Anglotopia

Starting this week, I’m starting a semi-regular music news update. Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Here is what happened this week:

Rock Mail

Thanks to the Royal Mail you’ll be able to lick some of rock’s best loved albums. Yesterday, January 7th, a new collection of special edition stamps featuring classic albums was released. Each stamp features a cover of ten iconic albums from the past 40 years, including Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones, IV by Led Zeppelin, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie, Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, London Calling by The Clash, Power, Corruption and Lies by New Order, Screamadelica by Primal Scream, The Division Bell by Pink Floyd, Parklife by Blur and A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay.

For more information, or to order your own stamps, visit the Royal Mail online.

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Albums Down, Singles Up

The British Phonographic Society announced this week that UK album sales continued going down, but single sales, thanks to downloading, increased in 2009. 16.1 million albums were legally downloaded throughout the year, while 98 per cent of all singles were sold as downloads, with the total clocking in at 149.7 million.

The Top Ten selling UK albums of 2009 were:

1. Susan Boyle – ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
2. Lady Gaga – ‘The Fame’
3. Michael Buble – ‘Crazy Love’
4. Black Eyed Peas – ‘The End’
5. Kings Of Leon – ‘Only By The Night’
6. JLS – ‘JLS’
7. Beyonce – ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’
8. Paolo Nutini – ‘Sunny Side Up’
9. Lily Allen – ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’
10. Robbie Williams – ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’

The Top Ten selling singles of 2009 were:

1. Lady Gaga – ‘Poker Face’
2. Black Eyed Peas – ‘I Gotta Feeling’
3. Lady Gaga – ‘Just Dance’
4. Cheryl Cole – ‘Fight For This Love’
5. Joe McElderry – ‘The Climb’
6. La Roux – ‘In For The Kill’
7. Black Eyed Peas – ‘Boom Boom Pow’
8. Rage Against The Machine – ‘Killing In The Name’
9. Alexandra Burke Ft Flo Rida – ‘Bad Boys’
10. Black Eyed Peas – ‘Meet Me Halfway’

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No Stones at Glasto

The Rolling Stones announced that, no, they won’t be headlining the Glastonbury Festival this summer. Not only are they not playing the festival, but they aren’t touring at all in 2010. Maybe this will give Ronnie Wood a year to figure out what he is doing with his life…

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Pete Plays Music

When not in court, jail or rehab, Pete Doherty plays music. The former Libertine is setting up residency at the The Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel from January 14-17. Hopefully he’ll show up.

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Coldplay Raises Money for Charity

During the holiday season, Coldplay decided to clean out their closets and auction their stuff off for charity. The ebay auction was a huge success, raising more than £250,000 for Kids Company. Items included guitars, signed posters, props, uniforms and clothing.  Kids Company is a London based organization focused on providing emotional and educational support to children and young adults.