U2 Breaks First-Week Sales Record (Canada)

Jam! Music by Peter Vamos (1997-03-11)

U2 breaks first-week sales record

By PETER VAMOS
Jam! Showbiz

Living up to its heavy billing, U2’s Pop debuted last week in the number one spot on the Soundscan Canadian album charts, selling a record 66,000 units, the band’s label announced Wednesday.

The album also premiered in the number one slot in the U.S, selling 349,000, Island Records said in a press release. However, that total pales in comparison to the biggest first-week sellers such as Pearl Jam’s Vs. album, which moved 950,000 copies in its debut week.

Still, the strong showing bodes well for the recording industry as a whole. Insiders had been hopeful that Pop, the Irish supergroup’s ninth album, could spark an industry that had seen total sales stagnate over the past year.

The album was reported at number one in several other countries, as well, including Australia, Austria, Italy, Japan, France, Germany and the U.K.

Island had shipped over 4.5 million copies worldwide.

U2 will launch their world PopMart tour April 25 in Las Vegas, and make Canadian stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver before the year is over.

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