The Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast

Welcome to the next part of the Year In Review series, dissecting the amazing year in music that was 2024.

Continuing on with the 3 part round table mini series with my guests Kev, Ben and Billy, we discuss our Top 5 favourite vinyl reissues of 2024 across lots of different genres.

It's been an amazing year for reissues in 2024 with some long out of print, or never pressed on vinyl, records released this year, many of which we have added to our own collections. Hopefully, our recommendations will inspire you to buy some new discoveries from this episode.

Welcome to the first in a 3 part mini series as part of the overall 2024 Year in Review series that has been a focus of some of the recent podcast episodes. 

As I had stated on those previous episodes, 2024 has been an amazing year for music and records again and in this mini series I am joined by three record collecting friends from Leeds to discuss the year in music in a round table discussion where they disclose their favourite records, favourite reissues and favourite record finds in 2024. 

This episode focuses on favourite records of the year so lets kick off and welcome along Kev Trotter, Billy Humphries and Ben Leister as we all dive into 2024's amazing new releases on vinyl!

Episode 11 is part 2 of the "2024, A Year in Review" Series where Iain discusses his favourite releases from the second half of the year and the months of July to December.

He discusses releases from lots of bands including Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Wunderhorse, Kasabian, Coldplay, Danny & The Champions of the World, Laura Marling and of course, The Cure!

The second half of 2024 was just as strong as the first half so have a listen and hopefully discover some new artists or records you might have missed from this year!

This week, Iain kicks off his Funk and Soul series on the podcast and welcomes onto it, notorious Funk, Soul and Reggae collector John Downing.

John has collected records all his adult life and whilst he specialises in collecting Funk and Soul stuff, he also digs into other genres too. 

Iain and John chat about the genres he collects, where he buys records, digging across the world for rare Funk and Soul stuff and also dip into the YouTube vinyl community where John shows off his record collection.

This weeks episode has been a long anticipated one for Iain as he talks to Neil Bunn, who tours with many different bands around the world looking after their tour merchandise.

He has toured with countless bands including some huge artists like Radiohead, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Self Esteem and also my favourite band of the last 10 years, Idles! He has some great tales to tell and a fascinating back story of how he got into this job.

Neil is also a keen record collector himself and has been lucky enough to visit Peel Acres, the home of the legendary John Peel and his world famous incredible collection! 

So grab a cuppa or a beer, sit back and listen to this amazing hour or so of conversation!

In Episode 8, Iain kicks of his "2024, A Year in Review" Series. 

The series will be a 4 part episode set where Iain and guests will run through 2024's records released in detail.

In the first part of the series, he dissects some of his favourite records in detail from the first half of the year and the months of January to June, with mini reviews of albums from artists including Bill Ryder-Jones, Bernard Butler, Shed Seven, Pet Shop Boys and many other great artists that have dropped records in the first half of 2024.

Come in for a dig into 2024, an exceptional year for new record released!

This week I’m delighted to welcome a new favourite band of mine onto the podcast, Novablood, from Carlisle here in the UK. The band have just released their new album entitled “Destroy The Magic” on October 4th and have had a number of singles released over the last few months, one of which features as title music on this podcast! 

Having been friends with one member of the band, Paolo, for a few years after his appearance in the first Record Collectors Book, it’s a welcome return for him to this Record Collectors club project and this time he’s has been joined by his bandmate Mark also.

I chat to Mark and Paolo about the recording their new record, their writing process, upcoming gigs and what's planned for future recordings for the band. We also dig into their own record collections and what has influenced them both for their new record.

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast and this weeks guest is author Mark Mcdonald.

Mark has just released a vinyl records related book around the genre of Rap records from the late 80s and early 90s. The book, titled “Megablast : The Top 100 UK Rap Records 1987-1993” digs deep into this genre and breaks down the UK Rap scene from this period.

We chat about the history of the UK Rap scene, key records released in this scene around the era that Mark's book is focused on and dig into his record collection also touching on his background as a graphic designer and his history as a graphic artist in the graffiti and tagging scene in London.

On Episode 5 of the Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast,  I am joined by an incredibly talented artist and illustrator, Ben O’Brien or better known as Ben the Illustrator. 

Ben’s work first caught my eye when he started to produce his “Cover Versions” illustrations of famous record sleeves and that has led him to work with some amazing bands and artists such as The Cure, Tim Burgess and Sparks. 

We talked about the art of creating record sleeves, music tastes, records (of course), music festivals and Elton John emoji's amongst many other things!

On episode 4 of The Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast, Iain talks to two members of the Uk indie band, The Moonlight Parade. Having formed back in 2018, the band from the South Coast have released 4 records and have amassed an obsessive following of hardcore obsessive fans.

Their recent record "Strange Times" has just been released in the last couple of months to great acclaim from fans and critics, further cementing their reputation as one of my favourite bands of the past decade.

I chat to bass guitarist Alex and singer and lyricist Ben about their process of putting records together as a band, the writing process that they go through, getting their music onto vinyl and also their influences through their years of listening to music and digging for records. 

On this weeks podcast episode, Iain speaks to world famous Oasis obsessive and collector, Brian Garcia from Los Angeles.

Brian's collection of Oasis memorabilia, records and rare items has to be seen to be believed but it currently spans into the thousands of items. Even Noel and Liam themselves are aware of this collection having signed numerous pieces for Brian when he's met them both.

We talk about how his collection started, favourite pieces, rare items and of course, dig into the recent news regarding the Oasis reunion and upcoming tour next year.

On this weeks episode, Iain talks to Grant Decker, the owner of Vinyl Shakedown Records in Hinckley. Having collected records most of his adult life and also DJ'd for a number of years using vinyl, Grant started to buy and sell vinyl using his house as a base.

He outgrew the house and in 2023, opened Vinyl Shakedown Records which has gone from strength to strength and is now in it's second location locally. 

Iain and Grant talk about opening a record shop and the details, time and effort that goes into it and also dip into Grant's own record collection discussing favourite records, grails and what's on Grants own want list. 

On the first episode of The Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast, host Iain Wakefield is joined by Johnny Marr and James super fan, Laura Dean from Warrington. 

Laura is a music fan, gig goer and writes regularly for a number of music publications online sharing her thoughts and reviews on live music gigs and new album releases. 

She has followed Johnny Marr and James around both the UK and recently the world seeing them play their incredible music to live audiences. We chat about her obsession with both artists, touch on her favourite records by them and discuss music and vinyl in general also.

Welcome to The Record Collectors Club Conversations Podcast.

A new podcast series that centres around the vinyl record collecting and music world and focuses on conversations with record collectors, record shops, artists, bands and music obsessives all over the world.