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Story: Jack Foley
NEW York's Scissor Sisters have pipped Keane to become the most
popular band of the year in terms of album sales, nipping in front
of the guitarless band on the last day of the year.
Their self-titled debut sold a colossal 1,594,259 copies in 2004
- 582 more than Keane's Hopes
and Fears - making it the UK's best-selling album of 2004.
The album includes hits such as Comfortably Numb, Laura
and Mary, as well as the current Filthy/Gorgeous, and
appealed to a wide listener base for the way in which it imaginatively
and provocatively mixed a hip club style with pop tunes.
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Keane, meanwhile, capped a terrific
breakthrough year by coming second, with Hopes and Fears
responsible for some of the best tracks of the year, including
Somewhere Only We Know, Bedshaped and This Is The
Last Time.
Sadly, Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits album was the year's third
biggest-seller, followed by Maroon 5's Songs About Jane,
Katie Melua's Call Off The Search and Anastacia's self-titled
effort.
US R&B star Usher came sixth with Confessions, while Norah
Jones, Snow Patrol and pop-opera group, Il Divo, completed
the top 10.
Encouragingly for the UK music industry, half of the top 10 was
made up of British acts.
The triumph of both Keane and the Scissor Sisters was, quite
literally, music to the ears of their label, Universal Music.
Its UK chairman, Lucian Grainge, commented: "It's a fantastic
result, but what is most special is that the two biggest-selling
albums of the year are both from brand new UK-signed artists."
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