So it’s official: old music is hugely outselling new music. And vinyl is the most popular physical format again.
Go into a record shop and likely you’ll be stunned at the price of secondhand vinyl, not to mention new catalogue LPs that can cost up to 25 quid for a posh reissue.
All of which might amuse/surprise music fans of my vintage who kept hold of their record players through the years and spent the noughties digging around the vinyl discount stores, often picking up ‘esteemed’ albums for anything between 10p and a quid (the price of a postage stamp, for readers outside the UK).
So what were those 1980s vinyls that were/are ALWAYS in secondhand shops and, by extension, still ever-present in charity shops? And why were they always there?
Most smack of the impulse buy by people who get one album a year, or the ‘difficult’ follow-ups to a smash. Some are tainted by an almost ineffable naffness. Most were deemed surplus on vinyl once CD became the format of choice, and most are weirdly genre-less.
Stacked high/sold cheap, you’d think they’d be reissue-proof, never to be seen again. But not so fast: ‘deluxe’ editions of these are probably on their way to a shop/streaming service near you, or have already arrived…
The Beautiful South: Welcome To The Beautiful South
U2: Rattle And Hum
Del Amitri: Waking Hours
Bros: Push
Hothouse Flowers: People
Michael McDonald: Sweet Freedom (The Best Of Michael McDonald)
T’Pau: Bridge Of Spies
Foreigner: Agent Provocateur
Michael Bolton: Soul Provider
Meat Loaf: Dead Ringer
John Cougar Mellencamp: The Lonesome Jubilee
Enya: Watermark
Five Star: Silk And Steel
Arcadia: So Red The Rose
Sade: Diamond Life
Chris Rea: The Road To Hell
Phil Collins: No Jacket Required
Bryan Ferry: Boys And Girls
Genesis: Invisible Touch
George Michael: Faith
Tracy Chapman: Tracy Chapman
Fleetwood Mac: Tango In The Night
Wet Wet Wet: Popped In, Souled Out
Fairground Attraction: The First Of A Million Kisses
Paul Young: No Parlez
Tom Petty: Full Moon Fever
Michael Jackson: Bad
Tina Turner: Private Dancer
Lionel Richie: Can’t Slow Down
Alison Moyet: Alf
Patti Labelle: Winner In You
Howard Jones: Human’s Lib
Simply Red: A New Flame
Whitney Houston: Whitney
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl
Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet
Madonna: True Blue
Tears For Fears: Songs From The Big Chair