Marcus Berkmann

Adult entertainment

issue 14 April 2012

On 19 March, Adele’s 21 overtook Dark Side of the Moon to become the seventh bestselling album in British music history. A day or two later it caught Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms napping, and eased into sixth place. So far 4.15 million copies have been sold. One in six British households has one. Ahead lie Thriller, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Abba’s Gold, Sgt. Pepper and Queen’s Greatest Hits, still the daddy with 5.86 million registered sales.

These five have been the top five for so long that industry experts with sad goatees thought they would never be caught. But records are made to be broken, or at the very least scratched. Thus young Adele, with her big voice, amazing nails and rather good songs, sweeps aside all competition, past and present. Apparently those same industry experts are now working night and day trying to decide what she could call her next album.

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