Vinyl sales reach 28 year peak

Annual sales of LPs are on track to smash through the three million unit mark for the first time in 28 years.

The highest selling vinyl album of 2016 is David Bowie’s Blackstar, which sold out of its original pressing days after its release. Bowie’s 1975 single “Golden Years” also leads 2016 vinyl single sales.

The news comes as HMV, the UK’s largest vinyl retailer, estimates that over 1.5 million LPs will this year be sold across its 128 stores.

Gennaro Castaldo, Director of Communications at BPI, said in a statement: “Sales of vinyl have risen dramatically since their low point in 2007, with over 2 million LPs purchased last year for the first time in more than two decades.

“The BPI has every expectation this trend will continue, and estimates that up to 3.5 million LPs or more could be purchased during the course of 2016”.

Next week, HMV will celebrate this with their annual ‘Vinyl Week’ (13^th-19^th June), offering 50% of selected titles. On Saturday 18^th June, the store will also unveil a series of limited-edition vinyl reissues, including a green vinyl of The Clash’s debut LP, and a pink vinyl of The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks.

The full list of HMV reissues is as follows:

Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1000 copies on pink vinyl)
Manic Street Preachers: Everything Must Go (1000 copies on blue vinyl)
Various Artists: Let’s Bop – Sun Records Collection (1000 copies on black vinyl)
Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque (500 copies on ‘hmv pink’ vinyl)
The Clash: The Clash (1000 copies on green vinyl)
Velvet Underground: Loaded (1000 copies on white vinyl)
Deep Purple: In Rock (1000 copies on marbled vinyl)
Alex Turner: Submarine OST (500 copies on 10” black vinyl)
Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow: Ex Machina OST (500 copies on frosted vinyl)
John Martyn: Solid Air (500 copies on green vinyl)
Iron Maiden: Brave New World (first ever edition on black vinyl!)
Pulp: Different Class
Pulp: His ‘n’ Hers
Pulp: This Is Hardcore
Pulp: We Love Life
Laura Marling: Alas, I Cannot Swim
Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can
30 Seconds To Mars: This Is War
Beastie Boys: Check Your Head (Deluxe Edition, Remastered)
Various Artists: Guardians Of The Galaxy OST (2 LP soundtrack & film score on black vinyl)

The July 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Prince, plus Carole King, Paul Simon, case/lang/viers, Laurie Anderson, 10CC, Wilko Johnson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Steve Gunn, Ryan Adams, Lift To Experience, David Bowie and more plus 40 pages of reviews and our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.