Jackson, MS | Mississippi record store owner hopes “greatest hits” compilations sound good to collectors: Vinyl records have enjoyed a surge of demand in recent years. And while supply chain pressures have eased, high record prices worry retailers like Phillip Rollins, who owns OffBeat, a record, toy and comic store in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. “I went to New Orleans and had a meeting with some of the record stores and labels and my distributors,” Rollins said. “The cost of records was explained, why it was going up, just due to manufacturing.” But Rollins sees a lot of promise in some new prints, like $20 “greatest hits” compilations. “Especially selling records like En Vogue and Notorious B.I.G. for $20 is a good kind of starter way for people to get into music and get into record collecting,” he said. “So that’s been a positive. I hope more labels and distributors implement that.”
Phoenix, AZ | Zia Records opens a new Phoenix store ripe with possibilities: The new storefront has an added 2,000 square feet of space for Zia’s many offerings. Since 1980, Zia Records has been a vital component of Phoenix’s vast and rich arts and cultural landscape. But even that longevity has meant moving around metro Phoenix quite a few times. “I think it’s been six [moves] from the very beginning,” says Mary Papenhausen, the chain’s market and public relations manager. That includes stints at 7th Avenue and Indian School Road and 19th Avenue and Indian School. (There are four other locations in the Valley, including Thunderbird and Tempe, plus one store in Tucson and two others in Las Vegas.) And so, after 11 years, Zia is relocating from 19th Avenue and Camelback Road to 35th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. But just as with every other move in the chain’s storied history, there’s a very good reason.
Liverpool, UK | Tributes paid to Probe Records boss Geoff Davies: “The gateway to enlightenment.” The label boss and record shop owner was considered one of the most important names in the Liverpool music scene. Tributes have been paid across the music industry for Probe Records boss Geoff Davies, following his death. He was aged 80. The music mogul was most famed for co-founding the Probe Records shop back in 1971 with his former wife Annie, and soon became one of the most influential figures of Liverpool’s cultural scene. He died on Tuesday morning (September 12) in Kingswood Mount Care Home, Allerton. Announcing his death, his second wife Anne revealed that Davies was diagnosed with dementia in 2019, and only moved into a care home at the end of April this year. She also told The Liverpool Echo that her husband had had a spell in hospital before being relocated to the care home, and that she saw him deteriorate quickly having been further diagnosed with lymphoma, which was his cause of death.
Charlotte, NC | A new shop for music lovers, vinyl collectors is opening at Camp North End this fall: Soon, Camp North End fans will have a little more music in their lives — Hardy Boys Records is opening its first independent location at the adaptive reuse complex in October. If you’re into records, then you might have seen this coming. Our recent CharlotteFive guide to independent record stores mentioned Camp North End was a possibility for Hardy Boys’ newest location. “We’ve always dreamt of having our own dedicated store, where music enthusiasts can gather, peruse, share stories and just enjoy each other’s company,” Hardy Boys Records owner Dean Hardy said. “Our family has been coming to Camp North End for a long time, and we’re convinced that the dynamic atmosphere here, where people simply want to spend time, makes it the perfect place for us to plant permanent roots in the community.”
UK | National Album Day 2023: Here’s all the limited edition vinyl available at this year’s NAD – marking the 1990s: Some much-loved Scottish acts are represented in this year’s limited edition records. National Album Day will be taking place once again this October and this year’s theme is iconic albums of the 1990s. From the perfect pop of S Club to American alternative rockers Hole, there’s plenty for record collectors to get excited about – and something to cater to almost every taste. And Scotland is represented with releases of Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Bandwagonesque’, Idlewild’s ‘Captain’, and Garbage’s ‘Version 2.0’ – all on exclusive coloured vinyl. They’ll all be hitting shops on Saturday, October 14, but are now available to order at your favourite record shop. Here’s everything that’s available.
Berkhamsted, UK | Second Scene in Oxhey set to open store in Berkhamsted: Business is booming for a record shop in Oxhey which is set to open a new branch. Second Scene, a second-hand vinyl shop in Pinner Road , which has been open since 2011, said it hass had more customers visiting the shop as people are leaning towards the old school style. Co-owner Helen Phillips said: “We have always had a strong customer base but recently we have found a lot more young people buying more records. “We only sell second-hand ones which means that you can buy them for a lot cheaper than in bigger stores.” The shop will be expanding is set to expand by opening another shop inside Home & Colonial Antiques in Berkhamsted. The business owner from Oxhey added: “We want to see what it is like in Berkhamsted, we have been successful in Oxhey, so hopefully it will go well.”
Garden City, NY | Vinyl record show planned for Sept. 30th: The annual Vinyl Revolution Record Show will take place on Saturday, September 30th from 10 am to 4 pm at the St. Paul’s Field House, 295 Stewart Ave., Garden City. Thousands of collectible and rare vinyl records will be available, plus CDs, DVDs and memorabilia, with 80 vendors from throughout the east coast. Admission is $5. For more information please go to www.vinylrevolutionrecordshow.com.
Motörhead’s Another Perfect Day to Receive 40th Anniversary Expanded Reissue: “Climber,” the original demo for album cut “Shine,” can be heard now. Motörhead‘s 1983 album Another Perfect Day is receiving an expanded 40th anniversary reissue including rarities, demos, and a period-specific concert recording. “Climber,” the original demo for the album track “Shine,” can be heard now ahead of the collection’s November 3rd release date. Another Perfect Day is somewhat of an outlier in the Motörhead canon in that it’s the band’s only album to feature ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian “Robbo” Robertson, who took over for Fast Eddie Clarke in 1982. With the addition of Robertson, Motörhead took a more “musical” approach — in Lemmy Kilmister’s words — to Another Perfect Day. Rather than relying on flat-out speed and aggression as they had with Clarke, Lemmy and company hunkered down in the studio and crafted some of the most melodic and “produced” material to ever don the Motörhead name.
