THE STORY BEHIND THE SLEEVE

Welcome…

Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, Marvin

Save the date!

The 12th annual Record Store Day has been announced

100,000

The number of records on offer in a clearance sale

Gentry-fied

Mercury Rev are set to release a reimagining of Bobbie

Simon says

The former Cocteau Twin calls on the current ‘passive’ generation to shun the mainstream and embrace the independent spirit of punk to create something new

Happy In The Hollow

Our new album is… our fourth and our first with our

Your most valuable vinyl

Limited 1989 UK 5LP boxset, comprising the studio albums

CRATE DIGGING WITH Ed Harcourt

Singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt treated us to Beyond The End, a stunning solo album of piano instrumentals, at the end of last year. Here, he reveals10 records That have provided him with sustenance throughout the course of his musical life…

RY X

The globe-trotting Aussie is set to release his ethereal second album

LINER NOTES

It’s coming up to That time of year again when, behind the scenes and only slightly frantically, Record Store Day releases are coming to fruition

THE BEATLES

John, George and Paul preparing to howl out the backing

GUY CHADWICK, THE HOUSE OF LOVE

As a young kid in Malaya, Guy Chadwick was in total thrall to The Beatles. But, as Jennifer Otter Bickerdike discovers, it was the Velvets’ debut album That made the greatest impression, partly by virtue of it being far easier to copy

MY BLOODY VALENTINE

The recording of My Bloody Valentine’s ear-splitting classic nearly saw Creation Records go bankrupt. A first pressing is worth a pretty penny

MELINA PIETERS

Melina Pieters’ Mina’s Vinyl Paradise Instagram account is a haven for Pink Floyd, Marillion and David Bowie albums, but there’s a special place for German punks Die Ärzte, too

Light Fantastic

Although Steve Mason has made a living from music since The Beta Band signed to Parlophone 22 years ago, the creative powerhouse has only recently come to terms with being a professional musician. It’s a positive attitude That’s shaped his new album About The Light. Mason tells John Earls how marriage, fatherhood and a fresh work ethic have made him a changed human

Pete Shelley

The death of Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley from a suspected

THE TWILIGHT SAD

Finally making a breakthrough after over a decade of intense rock, The Twilight Sad have the backing of The Cure and an increasingly devoted listenership for their “miserable shite”. John Earls gets dark

COVER STORY

Hit factory, star maker, inspiration to artists as diverse as The Beatles, Prince and Amy Winehouse, Motown surely is the world’s most famous label. On its 60th birthday, Gareth Murphy takes us behind the scenes

Motown 45s

From R&B stompers and smooth pop ballads to psychedelic soul symphonies and gritty urban funk, Motown has given the world some of the most joyful music of the last 60 years. Gary Tipp reveals wThat’s going on

Classic Album LOU REED TRANSFORMER

In the spring of 1972, Lou Reed was hurtling towards obscurity. But, as Neil Crossley explains, the timeless beauty of his second solo album would propel the former Velvet Underground frontman from leftfield cult icon to global superstar status

A SUPERIOR VINTAGE

Record producer Julie McLarnon’s finely crafted sound has flourished since setting up her Analogue Catalogue Vintage Recording studio. Cara Gibney pays a visit

DESIGNERS REPUBLIC

The Designers Republic founder Ian Anderson tells Giacomo Lee about three decades defining the look of dance, electronica and some of Sheffield’s most enduring creatives

THE DESIGNERS REPUBLIC

Despite designing Pulp’s logo, this was the first time

THE VINYL REVIVAL

In our second extract from new book The Vinyl Revival And The Stores That Made It Happen, Graham Jones visits the most northerly record shop in the UK, Orkney’s Grooves

UNION MUSIC STORE LEWES

Owned by Del Day and Danny George Wilson, a pair of music industry veterans firmly committed to putting the romance back into buying records, Union Music Store is awash with all the good shit, as Gary Tipp discovers

Glasgow

A vibrant city with a legendary music scene, Glasgow’s record shops are full to the gills with vinyl, as Mark Elliott finds out

DIGGING FOR VICTORY

Our intrepid pro vinyl gatherer Mark O’Shaughnessy proves yet again That nothing worth finding is easily found, try as one might

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty’s influence on US rock is enormous, as this career-spanning collection testifies. Steve Harnell celebrates a peerless body of work

Sharon Van Etten

The New Jersey singer-songwriter has treated us to four albums of lovelorn beauty. Gary Walker discovers a bold electronic departure on her fifth

Music On Vinyl

The key to Music On Vinyl’s prodigious reissue schedule is owning a globally renowned vinyl factory in the Netherlands. Chris Parkin discovers their pressing need

DREAM MACHINES MCINTOSH XRT1.1K

The XRT1.1K speakers are a smaller and less expensive version of McIntosh’s flagship XRT2.1Ks. But, as Paul Rigby finds out, their towering ability to fill the room is not diminished

SCHEU ANALOG DIAMOND

John Pickford encounters a solidly engineered deck with impressively precise rhythms and timings

ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE

The Storm Mk2 is a big, bold, steely beast of a machine That’s likely to kick sand in the face of other decks. Paul Rigby meets a high-mass turntable That delivers with great authority

BEL CANTO E.ONE PHONO AMPLIFIER

An enthused John Pickford encounters a phono amplifier with the potential to unleash tremendous dynamics and resolution on your listening experience