The queues outside record shops went around the block. Exam results lay unopened at home. It had to be the release of the heavily publicised third album, Be Here Now, from Britpop superstars, Oasis. After weeks of publicity and snarling interviews by members of the band, the public excitement over the release of the album peaked yesterday. It was a day of overwhelming enthusiasm for the fans, some of whom had camped outside record shops for 10 hours to get their hands on the album when the doors opened at 6.30 a.m. British record stores had 800,000 copies of the collection, but some stores were re-ordering by the end of the day.
The Sun played the game by printing front-page pictures of the lead singer, Liam Gallagher and his wife, actress Patsy Kensit, frolicking on a boat in St Tropez. Resplendent in baggy shorts, and holding a bottle of beer, one photograph showed Liam Gallagher in typically defiant mood. That he should make a Hitler salute was ill-advised, but his guests didn't appear to mind.
Back in Britain, the album was selling with great briskness. The music store HMV decided to issue fans with "I Was There Then" certificates to accompany the work. At its Oxford Street store in central London 750 copies were sold within the first hour of opening. Some fans bought three versions, - on old-style double-vinyl, CD and cassette.
Sales of the album in Manchester, the band's home town, were phenomenal. The scenes were the same as in London, with crowds of teenagers sleeping outside the doors of record shops.
For one Manchester United fan who had the honour of being the first person in the queue at a Manchester store, his prize was somewhat unwelcome. To mark the band's lifelong support of the other football team in Manchester - Manchester City - the HMV group decided to give away a team shirt to the first fan in the store. But Dale Purdy, a student from Rochdale, was unimpressed. "I'm still undecided what to do with it," he said, but he managed to give a glowing report of the new album. "I've been a fan from the start, since Definitely Maybe [the group's first album]. I have heard most of the new album and it is just as good."
So, as the album looks set to sell out in Britain and possibly head to the top of the charts by Sunday, the rival Spice Girls must be wondering what to make of all the hype. One fan had the answer yesterday: "The boys are back and the Spice Girls are just out of the window."
PA adds: Tower Records in London's Piccadilly Circus reported the biggest morning sales for any collection in its decade long history.
"Although the album has received mixed reviews, the only people who count are the fans. Going by this morning's sales, this is one for the record books," said the managing director, Mr Andy Lown.
The Oasis camp will be hoping that unlike the last single, D'You Know What I Mean, which spent only one week at the top, Be Here Now will keep selling until Christmas.
Sales were heavy in Ireland.
A spokeswoman for HMV, with four stores in Dublin and one in Cork, said it was selling at least double the number comparable collections would sell on the first day.
The Cork store, which would normally close early, stayed open until 8 p.m. to cater for the heavy demand. "We sold thousands of copies even before lunchtime," she said. Other record stores reported equally strong sales.