Download-only track hits number one

The death knell for CD singles?

By Chris Williams • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 3rd April 2006 09:49 GMT

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Gnarls Barkley track Crazy has become the first song to top the hit parade without a record being sold. The duo's melting pot brand of paranoid soul-pop hip-hop dance-slop shifted 31,000 legal downloads last week, and was crowned top of the pops by the Official UK Chart Company on Sunday. The CD hits shops today.

Downloads are now factored into the countdown because of increasingly weedy CD single sales.

Gnarls Barkley is a collaboration between Gorillaz producer Danger Mouse and RnB chanteur Cee-Lo. Their website offers this summation of their revolutionary jibber-creedo: "You are the best. You are the worst. You are average. Your love is a part of you... You must realise that hate is but a crime-ridden sub-division of love. You must reclaim what you never lost. You must take leave of your sanity, and yet be fully responsible for your actions." Riiight.

The debut single's success has also meant a boon in Google click-through for any website containing 'narls', 'berkeley', 'knarls', or 'berkley', thanks to the camera-shy neologist's wacky monicker.

The next highest new entry was Pope of Mope Morrissey's latest innuendo-heavy gripe, You have killed me, which slid in at number three. ®

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