Shaping the ’70s: Simon Draper and the Story of Virgin Records: Back at the beginning, though, Virgin was identified not with space tourism but with space rock. And the record company was really the brain child of someone whose un-Branson-like reserve and lack of flash has ensured he’s always kept a low profile. Simon Draper – the 20-year-old virtual stranger to whom Branson handed the aesthetic helm of Virgin Records at their first meeting in 1971 – is a name known to industry insiders and serious scholars of rock biz history. But few of the music fiends who cherish landmark albums like Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom, Faust’s The Faust Tapes and Public Image Ltd’s Metal Box, or who had their young minds blown by avant-pop Brit hits like Flying Lizards’ “Money” and Japan’s “Ghosts,” know about Draper’s role in nurturing these artists.
London record store presses vinyl to keep local bands grooving, “We wanted to step up so bands could have a physical release and continue their career.” A local record store is offering up-and-coming bands in London a chance to record in studio and press vinyl to sell exclusively in the store. Grooves Records hope it’s a way to give a leg up to musicians and to keep the local music scene alive. “The scene is incredible right now! There are so many bands that pop up and disappear and a lot of it has to do with lack of finances,” said store manager Andy Grimster, who has been working on the project for over a year. Grooves Records released the first offering, a locally produced seven-inch EP for punk rock band Strange Ways on Friday.
Hipster status might make Columbus uncool: Deep in ZIP code 43202 on Friday afternoon, I rounded the corner from East Hudson to southbound Summit Street and grudgingly gave Yelpers their due. A line of patrons stretched out the door of Evolved Body Art, which to celebrate Friday the 13th was offering $13 tattoos and $13 piercings to the first 113 people in line. Leery of needles not attached to a turntable, I instead went inside Used Kids Records. Standing behind the counter, employee Jimmy Buttons saw the humor of the Yelp rating, and also an opportunity. “That makes us the hippest record store in the country,” he declared. Used Kids, a fixture of the city’s music scene since 1986, moved to Summit Street in 2016 after 30 years on North High Street near Ohio State University. The new neighborhood is a great fit, Buttons said. The eclectic mix of mom-and-pop businesses feels like North High did years ago.
Inside The World’s Biggest Record Fair: Speed metal. Prog. Nederbeat. South African jazz. Cape Verde folk. A specialist in Golden Earring… If there’s a record you’re looking for – any record – chances are, it’s here, on one of the Mega Record & CD Fair’s 550 stalls. And when the doors are flung open at 9am on the first day, a snaking queue of eager punters from a similarly long list of nations pour into the hall. Some 25,000 people leave behind the springtime sunshine for this vast utilitarian air hangar-like hall over two days that would test the willpower of even the most financially challenged magazine journalist. The undisputed world’s biggest record fair happens twice a year, with a total of 60,000 people paying €12 to €14 each to spend a day digging through thousands of crates in search of the Holy Grail.
Ellen Allien announces vinylism party at Ade with Modeselektor: Ellen Allien has announced she will will be taking her Vinylism party to this year’s edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event. As part of a collaboration between her label BPitch Control and Berlin’s Tresor, Ellen Allien will host one of the conference’s standout events at RADION on October 19. Alongide Ellen Allien, the lineup features heavyweight names like K-Hand, Modeselektor, Molly and CEM. Vinylism, which Allien launched in February 2016, is a series of events aiming to support the DJ and producer’s favourite record shops worldwide. Each Vinylism performance features vinyl only sets from Allien and close friends in records shops, often showcasing records picked from the store itself. This time round the Berlin artist is taking the project into the club for a full on, vinyl only party.
Liam Gallagher sets new UK vinyl sales record with his new album: On October 6th, Liam Gallagher released As You Were, his debut solo record, and first album released since the disbandment of Beady Eye in 2014. Since its release, As You Were has nabbed the top spot on the UK charts, and has set a record for the highest-selling vinyl record in 20 years. As The Manchester Evening News reports, Gallagher’s debut record has seen a phenomenal first week, selling a combined total of 103,000 records, almost doubling the 56,000 that Oasis Definitely Maybe saw all the way back in 1994. 16,000 of the sales in the record’s first week were on vinyl, giving the record the distinct honour of having the highest-selling first week on vinyl in 20 years.
Jerry Garcia’s ‘Cats Under The Stars’ 40th-Anniversary Vinyl Re-Issue Released Today: For the 40th anniversary edition of Cats Under The Stars (featuring remastered audio by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering), Round Records is offering two different vinyl pressings—a limited-edition pressing of 5,000 marbled gold 180gram vinyl with individually numbered foil-stamped packaging and a more standard 180gram black vinyl version—both of which have been pressed by Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas from lacquers cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios. Cats Under The Stars was first recorded and mixed in 1977 at the Grateful Dead’s Club Front, marking Jerry’s fourth solo studio record and the only studio album technically attributed to Jerry Garcia Band.
