White Ladder (1998)

White Ladder is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter David Gray. It was first released in November 1998 through Gray's own record label, IHT Records, but failed to chart. On 24 April 2000, the album was re-released by Dave Matthews' label ATO Records and debuted at number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, before climbing to number one on 5 August 2001, more than a year later. White Ladder produced five singles, including the hit "Babylon", which ignited interest in the album and shot Gray to worldwide fame. Other singles released from the album were "This Year's Love", "Please Forgive Me", "Sail Away", and "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye".

White Ladder spent almost three full years on the UK top 100, consistently charting between May 2000 and March 2003. Its total charting time as of 2020 was 176 weeks, making it one of the longest-charting albums in UK chart history. It was massively successful in Ireland, where it spent six consecutive weeks at number one on the Irish Albums Chart and had sold 350,000 copies by 2002. In 2015, it was still the biggest-selling album of all time in Ireland. White Ladder was the fifth-best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, with 2.9 million copies sold. The album has sold over 3 million copies in the UK, making it the country's eleventh-best-selling album of the 21st century as well as the 28th-best-selling album of all time. The record has sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Background

White Ladder was self-financed and recorded in Gray's London flat. To support the album, Gray toured the United States with the Dave Matthews Band, with Matthews releasing White Ladder in the United States on his label, ATO, in 2000, as the label's first release. Following the album's success, Gray toured the US and UK extensively between 2000–2001 to promote the record.

A hidden track, "Through to Myself", can be found in the pregap of the original 1999 UK IHT Records release (by rewinding from the start of "Please Forgive Me"). The US CD release does not include the secret track but instead includes the audio bonus track "Babylon II" as well as an enhanced section that includes a mini-documentary with a live performance of "Babylon", a brief biography, and web links. The Japanese release includes the bonus track "Over My Head", which also appears as a B-side on the 1999 "Babylon" single.

The cover of "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", originally recorded by Soft Cell, features additional lines from the Van Morrison songs "Madame George" and "Into the Mystic".

Commercial reception

White Ladder was originally released on Gray's own label, IHT Records. It spent six weeks at number one in Ireland, selling 100,000 copies in that time. By September 2001, the album had been certified 20× Platinum by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) for sales of over 300,000 units; it remains the biggest-selling album in that country.

It was only after its re-release in April 2000 on ATO that the album managed to chart in the UK, debuting at number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. On 5 August 2001, sixteen months after the re-release and almost three years after its original publication, it reached number one. White Ladder has spent a total of 175 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. Aside from "Please Forgive Me", which charted at number 72 on the UK Singles Chart, all other single releases charted within the top 20: the re-issued "Please Forgive Me" charted at number 18, and "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" and "Sail Away" peaked at number 26. White Ladder was the UK's fifth best-selling UK album of the 2000s. It had sold 2,940,575 units in the UK by 24 July 2011 and reached the three-million mark by March 2015. As of October 2019, it is the 11th best-selling UK album of the 21st century.

In the United States, the album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200, spending a whole year on the chart. It earned Gray a nomination in the United States at the 44th Grammy Awards for Best New Artist.

Reflecting on White Ladder's success in 2010, Gray stated: "I still pinch myself when I think about it. That record will be there for ever. It just connected in such a big way with people. [...] It was the period that came after that was difficult. [...] I'm sort of seen as a pop artist. I'm dismissed as slight, I'd say, because of White Ladder."

In Ireland, White Ladder entered the Irish chart at number 25. 61 weeks later, and for the first time, the album went to number one on 24 January 2000, spending six weeks in that position and subsequently spending much of the next four years in and around the top ten. It remains the best-selling album in the Republic of Ireland. At one stage, it was said that one in every four Irish households had a copy.