IT’S A BATTLE OF THE BANDS AS OASIS, COLDPLAY AND TAKE THAT SCORE ENTRIES INTO THE 2010 EDITION OF GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS   

Coldplay have cemented their status as one of the world’s biggest bands by notching up an impressive two new world record entries in the 2010 Edition of Guinness World Records published this Thursday 17 September. Their tune Violet Hill, which was downloaded 2 million times in a week starting from 28 April 2008, enters as the “Most Downloaded Free Track in a Week”.  They also grab a spot for their record-breaking album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, which became the “Best-Selling Download Album in the UK” with sales of      115, 000 to the end of 2008.

The Oasis legacy lives on with the recently split band setting a record for the “Longest Top 10 UK Chart Run By A Group” after an unprecedented run of 22 successive Top 10 hits in the UK. They are joined by Take That, who cap off a great comeback with an entry for the “Fastest-Selling UK Tour.” This was thanks to all 600,000 tickets for their 2009 tour selling out within five hours of going on sale on 31 October last year.

Other record-breaking Brits to make the final edit of the hallowed book include The X Factor’s Alexandra Burke, who notched up two record entries for her “Fastest-Selling Download Single in the UK” and “Best-Selling Single in the UK Chart in One Week by a Female Artist”.  In its first week of release Burke’s cover of Hallelujah sold a record 576,046 copies (physical and downloads) to snatch the record away from Leona Lewis that was set in December 2006 (571,253 sales in first week for A Moment Like This).

And in a sign of the times the music industry experienced the “Most Successful Digital Single Sales Year in the USA”. In 2008, 1.04 billion digital tracks were sold in the USA and the biggest individual seller that year was Bleeding Love by Brit Leona Lewis with 3.3 million copies sold.

And it’s congratulations to Sir Cliff Richard who sets a new record with the “Most Hit Singles on UK Chart by a British Act.” He had his first UK hit in October 1958 with Move It! He scored his 134th chart entry 50 years later with Thank You For A Lifetime in September 2008. It was also a record 123rd Top 40 entry by the British singer, who has sold over 21 million singles in the UK.

Across the pond, Katy Perry’s amazing early chart success sets a record for the “Best Start on the US Digital Chart by a Female Artist”. Perry is the only female artist to have sold over 2 million downloads for her first two releases: I Kissed A Girl and Hot N Cold.

Barbados-born Rihanna enters the record books as the “Best-Selling Download Female Artist in the UK” after selling over 2.5 million downloads in the UK from September 2005 to December 2008. She has scored UK/US No.1 singles with Umbrella and Take a Bow, and US No.1s with SOS and Disturbia. 

And in December 2008, Circus topped the US album chart, making Britney Spears the youngest female artist in history to have five of her albums reach No.1. Before she turned 20 years old on 2 December 2001, Spears had sold an unprecedented 37 million records around the world, making her the all-time best-selling teenage artist.

This world-renowned and celebrated annual, Guinness World Records 2010, contains the most comprehensive collection of the greatest and most amazing accomplishments from this past decade and beyond.  A “must-have” for both knowledge-seekers and aspiring record-breakers of all ages, Guinness World Records 2010 is available on 17 September.  For more information

about Guinness World Records 2010, to find out how you can participate in Guinness World Records Day 2009 or to vote for your favorite records, visit our website at: www.guinnessworldrecords.com

About Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is the highest-selling book under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. Guinness World Records also annually publishes the Gamer’s Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements. The Guinness World Records website (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is part of the Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada’s largest privately owned companies, which is a conglomerate of interests, including advertising, broadcasting, grocery stores and automotive retailing.

UK Media Enquiries: Amarilis Espinoza or Karolina Thelin. Phone: 0207 891 4516. Email: press@guinnessworldrecords.com

US Media Enquiries: Jamie Panas. Phone: 718.513.7263. Email:
jamie.panas@guinnessworldrecords.com