UK Artists: Syco Killer

UK artists have now claimed the top-selling global artist albums in six of the previous seven years. Before the cynicism sets in, rest assured that these stats are not all about One Direction and Adele– Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also get a look in.

Unsurprisingly, One Direction’s Midnight Memories became the proverbial icing on the cake in 2013, with British artists claiming seven out of the last ten year’s big sellers and only challenged by Eminem in 2010.

Adele’s ‘21’ was the top selling global album in both 2011 and 2012, with Coldplay taking the prize in 2008 and 2005. Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black claimed 2007 as its own, with Susan Boyle following in 2009.

The BPI’s Gennaro Castaldo said: “Around one in eight albums sold around the world are by British artists, and One Direction are certainly playing their part in maintaining this fantastic achievement”.

Castaldo continued: “It all helps to add up to a golden decade of global success for British music, and with some huge albums out later this year, not least from the likes of Coldplay in May and a rumoured new release from Adele, there must be another good chance that a British artist will again top the global best-sellers list come the end of the 2014”.

Strangely, although Castaldo makes it sound like we’ve all been transported back to the swinging sixties, this “golden decade” of sales success has not yet resulted in a cultural uprising. But at least One Direction can continue selling their incredible range of merchandise around the world, the likes of which has not been seen since the heady days of 1980’s cartoon He Man– a confection to which 1D can surely be reasonably compared.

Find out more about the top selling global albums here.