Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Coldplay's Ghost Stories set to become the fastest-selling album of 2014

It may be the 'most dour music of the band's career', but it's selling well

Daisy Wyatt
Thursday 22 May 2014 11:00 BST
Comments
Coldplay's Ghost stories lacks the emotional grittiness of a break-up album
Coldplay's Ghost stories lacks the emotional grittiness of a break-up album

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Coldplay’s Ghost Stories is on track to become the fastest-selling album of 2014 having sold over 105,000 copies in just 48 hours.

The album is set to overtake the current fastest-selling album of the year, Caustic Love by Paolo Nutini, which sold 109,000 in the first two days after its release.

The record looks set to knock current UK number one Xscape by Michael Jackson off the top of the album chart this Sunday, according to sales data from the Official Charts Company.

In comparison, Xscape sold over 25,000 copies in its first 48 hours of release last week, but Ghost Stories still has someway to go to beat the biggest-selling album of the year, Ellie Goulding's Halcyon, which has sold 257,00 copies in 2014.

Coldplay’s latest release is on track to become the band’s sixth UK number one, following Parachutes (2000), Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), X&Y (2006), Viva La Vida (2008) and Mylo Xyloto (2011).

Did Chris Martin's split with Paltrow influence his music?

The album has been available on iTunes for two weeks, and has reached number one on the Apple music site in 72 countries.

Ghost Stories has received mixed reviews, with The Independent calling it “the most dour, muted music of the band's career”, and The Guardian describing it as “very palatable wallow”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in