Sales decline by 15% across US. (US chartfile).

Retailers across the US reported a slump in business last week as the Iraqi war got under way, and the record industry was hit as hard as any, with sales of the Top 200 albums sliding by 15% week-on-week. Even 50 Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin' was not immune to the downturn but, with sales of 234,000, it tops the chart for the fifth time in a seven-week chart career, while gliding past the 3.5m sales mark. Norah Jones remains runner-up with Come Away With Me selling a further 175,000 copies to take its cumulative total to nearly 5m. There was little appetite for new music, with just two new entries in the Top 50--rockers (Hed) Planet Earth (pictured) entering at number 33 with Blackout and the veteran Allman Brothers posting a number 37 debut with their latest disc, Hittin' The Note. The chart's most notable climber is the soundtrack to Eminem's movie 8 Mile, which sprints 29-10 with a 53% spike in sales generated by the publicity surrounding the movie's DVD release.

Coldplay continue to prosper, with A Rush Of Blood To The Head selling a further 45,000 copies at it climbs 15-14. Their single Clocks hits another high on the Hot 100, where it improves 44-42.

Daniel Bedingfield (pictured) returns to both the singles and albums chart. His latest single If ...