The New Iron Maiden Tops European Billboard Charts
The Billboard story:There's a significant changing of the guard on Billboard's pan-European sales charts, as Iron Maiden and Justin Timberlake wrest control from Christina Aguilera and Shakira, respectively.
The veteran British rock band's "A Matter of Life and Death" (Capitol/EMI) opens at No. 1 on European Top 100 Albums, after collecting several impressive debuts.
"Death" goes straight to No. 1 in Germany and Italy, No. 2 in Norway and Switzerland. Twenty-six years after Maiden opened its British album chart account with a self-titled debut, it hits No. 4 there on sales of 44,000 units, to become its 14th top ten album. It also holds at No. 1 in Finland and starts at No. 4 in Austria and Spain and No. 5 in France and Ireland.
The runner-up on Top 100 Albums is also new, as Bob Dylan's "Modern Times" (Columbia) makes a confident debut around the region at No. 2, to match the start of 2001's "Love and Theft." That start includes No. 1 debuts in Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Ireland and fast starts at No. 2 in Germany, Austria and Sweden. "Times" is new at No. 3 in Holland and the United Kingdom, (the latter on sales of 55,000, more than twice those for "Theft"), No. 4 in Finland and No. 5 in Spain, and climbs 13-2 in the Belgian region of Flanders.
Maiden and Dylan's arrivals push Christina Aguilera's "Back To Basics" (RCA), which topped the pan-European chart for two weeks, down to No. 3. "Basics" now debuts at No. 3 in Greece and climbs 6-3 in Hungary, but opening single "Ain't No Other Man" is down 7-12 on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles.
There are a total of five new entries in the top ten of the Europe-wide album chart, the highest total since May. English modern rock band Kasabian is next in at No. 5 with its sophomore album "Empire" (Columbia), thanks to a powerful No. 1 debut in the United Kingdom with sales of 109,000 units, and a No. 3 start in Ireland. The band reached No. 9 in the U.K. with the title track and first single last month. Its self-titled 2004 debut now has U.K. sales of 700,000, according to the label. Kasabian has a British arena tour booked for December.
Iron Maiden is not the only long-running British rock act to impact this week's European charts, as Motorhead's "Kiss of Death" (SPV) comes in at No. 7 overall. Its domestic debut is at a relatively modest No. 45, but it's new at No. 4 in Germany. The band begins a European tour Oct. 31 in Dublin.
New at No. 8 on Top 100 Albums is Swedish garage rock outfit Mando Diao's third set "Ode To Ochrasy" (Mute), which makes a bold start in the G/S/A territories. It is at No. 3 in Germany and Austria and No. 5 in Switzerland. "Ode" arrives four years after the band's "Bring 'Em In" debut was released locally by EMI Music Sweden. The single "Long Before Rock 'n' Roll" opens at No. 16 in Sweden.
Timberlake climbs 40-1 on the Eurochart with "Sexyback" (Jive), ending the run of 15 aggregate weeks at No. 1 for "Hips Don't Lie" (Epic) by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean. "Sexyback" becomes Timberlake's first-ever No. 1 single in the United Kingdom, climbing 13-1 on just shy of 50,000 sales; it also climbs 15-1 in Ireland. It's new at No. 2 in Germany and Switzerland, No. 3 in Finland and No. 5 in Norway.
In its seventh consecutive week in the Eurochart top ten, Rihanna's "Unfaithful" (Def Jam) moves back 3-2, buoyed by a No. 7 debut in France. Rihanna today announces that she'll join Pussycat Dolls for a European arena tour that hits the United Kingdom Nov. 26.