REVIEWS

Welcome…

The list of 2017’s bestselling albums on vinyl included

The Long Live Vinyl team pick their favourite soundtracks…

Simon was the bassist and keyboard player in the Cocteau

VINYL’S 50 GREATEST SOUNDTRACKS

A soundtrack is much more than just a collection of songs. The great ones are woven into the DNA of the film itself, heightening the cinema experience; and when the movie is over, they stand out as an album you want to add to your collection. Gary Tipp selects 50 of the best…

INVADA RECORDS

South Bristol’s Invada Records is the label and recording studio founded by Geoff Barrow of Portishead. A hard-working operation concerned only with the music, Invada is at the heart of the film-score resurgence. Long Live Vinyl sits down with label manager Redg Weeks to find out the Invada story…

THE WHO

They probably could have been more prolific, they probably should have enjoyed more chart success. But no matter – as Sean Egan demonstrates in this rundown of rarities and must-have vinyl, The Who’s varied back catalogue is a many-splendoured thing…

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HOUNDS OF LOVE

Mystery surrounded Kate Bush in 1985, with rumours circulating that she’d given up music for good. Far from it – she was readying the sublime Hounds Of Love. As Bush celebrates her 60th birthday, Mark Lindores runs the rule over her career masterpiece

On the record

Unreleased piano tracks taken from cassette recordings

Simon says

Jason Pierce is back with a new Spiritualized album on Bella Union, and our columnist is impressed to say the least. Ladies and gentlemen, we are emoting in spades…

Coffee And Vinyl

Cardiff’s Hard Lines vinyl café will be providing a

The Story BeHind The Sleeve

In the spring of 1980, Blondie’s Chris Stein and Debbie

FALSE HEADS

This exciting punk-inspired London trio are working-class heroes of the future

LINER NOTES

If you were stranded on a desert island and could have only one vinyl format, which would you choose? A crate of jukebox 7”s, or maybe a stack of gatefold-sleeved prog double albums? For our columnist, there’s only one winner

CARTE DIGGING WITH…

Franz Ferdinand are currently touring sixth album, Always Ascending, but drummer Paul Thomson took time out to head off on a crate-digging session with us. Is he committed to vinyl? “Yes, it was a Spotify algorithm that brought Ellen Arkbro’s Mountain Of Air to my attention,” he says, “but I did the decent thing and bought the record…”

ELTON JOHN AND MARC BOLAN

This shot was taken during the filming of the 1972

ROMEO STODART

The Magic Numbers’ singer and guitarist tells Why Vinyl

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

On their epic third album, the Pumpkins evolved their thunderous guitar riffs and psychedelic leanings into a highly ambitious and desirable package

DIGGING FOR VICTORY

At what point should a digger give up on a seemingly unpromising collection? Mark O’Shaughnessy says: “Never!”, and proceeds to tell us why

Medical Records

A love of new wave, synth-pop and shoegaze spurred this US vinyl lover to augment his medical career with his own reissue operation. Chris Parkin talks to Troy Wadsworth…

ALAN MCGEE

The legendary Creation founder, who worked with My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Primal Scream before discovering Oasis and managing The Libertines, gives Ben Wardle the inside track on 12 albums that have shaped his career in music…

PUBLIC ENEMY NO.1

John Lydon’s next move after the Sex Pistols was a creative, musically varied experiment that’s 40 years old and counting. Sean Egan finds out more…

TOWER OF SONG

Jonathan Wright listens in as Gruff Rhys discusses his new album Babelsberg, an orchestral pop piece charting our edgy times…

ISLANDS IN THE SUN

Ash frontman Tim Wheeler travelled the world when writing new album Islands, and his wanderlust produced a vibrant return to form for one of Britpop’s best-loved bands. Gary Walker meets the Northern Irish singer to find out why the band still care about vinyl as much as ever…

URBAN LEGENDS

From Bow E3 to MBE, grime’s ascendancy has been seismic and ferocious. Sam Willis explores the story behind the UK’s 21st-century punks…

HYPERGALLERY

They worked with the legendary cover artist Storm Thorgerson, and their limited-edition album-art prints have become highly desirable collector’s items. Trei Saccone meets the father-and-daughter team behind Hypergallery…

DIVERSE MUSIC

Diverse – a shop, a label and a mail-order business – proves Wales has plenty of room for more than one famous record-shop institution. Garth Cartwright heads to the ’port to find out how a small indie record store became a go-to vinyl destination

Birmingham

Despite the city suffering an apparent crisis of cultural confidence, Mark Elliott’s visit to Birmingham in search of vinyl treasure reveals a happy hunting ground

Arty indie-pop

Chris Parkin guides us through the latest vinyl offerings from an emerging crop of indie bands who blend DIY experimentalism with all manner of genres to create off-kilter pop…

HOW TO BUY HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS

Looking to make the most of your headphone setup? Paul Rigby looks at the power source and offers useful buying advice on a range of headphone amplifiers…

MCINTOSH

In our series showcasing high-end hi-fito die for, Paul Rigby guides you through the features of an ultra high-spec power amplifier that positively glows with analogue radiance…

ROKSAN XERXES 20 PLUS

Paul Rigby reviews the Xerxes 20 Plus, Roksan’s classic turntable, with a different arm combo, a brand-new cartridge and the Caspian VSC 2 Vinyl System Control

ALAN HARWOOD

Reader Alan Harwood was bitten by the collecting bug at an early age – then he became a sales rep for a record company, so he could spend more quality time around vinyl…