Irish talent shines in album charts

There was much celebrating in the David Kitt camp last week as Square One went straight to the top of the Irish album chart.

With The Thrills clinging on to the number two spot, it represented a double-whammy for BMG Publishing Belfast who fended off stiff cross-channel competition to sign both acts.

"It's another example of the Irish music industry standing on its own two feet and making things happen itself," enthuses BMG Belfast's Johnny Davis.

Also triumphant in the charts last week were Sharron Shannon & Friends, with their trad album Libertango debuting at number four. A top week for Irish talent.

Although beating all-comers here, the UK release of Square One has been put back to January because of a publishing clearance problem.

"One of the tracks on the album, 'Me & My Love', draws lyrically and melodically from an old Gamble & Huff song," Davis explains.

"To cut a long story short, there's a dispute between EMI Publishing and Warner Chapell as to who owns the copyright. There's no question that it will get sorted, but in the meantime the UK thinks it's too close to Christmas to be releasing an album by an unknown artist, which David pretty much is there. So, they're going to put vinyl copies into the shops on October 16, but wait until January for the CD release."