Beatles boost sales of Brit bands abroad

New figures reveal a surge in the number of British albums being sold in Europe last year, with stars like James Blunt, Katie Melua, Robbie Williams and Coldplay leading the way.

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The statistics from the BPI, the UK recorded music industry association, show the Fab Four also became one of last year's top exports thanks to Love, a remix album of their hits.

In 2006, UK acts sold 27 million albums in Germany and France, the world's fourth and fifth largest music markets.

British talent accounted for one in five artist album sales in Germany and one in ten in France, the highest figures in four years.

Albums by stars like Blunt, Melua, Williams and Coldplay helped boost the UK's share of the German music market to 19.9 per cent from 14.7 per cent in 2005, and the French to 10.7 per cent from 10.2 per cent the previous year.

Scottish star Paolo Nutini, Devon trio Muse and rockers Placebo were also big sellers in France, where law dictates that 40 per cent of tracks on national radio must be in the French language, while Depeche Mode and Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, were popular in Germany.

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Love, which has been dubbed the first "new" Beatles album in 26 years, was the fourth-biggest UK seller in both Germany and France.

The album contains Beatles tracks remixed by legendary music producer Sir George Martin for the soundtrack from the Las Vegas stage show with Cirque du Soleil.

Figures have previously shown albums by UK artists account for more than half of all albums sold in the UK and one in 12 sold in the US.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: "Music is one of the UK's great cultural and economic exports.

"The fact that UK labels are gaining an increasing share of these major international markets demonstrates the diversity and quality of new British artists."

Top 10 UK sellers

Germany

1. Piece By Piece, Katie Melua 2. Back To Bedlam, James Blunt 3. Rudebox, Robbie Williams 4. Love, The Beatles 5. Greatest Hits, Robbie Williams 6. X&Y, Coldplay 7. Intensive Care, Robbie Williams 8. An Other Cup, Yusuf Islam 9. The Best of Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode 10. Playing the Angel, Depeche Mode

France

1. Back To Bedlam, James Blunt 2. Intensive Care, Robbie Williams 3. Black Holes & Revelations, Muse 4. Love, The Beatles 5. Meds, Placebo 6. Piece By Piece, Katie Melua 7. Chasing Time, James Blunt 8. X&Y, Coldplay 9. These Streets, Paolo Nutini 10. Rudebox, Robbie Williams