Johnny Marr has been announced as the 2025 recipient for the ‘Record Store Legend’ award, being given the honour by Record Store Day UK and US. The award recognises Marr for his “continuing commitment to championing record stores across multiple album campaigns, embodying the spirit and culture of record stores across the world.” The guitarist is only the second artist to have received the award, following in the footsteps of Sir Elton John, who was recognised in 2017.
Celebrating Marr, as well as local record stores, a plaque for the 61-year old has been unveiled at one of the musician’s regular haunts. Located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and just a short walk from Afflecks Palace, Piccadilly Records became one of the most important record stores in the country in the post-punk boom that came out of the North West, and has been Marr’s record store of choice for almost 50 years.
The former Smiths guitarist used the opportunity to highlight just how important independent record shops are, saying, “Going out to a record store, it’s a nice pastime. It’s a part of the culture; if they were to completely disappear, the high street or the city centre would be a much worse off place. There’s something about the presence of a record store. It’s a magical thing. I’ve known the staff in Piccadilly Records for 20 years…this plaque is a very nice thing to be associated with.”
Watch on TikTok
Andy McQueen, who has worked at Piccadilly Records for over 30 years, said, “Johnny Marr is our favourite living artist, and his music has soundtracked our lives for over forty years. To be associated with him in this beautiful way; well, the pleasure, the privilege is ours.” Speaking to Mancunian Matters in 2015, McQueen described Record Store Day as “brilliant, saying “It brings in a whole new load of customers. I love the spirit of the day.”
Marr will be one of over 400 artists to be participating in this year’s Record Store Day offerings, releasing an exclusive orange double LP called ‘Look Out Live!’. The album will be a live record, recorded at his Hammersmith Apollo show in 2024, and will be released alongside the countless other records on 12 April. According to the Record Store Day website, the album “encapsulates the magic of the culmination of his 2024 Spirit Power tour”, and features tracks from across his impressive 40 year career. Those include ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Getting Away With It’, and ‘Armatopia’. The full track listing can be found here.
2025 won’t be Marr’s first collaboration with the celebratory event, having previously participated in 2015 with his single, ‘I Feel You’, in 2022 with Vince Clarke’s remix of Marr’s ‘Spirit Power and Soul’, as well as various releases from The Smiths and Electronic.
In February, MXDWN UK previewed Record Store Day 2025, highlighting the most sought after records of this year’s edition. Among them are Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight’, an Oasis greatest hits compilation titled ‘Times Flies’, two Charlie xcx records, including her collaboration with Billie Eilish, ‘Guess’, and Sam Fender’s EP, ‘Me and the Dog’.
For Marr, this isn’t just another trophy in a cabinet full of awards, it is recognition for being part of a wave that has seen the record store revived. In 2024, vinyl sales accounted for £196 million of physical sales, compared to £126 million in CD sales. Considering Marr’s place in post-punk history, Piccadilly Records is a fitting home for his plaque.
