Cardiff, UK | World’s oldest record store bans Morrissey sales over far-right support: ‘I only wished I’d done it sooner’ says owner of Spillers in Cardiff after singer’s backing of For Britain party. Spillers Records, the world’s oldest record shop, has banned Morrissey albums from sale. The shop in Cardiff made the decision due to Morrissey’s support for the far-right political party For Britain, including wearing a badge with the party’s logo when performing on a US talk show this month. “I’m saddened but ultimately not surprised that Spillers is unable to stock Morrissey’s releases any longer,” said the shop’s owner, Ashli Todd. “I only wished I’d done it sooner.”
Port Macquarie, AU | We Shall Overcome record signed by Martin Luther King found in Port Macquarie worth up to $25,000: A record, personally signed by assassinated civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, is ‘a pretty rare find’ and could be worth up to $25,000. The 1961 released Folkways Record, ‘We Shall Overcome’, features songs by the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet with Guy Carawan. It is not unusual in itself, but the signature makes it hot property, according to Port Macquarie record store owner Travis Fredericks. The signatures featured on the album of King and human rights activist Bernard Lafayette are very special. “It’s not the record but the signatures on it that are so significant,” said Mr Fredericks. “These guys were obviously civil rights legends, King himself was the face of the civil rights movement. “It belongs in a museum really, as an important part of world history.
Marquette, MI | Vinyl Record takeover at Ore Dock Brewing Company: Another vinyl record show is coming to the Ore Dock Brewing Company. Northern Michigan University’s Vinyl Record Club is hosting their 21st semi-annual vinyl record show this weekend. Jon Teichman of the NMU Vinyl Record Club says there will be over 10,000 records to browse through and purchase, as well as plenty of cassettes, CDs, posters, and t-shirts. “Something for everybody,” says Teichman. “Everything from Abba to Zappa, blues, country, funk, classical, soundtracks, cassette tapes, CDs. Everything.” There will also be experts around to answer any question you have about records, record players, or if you just want to talk about music. The Ore Dock Vinyl Record Show starts Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and runs through May 27 at the Ore Dock Brewing Company. There will also be live music performances all weekend long. It’s free and open to the public to attend.
Telluride, CO | Sunshine daydream: Every time I go to Tyler, Texas to visit family, I make time to frequent Sunshine Records. I never leave empty-handed. Packed to the brim with crate upon crate of used records redolent of grandma’s cellar, I lose track of time when I’m digging there. If members of my family are in tow, my visits are curtailed. I intuit when their boredom sets in and make my way to the cash register. Except there isn’t a cash register. It’s just the owner, Don, a cool dude, T-shirted and about my age, who disappears behind wobbling stacks of boxes and returns with my change. Sunshine is not a perfect record shop. I love it because I’ve found some absolute gems there, but when I visit, all I can think about is the shop’s massive potential. The things I’d get to work on are numerous, starting with Don’s irregular hours. He’s closed, it seems, more than he’s open.
Pryor, OK | Pryor vinyl show coinciding with Rocklahoma: As has become customary, a vinyl show will take place in Pryor during Rocklahoma weekend. The Vinyl Junkies Record Show is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at Graham Community Center, 6 N. Adair St. Vinyl records, CDs, videos, posters and music memorabilia will be available from vendors. For more information, email bluemoondiscs@tulsacoxmail.com. Admission is $5, with proceeds going to Pryor Main Street.
‘Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl’ Authors Jeff Szpirglas and Aaron Lupton: The Horror News Network Interview: One of the hottest collectibles in recent years for fans of horror films have been the numerous limited edition re-issues of classic horror film soundtracks with new cover art and deluxe packaging. This trend also sent many fans back to their local record stores and ebay in search of some of their favorite films that were immortalized on black plastic. Two fellow fans (and journalists for Rue Morgue), Jeff Szpirglas and Aaron Lupton, decided to take it one step further and have just released a gorgeous book dedicated to the subject and it is clear that there is much to learn about the previously undocumented world of horror vinyl. In this exclusive interview, HNN speaks to Szpirglas and Lupton about their new book, which is bound to keep you spinning through numerous undiscovered gems and old favorites.
Los Angeles, CA | Here’s a still-sealed vinyl LP from 1976 featuring local LA bands supporting public radio: Reader Richard Koenig of Torrance sent me a real treat this week: a promotional album from a now-defunct radio station. Still sealed, it has the Licorice Pizza pricing sticker on the front; it cost $1.06, the numbers echoing the station’s frequency, and a date of May 1976. “I purchased the LP at a record store back in the early 1980s and never opened it up as I just didn’t expect the music to be very good,” Koenig explained. In the early 1980s, Licorice Pizza was still around (they were bought by and became Music Land in 1986), though the radio station was long gone. Twice. The station was K-WEST, which occupied the 105.9 FM frequency now held by Power 106. By the time Koenig bought the album, K-WEST itself had changed to top-40, and it was already Power 106. Amazing, to me, that the album survived that long … sealed! I haven’t decided if I want to open it either, but I would sure like to hear the music.
