Let the children use it...
UK children?s charity, Barnardo?s, has reported that its stocks of old LP records are running low, and now the charity is urging people to donate their old vinyl. Here's an edited excerpt from the website of the charity that used to employ one Haywood Stenton Jones as a promotions officer until his death in 1969...
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Due to a surge in demand for ?vintage vinyl? records at its nation-wide network of stores, Barnardo?s, the UK?s leading children?s charity, has reported that stocks are running low, and the charity is urging people to donate their unwanted discs to meet the demand.
John Ellis, Head of Retail Development at Barnardo?s explains: "Music is a big part of our retail business and though demand for CDs has far outstripped that of vinyl in the past 15 years, in recent months we have noticed a distinct up-turn in vinyl sales, and many of our shop managers are deluged with requests for certain artists and records. Music is now so readily available, with the rise of the internet, MP3 players etc, so for music aficionados there is real cachet in owning original vinyl. It appears that records and albums from the seventies and eighties are proving most popular."
Vinyl trends at Barnardo?s stores also indicate regional differences in demand. In Wales for example, there is a huge demand for eighties artists such as Madonna and Prince, while vinyl addicts in the Midlands and South West prefer bands from the seventies such as The Clash and Pink Floyd. Interestingly, those in the North West, support their home-grown talent, and request albums by The Beatles and The Happy Mondays, while the Scots seem to be big Bowie fans.
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The site goes on to publish a top ten of most requested vinyl albums at their stores across the UK...
Barnardo?s Top 10 Requests
1. Sergeant Pepper?s Lonely Hearts Club Band ? The Beatles
2. Country Life ? Roxy Music
3. Sticky Fingers ? Rolling Stones
4. Rapper?s Delight ? The Sugarhill Gang
5. True Blue ? Madonna
6. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ? David Bowie
7. Purple Rain ? Prince & the Revolution
8. Dark Side of the Moon ? Pink Floyd
9. Pills Thrills & Bellyaches ? Happy Mondays
10. London Calling ? The Clash
A strange list I'm sure you'll agree and a good explanation as to why I couldn't find any second-hand Bowie vinyl in Glaswegian charity shops back when David played the city in November 2003.
Good to see another of my very favourite albums right up there, Roxy Music's Country Life. Though I can't help thinking it may be a record requested as much for its cover as it is for its musical content...particularly by young men approaching puberty!
I digress...you can read the original unedited piece here.
Simply Vinyl pressings of Hunky Dory. Left: the withdrawn sleeve. Right: The released version.
Meanwhile, BowieNet now gives a couple of lucky BowieNetters the opportunity to donate some valuable Bowie vinyl to Barnardo's in our latest competition, that's presuming the winners won't want to keep their spoils for themselves.
Back in 2001, the UK company Simply Vinyl re-released the first six post-Deram Bowie albums as part of their celebrated programme of quality vinyl repackages. All six of the Bowie LPs were pressed as limited editions on 180g virgin vinyl, housed in high quality faithfully reproduced covers, with lyric sheet inserts and sealed in heavy duty PVC outers.
We're giving away one complete set of six albums, from Space Oddity to Pin-Ups, and an ultra-rare withdrawn Hunky Dory. The original version (top left) was quickly withdrawn and destroyed as it didn't meet the exacting standards of the quality control department...yours truly.
All but a tiny handful (we're not even talking double figures here) of the original sleeves were incinerated due to the poor colour reproduction and the fact that the black border had been left off...not to mention the bad crop on the reverse of the sleeve. I guarantee you have never seen and will never see one of these incredibly rare original Simply Vinyl copies for sale on eBay, or anywhere else for that matter.
As for the set of six albums, they regularly go for around $25 each and sets in this condition (mint) are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Expect to pay upwards of $150 for a full set of six.
To bring this item to a close before you all fall asleep, this is going to be a names-out-of-the-hat type thingy. But, you can only enter for one or the other: The six albums or the withdrawn Hunky Dory.
Enter by clicking on the link of your choosing below:
I want the complete set of six albums
I'd rather the far rarer withdrawn Hunky Dory
Usual rules: Only one entry per BowieNet account. Please remember to enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. It may also speed things up for you if you include your real name and address, as we won't then have to wait for another e-mail from you in the event you are a winner.
This draw will end once I have gone two days without receiving any more entries, (or for at least one week, whichever is longest) and the winners will be announced shortly after that. Good luck all you vinyl junkies...and if you're in the UK get that old vinyl down to Barnardo's now...David's father will smile upon you.
