Well, it is Friday after all…
Johnny Borrell was never going to get a fair hearing. Capable of throwing out the odd ludicrously egotistical comment during his prime, the one time Razorlight frontman's return saw critics sharpen their knives.
'Borrell 1' was released last week, to a flurry of critical consternation. Performing relatively poorly in the charts, the album sold a mere 594 copies in its first week.
Sparking no end of mirth and schadenfreude, record label Stiff held their tongue…
Until now. A few moments ago Clash received a quite sparkling press release from the imprint in which they defuse the matter with stunning amounts of charm and good humour. It reads:
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Stiff Records is proud to announce first week sales figures for its latest album – Johnny Borrell's 'Borrell 1' – of 594.
'Borrell 1' is the debut solo LP from the former Razorlight vocalist and is the first new album on the highly prolific Stiff Records since 2007.
That last album was the multi million-selling two-volume set, '30 Years Of Stiff Records' (although admittedly that was a free cover-mount). "First week sales of 594 makes 'Borrell 1' the 15,678th best selling album of the year to date," comments a Stiff spokesperson. "So far we've achieved 0.00015% sales of Adele's '21' – and 0.03% sales of this week's No. 1 album from Jahmene Douglas – so we feel like it's all to play for as we move into the all-important week two."
"We might even break the Top 100." 'Borrell 1' is out now on Stiff Records, where the fun never sets.
"Ludicrously enjoyable" – Q
"Absurdly entertaining" – The Telegraph
"Well they can't say it's s**t" – Trevor Horn
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If you can't laugh at yourself, etc.
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