UK | These are 100 UK independent record shop’s best selling vinyl albums in 2020: A selection of the country’s independent retailers, focusing on alternative and rock records. The top-selling albums from 100 independent record shops in the UK has been announced by Official Charts. Focusing largely on alternative and rock LPs, Idle’s Ultra Mono was the number one seller – as well as the fastest-selling vinyl release of 2020, followed Yungblud’s Weird at two, and Fontaines DC’s A Hero’s Death at three. Alongside new releases, reissues also maintained strong sales, with records by David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Joy Division, and Bob Dylan charting. Check out the full list:
UK | IDLES’ ‘Ultra Mono’ was the UK’s best-selling album in independent record shops in 2020: Yungblud and Fontaines D.C. complete the top three of the newly published Official Record Store Chart for last year. IDLES’ ‘Ultra Mono’ has been named as the best-selling album in the UK’s independent record shops in 2020. The Bristol band’s third studio album, which arrived back in September, tops a new chart published by the Official Charts Company this week after the record previously became the fastest-selling vinyl release of last year. ‘Ultra Mono’ fended off competition from Yungblud‘s ‘Weird!’ and Fontaines D.C.‘s ‘A Hero’s Death’, which respectively rounded off the top three best-selling albums in the UK’s independent record stores in 2020, to claim the top spot. …“We’re Number 1 on the Official Record Store Chart 2020, which means that lots of people that did go out and buy the album did so supporting their local record store which is something that’s really important at the minute,” IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen said.
Dublin, IE | Liam topped vinyl singles chart in 2020: Liam Gallagher scored the top-selling single on vinyl last year, the Official Charts Company said. All You’re Dreaming Of, the former Oasis singer’s festive track released in aid of Action For Children, beat Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart to the honour. It was revealed by the Official Charts Company as it expanded its Number 1 Awards, saying it wanted to provide more exposure to diverse talent on the specialist charts. Gallagher (48) posed with his award while wearing a crash helmet emblazoned with “PEACE”. “Thanks to everyone for making All You’re Dreaming Of the UK’s top-selling vinyl single of the year, number one on the Official Vinyl Chart 2020,” he said.
Hillsborough, NC | For the record: Volume is again kicking out the jams: …The owners of Volume, a combination record, bar, and hangout on Churton Street, are offering appointment-only business hours. It’s a decision months in the making for the owners, who kept the lights off and the doors locked long after many other local businesses reopened in one form or another. Co-owner Tony Lopez said he had several reasons for holding off on putting his business back on the turntable. “I just felt that I wanted to kind of figure things out. I did some research on what was going on and how it (COVID) was contracted. I was a little fearful honestly, and I just wanted to see what other people were doing and how people were handling it. So I didn’t rush to do anything. I just just held on. I didn’t sell any records online, so we still have all the great records. But I just kind of took some time off. I’ve worked so much and have worked here every minute the store has been open for three years. I treated it as a well-needed break.”
Myrtle Beach, FL | Your guide to coffee shops and cafes in the Myrtle Beach area: Hi-Fi Coffee Bar. Knock out a coffee run and vinyl record shopping all in one at this cafe. Themed like an old music shop, Hi-Fi offers great, local coffee right next to the busyness and beauty of the beach. Open until midnight, Hi-Fi offers those needing a late coffee to power through their night work a helping hand. All of its coffee is sourced from independent and local roasters along the Grand Strand and Carolina coast, and bags of Hi-Fi’s personal coffee blends available for purchase. Owner Chris Walker’s favorite drink is a flat white, but said a fan favorite drink is a cinnamon bun frappe. For something more out of the box, though, Walker recommends a vanilla lavender latte. To top off the drink, fresh baked goods like cinnamon rolls are $3.65 and brownies are $2, so grab a Hi-Fi coffee and a treat, and maybe an old vinyl on the way out.
Sun Records, Storied Early Rock Label, Sells Its High-Wattage Catalog: The independent company Primary Wave Music acquired recordings by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and other pioneers — but not the music of one of Sun’s biggest stars, Elvis Presley. In the 1950s, Sun Records in Memphis became one of the most dynamic forces in American music, releasing the first recordings by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and others, helping define rockabilly and rock ’n’ roll. Even its yellow sunburst label, with a crowing rooster, has become part of the iconography of early rock. Now, Sun has become the latest plum property to change hands in the music industry’s catalog gold rush. Primary Wave Music, an independent music company in New York, has acquired the label’s assets, including its recordings, logo and brand, from Sun Entertainment Corporation, the family-run company that bought it from Sam Phillips, Sun’s founder, in 1969. The deal includes every recording made by Sun — with the exception of Presley’s releases, which are owned by Sony — along with those of a handful of other small labels, like Red Bird and Blue Cat, and some songwriting copyrights.
John Coltrane Vinyl Reissue Sells Out in Hours: John Coltrane’s ultra high quality vinyl reissue of Lush Life sold out in hours after the pre-order launched earlier this month. Craft Recordings announced plans to create the highest quality vinyl reissues of legendary recordings from their vast catalog. Each album selected for the series will undergo all-analog mastering and then is pressed on 180-gram vinyl in a one-step lacquer process—as opposed to the standard three-step process—allowing for the highest level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record. The company says, “The limited nature of these pressings guarantees that each record is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording.” Each Small Batch pressing, as it’s being called, is only being produced in quantities of 1000, priced at $99.99 and only available at CraftRecordings.com. Each record will be individually numbered and housed in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase featuring an acrylic inset of the original artwork.
Four Albums From the Jacksons’ 1970s/’80s Catalog Set for Reissue Campaign: Four albums released by the Jacksons in the late 1970s and early ’80s are being reissued in expanded digital or vinyl format in February and March, as part of a campaign by the family’s original label, Epic, and Sony Music’s catalog imprint, Legacy, to re-expose the music the group made between the Jackson 5’s enormous ’60s success and Michael Jackson’s becoming the biggest star in the business with “Thriller.” Three studio albums from the ’70s are getting the expanded digital treatment — “The Jacksons” from 1976, 1977’s “Goin’ Places” and “Destiny” from 1978 — with 7-inch singles from the original albums tagged on as bonus tracks. Additionally, “The Jacksons Live!,” recorded live in 1981, is getting issued on vinyl as a two-LP set. The four releases are described as “the first wave in the Jacksons’ definitive album project.” The three digital studio releases are coming February 12, followed by the “Jacksons Live!” vinyl on March 26.
