Although the 51-year-old Gergiev doesn't take up the post of LSO principal conductor until January 2007, audiences will get a chance to experience the "special relationship" he says he has with the orchestra when he conducts a Shostakovich symphony cycle at the Barbican starting in October. Gergiev flew to London for two hours to make the announcement, before jetting off again to St Petersburg to conduct Tristan und Isolde at his White Nights Festival, Russia's biggest cultural extravaganza. Other classic acts at the concert, including The Who and Sting, also saw their album sales rise by several hundred per cent. An HMV spokesman, Gennaro Castaldo, pointed out that the knock-on effect of Live8 on album sales was less obvious among bands that were already selling well. Sales of Coldplay's X & Y, which was the record chain's best-selling album, rose by only 3 per cent Mr Castaldo said: "This snapshot still shows that, like its predecessor 20 years ago, the Live8 concert is having a marked effect on sales of featured-artist recordings. Iconic acts like Pink Floyd and The Who have done particularly well.
It shows that when acts like these perform, it reminds everybody how fantastic they are." He added: "It's likely this impact will become more pronounced throughout the week, as more fans and record buyers respond to the combined effect of the weekend's televised event, the G8 summit and the ensuing publicity." The Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour said he would not profit from the concert. "Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. "If on Thursday the G8 leaders tick the right three boxes at Gleneagles then the main objective will have been fulfilled. "If other artists feel like donating their extra royalties to charity, perhaps then the record companies could be persuaded to make a similar gesture and that would be a bonus.
This is money that should be used to save lives." Sales of The Libertines' Up The Bracket album fell - perhaps because of the performance at Live8 of their former frontman, Pete Doherty. * Live8 was watched by a peak of 9.6 million viewers on BBC1, the corporation said yesterday. Two of the band's albums, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, were among the top 10 best-selling albums on the Amazon website yesterday. Sales of Pink Floyd's music have increased by more than 1,000 per cent following the re-formed group's spectacular performance at Live8.