U2's Atomic album explodes worldwide

Music Week, December, 2004

Island has declared U2's Apple tie-up a stunning success after it helped drive an extraordinary opening for their new album, including the band's best-yet sales start in the US.

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb effortlessly arrived at number one on the Billboard 200 chart last week, SoundScanning 840,000 copies over the counter --around double what their last studio album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, achieved in 2000.

How To Dismantle ... knocked Eminem from the top spots to record simultaneous number ones in the US and UK, while also reaching number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

Island general...