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On An Island – New Charts for the Travellers
On the eve of the Gilmour expedition to the
New World, here's some new charts to help them
find their way.
There are still some staggered releases in South
America and Asia, (see below for the Japanese
debut), while the album remains strong across
Northern Europe. Don't forget to lobby your
local radio and TV stations for more Island
exposure – it's a big media world out there
(and if you live in Japan and have any press
features, please send them in to the Features
Editor c/o The Blog).
On An Island in the Album Charts:
Argentina – No. 3
Austria – No. 8
Belgium – No. 4
Canada – No. 4
Czech Republic – No. 2
Denmark – No. 5
Finland – No. 7
France – No. 19
Germany – No. 9
Greece – No. 19
Holland – No. 3
Italy – No. 2
Japan – No. 31 (New Entry)
New Zealand – No. 3
Norway – No. 3
Poland – No. 2
Portugal – No. 13
Sweden – No. 10
Switzerland – No. 11
Something Good On TV Shock – 'David Gilmour
In Concert' On Air
To coincide with the interest around On An Island,
EMI Records UK has started to make arrangements with
various broadcasters around the world to add David
Gilmour In Concert back into their programming.
The visual record of David's genre-busting Royal Festival
Hall show in 2001, you should start seeing it on screens
near you shortly.
First to confirm has been Portugal. National
TV channel RTP will broadcast it on April 22nd
on RTP 1, repeated in May on Channel 2. No broadcast
times yet, but we have been promised promo trailers
for advance promotion.
More countries should confirm shortly...
Treasure 'Island' – Czech Republic Goes Gold!
Rendering more booty than 'Pirates Of The Caribbean
III', On An Island has now gone Gold in the
Czech Republic, in the wake of the UK, Canada, Italy,
and Poland. We expect that New Zealand will be next,
while Canada is heading for Platinum. Make it so,
you other territories, or it'll be a keelhauling for
you lubbers...
The Blog Jam Has Broken...
We're back! In the most welcome return since
Live 8, The Blog is back, back, back!
Apologies for the software glitch which rendered
it unable to receive your comment/complaint/interpretation
of the meaning of life, but the Features Editor
has now been prised away from the 'Reds Conquer
Istanbul' DVD, and is ready to receive your
finest thoughts.
If you haven't posted before, please do jump
in – the waters are warm and not too deep...
Daily Blog Disabled – Thousands Mourn
A wave of despair swept over the DavidGilmour.community
today when it was discovered that the software powering
The
Blog section of the site had crashed. "My
whole identity is defined by The Blog" said a particularly
distraught Canadian satirist known only as 'Rudders'.
"I'll be Rudderless till it's working again." The
Features Editor was pleased, however: "More couch
time to watch the mighty Reds. Maybe now some people
will take the time to READ the site for a change –
starting with The
Important Stuff".
Psychological support teams have been put on
standby.
Gaucho Club Recruits
Hot news from Southern climes – our friends
in Argentina have put On An Island in
the album chart at Number 3 (as listed in CAPIF).
Following their Antipodean colleagues' Number
2 last week, Australia's Number 29 is a little
more modest, but we're assured of big things
to come.
eBaywatch – Be Careful Out There...
By now, you should be able to get On An Island
almost anywhere in the known world, with only
a couple of exceptions. If you live in a remote
area there are various reputable mail order
companies such as Amazon. And then there's eBay.
It's a perfectly good way of getting second-hand
items at a reasonable price, but we advise you
to be very careful if ordering On An Island.
There are actually people out there selling
home-recorded CDRs of the album, which (apart
from being illegal and defrauding everyone involved
with the release) don't include any of the fabulous
packaging.
We do try and track down these sellers and get
their auctions removed, but in the meantime
please tell your friends to be very vigilant
in their eBay dealings – we can't help
you if you're ripped off.
We don't set the retail price (that is done
by the retailer) and of course nobody has to
buy the album if they don't like it, but we
hope there are still many people out there who
would enjoy it, and they deserve the proper
package.
Eclectic Muses for the Mind and Body...
Don't forget The
Important Stuff, and the official North
American merchandising here.
Before you rush to The Blog, please take the time to read some
of the new Press
we have on the site, including an insightful
article in Guitar World, which includes details
of David's approach to soloing, and much more.
Please also check our latest non-English articles,
one from Argentina and another from Greece.
Wearing It Inside Out – Merchandising
News!
Apologies for the delay, but there are now supplies
of David Gilmour merchandise, courtesy of official
merchandisers Anthill Trading. The merchandising
link will be contained on one of our new pages,
but in the meantime click here
for a selection of items with an On An Island
theme.
More apologies: there are two supply centres,
one for North America and one for the UK &
Europe, and for technical reasons (i.e. not
the fault of DavidGilmour.com) only the North
American store link is operable at the moment.
The UK & Europe site will be available in
about a week, and it will include a slightly
different range.
If you have a ticket for any of David's shows,
you will also see other items on sale there,
including the excellent tour programme which
features band profiles by your very own Features
Editor.
The Broader View
The David Gilmour Web site continues to expand!
As well another multi-format area we're still working
on, we will be adding a section entitled The Important
Stuff. Self-explanatory, it will feature some
of David's selections. The page will be available
to navigate soon, but in the meantime click here.
Charts Are Like Buses...
Wait for ever, then never get one on its own.
On An Island enters the album chart in New Zealand at
Number 2! It also holds its position at Number 2 in Canada, where it
is already Gold and charging towards Platinum.
The further countries are from Italy (where the album booklets
are made), the longer it takes for them to receive stock, so
some countries are still releasing. We expect more New Entries
next week, so keep checking in.
Careful with that Sax, Patrick: the Selmer Company
Presents a Saxophone to David Gilmour.
As we know, David debuted as a saxophonist on On
An Island to positive reviews. The French-based
Henri Selmer company is the world's leading
saxophone maker, and Managing Director M. Patrick
Selmer has revealed himself as a huge fan of David's
work. Accordingly, while David was in Paris, Patrick
took the opportunity to present David with a Selmer
Reference alto saxophone, which David was
very happy to accept.
We don't know whether the special Reference sax (designed
in consultation with French jazz musician Pierrick
Pedron) will make an appearance on the current
tour dates, but we expect so.
Gold! (It's in the...Apennines)
On An Island has now gone Gold in Italy
(home of the Apennine mountains, if your Geography
isn't so good), and joins the UK and Canada
in the gold-certified territories.
Unconfirmed reports have the album at No. 2 in New Zealand,
with sales close to Gold, and we hope to confirm
that later today.
SURPRISE GUEST
Sam Brown performed The Great Gig
In The Sky tonight with David at The Olympia
Theatre in Paris. Sam was in town to perform
with Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra
and, on hearing Sam was in town, David invited
her to join him onstage.
Et voila! They rehearsed it at the soundcheck,
brought the house down in the show, and Sam
duly scooted across town to knock 'em dead again
with Jools.
Bravo Sam! Bravo David! C'est si bon! (Wish
I Was There!)
David Tops the Champions' League!
(Writes our football correspondent): Wizard
of the whammy bar, leader of the Strat pack,
and vocalist par excellence, David Gilmour leads
his lads across Europe, playing to packed-out
halls and rave reviews.
But that's not all – the On An Island
album has just entered the Billboard European
Album Charts at Number One!
As well as being NUMBER ONE in the UK, Italy
and Norway, On An Island has just debuted
at the top of the Czech Republic chart, and
crashed in at Number 5 in Poland, home of composer
Zbigniew Preisner, who provided the fantastic
orchestration for the album. Other new chart
entries include Sweden at Number 3, and Belgium
at Number 11.
Here are the latest Charts:
BILLBOARD European Chart – No. 1
UK – No. 1
ITALY – No. 1
NORWAY – No. 1
CZECH REPUBLIC – No. 1
CANADA – No. 2
AUSTRIA – No. 2
ICELAND – No. 2
GERMANY – No. 3
SWEDEN – No. 3
NETHERLANDS – No. 3
DENMARK – No. 4
SWITZERLAND – No. 4
PORTUGAL – No. 4
POLAND – No. 5
FINLAND – No. 5
USA – No. 6
BELGIUM – No. 11
IRELAND – No. 16
FRANCE – No. 19
Chart Attack
On An Island rides high in charts around
the world, and is expected to retain its UK
No. 1 slot this week. It did enter the Canadian
charts at No. 2, just 2,000 sales behind James
Blunt.
Here are the latest Charts:
UK – No. 1
ITALY – No. 1
NORWAY – No. 1
CANADA – No. 2
AUSTRIA – No. 2
ICELAND – No. 2
GERMANY – No. 3
NETHERLANDS – No. 3
DENMARK – No. 4
SWITZERLAND – No. 4
PORTUGAL – No. 4
USA – No. 6
IRELAND – No. 16
FRANCE – No. 19
No confirmation of Sweden yet – perhaps
that will be tomorrow.
STOP PRESS – Dateline Tuesday (just):
On An Island debuts in the US Chart
at No. 6!
This is a great result in a world where the
British Invasion is just a memory (not counting
James Blunt), and where the record market is
now so fragmented that many of the major record
retailers have gone out of business.
Stay tuned tomorrow (Wednesday) for Canada and
Sweden, which are expected to be even better!
Charted Territories
On An Island continues to make waves
around the world, adding to its UK Number One
position, which it is expected to retain this
week.
Here are the latest Charts:
ITALY – No. 1
NORWAY – No. 1
GERMANY – No. 3
AUSTRIA – No. 2
ICELAND – No. 2
NETHERLANDS – No. 3
DENMARK – No. 4
SWITZERLAND – No. 4
PORTUGAL – No. 4
IRELAND – No. 16 (must try harder!)
FRANCE – No. 19 (this must be a typo!)
We expect the album to be No. 1 in Sweden, and
we should have the US Chart tomorrow. We should
also have the chart for Canada, where it is
expected to debut at No. 2; so till then, keep
the faith, as ever.
P.S. On An Island is still the top-selling
music album on iTunes in the UK, and via Amazon
mail order in both US & UK.
New Photographs: David's 60th Birthday.
We have launched a new Gallery, which features
several Ross Halfin lithographs, photos from
the pre-tour sessions at Black Island Studios,
and an exclusive peek at David's 60th Birthday
Party.
Click here
to view.
Comfortably Number One! (©
Ben 5k Ward)
As you saw yesterday, On An Island is
sitting comfortably at Number One in the UK
Album charts, ahead of label-mate Corinne Bailey
Rae (sorry Corinne!).
As predicted, the International Charts are rolling
in too, and here are the votes of the International
juries:
ITALY – Number One!
NORWAY – Number One!
GERMANY – Number Three!
We expect to have the US Chart on Wednesday,
and many more before then, so stay tuned (and
keep telling your friends)!
On An Island is also the top-selling
music album via iTunes in the UK.
DavidGilmour.com Site Statistics: Just The
Facts, Ma'am.
In February we had 444,848 visitors to
the site (up from around 300,000 in January)
– so we must be doing something right.
David's birthday message on The Blog generated over 1200 comments, and
the persons who provide the messaging platform
tell us that, to the best of their knowledge,
this is an all time record for equivalent blogs.
The On An Island promo clip (original
short version) has now received just short of
175,000 viewings. Thanks to directors David
Mallet, Nick Morris and Polly Samson, plus producer
Dione Orrom. Oscars, here we come..!
A View To A Thrill
As you'll see over the next few days, we will
be bringing you different elements from the
On An Island tour, which will be incorporated
into a new part of the site. In the meantime
though, there are some great photos from the
first night at Dortmund's Konzerthaus available
to view via the On
An Island page.
Number One, Number One!
David's new album, On An Island, is officially
the Number One seller in the UK as of
today. Having shipped Gold already in Canada,
Poland and, of course, the UK, there are many
more high chart positions worldwide to come.
Thanks to the great excitement that has been
spread by you, the fans, around the album's
release, On An Island is already David's
most successful solo release. But don't stop
there. We think the album is great for everyone
everywhere, so help us spread the word. There
must ten million or so potential interested
parties out there, so help us find them.
Check out The Blog and tell us what your country
is doing to promote the album. If you've seen
anything interesting, do let us know via The Blog, so we can promote it all here
on the site (low-resolution JPEGs gratefully
received). In the meantime, if you live in the
UK (or just bought a copy on your way to Dortmund),
a hearty THANKS! from everyone to do with DavidGilmour.com.
Hamburg in your Home: David Live via Internet
Webcast.
If you couldn't get to see David live
in Hamburg you can get him 'Live in Concert'
via UK's BBC Radio 2.
As you may remember from our previous News entries
(and the rave reviews from anyone who was there),
David and his full live On An Island
band played a special one-hour concert for BBC
Radio 2 on Tuesday 7th March. It was broadcast
TONIGHT on BBC Radio 2 but, if you missed it,
you can use the 'Listen Again' feature on their
Web site to listen at any time for up to a week
after the broadcast.
The concert was also filmed and you can view
it online, also via the BBC Radio 2 Web
site.
Fans in the UK will also be able to watch 30
minutes of the concert by pushing the red button
on their Digital TV remote to 14 March. This
is Radio 2's first interactive TV production.
Warning on the BBC Web site: 'this concert may
contain strobe lighting'.
Tracks featured: Castellorizon/On An Island/The
Blue/Take A Breath/ Smile/Shine On You Crazy
Diamond/Wearing The Inside Out/Comfortably Numb.
Musicians: David Gilmour: Guitar & lead vocals;
Richard Wright: Keyboards & vocals; Guy Pratt:
Basses & vocals; Phil Manzanera: Guitar & vocals;
Dick Parry: Saxophone; Jon Carin (not 'Carlin'
as the BBC has it): Keyboards, lap steel guitar
& vocals; Steve DiStanislao: Drums & vocals.
Here's how it works:
Click here
and you'll see a picture of David. Click the
'LISTEN LIVE' button that's in the top right
corner and you'll hear the programme. Look further
down the page for the 'See the concert now!'
link to view the concert.
Dortmund Debut
David kicked off his On An Island tour
at Dortmund's Konzerthaus tonight. We can exclusively
reveal the setlist, so if you don't want to
know which songs were performed, please look
away now.
Marc Brickman outdid himself with the light
show, treating the fans to a visual extravaganza
that complemented the mixture of new and old
songs beautifully.
There were some surprises in the songs selected,
including one from Obscured By Clouds
– the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder's
1972 film, The Valley – that delighted
the unsuspecting audience.
Pay a visit to The Blog if you'd like to hear what fans
who were lucky enough to be there have to say
about the evening's events. Feel free to have
your say, too.
The setlist was as follows:
First half: All of David's new album, On
An Island.
Second half: Shine On You Crazy Diamond;
Wot's... Uh The Deal; Wearing The
Inside Out; Breathe/Time/Breathe
(Reprise); Dominoes; High Hopes;
Echoes.
Encores: Wish You Were Here; Comfortably
Numb.
The Tour Commences...
Dateline Dortmund: as we write this, the stage
is set for David's debut concert on the 2006
tour.
For those concerned with merchandising, there
is a strong selection available at the venues,
including T-shirts, a beanie hat, a jacket,
badge and a 28-page tour programme.
The tour programme is printed with vegetable
inks on recycled paper. The T-shirts are sourced
from reputable suppliers who endorse fair trading
practices.
For those not lucky enough to attend the shows,
merchandise company Anthill Trading will be
launching an e-commerce site featuring all items
on the tour.
On An Island runs hot and Gold!
David's new album On An Island is becoming
a sales phenomenon – and is already Gold
in the UK, Canada, and Poland!
Such is the excitement around release that some
retailers have had to re-order from the first
day of release, and others have already sold
out. Gold status has already been reached in
the UK, Canada, and Poland – home country
to On An Island orchestrator Zbigniew
Preisner.
Early sales indicate high chart entries across
Europe and in the USA, where an aggressive campaign
by Sony BMG Records has enlisted the help of
main dealers, including the Best Buy chain.
Sony BMG allowed Best Buy an exclusive on the
CD version of the non-album track 'Island Jam',
which had been available as an audio download
to more than 100,000 viewers of this site over
Christmas. Because of that, it wasn't thought
to be contentious, but Best Buy have reported
much higher than anticipated demand, so if you
want an 'Island' with 'Jam' on it, you'd better
move fast.
Live On An Island – The First LIVE Airing!
The LIVE version of On An Island from last
night's recorded concert at the Mermaid Theatre, London,
was aired at around 5:45 pm UK time on the BBC Radio
2 Johnnie
Walker show tonight.
'Listen Again' via the BBC Radio 2 Web site.
On Charted Territory!
On An Island is instore in North America
TODAY, so don't miss out, because it's already
racing out of the stores across Europe. Early
indications show high chart positions, and countries
are re-ordering straight away.
Some more great reviews are posted in the Press
section, including one from Iceland.
Yes, it's TODAY!
Like you didn't know...today is David Gilmour's
birthday, a date he shares with Furry Lewis
(see Furry Sings The Blues by Joni Mitchell),
Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,
and some non-musical talents: author and poet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (born 1806); novelist
Cyrano de Bergerac (born 1619); and Michelangelo
Buonarroti, painter and sculptor of the famous
David (born 1475).
Things you might like to do today:
• Wish
David well on The Blog.
• Buy On
An Island (unless you live in North America,
in which case it’s tomorrow – sorry). Hopefully
you've liked what you've heard on the video
clips and sound loops we've been been bringing
you on a regular basis, but don't feel pressured.
• On the
other hand, should you buy and like it, please
do call your local radio station and ask them
to play it. And spread the word – let's
aim to give David his first solo Number One
album as a birthday present!
• Listen
to BBC Radio 2 when you get a minute (also available
via the Internet), since On An Island
is the 'Album Of The Week'.
• Finally,
there are a lot of Pink Floyd buyers who might
like David's new album – do them a favour
and introduce them to On An Island. They
might thank you for it.
New Pix While The Hours Tick...
Not long to wait now until David's birthday, and the
official release of On An Island! (Yes, we
know that some of you have it already, but 300,000
people read this site every month, and you can't ALL
have bought it yet.)
In North America, the album is instore on Tuesday
7th, so apologies for the extra day – it's standard
practice there, is all we can say.
To alleviate the agony of waiting, we have added two,
count 'em TWO, pages of new shots to the Galleries,
including some from the first week of rehearsals in
Chiddingfold, Surrey, but also from the production
rehearsals at Black Island Studios, Acton, London
(they've finished now, so don't bother the nice people
who work there). Thanks as ever to Polly Samson for
her great shots of the band in close up, but also
a tip of the hat to Ross Halfin, who has graciously
allowed us to carry some of his pictures of David
at Astoria. Check out Ross' Web site here.
Hope you caught David and Phil Manzanera being laidback
in the face of Jonathan Ross' sublime idiocy on yesterday's
Radio 2 show. If not, we urge you to use the 'Listen
Again' feature on BBC
Radio 2 to listen to the show again via the
Internet. David and Phil appear at about 44 minutes
into the show and, in between giving entertaining
answers to Jonathan's questions, perform acoustically
Smile and Where We Start, both from
On An Island.
On An Island On The Street!
If you're fortunate enough to live in Germany, Italy
or the Republic of Ireland, you may already have your
copy of On An Island, because it was released
there today. Please see today's entry on The Blog for ecstatic reactions – with more to come, no doubt.
If you really need reminding, On An Island is out
in Europe on Monday 6th and North America on Tuesday
7th. Because the very special packaging (it resembles
a book, compete with hard covers, cloth spine and
foil-blocked spine lettering) is produced only in
Italy, it is taking some time to ship the sleeves
around the world. Therefore, your local country may
experience a slightly later release date, but bear
up – it will be worth it.
Check out the latest UK reviews in the Press
section, too. Interestingly, each reviewer has his
(or her) favourite tracks, and they are all different,
which suggests you can please most of the people most
of the time. We hope to receive International Press
shortly, and will post it when we do.
Meanwhile, don't miss this regardless of where you
live: David and Phil Manzanera will be guests tomorrow,
Saturday 4th, on BBC Radio 2's (yes, them again)
Jonathan
Ross show, which is always highly entertaining.
Tune in to BBC Radio 2 at 10am GMT. You can listen
live online, or hear it repeated on the 'Listen Again'
feature for a full week after the initial broadcast.
Finally, again via the BBC's 'Listen Again' feature,
you can still hear BBC Radio 4's Front Row show from
yesterday (Thursday) night.
On An Island Storms US Radio!
In the week prior to its release, the title track
of the On An Island album is all over US radio.
On An Island continues to build its play across
US radio formats, and is currently at:
#1 Classic Rock
#15 Mainstream Rock
#18 AAA Rock
David has recorded some very special radio interviews,
which have been compiled with album tracks from On
An Island to produce some unique radio specials.
We are compiling details of the hundreds of stations
carrying them, and have started listing them within
the links below. There are three versions, each introduced
by a different personality, one of whom is renowned
British producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Big Country,
Kirsty MacColl, etc.).
The Rock
Stations' one-hour Radio Special will air
at some time between Friday 3rd March and Monday 6th
March (check with your local station for full details).
The AAA
Stations' one-hour Radio Special will air
at some time between Friday 3rd March and Monday 6th
March (check with your local station for full details).
There is a third radio special which is destined for
non-commercial radio stations, and we hope to give
you more details of that in the future.
There will also be syndicated programmes of In
the Studio with Red Beard, and Rockline,
which is syndicated to 60 classic rock stations, and
should be broadcast on Wednesday 8th March, so listen
out for that.
US digital station Sirius Satellite Radio will
be devoting its The Vault channel to David
Gilmour and Pink Floyd, featuring music and interviews
from Monday 6th March to Friday 10th March. |
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