In our age of iTunes, digital downloads and on-demand streaming, the idea of giving vinyl records a spin might seem like a quaint throwback to a distant musical past. However, analogue music is alive and well in the year 2015.
The UK’s Official Charts Company has announced the first ever Official Vinyl Charts, counting down the best-selling albums and 7-inch and 12-inch singles in Britain. The launch of the vinyl-specific charts underscores the growing popularity of vinyl, which is undergoing something of a 21st century renaissance.
Official figures from 2014 show sales of vinyl in the UK hit 1.29 million, marking a 20-year high. Data from the Official Charts Company for 2015’s first quarter shows that the public appetite for vinyl continues to grow, with sales of albums up 69 percent compared with the same time last year. Vinyl singles were also up by 23 percent.
Albums in the Official Vinyl Albums Chart for the first three months of this year include releases by Arctic Monkeys, Led Zeppelin and Royal Blood, while the number one spot for top-selling single and album is taken by ex-Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Future Heartsby All Time Low charts as the best-selling vinyl record of the week.
Speaking to the Official Charts Company about the renewed appetite for this old format, All Time Low’s frontman Alex Gaskarth said: "What’s been going on with vinyl at the moment is really cool. What I love is that there are different worlds of vinyl fans; there’s the audiophiles who swear by the sound of vinyl, the people for who like owning it as a collector’s piece, and then groups like our fans who buy a vinyl of our record simply so they can hang it on their wall."
Phil Barton of independent UK vinyl retailer Sister Ray in Soho, London, commented: "The resurgence in vinyl sales has been a great boost for the independent trade. The launch of the Official Vinyl Charts tells the world that a format that is loved and revered is more relevant now than ever -- far from being a curiosity, vinyl is the go-to format for many music fans."
The UK Vinyl Top 40 comes ahead of Record Store Day 2015 on 18th April, when 592 limited edition vinyl releases, from the likes of Bob Dylan and Foo Fighters, will be made available in independent record stores for one day only.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
