Another year, another set of releases, another day of early alarm clocks (or trips to no avail). Now in its 8th year, Record Store Day brought a wave of limited releases to Britain’s stores along with a range of gigs taking place up and down the country. Impact takes a look at how different students spent the day.
Max Miller, Geography, 1st Year
A few years ago, waking up at 6 and heading to my local record store in Bromley at 7 would’ve meant I was one the first few people to get a record, but the growth of Record Store Day pushed me back to around 60th in the queue, with some dedicated fans having arrived at 2:30 and camping outside. This made me nervous that I wasn’t going to get the record I wanted most, a white version ofVampire Weekend’s ‘Step’ limited to 500 copies across the UK. But thankfully there weren’t many fans like me desperate for that record meaning I easily got one. I felt that this had been a relatively poor year for Record Store Day with there being only one more record I wanted, the Prospect Hummer EP by Animal Collective which was being released on vinyl for the first time. Normally there are a good 5 or 6 I’m desperate to own like the Tame Impala and Third Man Record releases in previous years, so although I was satisfied with my purchases I was disappointed there wasn’t more for me to get.
Ian Fillingham, English, 3rd Year
The Jesus and Mary Chain’s limited release of Psychocandy Live at a Barrowlands is the type of vinyl that matches the market for Record Store Day and always sells fast; it did, and I didn’t get it. Not to be disheartened I managed to get Nottingham trio, Kagoule’s
limited 7” – keeping some loyalty to the city even though I wasn’t spending the day there. Band line-ups have been better in previous years, though there were a few highlights dotted around the London stores, not least being able to end the day with a relaxing, and surprisingly uncramped, show from Ultimate Painting at Rough Trade East.
Anna Hand, English, 2nd Year
This year I went to Rough Trade East off Brick Lane in East London. I was looking to purchase Trashmouth Records RSD EP, of which there were only 500 copies released. I saw only two in store, so I felt privileged to have got my hands on one. Featuring on this rare rose-pink vinyl are artists such as Meatraffle, Bat-Bike and Fat White Family, Trashmouth’s most well-established band. At midday, I watched Liverpool’s Hooton Tennis Club play a session in store. Having just released their first single Jasper on Heavenly Records, the quartet played a selection of their early tracks interspersed with some of their new material. In the afternoon, I journeyed across London to Rough Trade West in Notting Hill. Palma Violets played a short set outside the shop to a crowd made up predominantly of moshing teenage boys. Soon to release their second album Danger in the Club, the anthemic four-piece put on a good show and united the crowd in true Record Store Day style. As always, it was another treasured day in the music lovers’ calendar celebrated by some unique releases and a pleasantly festive atmosphere.
Anna Hand, Max Miller and Ian Fillingham
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