McCartney album hit by sales snag

The music legend has just released his 21st solo album, Memory Almost Full, on a label run by coffee chain Starbucks.

But Starbucks' 533 UK stores are not registered with the Official Chart Company - which means CDs bought there will not count towards the top 40.

The company said it had no immediate plans to contribute sales data to the chart compilers.

Memory Almost Full is still likely to make the Top 40 this weekend, however, as it is also being sold through traditional high-street retailers and download services like iTunes.

It is currently number seven in Amazon's top-sellers list - but it is being outsold by The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper album.

The record has received a warm welcome in the music press, where it has been called "vibrant" and "romantic".

It is being played non-stop in more than 10,000 Starbucks outlets across 29 countries on Tuesday.

The coffee corporation estimates that some 6 million people will hear it as they queue for a latte.

Revealing

Sir Paul became the first artist to sign to Starbucks' Hear Music label in March.

The company has previously released albums of licensed songs - including the Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company album of Ray Charles duets.

Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks' entertainment division, said he would be "ecstatic" if Memory Almost Full matched the 5.5 million sales of that album.

"It is the most personal and revealing album that Paul has created in his solo career," said Mr Lombard.

"It's such a reflection of his life and his career - the ups and downs, and the recognition of really what a remarkable journey it has been."

Sir Paul is under contract only to release one album through Hear Music, but Lombard said he was hopeful their relationship would continue.

Meanwhile, fans of the former Beatle are being invited to attend Starbucks stores around the world, including Oxford Street in London, to record video messages for the star's 65th birthday later this month.

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