I groaned at the reschedule but yes, I'm finding myself more invested in the album's success. I went from lukewarm to spa on the new single (Check download singles charts tomorrow from 6pm!) so I'm expecting my emotions and expectations first impressions to be all over the place. And also now I can hear "What happened to your..." in the trailer.

Edit: bloody hell these pages are short

Some of these promotions have been a bit desperate, haven't they. :lol: "Presave the album and buy a swirly vinyl from Amazon and win Nicky's jacket" or some nonsense.

Just realised the shifting of the album release date means that the Banquet performances will be *before* we’ve heard all of the new songs…
Actually, if it’s only production issues that have delayed the physical release, why not still have it go to streaming on the 31st? Hmmm…

Oh Lordy. I think it’s time i checked out. This is not for me although i get the sentiment. It’s ok because i am only an observer. This is their truth. Diapause is the end. Thanks for the journey, I cannot express my thanks / gratitude enough for the years. I respect, im sorry, everything’s falling apart. Love you Nicky, Saun, james

It needs to be physically available for sales to count, so they'll lose the combined first week streams + sales, which will mean it'll never reach whatever peak it's going to.

It’s really not that big of a deal.

If the band really want that number one then I understand the desire to be as unopposed as the album can get. The tactics I've always hated is asking hardcore fans to pay for all different album 'packs' which with postage can often go into £100s. Most of us on here will already have tickets to the May shows, we will perhaps get some merch at the gig too. It feels like a lot of people are being asked to pay the extra because the Mondeo men have all left to go to the Oasis concerts.

It's a bit cringey alright to hear them (Nicky) talking about a number one album being important to them when the numbers to get them there are inflated by gaming the system.

Can see that, but having all your promotion material with the wrong date on it feels like a bad move ?
Perhaps I'm still stuck in the past thinking of people walking down to HMV on release day to buy albums though!

Absolutely agree with you. I don't agree with the tactics required to attain the number one either. All similar artists are doing the same thing so that's capitalism I guess?

There’s a pretty good mixtape waiting to be compiled, if you use the songs and bands named here as influences for the album.

I suspect the band, particularly Nicky, will never shake off the fascination with chart positions. Guess they came of age in a time when a TOTP performance or chart position was a measure of one's success, but the industry and the way audiences consume music have changed, they've just not changed with it.

In years to come, people may remember the viral video that introduced them to Fleetwood Mac's Silver Springs on TikTok, but they won't be casting their minds back to the number one smash hit album The Ultra Vivid Lament or remembering the day they waited outside HMV to buy Critical Thinking.

The only alternative is endless compilations!

Or reissues!

That’s probably why Hiding In Plain Sight got released (other than being an absolute banger). There is a self admission in there that their time in the spotlight has been and gone. I’m turning 40 in a couple of months and completely feel like a man out of place with the times, they’ll be 40 years as a band next year so Christ knows how they must feel.

I don’t blame them chasing the Number 1 album so hard. Singles chart is fucked, completely and utterly pointless now, but I think there’s still something in having the kudos of a number one album and that photo with the little statuette. Plus last time out there was the satisfaction of smashing Steps again with their 25 different formats like Karaoke versions, or versions with individual member’s faces on or H's armpit farts version.