U2 won’t hit the No1 spot in the Irish album charts for the first time in decades.
The Dublin band are now seeing a massive fallout from their decision to give the record away free on iTunes.
After putting Songs of Innocence out physically this week, it appears newcomer Hozier will beat them to the top when the charts are announced tomorrow.
Midweek sales figures show U2 have sold 2047 copies of the record, however Hozier has sold 2208 in the same period.
Winner: Hozier looks to take Irish No1 tomorrow
Bizarrely there were 26 Irish people who even paid to download the album, despite it being available for free through iTunes.
It comes as Hozier’s album shot straight into No2 in the US Billboard chart this week.
Meanwhile, Bono has said sorry for sending U2’s latest album into iTunes users’ music libraries, whether they desired it or not.
He added: “I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, a dash of self-promotion.”
