Sales and streams of several Bob Marley singles have experienced a surge since the debut of the ‘One Love’ biopic.
Among them, “Exodus,” the eponymous track from Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 1977 album, recently attained Silver certification in the United Kingdom.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded “Exodus” a Brit Certified Silver Award on Friday (March 1) after it exceeded 1,200,000 units in the UK, as tracked by The Official Charts Company.
Initially peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart upon its release, “Exodus” marked Marley’s first single to gain significant airplay on black radio stations in the United States, broadening his fanbase beyond predominantly white college-age listeners and Caribbean expatriates.
Other singles re-enter chart
Following the biopic’s release, two other Bob Marley classics, “Could You Be Loved” and “Three Little Birds,” made reappearances on the UK Singles chart.
“Could You Be Loved” recently re-entered at #51. The song first charted in the UK in July 1980, where it peaked at #5. A re-issue of the song in 1984 saw the song topping out at #71. Could You Be Loved is featured on Marley’s 12th and final studio album Uprising (1980) and it was also included on the greatest hits package Legend.
Similarly, “Three Little Birds” returned at #56, having peaked at #17 in October 1980. “Three Little Birds” was included in the original motion picture soundtrack of the ‘One Love’ biopic. “Three Little Birds” has garnered certifications including gold in Denmark and Germany, platinum in Italy, 5x platinum in New Zealand, and 2x platinum in the UK.
Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love,” starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the music icon, has amassed $82.7 million in North America and $146 million globally since its February 14 release.
