Eagles Obscurity

[Funk 50]

An all time top 60 selling UK albums update has just been published. No sign of the Eagles.

Prince and David Bowie, aren't there either. Top sellers are Queen. They've done incredibly well out of the death of Freddie Mercury. Out of the top 10, only Adele is a current artist.

I think the Eagles have suffered through their policy of media invisibility. Nobody has heard of them. Nobody wants to to get to know them better. They need to start investing in some serious media promotion.

The proposed Hotel California tour could have really upped their relevance but it looks like, as a rudderless ship, they're on Glenn's, Prelude To Obscurity.


http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-...vealed__15551/

[Annoying Twit]

I would have thought that both HC and GH would have got there.

[UndertheWire]

No records from The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin or Prince, either.

I'd be interested to see sales total for all albums over those years in the UK. I've read that peak album sales were in 2005 and I suspect that the surge in sales that the US saw in the mid-70s didn't show through in the UK until several years later.

ETA:

[NightMistBlue]

Good gawd, no Zep or Stones?! But mooks like Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams are there. Does not compute.

There's got to be something hinky in the way sales were tabulated.

[Annoying Twit]

Good gawd, no Zep or Stones?! But mooks like Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams are there. Does not compute.

There's got to be something hinky in the way sales were tabulated.

There is no correlation between record sales and quality. Over the past decade Justin Bieber must have been a big seller.

[NightMistBlue]

I'm very surprised at rock music being so underrepresented. We have Britannia to thank for many mighty bands, yet it seems dippy pop music is far more popular in the UK.
It's been awhile since I looked at the all-time U.S. best sellers but I recall AC/DC and Zep were way up there, along with the Eagles, Garth Brooks and the inevitable Michael Jackson.

[UndertheWire]

The one I'm amazed by is Meatloaf and "Bat out of Hell". How does that get to be #19?

Rock music started to go out of fashion in the UK from around 1977.

I don't think we had "Classic Rock" radio, either.

[Freypower]

An all time top 60 selling UK albums update has just been published. No sign of the Eagles.

Prince and David Bowie, aren't there either. Top sellers are Queen. They've done incredibly well out of the death of Freddie Mercury. Out of the top 10, only Adele is a current artist.

I think the Eagles have suffered through their policy of media invisibility. Nobody has heard of them. Nobody wants to to get to know them better. They need to start investing in some serious media promotion.

The proposed Hotel California tour could have really upped their relevance but it looks like, as a rudderless ship, they're on Glenn's, Prelude To Obscurity.


http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-...vealed__15551/

They no longer exist. What is there to promote? As for the 'rudderless ship' comment.... well, if you wish to put it that way, but a non-existent ship doesn't need a rudder, does it?

Let's be honest. They were never that big in the UK.

I am pleased at No. 8 & that's all I will say.

[Funk 50]

The one I'm amazed by is Meatloaf and "Bat out of Hell". How does that get to be #19?

Rock music started to go out of fashion in the UK from around 1977.

I don't think we had "Classic Rock" radio, either.

The thing about Bat Out Of Hell is that it's very profitable for the record company compared to the artist. With a healthy profit margin to gain the record company are motivated to continually re-release Back Out Of Hell with generous promotion.

If Meatloaf got a bigger cut of the proceeds, maybe they wouldn't be so willing to keep pushing it. which could be why the Eagles don't feature in the list, The Eagles have control over their archive and they wont willingly let anyone, who's unwilling to pay up front, discover it. That was a beneficial policy in the analog age but it's suicidal in the digital age.

They no longer exist. What is there to promote? As for the 'rudderless ship' comment.... well, if you wish to put it that way, but a non-existent ship doesn't need a rudder, does it?

Let's be honest. They were never that big in the UK.

I am pleased at No. 8 & that's all I will say.

I think the ship adrift in the ocean analogy is an accurate one. Nine of the top ten selling albums are by acts that no longer exist. The product is still available. The Eagles name is still a very valuable asset but that value will diminish if neglected. Top sellers, Queen have become far more profitable since lead singer Freddy died due to good luck and management.

Despite being released at the end of October, Long Road Out Of Eden was the 6th highest selling album in the UK in 2007.
http://www.officialcharts.com/charts...0070107/37502/


When Hotel California was released, British radio was, pretty much, singles chart based. Singles sales peaked with Paul McCartney's dirge Mull Of Kintyre and then went through a gradual decline.

As the relevance of the singles chart declined, radio stations changed their playlists, oldies, rather than classic rock, radio stations have taken over. The Eagles still got a lot of air time but their solo material was, apart from Henley, largely ignored. Since the internet and YouTube came into the picture, the importance of radio has diminished, as a consequence, the Eagles profile has diminished.

That's a brief skip through 40 years of UK Radio according to F50.

[UndertheWire]

As the Eagles were never huge in the UK, they're not part of the culture and it takes more effort (and cost) to find a market. How much of an impact did the documentary have in the UK? Azoff would have access to sales figures for the DVD and sales of the back catalogue and would be able to judge how much effort to put into the UK. Getting the doc shown by the BBC was a good move as it reached an audience who'd forgotten they liked the music and who then bought the catalogue on CD. Yes, that would be me.

As for steering the ship in the future, I think they'll be heading towards the Hotel California and a 40th anniversary release. Timing would fit nicely with the Kennedy Centre Awards. Maybe they could throw in a few extras.