Record Store Day Manchester: all the shops celebrating with new vinyl releases including Vinyl Revival

Record Store Day 2023 is to take place on 22 April and many Manchester vinyl shops are taking part, alongside over 260 independents across the UK, to celebrate vinyl culture.

The day aims to acknowledge people who make up the record store, including the staff, customers and artists.Initially the day was launched to encourage people to visit independent record stores and there would be independent label releases on the day, but this has since changed over time.

Colin White, from Vinyl Revival, said: “Major labels now dominate Record Store Day and price increases have had a detrimental effect for the last two years. However, it is still an important day for all small shops and for us it’s not just about the releases, it’s about celebrating the independents record shops that have survived through thick and thin.

“We are just as happy for a new customer to spend £5 on a used LP than a customer spending £40 on an RSD limited edition.”

Special releases made exclusively for the day including albums from Taylor Swift, Sam Fender, Dermot Kennedy and Baby Queen and the full list can be found here.

The Record Store Day (RSD) special releases are only available in stores from the date of RSD and then any remaining products will be available on participating stores’ websites from 8pm on Monday, 24 April. Last year saw vinyl outselling CDs for the first time in 35 years and the RSD has been widely regarded as one of the prominent reasons behind the revival of vinyl.

Within Manchester, the record stores taking part are:

Piccadilly Records

Piccadilly Records, located on Oldham Street, is taking part and they are stocking just under 300 of the RSD releases and have made a tick list ahead of time for people to choose their must-haves. They will be open from 8am and they have advised people to get there earlier as the queue usually starts on the Friday morning.

Vinyl Exchange

Also located on Oldham Street is the record shop Vinyl Exchange, which is the largest secondhand record shop in Manchester. The store specalises within rare and interesting vinyl, CDs and DVDs.

Vinyl Revival

Based in the Northern Quarter on Hilton Street, Vinyl Revival have been situated in Manchester since 1997 and have a vast range of Manchester made music within their store. They are taking part within Record Store Day and are set to announce further details of records they are to release nearer the time. To keep updated on their involvement, visit their website.

Record Store Day history

The Record Store Day event was launched in 2007 at a gathering of independent record retailers, with the first taking place in 2008 and it has taken place every April since.

The ambassadors of this year’s RSD are Manchester-based band The 1975, who will be releasing a live BBC Philharmonic Orchestra performance on vinyl which will feature tracks ‘Somebody Else’, ‘The Sound’ and ‘Chocolate’. For further updates, competitions and more information, visit the Record Store Day website here.