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As the dust settles on another Record Store Day weekend – we take a look back at last year’s Purple Revolver Third Man road trip… in honour of Jack White and the arrival of Blunderbuss.
Editors Andy Johnson and Amber Tan paid a tri-city pilgrimage from Liverpool – through Manchester to Leeds – In search of Jack White and Third Man Records to try and hunt down the rare White Stripes releases – as published in Über zine.
This is what happened…
Thousands of music lovers staked out their favourite dusty vinyl dens in all corners of Britain waiting for Record Store Day dealers to thrust open their doors.
Most shops opened early in anticipation of big queues and by 9am the special releases had sold out and were already on eBay with Buy It Now prices of £70.
But The Editors of this humble site were still slumbering after being held captive by Mark Ronson until 3am – a crafty trick we believe – so that his minions could get their manicured mitts on all the rare wax treats before us… http://bit.ly/hHQg9j
After seeking inspiration from a caffeine pit stop at Bold Street Coffee we finally made it to Probe Records, Liverpool, at 11am.
We quickly realised that our dreams of snapping up the Foo Fighters’ covers album had been dashed by too much sleep.
Determined to track them down we decided to double down and increase our chances by hitting the road and spinning our own Record Store Day adventure taking in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
Next on our Hit List were the White Stripes re-releases. But they’d also been snapped up by the early birds.
After being dazzled by the smiles of the oft-grumpy Probe Records staff we stumbled upon Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks – fitting as our next stop was Manchester, passing her old stomping ground of Oldham.
Suddenly our Holy Trinity mission took on new meaning – could we buy a Jack White-related disc in each city and make an ad hoc pilgrimage in honour of the Third Man?
Piccadilly Records was next on the map. The much-loved Northern Quarter haunt was a hive of activity still boasting a deep queue by the time we got there.
We chatted to shy yet friendly regular John Talbot who told us fans had gathered from midnight to make sure they got their hands on Radiohead. But bizarrely of the first releases to go it was Lady GaGa which had caused the camp sensation outside.
The only Record Store Day treasure left was Hercules & Love Affair, but we were now on the Jack White III hunt so dug out The Dead Weather – Die By The Drop 7″ from the crates instead.
We added a Howling Wolf CD for good measure to drive the pace for our trusty steed (in car laser needle vinyl players please Steve Jobs) and headed for the Pennines.
Getting into the groove of our whistle-stop tour, we made it to our final destination Crash Records, Leeds, with five minutes to spare until closing time.
The bleary-eyed clerks regaled us with the now familiar tale of the vinyl hungry hordes who had attacked their doors at 8am with murderous intent and Thom Yorke in their eyes.
They cleared out all the Record Store Day goodies but we managed to complete our Motor City related triple with Jack White and Danger Mouse’s new supergroup project Rome Two Against One.
Weary with vinyl closure we began our homeward journey with delirious promises of taking the trinity trip from Detroit through Nashville and Memphis next year – who needs sleep – that’s only about a 21 hour drive.
Peace, Andy and Amber
www.purplerevolver.com
Shooting the Future
Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks
The Dead Weather – Die By The Drop
Rome – Two Against One
All released through Third Man Records
This is an excerpt from Über zine, a DIY zine – which you can buy here…
http://eightfold.myshopify.com/products/uber-zine-5-uber-rare-imprint