Sun 21 Sep 2003

6:35pm (UK)
Hayley Hits A Classic Record
By Anthony Barnes, Showbusiness Editor, PA News

Teenage star Hayley Westenra has notched up the biggest selling classical debut album, her record company said.

She has now sold in excess of 700,000 copies of her first British release Pure which spent weeks in the album chart top ten.

Many classical releases are lucky to make it into the tens of thousands.

Westenra, 16, said: “I’m delighted with the way British fans have embraced my album.”

She is the best-selling artist yet in her homeland of New Zealand, but has spent a large proportion of 2003 in the UK. She recorded Pure with Sir George Martin in London.

She has achieved her huge sales in little over three months with the album only released in September.

Hayley recently shot a video for her version of Kate Bush’s almost operatic debut single, Wuthering Heights.

Her sales are all the more amazing as she has had to do without mainstream radio play, just specialist stations.

In 2003 she performed for the Queen three times in as many weeks and also sang at a reception for US President George Bush’s visit.

News item thanks to Scotsman.com - Forwarded by Jon Milewalker