By Zanib Asghar
This year Record Store Day has gone above and beyond in bringing us great music from new releases and celebrations throughout independent stores in London.
Record Store Day is a celebration of independent stores throughout the U.K. and the music they produce. Every April, London’s record stores celebrate music through live entertainment, bargain prices and new releases. This year is no exception.
The most anticipated releases this year include, David Bowie’s “Drive in Saturday,” Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Wigwam/ Thirsty Boots” by Bob Dylan.
The sixth annual Record Store Day this year will see huge releases from other artists like Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
Record Store Day came to the U.K. in 2007, where musicians get together and show their support for tradition sales in music. The annual event also brings a boost in sales throughout record stores.
Mark Burgess, owner of Flashback Records, speaks about why the store participated in the event, “Record Store Day is specifically designed to promote independent record stores and we’re an independent store so it was the obvious thing to do.”
Speaking of the entertainment on the day, he said “This year we had several DJs playing including Liam Large from Jukebox Jam and Pete Paphides from The Evening Standard . So there were some celebrity DJs here too.”
Have a listen to Bowie’s “Drive in Saturday” here:
https://soundcloud.com/mdindiry21/david-bowie-drive-in-saturday
Duncan Kerr, manager of Reckless Records, decided to participate in Record Store Day as “we’re right in the middle of Soho, everyone was participating. It was a very big day.”
Talking about digital downloads and their affect on the event, he said “I think there will be many many more Record Store Day’s to come. Digital downloads are not affecting records at all. People still buy both.”
Describing Record Store Day in Soho, Kerr said “The whole street was shut down with permission from the local council. There was a live stage set up and six to seven bands were performing all day long. It was a huge success.”
To find stores in London that are participating in this year Record Store Day, visit the Official Website.
Here’s a look at the scene at previous Record Store Day’s in London:
Twitter has been buzzing with all the Record Store Day fans. Here are some of the most popular tweets from the day:
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Roam Magazine 