McFly's decision to give away copies of their new album 'RADIO:Active' with the Mail on Sunday failed to match the success of a similar promotion by Prince, early figures show.

2.4million copies of the newspaper were sold on Sunday – a boost of 300,000 units – each of which was accompanied by a copy of the album.

But the figure fell short of the 600,000 extra units sold when Prince gave away copies of his latest album 'Planet Earth' with the newspaper last year.

At the time, Prince was the first act to use the pioneering release idea, although many more, including UB40 and Sir Paul McCartney, have followed suit.

Despite the lower figures, Stephen Miron, The Mail on Sunday's managing director, said he was “very proud” that a contemporary band had worked with the paper.

A deluxe edition of 'RADIO:Active' will be released in the shops this September.

(by Jason Gregory)