The theme of this year’s National Album Day is rock music and ahead of our second Record Fair (Saturday 25th October) and to recognise National Album Day (Saturday 18th October), we sat down and had a chat with Ben from Midlands Record Fairs who runs the Brindleyplace Record Fair.
Do you celebrate National Album Day?
Yes, I’ll definitely make a point of making time in my day to pick a random album which hasn’t been played in a while, that could be anything from a classic 60s soul or reggae album to a classic 90s hip hop album – it’s all about connecting with the music in the physical sense, handling what you’re about to play and then immersing yourself in the cover and linear notes, whilst being transported to wherever you want on the crest of the musical wave.
What are the most popular albums you sell or the most requested albums?
Both myself and most other record shop owners I know say the same thing: ‘Fleetwood Mac – Rumours’ and one of the 3 classic Michael Jackson albums or The Cure and The Smiths. They are some of the biggest selling physical albums ever made, and are still super popular with all age generations X to Z.
Is rock a popular genre? Most popular bands?
Rock is an exceptionally popular genre, whether that be 60s rock right through to the modern day, classic rock within reason is a timeless genre – just look at the likes of tracks by Derek & The Dominoes (Layla), Led Zeppelin (Stairway To Heaven), Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here), Def Leppard (Animal), Creedance Clearwater Revival (Bad Moon Rising), Boston (More Than A Feeling) and Steely Dan (Do It Again) – these tracks vary from 30 to nearly 60 years young, but still sound fresh and continue to be played, as proven when you look at the stream totals on YouTube premium, Apple music and Spotify.
Any new trends in album sales?
In the last 5 years, 80s classics have absolutely boomed from the likes of Duran Duran – Rio, to Michael Jackson (Thriller/Bad/Off The Wall and the ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ series on vinyl – Swifties have also made Taylor one of the most current popular physical artists to sell on vinyl!
Are you seeing more interest in records again? Lots of people seem to be buying retro record players!
More than ever! I’ve really seen the boom take off in the last 12/18 months ago, with a higher percentage of Gen Z buying vinyl, on the flip side to this (no pun intended). I also deal in used hi-fi equipment and this is also selling like hotcakes. There’s a bigger than ever desire in recent years to consume physical music, streaming has its place for convenience, but vinyl is tangible and nostalgic.
How did you get into record fairs?
Through a love of collecting vinyl which then turned into a business , and on a grander scale, setting up my own record fairs to have a wider audience of selling too, and connect with like-minded individuals – I’ve made some great mates who started out as customers, and without wanting to sound corny, music does really bond us all together as humans!
Own personal favourite albums of all time?
I never thought I’d hear myself say it that your taste in music changes as you get older, but at the ripe old age of 42, I’ve gone from listening to mainly dance music in my teens, to Psychedelia , Progressive Rock , Jazz Fusion, 60s/70s Soul & Funk to Classical & World music in my 20s and beyond. My top 5 albums of all time would be: Led Zeppelin 3, Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland, Beatles White Album, Donald Byrd – Places and Spaces and Royksopp Melody A.M.
Most desirable album to own?
I’ve always dreamed of owning a classic Psychedelic album by an English band from 1968 called ‘July’. The cover alone is a piece of art, let alone the music! It’s an elusive gem, and I’ve only ever seen one in person at a record fair, so anybody reading this who wants to sell it – I’m all ears!
You came to Brindleyplace in July for our inaugural record fair, presumably it was successful as you want to come back!
The inaugural fair at BP on July 5th was a great success and Brindleyplace was such a great venue with a fantastic vibe felt all day – we were physically having to turn customers away at the end as we needed to pack up. This just shows the desire for vinyl and tying that in with a great central location in the heart of Birmingham is a perfect musical cocktail (of which there are plenty of bars in Brindleyplace to have one!)
The Brindleyplace Record Fair will take place on Saturday 25th October from 9:00am until 4:00pm. 15 stalls will be jam-packed with a massive selection of vinyls and albums for you to peruse – will you find that elusive album you’ve been searching for?
