By Russell Leadbetter
BEFORE streaming and downloading onto personal devices there was the CD. And before that it was the cassette and way before that the music industry started with vinyl.
In its heyday of the 1960s and 70s vinyl was king and sold in its hundreds of thousands.
But despite being largely replaced by a host of modern recording techniques, the black shiny disc remained close to the heart of many afficionados.
Vinyl's remarkable resurgence among music fans will be underscored at a event taking place in Glasgow tomorrow.
Sales of the format have enjoyed eight consecutive years of growth, with sales of Adele's new album topping the UK vinyl list in 2015.
Rob Lythall of VIP Events, which is staging the Glasgow music fair at Bellahouston Leisure Centre, said: "It is excellent news that vinyl has come back into fashion so strongly after years of being eclipsed by other formats. We have dozens of dealers who specialise in vinyl covering every genre of music."
The Official Charts Company launched vinyl singles and albums charts last April, with last year's top album sellers in the UK turning out to be Adele and Amy Winehouse, followed by The Stone Roses, Ed Sheeran, Royal Blood and Pink Floyd.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said last month that annual events such as Record Store Day, and a new generation of rock groups and fans who saw vinyl as a collectable art that was a "badge of honour", had helped fuelled vinyl sales.
In its Music Market Report for 2015, the BPI spoke of vinyl's "fairytale revival" from a point of near-extinction in 2007, when a mere 205,000 LPs were purchased. Fresh demand came from baby-boomers who had grown up with the format but also from "engaged younger fans drawn to its emotional appeal at the heart of rock music’s heritage." With vinyl growth up 64 per cent on the year , LP sales increased from 1.3 million units in 2014 to 2.1 million copies in 2015.
While vinyl may account for just under two per cent of the UK's music consumption, vintage LPs and rarities have long enjoyed a booming trade amongst collectors and dealers.
Ian McCann, editor of Record Collector magazine, said nostalgia had much to do with vinyl's revival.
He said: "Rock music is generally retro in outlook these days. Bands use analogue equipment and valve amps because they feel that’s how the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Byrds and other groups got such a great sound and they want to get it, too.
"That gear is seen as authentic. Bands also like the idea of their records being in a traditional rock’n’roll format – vinyl. Fans identify with that: they want to feel that the artists they like are genuine and feel that to get the true rock’n’roll experience, they ought to be listening to vinyl.
"Vinyl tends to sound better. A great MP3 player will never have the sheer oomph of a decent stereo with a half-decent deck. Downloads are a very mediated, compressed format: you’re hearing it how the electronics want you to hear it.
"What you lose in convenience with vinyl, you gain in sound. It’s the difference between a Michelin-starred chef’s meal and a burger. Both have their place, but only one can really deliver a sense of true artistry. There is more surface noise heard from a record, but as John Peel put it, 'life has surface noise'."
Record Store Day had helped spread the idea of buying vinyl, he added, but many serious collectors disliked it, viewing the releases as artificial collectables pressed up for marketing purposes.
Another factor was that many people in advertising and marketing grew up with vinyl. "They see it as a wholesome, retro thing, and use it on TV ads to make products look fashionable, to express solidity and quirkiness," Mr McCann said. "This probably has a drip-feed effect on the collective conscious - it normalises vinyl as a living medium, when once it was seen as dead."
The VIP fair will return to Bellahouston in June and September.
* More information at www.vip-24.com
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