But it was in the heart of London, in Soho, that the record shop party came to life in the most sensational and interesting way. Because it is in Berwick Street, the street made famous by a cover, that of “What’s the story, morning glory?” of Oasis, which has the highest concentration of record shops in the city, there is the “golden mile of vynil”, with three shops that are in the heart of every music lover, the Record and Tape Exchange, the beautiful Reckless Records and especially Sister Ray.
Then just move a few meters and find not only shops that sell rock, but also record shops specializing in reggae and black music, or shops that sell only “stage music” or opera, in short, despite the crisis, despite the decimation of the shops. of records all over the world, Berwick Street and the nearby streets remain the place where any music lover willingly goes to spend his money on CDs, but also and above all on resurgent vinyl. Until a few years ago there were a few thousand record shops in England, today they are just over three hundred and this reality is much worse in countries like ours, where there are very few independent shops left, replaced by megastores in the big cities.
Record Store Day on Berwick Street was a fantastic opportunity to bring together, in one day, music and record enthusiasts, who lined up in front of the street shops to buy one of the more than two hundred record releases made especially for the occasion for bands and musicians big and small. And to listen live to a series of bands of considerable interest, who performed on a stage built in the middle of the street, closed to traffic for a whole day.
A concert that saw the participation of some of the most interesting realities of today’s music, from the talented Smoke Fairies, to Matthew E. White, from Frank Turner to the legendary Wire, one of the most important bands of English rock of the late seventies and of the following decade, formation that has influenced dozens of bands in the following years and that still has the strength, expressiveness and creativity to offer a great live set.
Thousands of young people crowded the area from the early hours of the morning, and enthusiastically greeted the concerts that animated the street throughout the day, until late in the evening, when the Wire concluded the event with a great concert, reminding everyone that records, CDs, but also and above all vinyl, which is strongly returning to the top of the interests of fans, are an instrument of culture, fun, entertainment and that the shops that sell them are and can be still places where culture is produced and not just commerce.