Irish artist knocks Madonna off No 1 spot in album chart

Jet-propelled by a multimillion-dollar international marketing budget, Madonna’s new album, MDNA, rocketed to the top of the Irish album charts last week.

Yesterday, though she was unceremoniously kicked off the top spot by a stonemason from Co Cork who was busy making a fireplace when he took the call telling him he was the bestselling album artist in Ireland this week.

“It’s very difficult to take in, it’s a strange experience to hear you’re number one,” said Mick Flannery, who when not writing and performing works as a stonemason. The 29-year-old Blarney native left the fireplace unfinished as he went to a local pub to celebrate his unexpected victory over Madonna.

Flannery’s album, Red To Blue, is his third release and marks his continuing development as one of the very best Irish singer-songwriters of his generation. A gimmick-free performer who has little time for the promo push of social networking sites, he relies on word-of-mouth for sales of his exquisitely sculpted work. Drawing on classic influences such as Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, Flannery’s work has a timeless beauty that – until now – has never made the mainstream.

But now with Madonna, David Guetta et al trailing in his chart wake, he feels the past few years of constant gigging around Ireland has paid off. “I think the No 1 spot for the album is down to the people who have come out to the gigs over the last few years and them trusting me enough to go and buy the full album in its first week of release.”