Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Did anyone here remember Vera Lynn?

What was it again, Gennaro? The Beatles were going to dominate this year?

HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo said: “This is likely to prove one of the cultural highlights of the year.”

The Beatles were going to roll over the competition?

Gennaro Castaldo at HMV told the Evening Standard: "We feel there's every chance that The Beatles will dominate the top 20 next week, even with only four days sales compared with other artists.

"Chances are Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road will battle it out for the No.1 spot against the current incumbents - the Arctic Monkeys."

Hang about... you're sounding less certain, Gennaro.

But still, by the time you spoke to the Star, you thought that might only be the odd non-Beatle album at the top:

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: “The Official Chart Company has decided to treat the boxset as a single product rather than a set of individual albums.


“Although this will propel the boxset into the charts in its own right, it is hitting sales of the albums themselves and may well deny the opportunity of a purely Beatles top 10."

So... Sergeant Pepper, Abbey Road and - possibly - the Arctic Monkeys duking it out for the top of Beatles dominated top ten, then, Gennaro?

Although oddly, it turns out this week's battle for Number One is between Vera Lynn and Jamie T, with The Beatles putting in solid-but-hardly-earth-shattering appearences down the list. But to be fair, who saw that coming?

Um... you say you did, Gennaro?

Gennaro Castaldo of retailer HMV said: "Dame Vera has been steadily selling albums every day since her new release came out. We're seeing huge Beatles sales around the country, but the purchasing by fans is being diffused over a wide range of Beatles titles.

"Not only does Dame Vera look set to block the historic return of the Beatles, but she will also set the record as the oldest person ever to hold the top spot - an incredible feat by a remarkable lady."

But wasn't the release of all the albums a... what was the phrase you used Gennaro - "“We’re effectively looking at the most definitive Beatles survey ever, which will prove beyond doubt which is the most popular Beatles album among the public”? So what two days ago was a definitive survey has now become a diffusion of sales?

Or is it the box set which has cost the Beatles sales? But since the Box Set doesn't appear to have sold enough to trouble the top 20, it can't have taken that many sales away from the individual albums, can it?