Was PJ ever The Biggest Band In The World?

[Bammer]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

Yeah like every two weeks she had another #1 single.

As did Sixteen Stone by Bush as I recall.

[bodysnatcher]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

Yeah like every two weeks she had another #1 single.

As did Sixteen Stone by Bush as I recall.

https://www.stereogum.com/1990652/bushs-gavin-rossdale-invited-a-bunch-of-fans-onstage-and-it-didnt-go-so-well/video/

[mikejasond]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

[bodysnatcher]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

must have been that Weird Al cover from UHF

[Bammer]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

Yeah like every two weeks she had another #1 single.

As did Sixteen Stone by Bush as I recall.

https://www.stereogum.com/1990652/bushs-gavin-rossdale-invited-a-bunch-of-fans-onstage-and-it-didnt-go-so-well/video/

Amazing footage

[McParadigm]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

Absolutely massive outside the states, but even here Brothers in Arms was among the biggest sellers of the 80’s. In England at one point something like 1 in 6 households had a copy.

It’s always hard for me to imagine millions of people buying, say, Love Over Gold...but I can’t blame em either

[Anders]

Dire Straits were massive in the 80s.

[McParadigm]

Dire Straits were massive in the 80s.

And great.

[mikejasond]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

Absolutely massive outside the states, but even here Brothers in Arms was among the biggest sellers of the 80’s. In England at one point something like 1 in 6 households had a copy.

It’s always hard for me to imagine millions of people buying, say, Love Over Gold...but I can’t blame em either

Im just saying like...I was born in 1992 and I know a lot of classic rock bands and songs but I never would have guessed Dire Straits were legendary enough to have an album THAT HIGH on that list. I mean how in the world are they above legendary bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, or even like.....The Police?

[bodysnatcher]

i'm gonna listen to Dire Straits right now

[McParadigm]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

Absolutely massive outside the states, but even here Brothers in Arms was among the biggest sellers of the 80’s. In England at one point something like 1 in 6 households had a copy.

It’s always hard for me to imagine millions of people buying, say, Love Over Gold...but I can’t blame em either

Im just saying like...I was born in 1992 and I know a lot of classic rock bands and songs but I never would have guessed Dire Straits were legendary enough to have an album THAT HIGH on that list. I mean how in the world are they above legendary bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, or even like.....The Police?

The Stones are a bit of a question mark here...they’ve basically been screwed by shoddy bookkeeping, and iir they don’t even appear on the list. However, yeah, Dire Straits were Springsteen and Michael Jackson-level in 84.

Most Beatles albums were in competition with other Beatles albums when they came out, or were only available in certain areas. Did you own Rubber Soul or Yesterday and Today? Etc. There are Beatles records that basically don’t exist anymore but which sold 5,000,000 copies once upon a time.

This list also set off an audit race between The Eagles and Michael Jackson’s organizations, who both magically discovered other sales data to help them reach the top....which is why they’ve both seen weird jumps in estimates in the years since.

[McParadigm]

i'm gonna listen to Dire Straits right now

Rollergirl,
Don’t worry.
You can’t deny me.

[mikejasond]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

Absolutely massive outside the states, but even here Brothers in Arms was among the biggest sellers of the 80’s. In England at one point something like 1 in 6 households had a copy.

It’s always hard for me to imagine millions of people buying, say, Love Over Gold...but I can’t blame em either

Im just saying like...I was born in 1992 and I know a lot of classic rock bands and songs but I never would have guessed Dire Straits were legendary enough to have an album THAT HIGH on that list. I mean how in the world are they above legendary bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, or even like.....The Police?

The Stones are a bit of a question mark here...they’ve basically been screwed by shoddy bookkeeping, and iir they don’t even appear on the list. However, yeah, Dire Straits were Springsteen and Michael Jackson-level in 84.

Most Beatles albums were in competition with other Beatles albums when they came out, or were only available in certain areas. Did you own Rubber Soul or Yesterday and Today? Etc. There are Beatles records that basically don’t exist anymore but which sold 5,000,000 copies once upon a time.

This list also set off an audit race between The Eagles and Michael Jackson’s organizations, who both magically discovered other sales data to help them reach the top....which is why they’ve both seen weird jumps in estimates in the years since.

Very very interesting.....Everybody knows Springsteen and Michael Jackson but I would be surprised if most people my age know Dire Straits

[McParadigm]

i can't believe Jagged Little Pill is that high up. i know it was a huge album, but didn't know it was THAT huge.

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

Absolutely massive outside the states, but even here Brothers in Arms was among the biggest sellers of the 80’s. In England at one point something like 1 in 6 households had a copy.

It’s always hard for me to imagine millions of people buying, say, Love Over Gold...but I can’t blame em either

Im just saying like...I was born in 1992 and I know a lot of classic rock bands and songs but I never would have guessed Dire Straits were legendary enough to have an album THAT HIGH on that list. I mean how in the world are they above legendary bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, or even like.....The Police?

The Stones are a bit of a question mark here...they’ve basically been screwed by shoddy bookkeeping, and iir they don’t even appear on the list. However, yeah, Dire Straits were Springsteen and Michael Jackson-level in 84.

Most Beatles albums were in competition with other Beatles albums when they came out, or were only available in certain areas. Did you own Rubber Soul or Yesterday and Today? Etc. There are Beatles records that basically don’t exist anymore but which sold 5,000,000 copies once upon a time.

This list also set off an audit race between The Eagles and Michael Jackson’s organizations, who both magically discovered other sales data to help them reach the top....which is why they’ve both seen weird jumps in estimates in the years since.

Very very interesting.....Everybody knows Springsteen and Michael Jackson but I would be surprised if most people my age know Dire Straits

Success in the moment has little relevance to historical standing. Herman’s Hermits and The Monkees both outsold the Beatles at various points.

[bodysnatcher]

are you saying Cardi B won't be remembered in the coming generations?

[McParadigm]

are you saying Cardi B won't be remembered in the coming generations?

She’s a natural entertainer who harbors an encyclopedic knowledge of US presidents, so...she’s got options?

[BurtReynolds]

Babymetal

[bodysnatcher]

are you saying Cardi B won't be remembered in the coming generations?

She’s a natural entertainer who harbors an encyclopedic knowledge of US presidents, so...she’s got options?

is that true? i honestly don't know who she is other than by name

[McParadigm]

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

IM shocked that Dire Straits are so high. They are a band I know for Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing, but they never seemed like a huge band to me - just another one of many classic rock bands from a modern perspective.

The reasons for that are simple:

- The "Money For Nothing" video was one of the first to prominently use computer-generated animation, and it was also extremely popular on MTV because of the lyrical content. It was seemingly played every hour on the hour.

- "Brothers In Arms" was pushed as a state-of-the-art digital recording and was one of the first albums to be marketed/hyped as an essential compact disc to own, and was thus the first compact disc to sell over a million copies.

An example of the stars aligning for a band at just the right time.