France best selling albums ever: No Need To Argue by Cranberries (1994)

First released in October 1994, the Cranberries album No Need To Argue was the follow up of an album that failed to make any kind of impact. It made itself no impact when issued, completely missing charts.

A couple of months later, lead single Zombie started to be played on radio. The public instantly praised the song that is still to this day one of the most well known rock track ever. The success was just as big in early 1995 when the single dominated the chart for nine weeks. It took one gigantic song, Pour Que Tu M’Aimes Encore by Celine Dion, to remove the Cranberries hit from their perch.

Thanks to the song airplay, the album finally entered the Top 50 at #44 in New Year eve week, just after the big local releases for Christmas dropped. A powerful grower week after week, No Need To Argue climbed 44-22-14-8-5-3-3-2-1, starting a five weeks run at the Top. The Album chart mirrored the Singles chart when Celine Dion album D’Eux debuted at #1 to top the Cranberries title. Although it was blocked by the monster sales of the former, the latter was itself rather big by sticking at #2 for six weeks, meaning it would have top charts for 11 weeks if it wasn’t for the special competition.

Decreasing its pace during the second quarter of 1995 even if the album never left the Top 10 in the meantime, second single Ode To My Family became a strong hit on its own. The album was boosted by this Top 5 single, going up to #2 for three more weeks, blocked by… Celine Dion‘s D’Eux album.

Apart from one November frame at #11, the album remained Top 10 every week until the end of the year. The Cranberries popularity was so big that the 2CD pack containing No Need To Argue along with their debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, released for Christmas, was as high as #17 in mid-December while the standalone album was #8.

Sales were up to a huge 900,000 units by November when the album was certified 3xPlatinum. Those sales were easily enough to be #2 on Year End Chart, topped by you know who. Although absent from the SNEP website, it went Diamond in early 1996, as confirmed by Platine Magazine n°38. Including the 2CD pack, it passed the million mark in 1995.

The roll wasn’t over in early 1996. Not only No Need To Argue but also the 2CD box kept charting high. In February, both sets were respectively charted #6 and #10 making this album one of the very few that ever occupied two Top 10 slots in the same week. With the promotion now over March / April saw the album rapidly dropping. Even the release of follow up album, #1 debut To The Faithful Departed, hasn’t retain its predecessor inside the Top 50 that it left in May.

Both formats containing the album sold 1,2 million and 170,000 units by the end of 1996, it was on 1,3 million by May. A decent catalog seller until 2002, when the release of compilation album Stars cannibalized its sales.

Net shipment as of the end of 2015 is estimated at 1,540,000 copies.

As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!

Sources: SNEP, IFOP, L’Express.