| Children’s charity Barnardo’s revealed today their stocks of vintage records at stores in Dundee and Angus are running low because of a surge in demand.
Aficionados are being attracted to what they claim is the sonic depth of scratchy, crackly vinyl, and the cachet of owning releases in their original format.
The trend, mirroring new enthusiasm across the country for LPs, has prompted an appeal by local Barnardo’s staff for people to donate unwanted discs.
Vivienne Miller, one of the Scottish area retail managers at Barnardo’s, said, “Music is a big part of our retail business and, as you would expect, demand for CDs has far outstripped that of vinyl in the past 15 years.
“However, 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.”
Trends at Barnardo’s 300-plus stores across the country reveal regional differences in demand, with David Bowie particularly popular north of the border.
The most requested across the UK is, perhaps inevitably, the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, although there is demand for everything from Madonna to the Happy Mondays.
Continued Vivienne, “Music is becoming 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 records from the seventies and eighties are proving most popular, and we think it’s part of a wider trend for all things nostalgic, as we find that retro toys and games from the same period also sell particularly well.”
Vinyl records can be donated at Barnardo’s shops in Reform Street, Dundee, West Port in Arbroath and Montrose High Street. |
