ADELE's record-breaking run ends

ADELE’s incredible 11-week record run at the top of the album charts is finally over.  She was displaced last night by the Foo Fighters.

     Foo Fighters, who have sold over 4million albums in the UK since 1995 collected their third album number one with their seventh studio album, courtesy of ‘Wasting Light.’  It sold 114,000 copies in its first week, to see off ADELE’s record-breaking album ’21.’ 

RECORDS: '21' has changed the face of music in 2011

     Nevertheless, London born artist ADELE has taken the music world by storm in 2011 so far, and few would be surprised if she cleaned up at next year’s BRIT Awards.  ‘21’ has collected almost as many records as HMV!  A fortnight ago, ADELE’s album was named as the most downloaded ever on Amazon.  During her reign at the top, she also overtook Madonna’s run in staying at the top for so long.  She now holds the record for the most consecutive weeks at the top of the album chart ever for a solo artist.  ‘21’ was released on January 21 this year, so this highlights the domination that ADELE has had on the failing music album industry.

     Personally, I’ve not listened to the whole album, but I am a fan of ADELE’s music and her breathtaking performance of ‘Make You Feel My Love’ at this year’s BRITS was one of the best ever live performances I’ve ever seen from any musical act.  ‘Rolling in the Deep,’ which is the main multi-platinum hit on the album, is also a very catchy and addictive song.  She isn’t any stranger to success, having had a lot of critical acclaim for her first album, ’19,’ back in 2008.  This particular album was the breakthrough in ADELE’s career, with cracking songs such as ‘Hometown Glory’ and ‘Chasing Pavements.’  Now, she has followed it up with another masterpiece, and I’m confident that ADELE is going to have a very successful and lengthy career in music.  The album sounds stunning and I will be looking forward to listening to the whole of it, and seeing how good it really is. 

     Some don’t like ADELE, in fact; she’s almost the musical version of Marmite!  She is one of those artists who you are either going to love or hate.  However, her music speaks to me and I’m a massive fan.  Her record-breaking run may be over, but she has shattered the music record books and I’m delighted she has.  If you love ADELE, ‘21’ sounds like an absolute must-buy!    

VAT increase starts the political arguments

MIDNIGHT on Tuesday saw the expected rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20%.  This policy is part of the spending deficit that the country finds itself in, and already – the political parties are at war.  Chancellor George Osbourne insists that this was the only way forward, whilst under pressure Labour leader Ed Miliband claims that it is ‘the wrong tax at the wrong time.’

The Treasury hopes to gain about £13billion because of the VAT increase, therefore cutting the expansive gap between government spending and income.  The new measure shouldn’t affect consumers too much, as it means that just 2p gets added onto every £1 item.  Only food and children’s clothes have survived the new increase, which is a permanent move, unlike the cut to 15%, put in place by former Chancellor Alistair Darling in November 2008.  However, the news won’t be great for some.

INCREASE: Petrol prices are set for another rise

Petrol prices, set to reach their highest levels for at least a decade later in the month, will increase by 3p a litre under the new restrictions.  Bigger and more expensive electrical items are also likely to be far more expensive than they were before Christmas.  Some televisions will be sold at £10 more than they were in 2010, whilst PC’s, laptops and game consoles will also be significantly affected. 

DECLINE: HMV faces an uncertain future

Retailers now have decisions to make and all are approaching it in different ways.  Debenhams has announced that it will only charge the new prices on its new season stock, whilst Superdrug has confirmed that its own branded products will remain at the same price.  However, with HMV and Next recently posting massive loss of profits over the festive season, the ways they want to implore the cost might well be as limited as a world class CD of your favourite songs. 

Retail outlets did report massive business over the course of last weekend, as television advertising campaigns were run regularly, urging customers to beat the VAT increase.  It seems like the ‘old’ tradition of the January sales have slumped to a halt.  Many retailers are very worried about the VAT hike, and are already forecasting tough years ahead of them, warning that thousands of jobs could go, due to the price increase.  Retail analysts do predict that on a long-term basis, it will be the customers who end up losing out the most under the new method. 

The Chancellor seemed confident about the changes, when he spoke to the media on Tuesday: “VAT is a powerful weapon to tackle debt and if we don’t use it, then the spending cuts would be over £13billion pounds bigger.”  

Unsurprisingly, Labour and its leader disagree; “When family budgets are already squeezed, now is not the time for a VAT rise to make it even harder for ends to meet.”

Whatever the final outcome, the retail industry is in for a very challenging and demanding year.