The Outfield and Spencer Davis Group Both Jump in Sales & Streams After Members’ Deaths
Following the deaths of two of their integral members, U.S. streams and sales of the catalogs of rock bands The Outfield and Spencer Davis Group rise in the streaming and sales tracking week of Oct. 16-22.
In all, streams of The Outfield jump 37% to 2.6 million on-demand clicks, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, following the Oct. 19 death of frontman/bassist Tony Lewis. Additionally, the English rockers’ catalog accrued 3,000 digital song downloads, up 451%.
“Your Love,” The Outfield’s lone top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the band’s signature song, leads the way, garnering 1.8 million on-demand streams (3 million in all), a 16% boost. The track also sells 2,000 downloads, up 329%. The latter stat allows the song to re-enter the Rock Digital Song Sales survey at No. 6, the single’s highest appearance there and first since January 2015, when it peaked at No. 27.
Following “Your Love,” “All the Love in the World” — The Outfield’s other top 20 on the Hot 100 (No. 19, August 1986) — earns 157,000 on-demand streams (up 78%), and “Say It Ain’t So,” which marked The Outfield’s first appearance on a Billboard chart when it peaked at No. 18 on the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay tally in October 1985, grabs 132,000 on-demand streams (up 146%).
Meanwhile, Spencer Davis Group sees gains after the band’s eponymous leader, guitarist Spencer Davis, also died Oct. 19.
Fronted by a teenage Steve Winwood before his departure to form Traffic and, later, a formidable solo career, the group’s streams tally 563,000 on-demand listens in the latest tracking week, a jump of 81%, alongside 1,000 digital downloads, a boost of 431%.
“Gimme Some Lovin’,” the band’s first of two Hot 100 top 10s in 1967 (No. 7, February 1967), leads the catalog with 315,000 on-demand steams, up 40%, plus 1,000 downloads, leaping 312%. “I’m a Man,” its other top 10 (No. 10, May 1967), follows with 82,000 on-demand streams (up 40%).
Davis died Oct. 19 at age 81 due to complications from pneumonia, while Lewis died the same day at 62, with a cause of death not currently known.