What's being released for Record Store Day 2023?

Virgin Radio

20 Feb 2023, 06:27

U2, Madonna, David Bowie, The Prodigy and Blur all feature.

The vinyl renaissance continues!

Last year, it was reported that Taylor Swift’s Midnights was the first album to sell better on vinyl than CD since the 1980s, while at the very end of last year, the US also saw its biggest week for vinyl since 1991, selling 2.2million vinyl albums in the week ending December 22nd.

Remarkably, in 2022, vinyl outsold the CD format for the first time in 35 years.

Right on cue, Record Story Day have released news of who is doing what on Saturday, April 22nd - the date the 16th RSD takes place.

There's a fantastic (and long) list of who is doing what, compiled by NME, here.

If you're not aware, Record Store Day is a designated day when over 260 independent record shops all across the UK come together to celebrate their culture.

Special vinyl releases are made exclusively for the day and many shops and cities host artist performances and events to mark the occasion. Thousands more shops celebrate the day around the globe in what’s become one of the biggest annual events on the music calendar. 

This year, fans have the chance to buy special one-off collectable releases on vinyl, cassette and more from hundreds of artists – including The 1975, Blur, Pixies, U2, Madonna, Foals, Donna Summer, Björk, and the aforementioned Taylor Swift.

The 1975 - recently announced as ambassadors for RSD 2023 - will be releasing a live performance with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on vinyl for the first time.

“The guys and I are really proud to be ambassadors for Record Store Day this year,” said frontman Matty Healy. “Independent record stores are the lifeblood of the music industry and have played a crucial role in our story so far. It couldn’t be more important to support their vital community and culture.”

Taylor Swift - the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day - will be returning to the role again and will be releasing the first and only release of folklore: the long pond studio sessions.

Other highlights from the list of exclusive releases include the double LP of Blur Present The Special Collectors Edition (a collection of early b-sides originally released in 1994 as a Japan-only CD), David Bowie’s Laughing With Liza set (featuring his early singles released on the Deram label collected in a 7″ box for the first time with a never-before-released version of ‘Space Oddity’), a 10″ of The Prodigy remixing ‘Rocket Fuel' by Kasabian, and a number of Elvis Presley reissues.

Excited? You should be! You can read the full list of RSD 2023 releases here.