Starving, hysterical and elated for the record bins: the ecstasy of Record Store Day
The world of vinyl is well and truly back.
Photo: Unsplash
Thrill seekers don’t tend to queue. Queues are jokily seen as a trademark staple of British culture, between football and wheelie bins, but no one really likes waiting around for hours on end. Yet somehow, for record collectors, once a year (well, two, counting Black Friday), they’re everything. Thousands of audiophiles across the world queue up at an independent record store of their choice, often for hours, to get that one coveted release they’ve been searching for.
I’m relatively new to Record Store Day. I’ve known about it for years; this underground ceremony where artists drop exclusive pressings, but only really ‘got involved’ – if one can call it that – since 2021. I was a fierce HMV-only collector for a long time, I was ‘broke’ — I just found it easier waiting for exclusives to pop up online the Monday after. And there’s nothing wrong with that; not everyone has the time, the patience, the inclination. Who wants to queue for three hours on a gorgeous Saturday morning?
Well me, apparently. I’ve been anxious to get my hands on some RSD-exclusive releases in the recent past: Teenage Waitress’ You Ain’t Got It Bad 7” single and an expanded re-issue of Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna back in 2022, last year’s Up Your Alley by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on lemonade yellow. There’s always been some pretty cool picture discs, zoetropes, exclusive singles, box sets and unearthed treasures. You’re bound to see something you love on the list.
This year, though, I was particularly excited. I’ve long been a La Roux fan; besides the main chart successes in Bulletproof and In For the Kill, there’s a slew of catchy, synth-pop tracks there. RSD 2024 marked the re-release of her second record, Trouble in Paradise, which hasn’t seen a wax pressing since its initial release back in 2010.
On translucent green, the album boasts a bountiful selection of Rodgers-esque, dance-pop licks, in Uptight Downtown, Sexotheque and Tropical Chancer. Anthems like Cruel Sexuality and Let Me Down Gently highlight the more synthesised efforts of sole band member Elly Jackson, and the seven-minute Silent Partner is nothing short of incredible. It’s a phenomenal piece of work, and one that’s been largely impossible to find anywhere for less than eighty quid.
There was also a David Byrne / Paramore single I had my eye on, but that seems to have been a holy grail of this year’s event. I missed out, but that’s okay. I got La Roux, and I got something better: the excitement of Record Store Day. If you’re not into vinyl, you won’t get it. And that’s fine. I don’t get football, sailing, or Married at First Sight. But Record Store Day brings a thousand people – complete strangers – to their local record store (in my case, Vinilo in Southampton). It makes these pilgrims of the LP pay homage to those often-overlooked establishments, these last bastions of outdated media (though, to be fair, vinyl sales are on the up in recent years).
I didn’t speak to anyone else in the queue that day, I’ll admit it. But I felt comfortable, empowered even, to be amongst hundreds of my ‘kind’; people mad enough to spend their Saturday afternoon queueing up for a bit of coloured plastic. People clutched tentatively onto their shopping lists, families discussed releases with their little ones, and friend groups literally buzzed with excitement. There was no rivalry, no American-style frenzy to the checkout counter. We waited patiently, we respected the rules, and we came away with bags of wonder at our fingertips. It’s more than just having something limited edition to boast about for weeks after. It’s more than the releases themselves. It’s a celebration of a vital part of our history, our culture – one any nation can share.
I love Record Store Day unapologetically, even if I’m first to admit it’s undiluted consumerism. But it lets people be themselves, and rejoice in the magic that music brings to so many. Any recognition of that, and the storefronts and people that make it happen, is a win in my eyes.
Got a haul from this year’s Record Store Day? Do you have an impressive snag from a year before? Tell us by shouting at us via our social media: