Leeds, UK | New vintage record store and cafe to open on busy Leeds street: According to reports, it will be run by Premier League referee Jonathan Moss. Music fans are in for a treat as a new record store is set to open in north Leeds. Vinyl lovers will soon be able to buy and sell new and used records from The Vinyl Whistle, which will reportedly be run by Premier League referee Jonathan Moss. A sign has gone up in the window of a vacant unit, opposite The Box on Otley Road in Headingley, to let people know that the new shop will be here very soon. There will also be purpose-built listening booths installed in store and it looks as though there will be a cafe inside too, with customers promised coffee and cake. LeedsLive has contacted the new owner for more information. A message on the website says: “Ok, so you love searching online for your favourite vinyl, but what about getting your hands on some of the best vinyl collections in our Leeds store in Headingley? Wait no more.
Keith Haring’s most iconic record covers: Whether collaborating with Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, regularly frequenting clubs like Paradise Garage alongside pal Larry Levan, or conjuring up cartoon DJ robots, New York artist and activist Keith Haring’s work was deeply entwined with the music world. Though Haring died at just 31 years old, he produced art at an eye-watering speed, and as such was hugely prolific. His creations transcended genres to adorn records by punks, pop stars and burgeoning household hip-hop names, lending his vision to sounds by everyone from David Bowie and Sylvester to Run DMC and Crystal Waters during the 1980s. Even after his death, Haring’s work continued to influence culture and music, becoming one of the most recognisable individuals in the fight against AIDS thanks to his unforgettable dancing figures that strutted across its campaign materials, fundraisers and flyers.
Somerset, UK | Music cassettes – are they following vinyl on the comeback trail Portable Bluetooth cassette tape player is looking ‘to cash in on your Walkman nostalgia.’ A long defunct way of listening to music might be making an unlikely comeback on the wave of nostalgia. Now vinyl has made a much-lauded revival, the cassette tape could be following suit reports Perspecs. Nearly 50,000 cassettes were sold last year – the highest volume in 15 years. But will they be back for good? …However, Global News’ Alan Cross is sceptical of the cassette comeback, arguing: “Let’s please stop pretending there’s a ‘cassette resurrection’.” He accuses cassette fans of “romanticising” – or even “fetishising” – an old technology that has seen its day. Cross argues: “Those of us who lived through the cassette remember its cursed foibles. “The lousy sound. The tape jams. The J-cases — the formal name for a cassette case — with hinges that snapped if you just looked at them wrong. Piles of melted plastic on the dashboard…”
Queen top the Official Top 40 best-selling vinyl for 2019: Vinyl sales in the UK have once again been dominated by classic albums and re-issues, according to the Official Charts Company’s records for January through to June, with Queen’s Greatest Hits topping the list. That securing of top spot is likely largely to be down to the release of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and the soundtrack to that film drops in at number 10 with the band’s second best-of album also in at 29. There should be little surprise at which are the other classic albums littering the list, with Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (4), Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon (6), Nevermind by Nirvana (11) and Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (13) consistently featuring in these kinds of charts. The 40th anniversary edition of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, meanwhile, has been the third best-selling LP of the first half of this year.
Nirvana and Bring Me the Horizon amongst UK’s best-selling vinyl records of 2019 so far: Everyone loves vinyl, don’t they? The big album cover, the intricate sleeve art, the ritual of turning the record over, the slight crackle before the music starts… it’s pretty much how we spend every hungover Sunday. And we’re not alone in this endeavour as the vinyl resurgence continues unabated. The Official Charts Company have revealed the best-selling vinyl albums in the UK so far this year, which includes Kerrang! faves Nirvana, Bring Me The Horizon and Frank Carter amongst some of the biggest bands of all time. Queen dominate proceedings with their Greatest Hits collection at number one (and the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack sneaking into the top ten), with the likes of Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and Oasis fleshing out the rest of the list. Some contemporary mainstream acts get a look in the top 20 – Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi, George Ezra – but in the UK it looks like vinyl primarily exists to own hard copies of classics and the odd movie soundtrack.
The Roots’ ‘The Tipping Point’ To Be Reissued For 15th Anniversary On 2LP July 12 Via Geffen/Urban Legends: Provocative Fusion Of Alternative Hip-Hop And Neo-Soul Being Repressed On Limited Edition Double Vinyl. In honor of its 15th anniversary, The Roots’ legendary sixth album The Tipping Point is available once again via Geffen/Urban Legends. The amalgam of hip-hop, soul and funk, originally released on Geffen Records in 2004, has been reissued as standard black double vinyl as well as on translucent gold limited-edition colored double vinyl, to be released July 12. The Tipping Point, named after Malcolm Gladwell’s 2000 pop-sociology classic in which he explored how minor movements and behaviors can proliferate, was where the Roots really honed their sound and messaging. The Philadelphia rap crew, led by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, was at a crossroads, with acclaimed albums like 1996’s Illadelph Halflife and 1999’s Things Fall Apart under their belt, while still five years away from their national TV turn on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
The Cult Expand Sonic Temple For Reissues And More Tour Dates: The Cult will release a series of expanded 30th anniversary reissues of their 1989 album, “Sonic Temple”, on September 13. “Sonic Temple 30” will be issued in multiple configurations, including as a deluxe box set, a 5-CD set, double LP and digital. Propelled by the breakthrough success of 1987’s “Electric” and introduced by the lead single, “Fire Woman”, the band’s fourth studio set delivered their only US Top 10 record, thanks to classic tracks and fan favorites like “Edie (Ciao Baby),” “Sweet Soul Sister” and “Sun King.” The box set contains three pieces of vinyl and a cassette, plus tour memorabilia and ephemera (replica of original laminate, backstage pass, original press releases, label copy and more). It’s numbered and limited to 3000 pieces worldwide and contains 40 tracks, four of which were previously unreleased. LP1+2 contains the album as originally released, while LP3 contains “Live At Wembley”, recorded by the BBC, and the included cassette contains limited-release demos; four of the live tracks are also previously-unreleased.
