VAN HALEN DEBUT AT #2 IN USA:
A David Lee Roth fronted Van Halen have once again had world domination plans foiled by a long standing current #1 record. Back in 1984, the band's album of the same name just missed out on reaching number one due to the phenomenal success of Michael Jackson's Thriller opus (going on to be the #1 selling album of all-time).
Now in 2012, the band's new album A Different Kind Of Truth has been held out at #1 by the continuing stellar run by Adele with her album 21. Adele posted a 102% jump on previous weeks sales due to advance-Grammy publicity and sold another 241,000 units.
Van Halen will instead debut at #2, with 187,333 units reported sold - a little short of their label Interscope's original hopes (200-250k), but in line with revised expectations of 180k+. Nevertheless, it's the best result for a classic rock band in quite a while and something for the band to be proud of.