Record Store Day is here again to keep us in a spin - Kevin Buckle
Record Store Day is next Saturday and fingers crossed so far there have been no major hiccups. It did look like there was going to be a major problem when Taylor Swift announced she would be releasing a seven-inch single but nobody had told her UK record company.
So as the news broke in the States not only were shops taken by surprise but for several days even her record company here didn’t know any more than the title and format. However, all has ended well and the single Elizabeth Taylor is described as being on Cry My Eyes Violet Glitter vinyl.
The good news is we are receiving a good number of the single, meaning we are confident anybody who turns up on the day will be able to buy one.
I’ve never been a fan of encouraging people to queue many hours and sometimes even days before we open for Record Store Day on the Saturday and this year is no different, as we have good stocks of all the most sought after titles.
If there is one fly in the ointment it is the Ethel Cain single, which while we received a decent number, was only a third of what we asked for. Other artists like Olivia Dean, Charli XCX and Hilary Duff are in demand but as with Taylor, we expect to have enough at least on the first day.
There are, of course, the always popular and obligatory releases from David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, The Cure and The Pixies and given the dearth of material available we are expecting a high demand for the Sensational Alex Harvey Band Live in the New World Berlin ‘76 album, a newly discovered live performance.
News that there will soon be a 21-CD box set Good Evening Boys & Girls from SAHB was a surprise.
My personal highlight is the release of two 12-inch singles on coloured vinyl by the old Creation band Adorable, both first released in the early nineties.
I am not the biggest fan of the way Record Store Day has turned out, having been involved since the beginning. The focus has definitely shifted towards the artists and their limited vinyl releases, when the original idea was for people to come in to support the shops, many of which were struggling, and hopefully be impressed enough that they would continue to return throughout the year.
These days, as soon as Record Store Day is over virtually all the labels and artists go back to trying to cut shops out of the equation, offering the best versions of a release directly to the customer.
I refused for many years to open at 8am, which is the earliest shops are allowed to open and opened at 9am instead of our normal 10am. But last year, after endless requests and with John and Sofia happy to oblige we did open at 8am and this year will be the same, only with added Euan.
I don’t understand the rush to buy online a couple of days later, when these days there is a shop close by for almost everybody to support in person.