By Paul Sexton, London


Robbie Williams makes a No. 1 start across Europe with "In and Out of Consciousness - Greatest Hits 1990-2010" (Virgin/EMI). It debuts atop Billboard's European Albums chart asEminem's "Love The Way You Lie" (Interscope/Universal), featuring Rihanna, starts a third week at the European Hot 100 Singles summit.Williams' retrospective is his ninth solo No. 1 album in the United Kingdom, where opening sales of 121,000 compare with 238,000 for last year's "Reality Killed The Video Star" and 147,000 for "Rudebox" in 2006. The new best-of is also in at No. 1 in Germany and Austria, No. 2 in Ireland, No. 3 in Spain and Holland, and No. 4 in Portugal, Denmark and Switzerland.After three weeks on top in Europe, Phil Collins falls to No. 2 overall with "Going Back" (Atlantic/Warner Music). Its highest position is now No. 5 in Holland. Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns" (Warner Bros./Warner Music) is down 2-3 on the composite chart, with a top ranking of No. 4 in Austria; a third Warner title in the top five, Eric Clapton's "Clapton" (Reprise/Warner Music), also falls one place, 3-4, despite an 11-9 climb in Holland. In its 17th week on European Albums, Eminem's "Recovery" (Interscope/Universal) climbs back 6-5, falling 5-7 in Ireland and 9-11 in the United Kingdom but holding at No. 10 in Austria. From it, "Love The Way You Lie" falls 1-3 in Switzerland but spends another week at No. 1 in Spain and Austria.Santana falls 5-6 Europe-wide with "Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time" (Arista/Sony Music Entertainment). It climbs 4-3 in Portugal and 11-9 in France, and holds at No. 3 in Hungary. London rapper Tinie Tempah's "Disc-overy" (Parlophone/EMI) stays at a collective No. 7, falling 1-2 in the United Kingdom and 2-4 in Ireland. David Garrett climbs back 9-8 in his third week with "Rock Symphonies" (Decca/Universal), improving 5-3 in Austria and holding at No. 3 in Germany. Joe Cocker's "Hard Knocks" (Sony Music Entertainment) is down 4-9 in its second week on the aggregate survey, falling 1-4 in Germany. Unheilig's "Grosse Freiheit" (Universal) bobs back into the collective top 10 yet again, climbing 11-10 in its 34th week as it holds at No. 2 in Germany. Veteran British star Cliff Richard scores his 63rd U.K. top ten album with "Bold As Brass" (EMI), new at No. 3 there. The late soul giant Solomon Burke's final recordings, on the "Hold On Tight" album (Universal) with Dutch rock band De Dijk, hold at No. 2 in Holland; EMI's new John Lennon compilation "Power To The People" holds at No. 8 in Denmark, but falls 15-22 in the United Kingdom. As well as guesting on the European Hot 100 Singles No. 1, Rihanna has the chart's fastest mover, racing 30-5 with "Only Girl (In The World)" (Def Jam/Universal). It's No. 1 in Norway and the Belgian region of Wallony, and new at No. 2 in Germany.

By Aymeric Pichevin, Paris


Live Nation has postponed two Lady Gaga shows in Paris this weekend because of the strikes and protests in France over the plan to raise the retirement age.The Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 shows at Paris Bercy have been postponed until Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 "as a result of the logistical difficulties due to the strikes in France," said a Live Nation statement on Lady Gaga's website."Unfortunately, as there is no certainty that the trucks can make it to the Bercy for this weekend's shows, the Lady Gaga performances are now postponed," said the statement. Fans must exchange tickets or seek refunds by Nov. 14.Students have been protesting at plans in the pension reform bill to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Students fear that changes to the retirement age will mean fewer jobs available for them in the short term.The French protests against proposed new legislation are now affecting the music sector, with strikers attempting to block the distribution of gas in the country for over a week now. Around 5,000 of France's 12,300 gas stations were completely or partially running out of fuel on Wednesday (Oct. 20), according to the French ministry of Ecology and Energy. Lady Gaga's concerts are the only major shows to be affected so far in France. The strikes have prompted live bookers to find alternative solutions for other artists, such as using personal cars on tour for French breakthrough act Ben L'Oncle Soul. A tour manager was slightly roughed up by strikers while driving a van for another artist - whose name was undisclosed - and required hospital treatment. It was a rare incident, the booker spokesperson stressed, adding that the concert was not canceled. The French government has promised the situation will be back to normal within four days.