Music Week broke the news back in the summer of the inaugural National Album Day, and now it’s finally here. The first one is taking place on Saturday (October 13) under the watchful eye of ERA’s Megan Page, who’s helped make Record Store Day such a success.
It’s a simple and seemingly popular concept: an enthusiastic celebration of the enduring power of the 70-year-old long-player format. In the latest issue of Music Week, we’ve marked the event with National Album Day ambassador Jess Glynne, quizzed dozens of execs and artists about their favourite LPs and even come up with a few of our own.
The industry is backing the concept and there’s loads of NAD events and media coverage this weekend. At the appropriate time of 3.33pm (unless you’re attending a football match), organisers are urging everyone to enjoy an album of their choice in full.
Here’s our round-up of just some of the events taking place for National Album Day…
All-day immersive listening
One for the head-nodding enthusiast, six albums released on independent labels will be played in high-quality audio to deliver 100% of the original studio performance. AIM, Pitchblack Playback and MQA are involved with this event, which takes place between 11.30am and 6pm in The Sensorium at Aures London, which features a groundbreaking 3D sound system. As for the albums, you can expect to immerse yourself in classics from Mogwai, The Fall, Young Fathers and Gil Scott-Heron. It is free but booking is required here.
Jess Glynne and HMV
The Music Week cover star and National Album Day ambassador will be heading to HMV Manchester Arndale for a signing at 10am on Saturday (October 13) to mark the release of her sophomore album, Always In Between. As she says in her MW interview, Glynne is an LP lover - and quite a few people seem to like her records (her debut has racked up almost 1.2 million sales). She’s also going to be at HMV Birmingham Bullring on Monday (October 15) at 1pm. Check details at the HMV website.
Classic album art
There’s plenty of time to catch up with the National Album Day exhibition, which is at Waterloo Station until October 21. Look out for classic album covers from Suede, The Beach Boys and even Klaxons. It then travels to Manchester Piccadilly (October 22 to November 5) and Glasgow Central (November 6 to 19). With 70 iconic sleeves for every year of the LP format’s life, there’s also a public vote on the best album artwork here.
Steel Pulse
Punch Records are revisiting one of reggae’s most iconic albums, Handsworth Revolution by Birmingham’s Steel Pulse. To mark the LP’s 40th anniversary, a public mural will be unveiled by the Lord Mayor in Handsworth, followed by a Q&A with the original members of the band. The unveiling is at 2pm - booking details are here.
Classic Album Sundays
Classic Album Sundays are all over this one and there are two big events in partnership with The John Peel Archive. On Saturday (October 13) at The John Peel Centre For Creative Arts in Stowmarket, Dave Davies will be interviewed by Classic Albums Sundays founder and BBC 6 Music host Colleen ’Cosmo’ Murphy about The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. It will be followed by a playback of Peel’s personal vinyl copy on Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers, as well as a Q&A. It’s the same deal on Sunday (October 14) with Thurston Moore and Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. Full details are here.
To read our full selection of favourite albums from industry leaders and artists, pick up the latest issue - or subscribers can click here. To subscribe and never miss a big industry story click here.
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