Sinister: B&S in the US

[St=?ISO-8859-1?B?6Q==?=phane Buron]

Hello, i just found this article on nme.com. Hope you haven't read it yet...
Cheers
Stéphane

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BELLE AND SEBASTIANs album "FOLD YOUR HANDS CHILD, YOU WALK LIKE A PEASANT’
have crossed over from the underground charts in the US into the mainstream
of the BILLBOARD HOT 100.

It is the US equivalent of the Top 40, based on a combination of record
sales and radio play. Billboard’s assistant chart production manager, Alex
Vitoulis, told nme.com that the album entering the chart at Number 80 this
week was a significant step up for the band in the States.

Up-and-coming acts are usually included in the Heatseekers’ chart. When a
band graduates to the Top 200 in the Billboard chart, it is a step into the
mainstream. But to leap straight into the Top 100 is rare.

He said: "Once an artist is hot they reach the Top 100... it is considered
mainstream, that means you have reached a wider audience and are well-known.
Belle And Sebastians album was expected to go into the Heatseekers’ because
they are an underground band. So this is a bigger deal because of that."

He added that the buzz about the band Stateside is growing rapidly.

The album, which came out in the States through Matador records on June 6,
is already selling faster than their last album The Boy With The Arab
Strap’, with 17,000 copies sold in the first week. ‘...Arab Strap’ has sold
84,000 copies since it was released in 1998.

A band spokesperson said this morning (June 15) that they were delighted
when they heard the news yesterday: "Going in at number 80 in America is
pretty unheard of for a British band."

She also added that despite mounting pressure for them to tour in the
States, both the UK and American dates which had been slated for August and
September are likely to now be delayed until the end of the year.

Meanwhile the band have unveiled the video for album track The Wrong Girl’
in the States, but a spokesperson said it would not be released as a single,
they just decided to make a video for it - the band have famously never
released an album track as a single.

Speaking on www.mtv.com, drummer Richard Colburn explained the video for the
song, penned by guitarist Stevie Jackson. He said: "The video was based
around him being born and going through all the stages of his life, y’know,
having girlfriends that weren’t quite right and then ending up with the
girlfriend he has now, who hopefully is the right girl as opposed to the
wrong girl."

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