TORONTO — Canada's insatiable appetite for the Tragically Hip sent the rock band's entire discography back onto the Billboard charts last week.
All 17 Hip albums, ranging from their debut EP to their most recent "Man Machine Poem," found spots on the Billboard Canadian Albums in the wake of the much-anticipated national broadcast of their final tour stop in Kingston, Ont.
Topping the list was the band's 2005 release "Yer Favourites," a greatest hits compilation that was chosen by their fans through a vote on the band's website. The album saw its total consumption rise 238 per cent, pushing it up a spot from second place a week earlier.
Also finding positions in the Top 10 were this year's "Man Machine Poem," holding steady at No. 6, 1992's "Fully Completely," which climbed to eight from 39, and 1989's "Up To Here," which shifted to ninth place from 28 last week.
The Hip's other albums, which include a number of live concert recordings, also found spots on the chart.
Billboard's Canadian album chart is tallied by Nielsen Music and based on album sales, digital song sales and audio on-demand streams.
Interest in the Hip skyrocketed earlier this year when frontman Gord Downie revealed he has terminal brain cancer, but planned to launch a tour across much of the country anyway.
Tickets to the shows sold out almost immediately, leading to CBC picking up a national broadcast of the final tour stop in Kingston. The concert quickly became a major event as fans made plans to host viewing parties and some local communities organized their own public screenings.
CBC's broadcast of the concert averaged just over four million viewers, according to the network.
Overall, the band's total album sales rose 157 per cent from the previous week, Nielsen Music reported, while digital song sales were up 342 per cent and online streams are up 185 per cent.
