 4)-37 (Fr 4)-39 (Fr ?)-41-37 (Fr only but still no chart)-37-39-x…

Rattle & Hum (NE Oct 22 ’88, YEC’s ’88 21st, ’89 32nd) :
1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-5-5-6-12-13-17-17-25-28-35-33-32-39-40-45-53-66-63-77-99-89-81-77-90-96 (38 cwoc, 5 wks #1, 15 wks T.5)-x...94 (RE Jul 26 ’97)-x…(39 woc, 5x1, 15 T.5, 16 T.10, 20 T.20, 28 T.50)

Achtung Baby (NE Dec 7th '91, YEC ’92 8th) :
5-3-4-4-4-5-4-6-6-6-8-8-7-6-7-8-8-11-14-17-23-24-28-24-32-29-19-26-20-18-18-22-25-23-28-34-31-31-41-37-41-42-58-79-84-92-x (46 cwoc)-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-87 (RE)-80-83-69-87-98-72-69-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-79 (RE)-79-59-52-49-45-75 (61 woc)-x...87 (RE ~15th Aug '97)-x-84 (Belg, Fr, Ire, Nor, Swe)-x…(63 woc, pk 4, 7 T.5, 17 T.10, 23 T.20, 44 T.50)

Zooropa (NE 24th Jul '93, YEC ’93 8th) :
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-5-8-11-11-30-37-38-89-100-67-89-85-56-59-53-56-60 (28 cwoc, 8x1, 13 T.10, 15, T.20, 18 T.50)-x…

Pop (NE 15th Mar '97, YEC ’97 4th) :
11 (UK 1st day sales only)-1-1-1(1xP)-1-2-2-5-4(2xP)-4-6-7-9-11-14-16-20-14-19-23-24-11-8-8-11-12-14-18-25-46-37-51 (32 cwoc, 4x1, 9 T.5, 14 T.10, 25 T.20, 30 T.40)-x (Oct 25th '97)…

Best of 80-90 / B sides (NE Nov 14 ’98, YEC ’98 23rd) :
22 (Belg, UK & 1xP)-2-1-1-1 (3xP)-1-1 (0xP, cert goes to single disc)-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-6-8-12-17-26-32-38-54-62-66-86 (25 cwoc, 6x1, 12 T.5, 15 T.10, 17 T.20, 21 T.50)

Best of 80-90 / single disc (NE Nov 28 ’98, YEC ’99 20th & 6xP in ’01, 7xP in Oct ‘04) :
73 (It only)-29-28-33-38 (3xP)-?-33-15-16 (4xP)-21-28-51-54-54-74-74-73-72-76 (19 cwoc, pk 15)-x-93 (5xP)-99-x-94-x…

ATYCLB (NE 11th Nov '01, YEC’s ‘00 29th, '01 7th, 4xP by late '02) :
66-1-1-1-2-3 (2xP)-5-6-7-7-7 (3xP)-7-7-9-8-8-8-8-5-5-8-14-14-21-33-35-35-56-69-100-89-64-68-66-56-69-55-32-18-16-18-16-14-?(Sept 7th '01)-22-27-34-45-55-83 (50 cwoc)x-90-? (Nov 10th '01)-(51 or 52 woc, 3 wks #1, 8 T.5, 20 T.10, 28 ? T.20, 48 T.50)-x

Best of 90-00 (NE Nov 16 ’02, YEC '03 55th, 3xP by Q1 '08) :
?-1-1-2-2 (Dec 14)-3 (2xP)-4 (28 Dec)-5-5 (Jan 11 ’03, 9 cwoc)-5-7-9-12-14-27-35-?-?-?-64-79 (Apr 5, 21 cwoc, 2x1, 9/10 T.5, 11/12 T.10, 13/14 T.20, 17/19 T.50)-?-…out by May 17 ‘03

HTDAAB (NE 11/12/04, YEC '05 5th, 2xP in Nov ’04, 3xP in Dec ’04) :
1 (2xP)-1-1-2-2 (?,3xP)-2 (?)-3 (?)-3 (?)-4 (?)-5 (?)-4-2-2-7-4-9-14-16-17-17-22-26-27-34-42-39-42-33-17-20-18-23-18-17-16-13-21-28-36-53-57-83-(42 cwoc, 3x1, 14 T.5, 16 T.10, 27 T.20, 39 T.50)-x…

18 Singles (NE 9/12/06, YEC '07 15th, 1xP in Nov ’06, 2xP by wk 13 in Jan ‘07) :
2 (1xP)-2-3-3-3-2-2-2-3-9-8-12-26 (2xP)-22-49-61-71-87-?-x-x-x-81-x…(20/21 woc, pk 2, 9 T.5, 11 T.10, 12 T.20, 15 T.50)

Total IFPI Europe certs from 'Pop' to '18 Singles' : 21xP = 21m,

Pop : 2xp (Q2 '97)
Best Of 80-90 : 7xP (Q4 '04)
ATYCLB : 4xP (Q4 '02)
Best Of 90-00 : 3xP (Q1 '08)
HTDAAB : 3xP (Q4 '04)
18 Singles : 2xP (Q1 '07)

 

[hey you]

it's cleary that 's u2 have sold some 180 mln albums worldwide. live nation said that all of 11 studio albums have sold over 140 mln, so if you include under a blood...,wide awake...,best of 80-90 and 90-00 and 18 singles reach some 180 mln.

 

[mikeuk]

hmmm I think around 150m is more realistic- still impressive though Mike

 

[RPRB]

What is Best Of 80-90 at now World Wide if you include all versions? Does anyone think it is in the ballpark of Joshua Tree? It has really had some amazing sales throughout the world.

 

[mikeuk]

What is Best Of 80-90 at now World Wide if you include all versions? Does anyone think it is in the ballpark of Joshua Tree? It has really had some amazing sales throughout the world.

Not as many as the JT but probably 16-17m Mike

 

[ChargedVT]

Outside of the US, there's not much difference between the two. 80-90 was a MASSIVE seller, everywhere except US (combined it has sold about 4.4m in US). Here in Australia it is their biggest selling album, over 600,000 sold.

 

[Tallarico]

Anybody knows how many copies exacly sold Atyclb?

 

[U2girl]

I think about 11-12 million copies.

 

[Native_Son]

close on 14?

 

[mikeuk]

I think about 11-12 million copies.

I think close to 12m

mike

 

[edge3]

Music Week said 11m (sold) for ATYCLB in it's September 14th 2002 issue. Then in it's 18th January 2003 issue they said ATYCLB had now shipped 11m outside the UK (meaning over 12m in total). By November 2004 U2's record company apparantly reported total shipments of 13.5m (on BBC radio 1-right Mike?).

 

[Mirrorball06]

Music Week said 11m (sold) for ATYCLB in it's September 14th 2002 issue. Then in it's 18th January 2003 issue they said ATYCLB had now shipped 11m outside the UK (meaning over 12m in total). By November 2004 U2's record company apparantly reported total shipments of 13.5m (on BBC radio 1-right Mike?).

10.8m according to Billboard from 20th November 2004 when Bomb was released.

 

[edge3]

bump

 

[edge3]

UK 1st week sales (from Music Week/CIN/OCC) :

Rattle & Hum - 360,000
Joshua Tree - 235,000
HTDAAB - 200,863
Achtung Baby - 200,000
ATYCLB - 164,000
Pop - 152,000
Best Of 80-90 - 140,000
Zooropa - most probably about 140,000 (Vox magazine at the time said 200k but MW actually said 150,000 in 1st 8 days)
18 Singles - 101,083
Best Of 90-00 - 95,000

 

[edge3]

Thanks to MJDangerous at UKMIX chart forums,

U2 album sales in France 2003-2008 according to Gfk:

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - 474,398
18 Singles - 249,999
*Best Of 90/00 - 143,763
*Best Of 80/90 - 130,105
The Joshua Tree - 53,212
War - 51,375
All That You Can't Leave Behind - 23,752
Achtung Baby - 22,683
Under A Blood Red Sky - 21,801
Unforgettable Fire - 19,921
Boy - 15,107
October - 14,568
Rattle And Hum - 13,822
Zooropa - 8,753
Pop - 7,892
Under A Blood Red Sky/Boy - 4,926
Wide Awake In America/War - 3,706
Unforgettable Fire/October - 3,409
Wide Awake In America - 2,278

Total = 1,265,470

*might be wrong way round

 

[mikeuk]

Thanks to MJDangerous at UKMIX chart forums,

U2 album sales in France 2003-2008 according to Gfk:

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - 474,398
18 Singles - 249,999
*Best Of 90/00 - 143,763
*Best Of 80/90 - 130,105
The Joshua Tree - 53,212
War - 51,375
All That You Can't Leave Behind - 23,752
Achtung Baby - 22,683
Under A Blood Red Sky - 21,801
Unforgettable Fire - 19,921
Boy - 15,107
October - 14,568
Rattle And Hum - 13,822
Zooropa - 8,753
Pop - 7,892
Under A Blood Red Sky/Boy - 4,926
Wide Awake In America/War - 3,706
Unforgettable Fire/October - 3,409
Wide Awake In America - 2,278

Total = 1,265,470

*might be wrong way round

joshua tree sales look low _ esp when you consider that on that tour u2 played to around 70,000 at one concert !

Mike

 

[Popmartijn]

joshua tree sales look low _ esp when you consider that on that tour u2 played to around 70,000 at one concert !

Mike

Keep in mind that those sales are apparently for the years 2003-2008, so starting more than 15 years after the release of The Joshua Tree. During that time, only HTDAAB and 18 Singles were new releases (and The Best Of 1990-2000 was released a few months before the start of this period). The rest is all catalog sales.

 

[Vox02]

joshua tree sales look low _ esp when you consider that on that tour u2 played to around 70,000 at one concert !

Mike

Record attendance at the moment (single concert in France). Plus 7,000 from Le Zenit concert.

Vox

 

[fitz]

New U2 18 Singles sales figures in US:

U2 U218 SINGLES 1799 7 1688 961584

 

[fitz]

New US-Soundscan figures for U2:

U2 Best of 80-90 3,062,571
U2 18 Singles 964,043

 

[Tallarico]

it is incredible that u218 sold nearly the same in Us and uk....

 

[mikeuk]

The Culture Show (BBC- UK) special on U2 today put worldwide album sales at 170m !!!! In the last 4 weeks I have seen 120m, 140m (most common) and now 170m Mike

 

[Native_Son]

As i remember, before the release of HTDAAB, the frequently quoted figure was 170M, yet now 140M seems to be the most common.

 

[phommel]

NLOTH: 1st day(!) sales in Netherlands: >60,000 copies. That is platinum on first day. amazing

 

[Native_Son]

NLOTH: 1st day(!) sales in Netherlands: >60,000 copies. That is platinum on first day. amazing

sounds good!

any idea what the usual #1 album figures are?
and how did HTDAAB do?

 

[ChargedVT]

NLOTH: 1st day(!) sales in Netherlands: >60,000 copies. That is platinum on first day. amazing

Surely that is just the shipment? Netherlands is quite a small market isn't it?

 

[Popmartijn]

Surely that is just the shipment? Netherlands is quite a small market isn't it?

Yeah, I guess those are shipments (and a few years ago platinum meant 100,000 shipments).
Though the Netherlands is a lot smaller than the USA or UK, I believe it was in the top 10 of CD sales a few years ago. Don't know how it is now. And the Netherlands is a big U2 market. Should this album reach #1 (which I expect it will), then it's their 10th #1 album. All albums starting with The Joshua Tree reached #1, with the exception of 18 Singles.