The Contester Blog

Sunday nights seem to be the new night to go out in Swindon. Just two weeks ago Lily Allen and Calvin Harris got music fans on to the dance floor and last night Basement Jaxx did the same at the Oasis.

After playing to a packed tent at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Swindon in May, Basement Jaxx were named as many people’s highlight of the whole event.

However as all the sets on the day were so short, people were left wanting more, and fans in the crowd last night were delighted they had come back to rock Swindon once again.

Ravneek Bains, of Old Town, was there with her friend Hannah Simmons. She said: “It was my first time seeing Basement Jaxx – they were amazing.

“I had a brilliant night and my favourite part was the finale when they played Good Luck.”

The evening opened with support act Speech Debelle, who won this year’s Mercury Music Prize, with backing band The Therapists, who were outstanding. But the crowd didn’t really warm up until Basement Jaxx played their second song Romeo.

Described on clickmusic.com as a mixture of Notting Hill Carnival, Mardi Gras and Ibiza all rolled into one, there were high hopes for the evening and Basement Jaxx did not disappoint, playing their hits Oh My Gosh and, my favourite, Raindrops, which really got the crowd moving.

Seven weeks since his death Michael Jackson continues to dominate record sales, though his competition lately has not been very strong. Once again Mr. Jackson’s “Number Ones” (Epic) was the best-selling album in the United States last week, with 98,000 sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His other titles, particularly Michael Jackson Thriller and “The Essential Michael Jackson,” also continue to rack up significant sales; in total, about 3.7 million Jackson albums have been sold since his death on June 25.

The best-selling new album last week was “Live on the Inside” by the country duo Sugarland, which was released by Mercury Nashville through an exclusive retail deal with Wal-Mart. It sold 76,000 copies, enough to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s standard album chart, the Billboard 200. (Most Jackson titles are too old to qualify for it.) The next five spots on the chart are a photo finish, with each title scoring between 44,000 and 45,000 sales. Vol. 31 of the pop compilation series “Now That’s What I Call Music!” is No. 2, and another country group, Gloriana, is No. 3 with its new, self-titled debut album, on Warner Brothers. The Black Eyed Peas are No. 4 with “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), the Kings of Leon’s “Only by the Night” (RCA) is No. 5, and Daughtry’s “Leave This Town” (RCA) is No. 6.