The 1975 have been announced as ambassadors of Record Store Day 2023.
The band will fly the flag for the annual event – which takes place on Saturday, April 22 – where hundreds of UK independent record shops celebrate their culture with many exclusive vinyl releases and shop performances.
As part of their role, the Manchester band will be releasing a live performance with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on vinyl for the first time on this year’s Record Store Day.
Recorded back in 2016, the double LP features track favourites from the band’s early career, including ‘Somebody Else’, ‘Chocolate’ and ‘The Sound’. The release will only be available at participating record stores.
Speaking about the honour, frontman Matty Healy said: “The guys and I are really proud to be ambassadors for Record Store Day this year. 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.”
The band will follow previous ambassadors including Taylor Swift – who was last year announced as the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day – Noel Gallagher, The Big Moon and Elton John.
The 1975’s latest album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, was released alongside an exclusive white vinyl made specially for record stores, along with an intimate show at Kingston’s Banquet Records the night before the album came out.
Louise Jackson from Bury vinyl store Wax and Beans, said of the announcement: “We can’t wait to be taking part in Record Store Day again this year, and to have a Manchester band like the 1975 putting our local musical heritage on the map and celebrating the culture of record shops in this way is fantastic.
“Like all the stores involved in the day, we work incredibly hard all year round to keep our shop thriving as a hub for the music-loving community. Bands like The 1975 are a product of independent music scenes like ours all over the country who back emerging talent, so it feels great to see them championing indie record shops just like ours in such a meaningful way.”
You can find participating shops in this year’s Record Store Day here.
The 1975’s new vinyl release will be available in three formats: 2xLP clear vinyl in a gatefold packaging, 1xCD and 1xCassette. You can find the tracklisting below.
The 1975 ‘Live With The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’:
1. I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
2. Love Me
3. A Change Of Heart
4. Somebody Else
5. Loving Someone
6. Please Be Naked
7. Lostmyhead
8. If I Believe You
9. Chocolate
10. The Sound
In other vinyl news, last month it was revealed that vinyl outsold CD for first time in 35 years, with sales growing to £150.5million in 2022, as CD album sales fell to £124million.
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