Join in celebrating this year’s Record Store Day that is finally taking place after being postponed multiple times due to lockdown restriction. Traditionally held at the beginning of April each year, it was initially rescheduled for June and later moved to three separate days as a way to aid social distancing. The first event takes place today, with two more to follow on 26th September and 24th October this year.
Unlike previous years where vinyl collectors all gathered at their favourite local record stores across the UK to celebrate a shared passion for music and vinyl, organisers had to make changes to adapt to the current government guidelines. In order to avoid large gatherings of people, all participating stores offer specific slots for pre-booking and provide socially distanced queues for those who just wanted to drop by. Additionaly, for the first time limited edition LPs and singles will be made available to purchase after 6pm on each of the three days.
HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY DROP 1 EVERYONE
Whether you’ll be joining a socially distant queue, attending a booked appointment, or getting involved online at 6pm, we hope you get everything on your wish-lists! #RSDDrops #RSD20 @WeThreeClub pic.twitter.com/o3QTheHTwa
— Record Store Day UK (@RSDUK) August 29, 2020
In recent years the Record Store Day has become one of the main annual events for music lovers, with fans hunting for exclusive and limited re-issues and new releases by their favourite artists, and bands joining in for exclusive gigs and parties at participating stores and supporting venues. With the long lockdown of 2020 and most live summer events being cancelled, the importance of the day is now greater than ever, in solidarity with record shop owners, musicians and professionals from the live music all struggling in these difficult times.
London-based indie band The Big Moon were selected as this year’s Record Store Day official ambassadors. All members Juliette Jackson, Soph Nathan, Celia Archer and Fern Forn got together in March to record three live tracks at London’s Metropolis Studios, joined by live audience. The recording process reflected the original methods of capturing live music for publishing and is released as exclusive EP available to purchase today.
Organisation UK Music joined in support of the Record Store Day with CEO Tom Kiehl stating that “now, more than ever, it’s vitally important to support music retailers“. Praising the initiative taking place despite all restrictions, he went on to celebrate all record shops and independant music retailers that managed to find a safe way to operate in 2020. Use the official website’s store locator to check the full list of the participating stores or find the closest one to your location.
Among the highlights of today’s event are new releases from veterans The Cure, Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers, French artist Christine and the Queens, and Biffy Clyro’s 7″ Moderns featuring covers of David Bowie and Frigtened Rabbit. The list for RSD20’s August drop also include exciting new releases from Bastille, Black Sabbath, Elton John, Fatboy Slim, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, New Order, Opeth, U2, and many more. Additional listings for all releases expected for the September and October drops can be found on the Record Store Day UK’s official website.
