Category: Blog

Here we go again, Record Store Day 2016 is almost upon us.

RSD had only really just got going when we started this site back in 2o09. It has its naysayers, and indeed we have mixed feelings about it (every Saturday is RSD for us!) and you all know the arguments for and against. It is what it is, it has done more good than harm and since we started this site it has added some much needed rocket fuel to Record Shops and helped reconnect a new generation with the idea of buying records. I see the knock on effect of that every time I head out record shopping and I’m sure you do too…more Record Shops, and more people in them, buying records.

I must confess I won’t be be queuing to pay £23 for an Alan Partridge picture disc, £11 for a Mungo Jerry single or parting with £60 for a reissue of The Orb’s first album (although that is a fantastic record I’ll stick with the tape version I bought at the time).  If you are braving the queues I hope you can get what you want, and if not I hope that you get what you need.

There are plenty of participating stores on our patch, including Piccadilly Records, X-Records, Vinyl Exchange, Vinyl Revival, Endless Music, Static Records, Malcolm’s Musicland, 3B Records, Jacaranda Records, Probe Records and more.

Check here for a full list of participating stores http://recordstoreday.co.uk/participating-stores/

Hello! If you’ve used this site before we hope you like our new look. You’ll notice a few changes and also we’ve reinstated the blog section which will be occasionally updated with Record Shop related news and opinions. We’re now looking beyond Manchester to cover a wider area of the North West including shops in Liverpool, Lancashire, Cheshire and beyond.

We started this site in 2009 and at that point many were predicting the demise of the Record Shop. Recession hit retailers had already been battling stiff competition from Supermarkets who could afford to undercut CD prices by selling them as ‘loss leaders’. They then had to face online dealers like Amazon who could afford to undercut both the record shops and the supermarkets by dodging taxes and keeping their overheads low by treating their staff like automatons and piling stock high in vast, faceless warehouses in the middle of nowhere. Of course, the product that they were selling, music, could be downloaded or streamed for free and indeed a whole generation was growing up who assumed that was the norm.

Within a couple of weeks of starting the site one of our favourite shops – in Manchester – closed down and we did wonder whether we would be in fact documenting the slow demise of our local record shops rather than celebrating them. Since the late 90s record shops had been closing down at a phenomenal rate, and some of the ones that remained did feel a bit sad and a bit careworn.

Since we started, a lot has happened. Record Store Day came along which has done a lot to promote and reinvigorate the music retail world and we have also seen a massive resurgence in Vinyl collecting in particular and a new generation who enjoy digging in record shops, collecting records and enjoying the strange and wonderful tangents that offline record shopping can offer. That’s also brought along its own issues (and indeed dubious 180gm splattered colour vinyl re-issues) but things certainly look brighter for record shops than they did in 2009. Over the years, we’ve added more new shops than we have had to <‘archive’> the shut down ones that’s for sure.

Since Record Shop City was launched we’ve seen a technological revolution happen in terms of the way music reaches us, which is still evolving. We’re in an interesting place now which seems to be based on choices people make in terms of how much they want to invest in music. In many ways the path of least resistance, and the easiest option for people who don’t want to pay for music is to stream it – YouTube and Spotify offer that option – almost anything you want to listen to is there at the click of a mouse or tap of an iPhone. However, we still have a national music chain HMV selling CDs and increasingly selling Vinyl (visit any HMV these days and it’s like we’ve gone back 30 years) – which reflects the fact that a lot of people like to enjoy their music on physical formats, and a whole new generation are discovering that too. Why pay £10-15 for a CD or LP when that would pay for a month of unlimited streaming on Apple or Spotify? That’s irrational and makes no sense. Well indeed that’s true but ultimately it’s a lot more fun to go hunting for interesting and strange musical tangents in record shops up and down the land than it is to sit in front of Spotify or Apple Music and wait for the ‘option paralysis’ to subside and choose what to listen to.

So it turns out Record Shops are here to stay after all, and this is our guide to the ones we’ve found around the North West. Whatever kind of music you are into, we have a shop for you. We’ve included a handy guide to each one, with all the details you need, opening hours, and our unbiased reviews. If we’ve missed any shops – let us know as we do keep finding ones we never knew were there. None of the shops has paid for advertising space or offered us discounts or anything else for that matter. We’re doing this for nowt, cos we love ’em and we hope you do too.

In case you didn’t already know, Manchester HMV will now remain open, as will HMV-owned Fopp. Around Greater Manchester the Stockport, Bury and Trafford Centre branches will also remain open.

Apparently they’re winding down the stock of iPads and gadgets and the new owners of the chain say they will “reclaim the space for an enhanced music and visual range” (i.e stock more CDs, Records and DVDs).

I’m not entirely surprised to see that HMV’s former ‘flagship’ store on Market Street, Manchester is among the 66 stores listed for closure today ,although this will leave HMV with no outlet in a major UK city somewhat famous for it’s music scene and excellent Record Shops.

HMV’s rather opulent, three storey Manchester Megastore is a bit of a sad relic of the 1990s now. When it opened, most of the ground floor was given over to a vast back catalogue of CDs, with the floor downstairs covering Classical, Folk, World music and so forth. All things video were upstairs. This was of course, pre internet, and this was like Amazon.com except you could walk around it..for hours. The independent and second hand shops were always the place to go for the best new stuff, and unusual old stuff but if you wanted to get, say, the complete works of Scott Walker or fill in those gaps in your Cabaret Voltaire collection there they were.  It was ace.

Fast forward to 2013 and 90 Market Street is probably far too big for whatever a ‘restructured’ HMV is going to look like, and it occupies what is surely a pretty expensive prime location next to Primark, the Arndale and a busy Tram stop (talk about footfall?!).

The big question mark of course is that HMV still own the Fopp store just around the corner which is not on the closure list yet. Will it remain ‘as is’, or will HMV rebrand it and move its Manchester operations there..or will they be eyeing up other premises for a downsized Manchester store?  (notably, there was a ‘pop-up’ HMV occupying two floors of the Arndale in the run up to Xmas 2012).

As an aside, as we have noted before, across the road from the closing-down HMV is ‘That’s Entertainment’ which has been staring out its huge rival for some time now.

If ever there was a monument to the devaluing of the Compact Disc it is that place…shelves groaning with ‘preowned’ copies of The Seahorses ‘Do it Yourself’, Robbie’s ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ and ‘Onka’s Big Moka’ by Toploader probably bought for £12-15 from the shop across the road many moons ago and now, still somewhat overpriced at 3 for £5. This grubby little upstart may well be the last music chain-store standing.

Given that we are all about independent record shops, and those curious 2nd hand record haunts,  you could be forgiven for thinking we would take the news of high street behmoth HMV calling in the administrators with a certain amount of glee.

Not so with HMV. There are no party poppers going off here.  For a start, most importantly, there are over 4,000 jobs at risk. Secondly, that pretty much removes the last real supply chain from the high street and that can’t be good news for artists, record labels and distributors. While in the North West we are lucky to have a great network of shops, many parts of the UK will suddenly have nowhere at all to buy music or movies and that business will inevitably go to those tax-dodging,  cardboard-wasting killjoys Amazon, or the bland CD racks of Tesco and ASDA. It also, potentially, means the demise of HMV owned Fopp  which we have a soft spot for (and if nothing else, is a model of what HMV could have done if it had scaled back to it’s core business instead of trying to please all the people).

I can only hope, given that the demise of HMV has been on the cards for some years now,  the music industry and other businesses that rely on them have got their business plans sorted out and ready for the inevitable. Lets hope that the damage on record labels, artists, publishers, producers, designers and distributors can be minimised.

It’s still early days, a buyer may come forward, or someone may take the chain on in a scaled down version and turn it around.

The media, and thousands of commentators who haven’t darkened an HMV shop for years will no doubt be mourning it’s loss in the morning, it will be as if music itself has died. It is not the end of music as we know it, and it isn’t the end of music retail.

Neil Saunders, the unimaginative and “retail analyst” that the BBC interviewed tonight says “The bottom line is that there is no real future for physical retail in the music sector,” . This comment comes in the same week that I have a backlog of new Record Shops to add to the site. We firmly believe there is still life left in selling physical music product, and it looks like the foreseeable future that may lie with the independent sector, so go forth, enjoy the shops that are left and buy stuff from them!

Eastern Bloc, Manchester’s infamous dance vinyl specialists have a brand spanking new website up and running, and very smart it is too. Of course, that’s no replacement for visiting them in person but if you live too far away to visit their cool Cafe and Record shop in the Northern Quarter on a regular basis you can still get access to their handpicked selection of killer new releases, and dig into their rare vinyl finds right here.

There are so many new releases, genres and sub genres of dance music I’ve no idea how anyone navigates it all. You need a curator, and you need people with experience ‘the knowledge’ and these guys have it. So, those seeking expert guidance about how to move the more discerning dancefloor, or delight your own eardrums with the finest beats on black plastic, look no further: easternblocrecords.com

The movie ‘Last Shop Standing’ is out now and already getting rave reviews, and you can catch some special screenings right here in Manchester.

Wed 3 October at Kraak Gallery 8pm details here http://www.kraak.co/home/last-shop-standing/
Complete with a Q&A session with the director

and also at the Black Lion in Salford at the Future Artists film festival on November 3rd, all the details on that one here  http://futureartists.co.uk/

For a vinyl digger in Manchester there are many rainy day refuges. Step in,  shake down, let the fingers unfurl and happy land awaits. It was on such a trip recently that I put together the final piece in an interesting puzzle. The vinyl sleuth solves his first case (and yes I got the girl as well!).
Those of you up to your elbows in digging culture may well have recently snapped up an interesting vinyl and CD artefact of Manchester’s 60s beat bands who never got beyond the A6. Rainy City Blues; Rare and Unreleased Tracks from Manchester’s Beat Groups is a fine collection of our city’s legacy and the people and players at the heart of the Twisted Wheel and Cona Cafe scene. Bands include Big City Blues, The Stylos, St Louis Union, The Measles and The Toggery Five to name a few. Released on Jungfrau records I recommend you grab your copy now and settle down for an evening of espresso and brown ale grooves that, at their best,  stand up to some of the classic beat tracks.

 
So, the mystery?. Well, I came across this comp a while ago and my immediate thought was, who put this fine collection together?. On that appropriately rainy afternoon in Manchester, digging in Vinyl Revival, the answer was revealed. Colin, mine host at Vinyl Revival and all round Überdigger (close to developing six fingers I think) is the man behind this release. So its hats off to Colin and let’s hope his six fingers and double jointed elbows reveal some more gems in this series.
Rainy City Blues is available now from all good record shops in the Manchester area. Vinyl Revival is on Hilton Street, it has groaning racks and is open on rainy days!
Carl

well not quite, but we did send our man Carl to check out the shops over Wigan way. Unfortunately he didn’t stop, carried on past Southport and ended up in…er..Delaware. Anyway, Carl texted in this missive from his crate digging travels. There may be more of this to come.

 

Post Punk icons rarely make an appearance in my holiday travels. I have of course ridden the big wheel at Blackpool with Lydia Lunch but that was the result of too much sun and a bad pint. So here I am in the States digging in a gift shop’s back room and wondering why this place has so much vinyl and good stuff as well , when its suddenly made clear to me;  the owner introduces himself as Mr Steve Fallon the legendary proprietor of Maxwell’s in New Jersey.

 To those of you with angular,  discordant knowledge,  this genial man and his venue were the f*cked up heart of US East Coast post Punk and Indie…Pere Ubu, Sonic Youth,  Yo La Tengo and of course The Feelies all did there thing at Maxwell’s as did Kurt and the gang. Steve also ran the Coyote label…go and dig their full on Indie frenzy back catalogue. So, Steve, thanks for a great afternoon you made a middle aged Mancunian very happy.

I left with The Trypes ‘Music for Neighbours’ LP under my arm, superb psych folk, and another great connection made in a *real* shop and not communicated through ones and zeros! Steve’s gift shop and back room record shop, Gidget’s Gadgets, is in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Time to dust down that Thermos flask, extend your overdraft and start the countdown to Record Shop Day 2012!

You know the drill by now, Record Shops around the world will be stocking exclusive records and goodies that will only be available in store, on the day. If you want ’em, you got to go and queue up. If last year is anything to go by (when there were people outside Piccadilly Records when I left the Castle Hotel at chucking out time the night before) then you better start queuing now!

The list of exclusive items is bigger than ever and over 200 UK record shops are taking part. Best news is they seem to have sorted out the rather creaky website situation and RSD now has it’s own dedicated UK site. Check it out.

The list of exclusives is here, and very impressive it is too. There are some headline grabbing rarities from big hitters like Kate Bush, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Coldplay, The Cure and er…Candy Flip but plenty more highly desirable items from the more underground likes of Animal Collective, Field Music (covering The Pet Shop Boys), Factory Floor, Django Django, Gruff Rhys, J Dilla, King Creosote, Metronomy, Richard Hawley, PiL and hundreds more. Here is the full list.

I’m also pleased to report there are more participating stores around Manchester than ever before this year. Right in the thick of it of course will be Piccadilly Records and not only will they be stocking as many exclusives as they can get their hands on they’ll have DJ sets in store during the day from Mr Scruff, Andy Votel, Tim Burgess and more.

Just around the corner in the none-more hip Stevenson Square Eastern Bloc Records will also be carrying some exclusive releases, as will Beatin’ Rhythm just down the way on Tib Street. Up the road in Prestwich you’ll want to be knocking on the door of  the aptly named  Endless Music while in Bolton, the great  X-Records will have some goodies for you . Save Records at Bury Market (hang on a minute…why haven’t we got them on the site?!) will be getting in on the action too (Stall no.34 apparently).A bit further afield you can try the legendary Muze Music in Hebden Bridge, and Malcom’s Musicland or Townshend Music in Chorley.

Also taking part are ‘That’s Entertainment’.…yes the second hand CD/DVD/Games retailer currently on Market Street staring HMV in the face like David to it’s Goliath are getting in on the action…I suppose they’re a Record Shop too although just how ‘independent’ this fast growing national chain is,  is somewhat debatable. Perhaps they can hide their RSD exclusives in a vast pile of discount Simply Red and Toploader CDs and make a fun game out of it. Who knows, they might even hoover their carpets for the day.

Note that not all the items will be available in every store, so if you have a particular record in mind you’ll need to check with the store to see if they’re stocking it and remember you won’t be able to reserve any items in advance, it will be first come, first served. Piccadilly Records have published a full list of what they’ll be stocking, That’s Entertainment have said you will have to go and ask in store, and I suspect for the others you’re best bet is to give them a ring or call in before the day.

There are all sorts of related events around Manchester too, the excellent local promoters Wotgodforgot are putting on a fine bill of free live music at the Soup Kitchen and you can get discount on food and drink with a a Record Store Day handstamp from Piccadilly Records. Over the road, Kraak Gallery also have a RSD party with Tim Burgess hosting.  If you’re still standing, Common Bar will also be hosting the RSD after party with the Wet Play crew and Piccadilly Records staffers also manning the ones and twos.

Have a great day. You can’t always get what you want, but we hope you get what you need!

We make no apologies for plugging the ‘Last Shop Standing’ Movie project again, not least because the latest clip has a Manchester, or to be more precise, Chorlton connection. Here’s the mighty Johnny Marr hanging out in King Bee Records. Enjoy, and don’t forget to check out the website to get the latest news on the making of the film:
http://www.indiegogocom/Last-Shop-Standing-Documentary-phase-2

We’re thrilled to report that work is continuing apace with the making of the ‘Last Shop Standing’ documentary from the makers of the book of the same name. The crew have been up and down the country visiting some of the great Record Shops, and filming interviews with the likes of Norman Cook, Richard Hawley and of course the unsung heroes behind the counters.

Graham Jones and his team pitched up here in Manchester this weekend and as you can see they roped in Johnny Marr to join the crew and hold up the boom mic. Johnny was interviewed in King Bee alongside the legendary Les (pictured below holding up a none-more-rare Planxty LP).

The cameras were also rolling at Beatin’ Rhythm where the crew  caught up with BBC 6Music’s Jo Good and over at XFM with Clint Boon. The full story is over on the film’s website here:

We certainly can’t wait to see this now, and if this has whetted your appetite don’t forget you can pledge some cash toward the making of the film and get your name in the credits.

Here’s an interesting blog post from Akoustik Anarkhy (splendid Manchester Record Label and Gig Promoters..check out their wares here if you haven’t already)

It seems they’ve found their way to a place of  Manchester legend, and succeeded where many have tried and failed…they got inside the semi-legendary-not-really-a-record-shop Pandemonium Records, and they have pictures to prove it.

For those who don’t know, Pandemonium was a record shop formerly on Oxford Road (a few doors down from Johnny Roadhouse) which, following concerns that the sheer weight of Vinyl was going to come crashing through to the floor below, relocated to a warehouse on an anonymous industrial area of Newton Heath.

It was, for a time, still operating as a shop of sorts. However, over the years it has gradually just become a place where the owner, Mr Davenport, stores the vast collection of records that he has accumulated both as a collector and a dealer. From what we can gather, he isn’t particularly keen to sell anything these days although you can apparently make an appointment to go and have a look around.

Sadly, what the aA guys found seems pretty tragic. The warehouse is ankle deep in water, damp and some of the stock of records is already damaged beyond salvage. It would appear that Pandemonium is still facing eviction from the place, but there is literally nowhere for these records to go. Read the article to find out more….

Friend of the site Graham Jones, author of the splendid book  ‘Last Shop Standing’ has contacted us regarding a new project: A 60 minute documentary based on the book of the same name featuring musicians, industry insiders and of course the real heroes of the piece, those unsung heroes behind the counters of the Record Shops we celebrate here.

Sounds great, and if you ask me is the sort of thing a channel like  BBC4 would snap up in an instant and would be a great thing to promote the good cause of Vinyl vendors . Only trouble is, it hasn’t been filmed yet so Graham and his team need a few quid to get it off the ground. That’s where you come in. Remember how ‘Life of Brian’ only got made because George Harrison really wanted to see it, so he bankrolled it (and as Eric Idle recalls..the most anyone has paid for a cinema ticket). Now, you don’t need to remortgage your Mansion like George did. Think of it as buying a DVD in advance, and depending on how much you fancy chipping in you could even get your name in the credits, and  invites to a swanky Premiere and you get to to call yourself a movie mogul because you are one. So, if you’d like this film to exist then click here:    http://www.indiegogo.com/Last-Shop-Standing-Whatever-Happened-to-Record-Shops

If you’ve been on Market Street recently dodging the charity muggers and the tone deaf accordion players you may have noticed a new Music Shop.  ‘Thats Entertainment’ has emerged from the ashes of what was once Music Zone, the (actually quite splendid) budget priced music chain that ate MVC..went bust, and was then eaten by Fopp…who quickly went bust themselves. The people behind Music Zone reappeared as online service ‘Music Magpie’ which specialises in buying CDs in bulk, often at prices so low you may as well give them to Oxfam. They pay 30p for your bog standard chart CD, a bit more if it’s something more desirable or rare. Nevertheless they seem to have made some sort of business out of it, and have amassed enough stock to open a chain of retail stores. ‘That’s Entertainment’ basically sell second hand CDs, DVDs and games..or as they call it ‘Replay’. The electronic games industry has sold ‘pre-owned’ games in mainstream stores for years but this is first time I recall seeing second hand music sold in a High Street chain store.
What is interesting is that they have rather cheekily opened up directly across the road from troubled HMV’s flagship Manchester store, and are undercutting their prices massively albeit with used product. CDs are priced from 99p to £3.99. The pricing can be summed up by their David Bowie selection. ‘Never Let Me Down’ is 99p. ‘Earthling’ and ‘Pin Ups’ is £1.99. ‘Hunky Dory’, ‘Low’ and ‘Scary Monsters’ = £3.99. You get the picture.How to Push Medications Safely From an Online Drugstore

Vinyl lovers will be disappointed, this is entirely CDs but it’s a huge selection over two floors and I’m pretty sure there is more music in here than in the much larger HMV shop over the road. You won’t find many sought after gems, and there is awful lot of mass produced late 90s/early 00s stuff from the last days of the CD boom…stacks of Oasis ‘Be Here Now’, Toploader, Robbie Williams and Dance compilations but if you have some time to spare there are definitely bargains to be had. I picked up the deleted (and unlikely to be re-released) Orb Live ’93 double set for £1.99..ten pounds less than iTunes are charging for it, and the Beatles at the BBC for £5. These were good as new but worth checking the merchandise before you buy as some of the inlays and discs have seen better days. Given the overwhelming ‘mainstream’ feel to the stock and the complete lack of Vinyl I don’t think the independent second hand record shops like Vinyl Exchange, Clampdown and Vinyl Revival should be too worried about the new competition, but nevertheless, if you’re after a hard copy of something not too obscure it’s worth a visit.

An interesting development. Word reaches us that Fopp are now buying second hand CDs, not sure if their big brother HMV is planning on doing the same…

Check this out. It’s a new book called  ‘Mancunians and Music: Tales of the Underground, The Internet and the Manchester Music Scene’ by Raquel Morán. It’s her take on the Manchester music scene, post-Oasis, and she finds out how whether there is still such thing as a Manchester ‘scene’, and if so, how is it coping in an age when the business model of the traditional music business has all but collapsed into a confused, flailing heap. Raquel has sought the opinions of an impressive array of movers, shakers and hugely enthusiastic music people to find out what’s going on. We’re chuffed to be quoted a few times with our, ahem, words of wisdom rubbing shoulders with the likes of Graeme Park, John Cooper Clarke, Jon Dasilva, Jon Ronson, Martin Moscrop and many more. Cool or what?

Get it here:

It was a very nice surprise to have the BBC ring me earlier in the week for some views on the whole Record Store Day thing and where music retail is heading, and we’re name checked in the subsequent article. Check it out here:

Interestingly it also mentions the new ‘That’s Entertainment’ chain which if I’m not mistaken has risen from the ashes of Music Zone and has a few branches opening up mainly in retail parks or towns which don’t have much else in the way of Record Shops. (Nearest one to here is Macclesfield).  They’re mainly doing refurbished second hand CDs (along with DVDs and Games) which they refer to as ‘Replay’ although they do also carry some new stuff. Not much interest to you Vinyl fans but certainly one to watch as HMV continues to please neither its shareholders or serious music lovers.

It goes without saying that Record Store Day 2011 was a roaring success again. It did what it set out to do again, it sold lots of records, it created a bit of a Christmas rush in April and most importantly it once again brought Record Shops into the spotlight with lots of articles in the mainstream media and Twitter and Blogs alight and buzzing with Record Shop talk.  I hear 800 queued at Rough Trade East, and according to Piccadilly Records they had people outside the shop from 12am onwards!

According to Spencer Hickman at Rough Trade, sales of physical singles through Indie stores were more than double last years figure, sales of albums were up 20% and almost all of the physical single and Vinyl album sales in the charts this week are RSD exclusives.

As we’ve said in the past I hope this translates into some increased footfall for Record Shops generally, and perhaps record companies (both large, small and operating out of back bedrooms) will remember that there is a great network of shops still around and give them more exclusives all year round and not just on Record Store Day. Grass roots is where it’s at.

Interestingly, I’ve heard from several folk over the weekend some confusion about the fact that nearly all the RSD exclusives were Vinyl. These are people who still buy CD, but increasingly buy from Amazon or Play because HMV simply doesn’t have the ‘deep catalogue’ or Independent releases it once had. I surprised these people by telling them about the fact that, for example,  it’s not uncommon for new releases to be available in Piccadilly Records for £8-£10 which isn’t much more than Amazon, or indeed an iTunes download (new releases are typically £7.49). There is clearly a market there which HMV (other than via Fopp) are increasingly disinterested in, who are happy to come out to Record Shops. It’s clearly time for the independent sector across the country to start connecting with people who think there is no alternative to Amazon.

Just a couple of days to go till Record Store Day, if you’re planning to spend they day around these parts then we’ve got just the thing. Our friends at ENDup productions have created ‘Diggin’ Manchester’ which is a fantastic Map and Record Shop guide to help you find your way around the best crates to dig in Manchester and beyond. It comes fully endorsed, embraced generally massively bigged-up by us here at RSC, and indeed it’s pretty much a pocket version of this very website that you can carry with you and never get lost while crate-digging again.  Click here to get yours.

There should be printed copies available to pick up in some of the shops and around town on the day, and to get you in the mood for Record Store Day then you might like to attend the launch party for Diggin’ Manchester which will be in the Deaf Institute (basement bar) from 8pm on Friday 15th April. Loads of guest DJs and maybe even our man Carl spinning a few platters.

On the day itself Piccadilly Records will having all kinds of giveaways, guest DJs, treats and surprises in store and over the road at Night & Day, Piccadilly  present the cream of the local music scene playing live: Dutch Uncles, The Answering Machine, Brown Brogues, Patterns, Louche FC, 12-5pm (free entry with hand stamp), and Common will feature a Piccadilly Records vs Wet Play Record Store Day after-party featuring a cast of local DJ favourites on the decks from 6pm onwards.

Don’t forget that locally Eastern Bloc, X-Records, Beatin’ Rhythm will also some Record Store Day goodies for you (check with the shops beforehand to find out what they’ve got) and what a perfect day to see how many of the other wonderful Manchester record shops you can get around too.

Er..thanks Ozzy! As we’re keen to point out, it’s Record Store Day every day around these parts but nevertheless it’s that time of year once again when record shops get to showcase what they do best and remind people that music doesn’t just arrive in cardboard cartons from Amazon or down your broadband.

Once again there is a huge list of exclusive collectable items and rarities that will only be available in participating stores on the day. The list is here in full on the Record Store Day website
http://www.recordstoreday.co.uk/exclusive-product.aspx

This year four local shops are taking part, Piccadilly Records, Eastern Bloc, X Records in Bolton and Beatin’ Rhythm so there will be plenty of queues to join to get your hands on some of the exclusive goodies. The queues at Piccadilly in particular were right round the block last year so get there early if you want to bag your desired items. Remember to check with the individual shops to find out which items they’ll be offering.
If you’re coming to Manchester specially for the day don’t forget to check out some of our other fab record stores while you’re in town.