Edinburgh, UK | Legendary Edinburgh record store Vinyl Villains announces sad closure after four decades: Andy Watters, owner of Vinyl Villains record shop in Edinburgh, said it was “hard to believe” customers’ upset at news of his retirement. A legendary record store that has been a staple of Leith Walk for decades is set to close as its owner retires after more than 40 years. Vinyl Villains’ owner Andy Watters has been selling vinyl at the Elm Row shop since 1983 and said it was simply “time to do something else.” According to the 69-year-old, customers were devastated to discover he was shutting up shop next January, a move he said was not motivated by an approaching rent increase.
Edinburgh, UK | 6 of the best record shops to visit in Edinburgh this weekend: Edinburgh has a buzzing independent record shop scene, offering music lovers the chance to explore everything from classic rock and soul to jazz, punk, electronic music and the latest releases. One of the joys of visiting independent record shops is the experience of browsing through crates of vinyl, discovering forgotten albums and stumbling across unexpected treasures. Whether you’re searching for a rare first pressing, a favourite album from your youth or something completely new, each shop has its own character, specialist knowledge and carefully curated selection. Here are six of the best record shops to visit in Edinburgh this weekend.
Oshawa, ON | Will McGuirk’s downtown Oshawa comeback: The Press vinyl café and lounge open now. Oshawa’s downtown community was rattled earlier this year by the loss of Kops Records—a shop that was transformed by manager and downtown staple Will McGuirk into an all-purpose hub for local music, art and community-building. As of this week, McGuirk is officially back downtown with a new venture in the space formerly occupied by Kops—The Press. The new café, record store and lounge emerged from McGuirk’s conversations with Avanti Trattoria manager Domenic Albis when Kops was closing. Albis said the closure left a “lost hole” downtown and decided to go in with McGuirk on the new business, which would be part store and part evening lounge.
Newcastle, UK | Newcastle vinyl store ‘trying to find a way forward’ as store at risk of closing: The record store moved out of the city centre due to rising costs. A recent post from a Newcastle record store has drawn attention online. Beyond Vinyl, located in the John Marley Centre near Denton, has had a tricky few months trying to stay afloat. The post to the store’s Facebook page said: “I’ve spent months trying to work out how we keep Beyond Vinyl going as a physical shop. I think it’s time I shared where we’re at and what I’m trying to do about it.” The details of the difficulty include supplier debt from Record Store Day, a day meant to increase profits for independent record stores, but that can often lead to crowd surges for only one day a year. However, day-to-day costs have played a large part in why the shop is now struggling.
Heavy on covers and by extension lacking in gestures toward originality, the ’64-’66-era Moody Blues are unlikely to be many people’s (I’ll stop short of saying anybody’s) most beloved component in the British Invasion. In fact, talk of the group today reliably focuses on the post-Denny Laine/Clint Warwick lineup, which saw new members John Lodge and Justin Hayward helping to transmogrify the Moodies into one of the leading, if artistically lesser, examples of Symphonic Rock. I won’t sully the Prog genre with an inapt association since there was hardly anything progressive about The Moody Blues Mk 2.
Tempe, AZ | This new store brings punk culture back to Tempe. Here’s a look: The newly opened 45 Revolutions aims to revive a piece of Tempe’s music culture. Stepping into 45 Revolutions in Tempe is like diving head-first into a mosh pit of punk culture. Almost every inch of the newly opened 1,100-square-foot store tucked into the armpit of a University Drive strip mall is slammed with apparell and paraphernalia from the genre. Record bins contain LPs from bands like Stiff Little Fingers and Blitz. Shelves are stocked with pins and patches. Elsewhere, racks display black-and-white fanzines, T-shirts and books. The shop is the brainchild of locals Brian Paulson and Taylor McKissick, who aim to give the Valley something that’s more rare than a Fugazi tour: a store 
Manhattan, KS | Sisters of Sound: More than the music. For over 2 decades, the Cunnick sisters have turned their love for music into an Aggieville staple. Among Aggieville’s bars, restaurants and college nightlife sits a shop playing a different kind of music. For nearly 22 years, Sisters of Sound Records has kept Manhattan in tune, one record at a time. “We’re not a restaurant, we’re not a bar, we’re kind of a shop of misfit toys,” Sarah Cunnick, Sisters of Sound co-owner, said. “We’re different than everybody else, but we’re also kind of the same. We’re all selling something.” Sarah and her sister, Leah, grew up in McPherson, Kansas, before they made their way to Manhattan for college. 
What am I supposed to say about Judas Priest, Birmingham, England’s contribution to heavy metal, that hasn’t already been said by those three great music critics, Bart Simpson, Beavis, and Butthead? Judas Priest has received the imprimatur of the greats for being the guys who put out “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight” on their groundbreaking 1980 LP British Steel, and what’s more, introduced plenty of your basic heavy metal tropes (S&M gear, operatic vocals, the twin guitar attack) that we now take for granted.
Bolton-le-Sands, UK | Tiny Bolton-le-Sands record shop attracts vinyl collectors: A tiny record shop is making a big noise on the vinyl scene. La’l Record Shop, in Bolton-le-Sands, has been attracting collectors from across the country with its growing reputation for rare finds and classic records. Owner Stephen Neill opened the shop 18 months ago on Main Street, which is around 20 miles outside of Kendal, turning a lifelong dream into reality as he approached his 60th birthday. Mr Neill said: “Ever since I was a teenager I’d wanted to open a record shop, but life and mortgages got in the way and I became a painter and decorator. “But when I was nearing my 60th birthday this shop became available, and so I thought 
Pittsburgh, PA | Hellbender Records brings the luck of the Irish to Pittsburgh turntables: What do the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pitt Panthers, and Hellbender Vinyl have in common? All of them are building a relationship with the Emerald Isle. Lawrenceville vinyl pressing plant Hellbender Vinyl’s partnership with Irish vinyl plant Anthem Vinyl will help produce more records to get through the global vinyl backlog. Hellbender and Anthem will work together to fulfill clients’ orders in the U.S. and the UK/Europe, so artists have a single point of contact for both. …For Hellbender co-founder Jeff Betten, this development is the natural next step in his mission to support artists 
