The Olympic Effect: The Kinks, John Lennon & More Re-enter UK Charts

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Olympics Closing Ceremony performers (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Olympics Closing Ceremony performers (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Though the U.S. charts don’t show the same influence, the Olympics effect is out in full force on on the U.K. charts this week. As Billboard and Music Week report, 57 of the Top 200 British albums and 66 of the Top 200 British singles this week are from acts associated with the Olympics.

Many iconic artists who performed at the Olympic Closing Ceremony last Sunday (August 12) have re-entered the U.K. album and singles charts. Chief among them is The Kinks, who released a well-timed compilation in the days following Ray Davies’ Closing Ceremony performance of “Waterloo Sunset” (a performance that did not air in the U.S.). This new Kinks best-of album, also titled Waterloo Sunset, debuted on the album chart at No. 14. The song itself re-entered the singles chart at No. 47.

RELATED: Your Guide To Olympic Closing Ceremony Music: The Who, The Beatles & What NBC Didn’t Air

Olympic covers helped bump up the sales of iconic hits, like John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” R&B singer-songwriter Emeli Sande covered Lennon’s biggest solo song during the BBC’s Olympic coverage and sent the original version back onto the U.K. singles chart at No. 18, according to the U.K.’s Official Charts Company.

“Wish You Were Here” received a pseudo cover at the Olympic Closing Ceremony from pop singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who performed alongside Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. This launched the song to No. 68 on the U.K. singles chart – its first-ever placement on the chart.

Naturally, the crown jewel of the Closing Ceremony’s musical program – The Who – got a chart boost from the Olympics. The band re-charted on the albums list with Greatest Hits and More at No. 62. Arguably their most iconic hit and part of their Olympic montage, “Baba O’Riley” made its first appearance on the U.K. singles chart at No. 55.

Additionally, ska band Madness, best known for 1982′s “Our House,” scored a high re-entry on the album chart when compilation Total Madness reappeared at No. 13. The band performed “Our House” at the Closing Ceremony.

- Jillian Mapes, CBS Local

 

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