The xx lead vinyl album sales resurgence

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The xx
Image caption,

The xx are (left-right) Romy Madley-Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith

Sales of vinyl LPs have grown for the fifth successive year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Coexist, the second album by The xx, was the best-selling vinyl album of 2012.

In second place was the 2012 re-release of David Bowie's The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

A total of 389,000 LPs were sold in 2012 - an increase of 15.3% compared with 2011.

Media caption,

Spencer Hickman: CD sales steadily going down

Originally released in June 1972, Ziggy Stardust was remastered and reissued on vinyl to commemorate the album's 40th anniversary.

Other big-selling LPs in 2012 included Jack White's Blunderbuss at number three and Adele's 21 in fourth place.

The Invisible Band by Travis remains the top-selling vinyl LP of the 21st Century, with 28,700 copies sold since its release in 2001.

The second biggest seller of the millennium is The King Of Limbs - issued by Radiohead initially as a download then in May 2011 as a special "newspaper edition" that included two 10-inch vinyl records.

"With more than 60 years of loyal service, the vinyl LP is by some margin the most enduring album format of all time," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.

"Although sales overall are small compared to CD and digital albums, vinyl's collectability and appeal to audiophiles is drawing in new fans, in particular through initiatives like the popular annual Record Store Day.

"Increasingly LPs also include codes that can be redeemed online for digital albums - giving fans the best of both worlds."

Earlier this week, the BPI revealed that overall UK album sales fell by 11.2% in 2012.

Figures showed CD album sales down nearly 20% to 69.4 million copies, although digital album sales rose by 14.8% to 30.5 million.

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