Radiohead's In Rainbows has climbed straight to the top of the UK album chart (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums.shtml) in the week following its physical release on CD and vinyl, apparently proving frontman Thom Yorke right in his assertion that fans want a tangible "object".

The album was released online last October on a "pay-what-you-like" basis (ie, generally nothing, according to reports), but Yorke last week dismissed (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/yorke_net_release/) the idea of not backing a net release with a hard copy as "stark raving mad".

He said: "We didn't want it to be a big announcement about 'everything's over except the internet, the internet's the future', 'cause that's utter rubbish. And it's really important to have an artefact as well, as they call it, an object."

The object in question is either a bog-standard CD or a deluxe "diskbox" containing In Rainbows on CD and two 12-in vinyl disks, plus an "enhanced" CD, lyrics, digital snaps, and other goodies - all for £40. The downloadable version of the album is no longer available. ®

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