Record Shop Nation?

We often get asked whether we’ll cover shops outside the Manchester region. Well, for now we’re keeping it local because that means we can cover the area in depth and we visit all the shops in person  in order to review them properly for you. However, if you’re looking further afield then try www.indierecordshop.org which is building up into a pretty comprehensive directory of Independent Record Stores all over the country. Its an industry sponsored affair and as far as I can see they only focus on shops that sell new releases, so we’re not out of an (unpaid) job yet!

In other news, don’t forget that Record Store Day is just two weeks away on Saturday April 14th. Locally, Vibes Records in Bury and Piccadilly Records in the Northern Quarter will be participating and  selling some of the mega-rare limited items that will only be available over the counter on the day. There is an enormous list of stuff including mega-limited singles by the likes of The Fall, Pavement, Pet Shop Boys, Midlake, Mogwai, Grace Jones, Hot Chip, Gorillaz, Neu!, Rolling Stones, an exclusive Goldfrapp tape (told you tapes were back!) to name just a few. To avoid disappointment do check with the shops to find out what they’ll be getting copies of though, and remember you can’t order this stuff online..you gotta stand in a line. The full list of participating stores is here: www.recordstoreday.com/UnitedKingdom.

Of course it’s not just about picking up a few exclusives, it’s about supporting and celebrating all the record retailers so while you’re at it, why not pick a shop from our list that you’ve not visited before, or get someone who hasn’t been digging for a while to get back into it.