With record stores only opening their doors on June 15th, independent music businesses have been some of the hardest hit during the pandemic. During this time, some of music’s most innovative players have used their social media platforms to show support against recent industry strain.
The latest British artists to do so are Circa Waves, with their recent live stream on Saturday 20th June. The band posted a live performance on their Instagram TV page, as part of the fundraiser Love Record Stores.
A socially distanced gig of course, band members Keiran Shudall, Sam Rourke, Joe Falconer, Colin Jones and Sam Plummer gave separate performances, each brightening our feeds as the band show their allegiance with the Love Record Store Movement.
Covering The La’s 1988 smash hit, the Liverpudlian indie band delivered a stripped down but equally chirpy rendition of the iconic ‘There She Goes’. Opening with Shudall equipped with guitar and quirky cowboy hat, to then see Jones tenderly tapping both a blanket-covered rugby ball and box of CoCo Pops, it is hard to dispute their creative initiative!
The video clip was met with joy from fans and boasts over 11,000 views. The Liverpudlian quintet’s caption reiterated their love and support for the Love Record Store fundraiser: “We loved making this! Felt like we were a band again! Link in bio”
In recent times, coronavirus has knocked treasured independent record stores to the brink of survival. Their business solely now online, our beloved and profitable record store events such as in-store gigs and meet and greets have been forced to rearrangement, or cancellation.
Included in this virus-related postponement is Record Store Day. With a revised date of the Saturday 20th June 2020, UK Coordinator for Record Store Day 2020 Megan Page released the following statement to Record store Day 2020 UK:
“There is no perfect solution. There is no easy answer. We’ve decided that the best of all possible moves is to change the date of Record Store Day to Saturday, June 20th. We think this gives stores around the world the best chance to have a profitable, successful Record Store Day, while taking into consideration the recommendations of doctors, scientists, the World Health Organization, and the need to be good citizens to both local and worldwide communities”
Taking an alternative approach to a usual Record Store Day, Love Record Stores curated an online fundraising event. Featuring a diverse mix of key industry players and rising stars, including Four Tet, Arlo Parks and of course Circa Waves. Over a 24 hour long period, Record Store Day 2020 included a sensory feast of online live performances, DJ sets, interviews and poetry readings were streamed to fans worldwide, in a bid to stimulate the recently gutting decline in vinyl record sales. On the Love Record Store website, the charity page is a “Homage to the world’s best record stores”, whilst also assisting other charities: “we will be supporting the following charities: #SaveOurVenues, #Covid-19 Relief Fund and #BlackLivesMatter”.
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Loved making this! Felt like we were a band again for a minute. I’ve always absolutely adored this tune. I hope it brings a smile to your face  Link in bio A post shared by Circa Waves (@circawaves) on
