Singles may not be selling in large quantities at the moment but they continue to be the best way to bring attention to an album, as Athlete's experience proves, writes Alan Jones.

Two weeks after Wires, the introductory single from the band's second album Tourist, debuted at number four on sales and topped the airplay chart, the album debuts at number one, with excellent first week sales of 83,370. That's more than 10 times as many copies as their debut ...