The Guardian reports that WH Smith will start stocking vinyl in 80 UK stores after a gap of 30 years.
Full list of stores still to be confirmed but it will include, Canterbury, Edinburgh Gyle, Chester and York.
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Cool
Smiths, Our Price, HMV…It’s like the 70’s again.
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An album that cost £3 in 1974 would be £43.16 today. The reality is that in real terms, albums are cheaper now than they were in the 1970’s.
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Yep. I know for many of us £25-30 for a new single LP Album seems a lot and wasn’t it great when it cost £3-4 in the 1970s the value of the GBP has been eaten up by inflation to the point it at the very least cost no more than it did then relatively.
It is also true there are many things we think essential to modern living we could not buy even if we wanted to in the 1970s like mobile phones, broadband, SKY TV and many other things. All these things soak up our hard earned sheckles.
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I hardly think SkyTV is essential to modern living 
and possibly even less relevant now than it was say 15 years ago… unless you like your sport.
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I’m finding I watch less TV but my wife and daughter make up for it! Not Sky but still extra subscription services.
I seem to be working, doing chores or something else. Sadly not listening to enough music either 
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It isn’t that was part of the point (it was an example of something not available in the 70s) but people think such things have become essential/important to have.
The point since you missed it is that there are many things we pay for now out of our income that were not there in the 1970s that leave less spare cash for other things and may be one reason that people see records as more expensive than they used to be.
I do not have any pay TV at all.
its totally irrelevant, why people pay for this beyond me. Its a legacy “service”
Martin
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Gave up Sky TV just over a year ago and don’t miss it at all.
But back on topic in 1982 you could get a pint for under £1 and an LP album was around £5 so fast forward 42 years, many places you’ll be struggling to find a pint for under £5 so £25 for a record is just keeping up with inflation.
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I would like to say that I remember those ‘pint for under a quid’ days but sadly I don’t, I think I must have enjoyed too many.
But you’re right there does seem to be some correlation between the rising cost of a pint and the cost of an LP, although a lot of LP’s are now getting towards the £30 mark so unless you are in London or other big cities it looks as though your pint is about to go up in price.
I was talking to mate the other day about baked potatoes. In Waitrose there are 4 in a pack for £1 which - now follow me closely - is 25p each. 25p is 5 shillings in old money - 5 shillings that was a lot of money back in the day.
Then my mate said remember that first suit you bought at Hepworths or the window to watch John Colliers in 1978 that was about £100 now you can pick up a suit in M&S for £75.
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I’m surprised they are still even going…
The 1978 suit would be very likely to be made out of decent quality material for that money. The 2024 equivalent would be very unlikely to be pure wool or similar - likely to have Lycra or other unpleasant additions, which make them short-lived and unrecyclable.
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Also the flared trousers and wide lapels used more material I guess.
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I’d post a photo of my first wedding but I’d be too embarrassed.
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Just on the wh smith move. Aren’t they a bit late to the party. Peaked now hasn’t it.
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Has it?
I am not so sure. I don’t think we will see large increases in Sales as it is a niche market and small compared to streaming and downloads but sales are still healthy and records in demand. It’s never going to be the mainstream media it once was but its not going away.
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To my eyes, 'Smith’s retail offerings are veering towards being akin to ye olde Woolies (but without the food e.g. broken biscuits and pick’n’mix). I wonder if they’ve heat mapped where HMV stores have closed, as they always used to be common sights on many UK HS’s.
I wonder if they’re going to sell top-30 or so albums only?